New laws and policies in Bahrain to boost start-up ecosystem

MANAMA: A revised bankruptcy law, new trust laws and limited liability partnership laws along with policies on data privacy and sovereignty, all of which are in the offing, will make Bahrain’s business environment even more attractive for start-ups, a top Economic Development Board (EDB) official has said.

EDB executive director of ICT John Kilmartin told the GDN yesterday that these initiatives were all due to the recognition of the major role entrepreneurship was playing in economies around the world – encouraging growth, accelerating economic diversification and creating jobs.

The impact and development of entrepreneurs in Bahrain is largely enabled by the vibrant ecosystem – bringing together both public and private actors – which has been supporting their actions for years, he added.

Mr Kilmartin was speaking on the sidelines of the Follow the Leaders conference held under the theme Boosting the Start-up Ecosystem: A hub for entrepreneurs and investors.

The event at the Shaikh Ebrahim Centre for Culture and Research was organised by Thinkers & Doers, which calls itself an international network of positive and innovative changemakers.

The event was supported by the EDB and Tamkeen.

Thinkers & Doers’ president Amandine Lepoutre said the conference saw 400 participants and brought together more than 100 start-ups from all around the world and international speakers including entrepreneurs, angel investors, business leaders, decisions makers and incubators.

The aim, she said, was to collectively promote the entrepreneurial spirit and exchange on new solutions to support entrepreneur locally and internationally.

France’s Linagora co-founder and chief executive Alexandre Zapolsky, UAE-based Mumzworld founder and chief executive Mona Ataya, My African Start UP’s Christian Kamayou from Ivory Coast, UAE-based Wamda Capital partner Walid Faza and Enhance founder Ritesh Tialani, also based in the UAE, were among key participants.

Ms Lepoutre said, “We are all very happy to see the great success of the event, with all the start-ups and investors, who have attended the event, and to witness what the booming ecosystems in the region have accomplished. We are all looking forward to coming back next year.”

avinash@gdn.com.bh