Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB), the leading provider of Islamic digital banking services in the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced its strategic sponsorship of the Bahrain Hackathon INNOV8 2023. The programming competition was organized by Etijah, a coaching and consultancy organization based in Bahrain, in cooperation with Tamkeen. The sponsorship is aligned with the Bank’s directive of encouraging innovation-based programs and initiatives. These programs contribute to the development of communities by investing in young talent who will enrich the labor market and the local economy.

The closing ceremony of “INNOV8” was held on May 17^th, at the headquarters of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Bank was represented by Mr. Jawad Humaidan, Chief Corporate and Institutional Banking Officer, Mrs. Fatema AlAlawi, Chief Retail Banking Officer, and many prominent figures from the business community also attended the ceremony. During the ceremony, the winners were honored and prizes totaling to $30,000 were handed out. BisB sponsored the startups track prizes for the top three winners, where the first place went to “Sami Interiors” who received a cash prize of $5,000, while the second place went to “Abshir” company who were granted a cash prize of $3,000, and the third place went to “Fanzat”, which won a cash prize of $2,000.

As part of the Bank’s sponsorship of the event, Mr. Nasser Al Tattan, Senior Manager of SME & Commercial Banking at BisB, provided a virtual training session that took place on the 8^th of May discussing business planning and developing private projects. Mr. Abdulsalam AlAsaadi, Lead of Digital Innovation at the Bank, also joined the arbitration committee for the Hackathon.

On this occasion, Mr. Yasser Alsharifi, Chief Executive Officer of BisB, said: “It is our pleasure to be among this year’s strategic sponsors of the Bahrain Hackathon “INNOV8”, one of the most prominent cloud innovation events. Our sponsorship of this event ensures that we contribute to refining and qualifying local competencies and providing them with an ideal communication platform to build a broader network of knowledge and expertise, which reflects our belief in the social responsibility entrusted to us. We are confident that this hackathon will provide them the opportunity to share their creative ideas in line with the eighth goal of the sustainable development goals endorsed by the Kingdom. These goals help ensure economic growth as well as provide employment opportunities for the promising future generations and we intend to continue supporting such events.”

It is worth noting that “INNOV8” is one of the largest innovation events for cloud computing, and a program that aim to improve the labor market conditions and contribute to economic development through utilizing innovative solutions. The hackathon targets high school pupils, university students, employees at the start of their careers, and aspiring entrepreneurs. The program supports talented Bahraini youth in the field of technology, through improving their skills and giving them the opportunity to develop innovative, cloud-based solutions to address real-world challenges and issues.