Manama, 22^nd of December 2012: Around 80 entrepreneurs who benefited from Tamkeen programmes as well as partners and certified service providers are expected to participate in the first Tamkeen Conference and Exhibition, due to be held at the Gulf Hotel from 7 to 8 January 2013. The event is part of Tamkeen’s efforts to support the private sector and empower Bahrainis to make them the employees of choice.

Participating enterprises will have their stands arranged according to their business sectors so that visitors will find it easy to tour the exhibition and see how has Tamkeen programmes impacted the business projects of the participants and stimulated their growth. This is In addition to giving them the opportunity to sign up for or learn about the programmes that Tamkeen offers to support enterprises and citizens across all sectors.

The exhibition will also include an “Achievements Wall” near the main entrance to the exhibition hall. In a creative visual display, the wall will showcase Tamkeen’s most important achievements and milestones since its establishment in 2006. To date, more than 65,000 citizens and establishments have benefited from Tamkeen’s initiatives. Plans are set to raise the total number of beneficiaries to 100,000.

Parallel to the exhibition, which will be held at Al Dana Hall at the Gulf Conventions Center in the Gulf Hotel, a conference and a series of interactive workshops will be organised. The conference will focus on Tamkeen’s achievements and the role of entrepreneurship and the private sector in advancing economic development, while the workshops, which will be led by prominent experts, will discuss the best international practices for key topics that benefit entrepreneurs and SMEs in Bahrain such as marketing strategies, quality assurance systems, use of social media, efficient participation in exhibitions, ways to apply to e-tenders, basics of entrepreneurship success, and sound strategic planning.

“Tamkeen conference and exhibition will provide a valuable opportunity to see firsthand our various programmes designed to empower the private sector by providing both support for SME’s and training opportunities for the Bahraini labor force,” Tamkeen’s Marketing Communications Manager Ms. Hala Ahmed Sulaiman commented. “We invite all Bahrainis that are seriously wishing to realise their ambitions to sign up for participation in this integrated event.”

The activities of the “Tamkeen Conference and Exhibition” are free of charge, but those who sign up first will have priority. Those wishing to participate should visit (www.tamkeen.bh/tamkeenexpo) to complete the form on the website and send it either by email to tamkeenexpo@tamkeen.bh or by fax (17211640). They can also sign up by calling the Tamkeen Expo hotlines: 35509692 or 35509693.

About Tamkeen
Tamkeen is an initiative funded by the private sector for the private sector, 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 Economic Vision 2030.

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.

Under each of those objectives, certain mechanisms and innovative support initiatives have been put in place by Tamkeen to address current and future gaps for individuals and enterprises in the private sector that have been identified by thorough studies of the labour market landscape. To date, Tamkeen has created 180 such support programmes.

For Bahrainis, Tamkeen’s programmes range from developing the skills and capabilities of Bahrain’s human capital, to promoting sound workplace ethics and training on leadership and management best practices, among others. For enterprises, Tamkeen provides programmes which offer enterprises with subsidised business support services, facilitate access to financing to bridge the enterprise financing gap, and enable entrepreneurship, to name a few.

As of end of 2012, Tamkeen’s programmes have benefited 65,000 Bahrainis and enterprises in the private sector, and allocated more than BD 292.5 million to the sector for its ongoing and completed programmes. In all, more than 100,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from these support programmes.

Tamkeen’s human capital development programmes have benefited more than 47,000 Bahrainis, including funding training for nearly 30,000 Bahrainis. In addition, they enabled a further 3,500 Bahrainis to find gainful employment, and more than 2,000 Bahrainis to obtain professional certifications in their respective fields.

For enterprises, nearly 18,000 enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen’s support programmes, including enabling more than 4,900 enterprises to get low-cost capital through its BD210 million financing portfolio, and more than 4,500 enterprises to enhance their performance through its subsidised business support services.

In parallel, Tamkeen’s programmes have played a key role in institutionalising new concepts within Bahrain’s private sector, including SME and micro-financing, entrepreneurship as a viable career path, women empowerment, modern accounting and auditing systems within SMEs, and many other paradigms needed for a vibrant sustainable private sector.

Tamkeen’s funds come from 50% of the fees collected from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.

For more information about our programmes, please call:
Tamkeen
Telephone: 17383333
Fax: 17382352
e-Mail: support@tamkeen.bh
Website : www.tamkeen.bh

© Press Release 2012

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