Bahrain a major startup destination for female entrepreneurs
Manama: Bahrain is one of the top 10 startup ecosystems with the largest share of female founders, according to the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), launched at the recent TNW conference in Amsterdam. Described as ‘the world’s most comprehensive and widely-read research on startups’, the report is produced by Startup Genome in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.
India enjoys a thriving international partnership with Bahrain in many sectors. As for FinTech, the Bahrain Economic Development Board recently signed an MOU with the Government of Maharashtra, for cooperation on the promotion of FinTech in their respective markets. Indian Companies such as Rsquare Technologies and Innosoft, are currently residing at Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB). BFB is rapidly gaining international recognition as a FinTech leader, with a number of key companies like Visa partnering with the organisation. Bahrain also continues to be the region’s leading financial services hub, through its forward-thinking regulation including the regulatory sandbox, crypto-assets, and open banking.
With 18 per cent of its startups founded by women, Bahrain topped even internationally recognised startup hubs such as Silicon Valley (16 per cent) and London (15 per cent). The report also lauded Bahrain as:
· one of the top 10 ecosystems to watch in FinTech in Europe and the Middle East
· a top 15 Global Ecosystem for affordability of qualified talent.
Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board said, “This report draws on the views of the people who know best – entrepreneurs and founders. In a very short time Bahrain has emerged as a leading ecosystem with particular strength in FinTech. With both female founders and women taking leadership roles throughout the ecosystem, Bahrain is a dynamic and diverse market at the head of new trends that are shaping the way society and business operates.”
Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, Chief Executive of Tamkeen (Bahrain’s Labour Fund) said, “Over the past decade, Bahrain’s startup ecosystem has made significant progress where startups can access a global network of partners to scale up and capture opportunities in Bahrain and the region.
Dr. Janahi pointed out one of Bahrain’s key competitive advantages in the region, which lies in its firm belief in the importance of women as an active player in shaping Bahrain’s economic future.
“In line with these national objectives, Tamkeen has launched a number of ad-hoc programmes to foster the development of female-owned businesses in addition to Tamkeen’s flagship programmes supporting individuals and enterprises.” he added.
According to Dr. Janahi, to date, more than 59 per cent of women have been served as part of Tamkeen’s micro finance support, while more than 50 per cent were served within the business development program, which offers a Co-financing service to cover 50 per cent of business equipment.
The Kingdom has a long history of women in senior leadership positions. Currently, a group of female leaders in FinTech is helping to steer the country’s FinTech strategy. Leading female Bahraini startup founders include Hala Sulaiman and Ameera AlQubaiti, Co-founders of Alrawi, a successful audiobook startup and Pitch@Palace Global 3.0 People’s Choice 2018 Winner. Furthermore, Bahrain’s Al Waha Fund of Funds, a USD 100 million fund set up by the Bahrain Development Bank, has an all-female leadership.
The report also recognised Bahrain as a Top 15 Global Ecosystem for affordable talent. Bahrain boasts one of the most skilled and entrepreneurial workforces in the region, over 60 per cent of which work in the private sector. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services’ AWS Educate training scheme is providing Bahrainis with the necessary skills for cloud-based jobs. Interestingly, it’s estimated that more than 60 per cent of computer science students at the University of Bahrain in 2018 were women.
