Manama, Bahrain - Tuesday May 21, 2013:

Tamkeen Chief Executive Mr. Mahmood Hashem Al Kooheji addressed an audience at Bab Al Bahrain on Monday afternoon (May 20) during a public session arranged in coordination with the Bahrain Businesswomen Society and Edamah Real Estate Company, owner of Souq Bab Al Bahrain.

The session is in line with Tamkeen's efforts to engage the business community and enhance awareness about Tamkeen's support programmes available to the private sector. In addition, the event served to attract more visitors to the Bab Al Bahrain market by creating community awareness about the unique heritage and commercial relevance of the area.

In his address, Al-Kooheji noted the deep-rooted significance of Bab Al Bahrain with its vital commercial and services establishments and monuments has and continues to serve a key centre for trade and commerce since its establishment in 1945.

He also stressed Tamkeen's commitment to supporting Bahrain's business community at large through its various programmes launched to date, including strategic business support schemes and accessible financing solutions to enterprises, and urged all business owners in Bahrain to benefit from them.

President of the Bahrain Businesswomen Society Ahlam Janahi underlined the long-standing relationship between Tamkeen and the Society which has contributed to the development of the private sector and advancing the economic empowerment of women in Bahrain.

Following a summary of the programmes, the public session concluded with an open feedback session in which audience inquired about programmes of interest and proposed suggestions on how to further improve the level of services based on their experiences as business owners.

To date, more than 77,000 Bahraini individuals and enterprises in Bahrain have benefited from Tamkeen programmes to date, and the total number is expected to reach in excess of 150,000.

-Ends-

About Tamkeen
Tamkeen is an initiative funded by the private sector for the private sector, tasked with developing Bahrain's private sector and positioning it as the key driver of economic development. Established in August 2006, Tamkeen is one of the cornerstones of Bahrain's national reform initiatives and Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

Tamkeen has two primary objectives: Firstly, fostering the creation and development of enterprises, and secondly, providing support to enhance the productivity and growth of enterprises and individuals.

Under each of those objectives, certain mechanisms and innovative support initiatives have been put in place by Tamkeen to address current and future gaps for individuals and enterprises in the private sector that have been identified by thorough studies of the labour market landscape. To date, Tamkeen has created 180 such support programmes.

For Bahrainis, Tamkeen's programmes range from developing the skills and capabilities of Bahrain's human capital, to promoting sound workplace ethics and training on leadership and management best practices, among others. For enterprises, Tamkeen provides programmes which offer enterprises with subsidised business support services, facilitate access to financing to bridge the enterprise financing gap, and enable entrepreneurship, to name a few.

As of end of 2012, Tamkeen's programmes have benefited 77,000  Bahrainis and enterprises in the private sector, and allocated more than BD 292.5 million to the sector for its ongoing and completed programmes. In all, more than 150,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from these support programmes.

Tamkeen's human capital development programmes have benefited more than 56,000 Bahrainis, including funding training for nearly 30,000 Bahrainis. In addition, they enabled a further 3,500 Bahrainis to find gainful employment, and more than 2,000 Bahrainis to obtain professional certifications in their respective fields.

For enterprises, nearly 19,000 enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen's support programmes, including enabling more than 4,900 enterprises to get low-cost capital through its BD210 million financing portfolio, and more than 4,500 enterprises to enhance their performance through its subsidised business support services.

In parallel, Tamkeen's programmes have played a key role in institutionalising new concepts within Bahrain's private sector, including SME and micro-financing, entrepreneurship as a viable career path, women empowerment, modern accounting and auditing systems within SMEs, and many other paradigms needed for a vibrant sustainable private sector.

Tamkeen's funds come from 50% of the fees collected from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.

For more information about our programmes, please call:
Tamkeen
Telephone :17 383333
Fax:17 382352
Email :support@tamkeen.bh
Website :www.tamkeen.bh
www.facebook.com/TamkeenBahrain
http://twitter.com/TamkeenBahrain
http://www.youtube.com/TamkeenBahrain
http://www.linkedin.com/company/tamkeen
http://instagram.com/TamkeenBahrain

© Press Release 2013