In line with its new strategic direction to increase productivity and economic impact  

The Chief Executive of the Kingdom’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen), His Excellency, Husain Mohamed Rajab, emphasized Tamkeen’s role in the government-led economic recovery plan and implementing the national priorities stated in it, through activating partnerships and initiatives that aim to foster economic growth and create quality opportunities for local talent.

This was emphasized as part of Tamkeen’s launch of the new training program “Financial Management” in partnership with the Bahrain Institute for Banking and Finance (BIBF), designed to offer comprehensive training courses for 500 Bahraini entrepreneurs in its first phase. This is in line with Tamkeen’s ongoing efforts to encourage enterprises to focus on success and productivity, as well as expanding Tamkeen’s training and development support to include both employees and business owners which will help enterprises achieve their business objectives and enhance their performance, therefore increasing their contribution to the development of the private sector.  

His Excellency stated: “This initiative allows entrepreneurs to address key challenges which impact long-term success, and which are not limited to rapid market changes or technical difficulties. There are significant gaps and limitations in management and financial planning skills in organizations, and so this training program was designed to provide entrepreneurs with practical advisory on an individual basis where each participant will be given the opportunity to have their financial plans studied and audited, thus gaining practical knowledge and learning strategies that they can implement for their business.”

In addition, his Excellency highlighted the importance of combining financial and technical support with advisory support to guide entrepreneurs through their growth journeys. He stated: “We are constantly working to provide solutions that cater to those committed to growing and enhancing their businesses which creates a positive impact on the national economy.”

For his part, the BIBF’s Director Dr. Ahmed Al Shaikh, said “We are pleased to be part of this strategic partnership with Tamkeen in this national initiative that aims to develop and enhance the skills of Bahraini entrepreneurs, enriching their business acumen by providing specialized and practical administrative and financial training through the Financial Management training program to acquire the knowledge necessary to achieve stability and continuity, in addition to exploring new growth opportunities for their businesses.”

He added: “the initiative aims to help entrepreneurs develop their financial, management and technical skills. It represents a comprehensive training solution for entrepreneurs to help them develop their capabilities which contributes to raising the efficiency and success of the private sector, in addition to enhancing the competitive capabilities in the local market, ultimately supporting the private sector and the national economy as a whole.”

This initiative targets entrepreneurs and micro, small and medium business owners that are looking for specialized training opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge in entrepreneurship and financial management. This training will enable participants to manage their businesses more effectively and efficiently through setting appropriate strategic plans to cater for each business according to its sector, size, and growth stage.

Through this initiative, the entrepreneurs will participate in an extensive training program for a number of skills, more specifically around financial and strategic planning, risk assessment, market gap analysis, as well as identifying opportunities for expansion, funding, investment and more. The course will combine theoretical knowledge with practical experience through conducting one-to-one advisory sessions which provide each entrepreneur with guidance to optimally implement these strategies and plans in their enterprise.

Entrepreneurs can benefit from this initiative through Tamkeen’s Train Me Program. Further details regarding the application and registration process will be announced through Tamkeen’s social media channels in due course.

This announcement is among several initiatives launched by Tamkeen to support small and medium enterprises in line with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s direction. The support is facilitated through collaborations with various private and public sector entities such as the SME Development Board and aims to strengthen Startups and SMEs capacities to boost their competitiveness in local, regional and global markets in addition to increasing their exports, contribution to the GDP, and the employment opportunities they offer for Bahrainis within the private sector.

This initiative follows Tamkeen’s recent transformation strategy which resulted in the launch of 16 support programs with the aim of achieving greater economic impact in the national economy. Furthermore, it is in line with current market changes and is part of Tamkeen’s mandate to empower individuals and enterprises to contribute to national economic development, through enhancing productivity, employing local talent, and investing in all sectors while focusing on high potential sectors in alignment with the national economic recovery plan.