Tamkeen and The Bahrain Business Incubator Centre (BBIC), a subsidiary of Bahrain Development Bank, have signed an agreement whereby Tamkeen will subsidise a percentage of rental charges of industrial units at the BBIC.
The agreement is part of a joint initiative between Tamkeen and BBIC that aims to support newly-established enterprises occupying space at the BBIC to run their projects to lower the running costs associated with such projects. The programme enables entrepreneurs to benefit from other services provided by the Centre that include advisory, financial, and administrative services along with financing facilities.
Furthermore, the programme will be implemented through specified criteria which include, the applicant is a Bahraini national with an entrepreneurial vision and the ability to establish a project in the industrial or services sectors with the exclusion of real estate, construction, trading, and warehousing sectors. Another requirement being that the project has to be under the formation phase or has been in operation for less than one year.
Commenting on the agreement, Mr. Nedhal Saleh AlAujan, Bahrain Development Bank CEO, said "This agreement forms part of the joint programmes and initiatives entered into between the BBIC, a BDB subsidiary, and Tamkeen aiming at introducing special vehicles to support enterprises and to facilitate the entrepreneurial culture in the Kingdom, in line with Vision 2030. Subsidising rental charges for beneficiaries in the BBIC by Tamkeen is a further boost to such projects since the BBIC provides special units to incubate these projects at very reasonable prices that are otherwise unavailable."
Mr. AlAujan further emphasised the importance of this agreement in order to provide support for new ventures and back the Bahraini entrepreneurs at the critical time of establishment. He further commented that the BBIC has witnessed a massive expansion allowing it to expand with 125 multi-sized incubation units. The Centre's plan lies in providing incubation services with a great deal of focus on advisory, training, creativity and innovation by Bahraini youth.
Dr. Ahmed AbdulGhani Al-Shaikh, Tamkeen's Vice President for Enterprise and Human Capital Development, said, "This agreement between Tamkeen and the BBIC is a new addition to the support provided for enterprises and start-ups which will provide them with the appropriate environment to attain their stability level and achieve their targets. This stems from Tamkeen's strategy to support the private sector providing them with the needed contribution to support their creative and innovative ventures in the Kingdom.'
Dr. Al-Shaikh also added 'The Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and Tamkeen's Strategy 2010-2014 have common objectives that aim to support both emerging and existing enterprises, providing support to the private sector, and contributing to the success of the national economy. Tamkeen's participation in this context, either through this agreement or other programmes and initiatives, is testimony of Tamkeen's keen interest to realise such objectives and, facilitate them ensuring their longevity and profitability.'
-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
