In its 1st meeting for 2015,

Manama, Bahrain - Saturday, 14 February, 2015: Tamkeen's Board of Directors held its first regular meeting of 2015 on Thursday (February 12). During the meeting, the Board reviewed Audited financial statements, discussed and approved Tamkeen's 2015 - 2017 strategy and reviewed the progress of the revamped Enterprise Support programme.

Commenting on the meeting, Tamkeen Chairman and Acting Chief Executive, Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa stated, "The Board approved Tamkeen's 2015-2017 strategy and 2015 operational plan. The new strategy, which is partly based on extensive consultations with the public, sums up how we have re-structured our operations and aligned it with our core strategic pillars: enhancing quality, being more customer focused, and achieving better results, to serve the changing needs of the market more effectively."

The Board also reviewed progress of the revamped Enterprise Support programme since its re-launch in September 2014. The report showed that the flagship programme has become notably more efficient, transparent, flexible, and measurable as a result of the new features added, including an online portal for customers and service providers to apply and track applications easily and conveniently.

The report on the programme also illustrated that the increased flexibility of the programme has made it more effective in serving enterprises through their various stages - from startups to growth and maturity. Key to this was setting a unified process to provide tailored support solutions for each enterprise, while at the same time linking the support amount with the enterprise's economic potential and degree of success in achieving its development goals.

The Board also nominated Mr. Khalid Al-Amin for the position of Vice-Chairman in recognition of the vital role and significant contribution businessmen and the private sector representatives play in supporting Tamkeen's efforts.

The Board also formed the mandated oversight committees, including the Audit Committee, to be headed by Mr. Hassan Jarrar with membership from Mr. Kadhim Al-Saeed and Mr. Mohammed Abdulrahman, and the Governance Committee, to be headed by Mr. Mohammed Adel Fakhro with membership from Mr. Abdulellah Al-Qassimi and an additional external member.

The Tamkeen Board of Directors consists of 8 members representing the organisations which spearhead the development of the private sector, with 3 members from the public sector and 5 from the private sector as follows: Government (Sh. Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa and Abdulellah Al-Qassimi), Economic Development Board (Dr. Zakaria Hejres), Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Mr. Khalid Al-Amin, Mr. Mohammed Adel Fakhro, and and Mr. Kadhim Al Saeed), General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (Mr. Mohammed Abdulrahman), and the Bahrain Association of Banks (Mr. Hassan Jarrar).

About Tamkeen
Tamkeen is 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's Economic Vision.

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.

To achieve these objectives, Tamkeen's strategy focuses on quality enhancement, customer care and having a results oriented approach. Through this strategy, a number of innovative programmes are provided to Bahrainis and businesses in Bahrain, which include training, consulting, financing, entrepreneurship support and others. These programmes help develop the capabilities of Bahrainis and enterprises and integrate new critical concepts for a vibrant sustainable private sector.

To date, Tamkeen's programmes have benefited more than 100,000 Bahrainis and businesses.

© Press Release 2015