Bahrain’s Labour Fund (Tamkeen) has signed a new strategic partnership agreement with the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait (BBK) to provide financing that supports the growth and development of private industrial enterprises. 

 

Tamkeen has signed partnership agreements with nine banks so far with the purpose of driving productivity and growth in the private sector.  

 

Husain Mohamed Rajab, Chief Executive of Tamkeen, said: “These strategic partnerships ensure that enterprises of all sizes have access to financing to stimulate the economy and encourage investors to launch new business ventures as well as support growth and expansion goals for established businesses. 

 

Critical component

“Financing is a critical component of our support and is a key element to maintaining a robust private sector and empowering it to become the engine of economic growth. This initiative is underpinned by our commitment to achieving these goals in line with Bahrain’s national priorities and the economic recovery plan, and our ongoing efforts to stay abreast of changing market demands.”

 

Tamkeen’s partnerships include several financial services institutions that will offer diverse financing solutions to empower enterprises to expand inside Bahrain and overseas. 

 

Over the past 13 years, Tamkeen facilitated over 9,000 loans for micro and small enterprises, which contributed to enhancing the entrepreneurship ecosystem and enabling growth and development for startups. 

 

Transformation plan

Earlier this year Tamkeen unveiled an organisation-wide strategic transformation plan that included the launch of 16 support programmes. The transformation initiative focuses on creating greater impact for the national economy in response to market needs. 

 

Tamkeen’s programmes were developed following a series of consultation sessions with representatives from all sectors and thus cater to the market requirements. 

 

The programmes are proactive, objective-based, and impact-driven, offering holistic support that meets the enterprise and individual development needs in any stage of their growth journey. 

 

Strategic partnerships like the partnership with BBK will provide support to enterprises through some of the recently announced programmes, including Start Your Business, Business Growth, Go Digital, and others.-- TradeArabia News Service