Manama, Dec. 28 (BNA): The Riyadat Al Muhaddith program was launched today in a press conference organized by the Labor Fund (Tamkeen), in partnership with the Supreme Council for Women and the Bahrain Development Bank.
The program provides financing solutions for Bahraini women, enabling them to establish, develop and expand their commercial projects.
Assistant Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women, Sheikha Dina bint Rashid Al Khalifa, praised the continuous support provided by the Labor Fund “Tamkeen” and the Bahrain Development Bank to the entrepreneurial environment in Bahrain, noting their efforts in providing and promoting financing solutions. Which aims to establish and grow commercial projects for Bahraini women.
She highlighted the positive impact seen since the launch of the Riyadat program in 2016, and the contribution of this portfolio along with other local initiatives to enhance the contribution of Bahraini women to the national economy.
She stated that Bahraini women today represent 42% of the owners of active commercial records, and 53% of virtual commercial records, and that the sustainability of commercial registrations owned by women for more than five years has reached 37%.
She indicated that the percentage of domestic exports amounted to 29%, as products and services reached 56 countries, noting that the updated version of the Riyadat financing program is in line with the economic recovery plan and labor market changes.
The program aims to meet the needs of institutions and projects of all sizes through flexible and specialized financing solutions that target the growth of institutions and support their expansion at the local and global levels, with a focus on supporting innovative economic sectors with high potential.
Acting CEO of the Tamkeen Labor Fund, Maha Mafiz, said that this program is a continuation of the comprehensive transformation plan that was announced at the beginning of this year, which presented 16 programs, in line with national priorities and labor market changes.
“Tamkeen has always believed in the role of Bahraini women as active and influential players in the sustainability and development of the Bahraini economy, in line with Tamkeen’s mandate, and as such, we are constantly exploring various forms of support, including financial, technical and advisory support that enable progress and business development.” .
She added, “We have introduced the Riyadat financing program, which provides an opportunity for Bahraini women to benefit from available financing solutions to develop their business activities, which translates into more continuous success.”
She pointed out that the updates made to the program came as a result of cooperation with the Supreme Council for Women and the Bahrain Development Bank, which conducted a comprehensive review of the performance of institutions that previously benefited from the support program.
The scheme takes into account the current and future needs of the Bahraini market to ensure the desired economic impact. Over the past years, financing solutions exceeding 7.5 million Bahraini dinars have been provided to 318 women-owned companies in various economic sectors through the Riyadat financing program.
“Riyadat Finance is one of the most important programs offered by the Bahrain Development Bank in partnership with the Supreme Council for Women and Tamkeen to support the field of entrepreneurship in Bahrain and empower women in particular to achieve their goals and play an effective role in economic development,” she said. Dalal Al-Qiyas, CEO of Bahrain Development Bank, stressed the importance of the changes that occurred in the sports financing program.
She indicated that these changes come “in line with the continuous changes in the market and in response to the needs of the growing small and medium enterprises sector, which is one of the important pillars of the economic development in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”
Through the updated program, Tamkeen will incentivize a percentage of profits owed by small, medium and large businesses, depending on the subsidy track. Profits support increases when the amount is paid regularly within 5 years, according to the terms and conditions of the program, in addition to providing advisory services to the supported institutions.
The amount of financing for fixed assets can be used to cover operating expenses, promote the products and services offered by the institutions, obtain licenses and other necessary requirements that the institution needs to develop and expand its operations, in addition to supporting marketing activities. Applications for the Riyad Al-Muhadath program will open on January 1st
Through the Bahrain Development Bank.
Tamkeen recently received the award of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa for the category of advancement of Bahraini women in the public sector – category of official institutions, for its distinguished organizational strategy that takes into account the elements of gender balance to raise the competitiveness of women and men. Increase their economic participation in the labor market.
Since its inception, Tamkeen has provided more than 380 million Bahraini dinars in financial support to Bahraini women entrepreneurs through various support programmes, including the Riyadat Program.
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