BEntrepreneur Magazine sat down with its founder Craig Moore, to talk about their expansion to the Bahrain market and how Beehive can help entrepreneurs.

Congratulations on your expansion to the Bahrain market! Why did you choose Bahrain as a place to grow your business?

Bahrain is making great strides as a destination for fintechs to do business. We’ve seen in the media that there is a great deal of government and regulatory support for innovation in the financial industry and this creates a huge opportunities for entrepreneurs. We feel the Beehive proposition has a natural fit in this market and so we’re excited to expand into Bahrain.

Peer to peer lending: Can you tell us more about this concept and how it helps entrepreneurs?

Peer to peer lending essentially refers to investors (retail or individuals) lending to businesses. Peer to peer lending companies like Beehive directly connect businesses looking for finance with investors across an online platform. This means the funding process for businesses is much more streamlined and efficient and business owners can quickly get access to affordable finance at the time when they need it. We often get feedback that SMEs can encounter challenges finding finance not only at a competitive rate but more crucially in a timeframe that suits their business growth plans. Good cash flow is critical to survival so peer to peer lending is a much-needed financial alternative for businesses looking to secure funding for growth.

What makes Beehive different from other crowdfunding platforms?

We’re the only regulated platform in the Middle East which is important for both investors and businesses in terms of building trust. We also have considerable regional experience and understanding based on the four and a half years we have been in operation. Additionally, we are only focused on supporting SMEs which are a critical engine of the economy. We’ve been single minded in our SME focus for our P2P lending business and collected a great deal of data and insights about the SME audience which we can now leverage in other markets.

Can you tell us what projects you have coming up in Bahrain?

We recently became regulated in Bahrain and will shortly be launching our website. We’re in discussions with a number of partners about funding programmes to help local SMEs in Bahrain – so stay tuned for more details!

From being a peer-to-peer lending platform in Dubai and now in Bahrain, what are your plans for expansion in the region and beyond?

We plan to launch Beehive in KSA this year which will be an exciting new development for the business. We also continue to grow our team and presence in Asia through our innovative Lending as a Service (LaaS) platform.

What tips can you share to aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those who are working in the tech sector?
You have to believe in what you do and maintain a strong vision. It’s so important to stay tenacious and be persistent in achieving what you want, as entrepreneurship can be tough and certainly has many challenges along the journey! Surrounding yourself with a good team is also critical to the success of your business. Ensuring you have a strong network of colleagues as well as friends and family is important to staying focused.