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Tamkeen and Bahrain Development Bank sign An agreement to Increase the Value of the Finance Scheme at BD 2 million to Support Emerging Enterprises

Tamkeen :Sunday 27 March, 2011 - Tamkeen and Bahrain Development Bank signed an agreement to increase the value of the finance scheme portfolio providing financing facilities to private sector enterprises at BD 2 million targeted at emerging enterprises.

The agreement was signed by the Vice President of Enterprise & Human Capital Development, Dr. Ahmed Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh and CEO of Bahrain Development Bank , Mr. Nidhal Saleh Al Aujan.

The finance scheme supported around 2,353 emerging and existing enterprise from various sectors at a total value of more than BD66 million since May 2008. The financing support dedicated to emerging enterprises amounted to BD13 million of the portfolio's total value, which contributed to establishing 726 new emerging enterprises.

In this respect, the Vice President of Enterprise & Human Capital Development, Dr. Ahmad Abdul Ghani Al Shaikh indicated that the scheme has dedicated around 20% of the portfolio's value of BD 70 million to support emerging enterprises, and emphasised Tamkeen's policy of supporting new entrepreneurs and meeting their needs.

Dr. Al Shaikh also highlighted that increasing the finance portfolio value under the agreement "provision of Islamic finance facilities to private sector enterprises" is proof of the large and growing demand for the support provided by such an integrated scheme. He also indicated that this agreement between Tamkeen and Bahrain Development Bank has been fruitful with effective outcomes as shown by key performance indicators. These financed enterprises have realised an added value for the national economy at BD 20 million until 2009 and created more job opportunities that exceeded 3,226 jobs. The enterprises financed by Tamkeen and Bahrain Development Bank have introduced about BD 1 million of foreign currency and contributed as well to increasing the Kingdom's exports through their products, which amounted to about BD1.6 million.

On his part, Mr. Nidhal Saleh Al Aujan, the CEO of Bahrain Development Bank , highlighted the importance of supporting emerging enterprises and said "emerging enterprises are highly capable of creating job opportunities as the cost to create jobs in small enterprises is substantially low and the employability of workers is high. In addition, small and medium-sized enterprises are capable of geographical outreach, which contributes to promoting positive principles represented in the concepts of time management, quality, productivity, efficiency, effectiveness, initiative and innovation".

Under the agreement, the finance facilities will be provided according to the needs and objectives of beneficiaries within the limits of a total amount not exceeding 72 million BHD. The agreement states that the other BD 2 million added to the portfolio shall be dedicated to emerging enterprises.

Beneficiary Sectors from Tamkeen Portfolio Support until February 2011

Sector	No. of Beneficiary Sectors	Value of Support Provided
Construction	382	11,056,067
Manufacturing	225	10,484,660
Retail and wholesale	984	24,247,405
Education	35	1,532,100
Health	23	1,117,736
Agriculture, reserves and hunting	4	393,000
Information and Communication	40	1,269,800
Management and Supporting Services	37	852,300
Scientific and Technological Specialized Activities	100	2,952,266
Restaurants and catering	179	4,316,050
Transportation	70	2,551,879
Other	274	5,432,410
Total	2,353	66,205,673

-Ends-

About Tamkeen:
Tamkeen is a semi-autonomous yet independent authority which formulates strategic and operational plans to enhance the overall prosperity of Bahrain by investing in Bahraini employability, job creation and social support. Tamkeen is funded by the fees collected by the LMRA.

Tamkeen's main objectives are to support Bahrainis to become the employees of choice, and to support high quality private sector job creation

To achieve these objectives, Tamkeen will invest in the cost and quality competitiveness of Bahrainis (e.g., reduction of cost of employing Bahrainis relative to expatriates, investment in skill and work ethic development programs of Bahrainis); in tackling employment barriers on both employer and labour market entrants' sides through a combination of financial incentives and capability building, and in supporting the private sector's adjustment to new cost structures by providing access to capital to alleviate short term cash constraints or improve productivity, and in know-how initiatives that support improvements in productivity and decreased reliance on expatriate labour through spreading management and technical knowledge.

Tamkeen has invested more than BD 140 million in more than 70 projects targeting 45,000 Bahrainis and 8,000 enterprises. Programmes are continuously being devised as per Tamkeen's strategy and the numbers of beneficiaries are continuously increasing.

For more information on our programmes and initiatives, please contact:
Marketing Communications
Tamkeen
Kingdom of Bahrain
Tel: 17383326/17383327
Fax: 17382352
Email: info@tamkeen.bh
Website : www.tamkeen.bh
http://www.facebook.com/TamkeenBahrain
http://twitter.com/TamkeenBahrain
http://www.youtube.com/TamkeenBahrain

© Press Release 2011