Manama, March 1 (BNA): Minister of Industry and Trade Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro chaired today the fifteenth meeting of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council.
The minister welcomed the members of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council.
Then the Director of Small and Medium Enterprises Development, Sheikha Al-Fadhel, gave a presentation on the initiatives of the Council’s action plan (2022-2026) and the completion rates according to the performance indicators of the initiatives and projects under implementation, indicating that the Council has ended. 24 out of 43 initiatives within its strategic plan since its inception.
After that, the latest developments at the Bahrain Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer at the University of Bahrain were reviewed, including 13 invention disclosure forms that the center has received so far.
The meeting also discussed the latest developments regarding initiatives to enhance the participation of small and medium enterprises in government procurement, which in turn contributed to raising the share of this category of companies in government procurement and tenders to 11% in 2022.
During the meeting, the Hope Fund confirmed the sustainability of Al-Amal’s initiatives in supporting Bahraini youth projects, as Al-Amal launched the Biban crowdfunding platform, through which it became the first program in the world to include an interactive element of crowdfunding. The platform succeeded in facilitating the financing of two Bahraini companies with an amount of $80,000. .
In compliance with the national efforts to encourage the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises, the most important points related to the “Tijara” platform initiative launched by the Bahrain Development Bank were reviewed to enable startups and small and medium enterprises and provide them with flexible and innovative financial services that provide them with direct financial services. Access financing options.
This was followed by a presentation on talent development and Bahrain’s export of its achievements this year, which exceeded $350 million.
The minister stressed the importance of continuing efforts to support small and medium-sized companies and entrepreneurs to develop their contributions to the national economy.
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