As part of its commitment to champion innovation in the local market and to encourage startups, small, and medium-sized enterprises to innovate, research, and develop, The Labour Fund “Tamkeen” announced the signing of a partnership agreement with “Brinc” to launch the Open Innovation Program. This program will enable large enterprises to address the challenges they face by leveraging innovative solutions provided by startups and SMEs.

The Program is in its first edition and will focus on leading Bahraini enterprises in the manufacturing, financial services, and telecommunications sectors. The program will assess the main challenges facing these enterprises and identify the most pressing challenge to address, then match them with startups or SMEs to develop solutions that address these challenges.

“This program complements Tamkeen’s ongoing efforts to enhance the business ecosystem in the Kingdom of Bahrain as part of our strategic priorities for this year,” said The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) Chief Executive Her Excellency Ms. Maha Mofeez.

“Fostering connections between leading enterprises in various fields and startups and SMEs that are capable of developing high-quality and efficient solutions paves the way for constructive partnerships in the market.

“This, in turn, increases the growth and development potential for startups and SMEs while providing large enterprises with specialized solutions that meet their needs and enhance their operations and productivity.”

On this occasion, Yasin Aboudaoud, Chief Development Officer & MP at Brinc.io stated: “At Brinc we take great pride in being at the forefront of fostering corporate innovation and empowering SMEs to transform their ideas into solutions that significantly contribute to enriching the available solutions.

“Being selected as Tamkeen’s partner in the Open Innovation Program is a testament to our commitment to being catalysts for innovation in Bahrain and the region.

“Tamkeen’s Open Innovation program paves the way for sustainable partnerships between leading large enterprises in vital economic sectors and entrepreneurs capable of providing innovative and creative solutions for them.

“We are grateful to have Tamkeen’s trust to be their ‘innovation partner’ in this program and we are committed to achieving its objectives through managing all related processes and working diligently to foster long term relationships between SMEs and large enterprises.”

This collaboration will provide a valuable opportunity for startups and SMEs that have at least one year of experience in developing technological solutions and new, more efficient, and sustainable services. This, in turn, will enhance the performance of large enterprises while providing these enterprises with the opportunity to expand their customer base and secure business agreements with major enterprises. Tamkeen will support the development of initial solutions during this phase.

Startups and SMEs can express their interest in participating in this challenge by registering via https://openinnovation.bh/

This support comes in alignment with Tamkeen’s 2024 strategic priorities focused on economic impact and the private sector under three pillars: increasing economic participation through new employment opportunities for new entrants, expanding career development opportunities available to Bahraini workforce, and further developing the private sector by supporting enterprises and boosting productivity and adoption of technology which contributes to enhancing economic impact and sustainable growth.