• Playbook, launched by a Bahraini female Entrepreneur, wins at GITEX Supernova Challenge

During their participation at GITEX 2022 in Dubai, a number of Bahraini tech companies and entrepreneurs succeeded in establishing valuable partnerships with regional and international companies by signing a number of partnership deals. These partnerships will pave the way for their growth and development, enhancing their ability to expand outside Bahrain. The businesses reiterated that the support from the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) for their participation in the exhibition was a key driver of success through the facilitation of networking opportunities, creation of fruitful connections, and knowledge transfer opportunities.

The business owners highlighted the benefits of their participation, including access to new opportunities that will enable them to develop and update business models based on the latest technological advancements that were showcased during the exhibition as well as networking and meeting opportunities with both customers and potential investors.

On this occasion, Ms. Maha Mofeez, Acting Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) stated: “we are proud of the achievements of the Bahraini companies participating in GITEX this year, which include several partnerships and agreements that will enhance their businesses and help them expand to new markets. This further highlights Tamkeen’s objectives of empowering the local startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem, which in turn facilitates the growth of a number of economic sectors, including the high-potential ICT sector.”

Bahraini entrepreneurs participated in a number of competitions in GITEX this year, where the PLAYBOOK team reached first place at the Supernova Challenge in the category of “Fast Female Founder Award”, which is a testament to its innovative and unique business model. PLAYBOOK is a platform that aims to accelerate the career growth of women to reach leadership positions by providing digital training programs led by influential and successful women. PLAYBOOK was founded by three women under the leadership of its CEO, Wafa AlObaidat. 

The following Bahraini companies also established partnership agreements that include:

  • The gaming company D11 signed a partnership agreement with an Emirati telecommunications company to launch their platform over the next few weeks. In addition to an agreement with a leading digital payments solutions provider to facilitate online payments in the gaming/eSports platform across European and Egyptian markets.
  • VirtuThinko signed a number of agreements with technology companies from several countries. Through these agreements, they will provide innovative tech solutions that will serve the local and regional markets. They also secured a regional agreement with the Boston-based company HYCU that specializes in multi-cloud data protection.
  • Atyaf eSolutions, the regional leader in digital transformation services announced a partnership agreement with Codebase Technologies, a world-leading provider of Open API Banking solutions. Through this partnership they will work on developing a marketplace enablement platform, Dinarii which is targeted at financial institutions, FinTechs, and merchants that are looking to launch and manage their banking marketplace ecosystems.
  • Atyaf eSolutions also announced a new collaboration with Logy Limited3 to develop methods of experiential learning based on the Metaverse and virtual reality. Through this collaboration Atyaf will provide educational curricula that will allow quick and more immersive learning, enhancing knowledge retention. Atyaf also collaborated with the Abu Dhabi-based National Security Institute to provide better training through virtual reality.
  • Nutribox signed a memorandum of understanding with 100Percent Nourishment to provide Nutribox subscribers across the MENA region with healthy ingredients they can shop for as part of their wellness and nutrition. The company also secured 30% of its pre-seed funding round from investors in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
  • Parcel, a leading logistics provider in Bahrain signed a partnership agreement with CodeBrew through their headquarter in Dubai to enhance their route optimization systems and increase the level of service they provide to their clients as well as expand outside Bahrain to regional markets
  • Bahraini startup 7amdaan.io signed a collaboration agreement with the French company VIVOKA to integrate a high-performing, secure embedded/offline voice assistant in their robots.
  • The gaming company IGP was launched during GITEX by Bahraini entrepreneur, Abdulla Taqi. The company focuses on developing different card games based on the games usually played in the majlis, and which cater to the local culture and the Islamic traditions of Bahrain and the GCC. Abdulla Taqi, the CEO of the company, highlighted that launching the company during the exhibition provided exposure and paved the way for him to establish partnerships and secure investors.

-Ends-