1. Can you tell us more about the Bahrain EDB?

The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) is an investment promotion agency with overall responsibility for attracting investment into the Kingdom, growing the economy and creating jobs in the local market while supporting initiatives that enhance the investment climate. The EDB works with the government and both current and prospective investors to ensure that Bahrain’s investment climate is attractive, and to identify where opportunities exist for further economic growth through investment. 

2. How is the EDB embracing and becoming a catalyst for economic diversification and digital transformation? 

We support the Kingdom as it continues to invest in its world-class ICT infrastructure and pioneer regulation that is allowing innovation to thrive, and we are seeing the digital transformation of key sectors across the board. Our bold approach and hard work are producing tangible results for both international investors and Bahrainis alike. The 2019 World Investment Report from the UN Conference on Trade and Development singled out Bahrain for seeing a staggering 6% rise in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at a time when global FDI flows were at their lowest level since the global financial crisis. That same year, the latest Doing Business Report 2020 named Bahrain as the fourth most improved economy in the world due to its ambitious and comprehensive reform program. Highlights included significant improvements in the area of enforcing contracts; the launch of a new online platform, Benayat, to further streamline the construction permitting process; and the introduction of a new bankruptcy law – the first of its kind to be enacted in the GCC – which acts as a safety net for troubled businesses, including foreign ventures and startups.

This is why the Bahrain EDB was named as one of the world’s top IPAs by Site Selection Magazine, in its latest annual “Best to Invest Top IPA Awards”. Site Selection lauded “Bahrain’s forward-thinking and agile business environment” for attracting multinationals including Amazon Web Services, which this year launched its first Middle East ‘Region’ and hyper-scale data center in Bahrain. 

We attribute much of our success in driving economic diversification and attracting FDI to something we call our ‘Team Bahrain’ approach. This concept encapsulates something unique to Bahrain – a people who are highly skilled and well educated, and who work together to bring economic success to their country.

Team Bahrain means bringing the right people around the table to find coordinated solutions quicker. It means minimizing red-tape and creating a flexible, agile, and collaborative business environment.

At its heart, it is an approach centered on people, and understanding their needs. The dialogue between investors and policymakers is flourishing. It was Team Bahrain that brought AWS and global manufacturing giant Mondelez, among many others, to the Kingdom.

3. Where do you see Bahrain in 5 years? Especially, where do you see the Fintech landscape of Bahrain in 5 years? 

Bahrain has a burgeoning and increasingly dynamic digital economy; a maturing tech community; and a rapidly growing FinTech ecosystem. Over the next five years, these will continue to grow and thrive, bringing Bahrain and the MENA region to the forefront of global technological advances as a hub for venture capital, startups, and technology companies.

As for FinTech, Bahrain is home to the oldest and most established financial center in the Gulf region and has capitalized on its banking expertise to grow a FinTech ecosystem. For decades, the Kingdom has been acknowledged as the Gulf’s financial capital. But, in an era of rapid digitization, the sector must continue to innovate in order to remain a regional leader in the GCC. Increasingly, consumers want fast, easy financial transactions and visibility across all accounts, and FinTech is proving a powerful force in transforming the customer experience; working to pose a direct challenge to often outdated business practices. There is a strong appetite within the financial sector, which is undergoing a seismic transformation, to explore collaboration with FinTech firms in order to adopt new innovative solutions to drive their business forward. This helps meet the national mandate to build a digital economy. Banking startups in Bahrain are getting to work with top banks on next-generation tech – Tarabut Gateway is providing open banking services while Eazy partnered with Ithmaar Bank to launch the region’s first biometric ATM network. 

The primary areas that will further drive the development of Bahrain’s FinTech ecosystem over the coming years are firstly the cloud, which will play a major role in the transformation towards a digital and innovation-driven economy. We will also see the continued development of regulation, which remains a top priority for FinTech firms in the region, as well as increased partnerships between FinTech firms and traditional financial institutions that are undergoing digital transformations. Blockchain will increasingly be an area of focus for government and private sector institutions and we will see the development of a more comprehensive funding ecosystem in Bahrain and the region to help FinTech firms scale up. Finally, the need to equip the Bahraini market with educational resources and practical skills to bridge the gap between technical and entrepreneurial skills will play a major role, including an increased push to raise awareness about FinTech in the region.

4. Bahrain is fast becoming a startup/ entrepreneurial hub of the GCC. What are the conditions that promote this?

Bahrain enjoys a stable, predictable, and proven regulatory and business environment – more than 400 financial institutions call Bahrain home, with a substantial presence from every major industry and business sector. Businesses have access to a skilled local workforce and deep international talent pool drawing on 161 nationalities. Labour Fund Tamkeen also builds skills in the local workforce and has invested over BHD 800 million to support businesses and 95,000 Bahrainis. Businesses will also find in Bahrain some of the most competitive setup and operating costs in the GCC – which is up to 40% more cost-effective than its neighbors, according to KPMG. Perhaps most unique to Bahrain is our open, friendly and liberal lifestyle with a well-integrated expatriate community. Bahrain consistently ranks as the top expat destination in the Middle East, including in the recent InterNations Expat Explorer 2019 survey. Finally, thanks to our ability to boldly regulate where most others cannot, we have earned the reputation as the region’s de facto testbed for emerging technologies. All these make us the ideal launchpad for innovative startups looking to access and scale across the growing $1.5 trillion GCC opportunity, including its largest market: Saudi Arabia: Bahrain’s existing infrastructure provides easy access to all markets by road, sea, and air and extensive investment is set to enhance this advantage further. 

5. What advice can you give to aspiring startups/ entrepreneurs? 

My advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to be bold. Don’t be afraid to take risks, but also don’t be afraid to seek out support. There are a growing number of resources across the region to support you – be sure to take advantage of them. In Bahrain, we have created a world-class startup ecosystem that aims to help startups take their first steps outside of their domestic markets and increase their international presence. This includes a number of incubators, accelerators and co-working spaces, including Brinc and Flat6Labs; the Al Waha Fund of Funds, a USD $100 million venture capital fund that provides funding access to Bahrain’s startup industry; and training support from Tamkeen, which also heavily subsidizes one of the most skilled and entrepreneurial workforces in the region (the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report recognized Bahrain as a top 15 global ecosystem for the affordability of talent). The ecosystem is supplemented by the Team Bahrain approach – a commitment from the government to work hand in hand with the public sector. Other key factors supporting the startup ecosystem include Bahrain’s human capital, a highly progressive and liberalized ICT infrastructure, an increased push to drive entrepreneurship, and increased demand for funding.

For more information:
bahrainedb.com