Tamkeen formerly known as Labour Fund has completed five years of excellence by providing technical, financial and advisory support to the start-up small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in addition to providing support to the businesses facing difficulties to survive.
Tamkeen officially launched its Tamkeen Ambassadors programme at a Ramadan Ghabgha held for the occasion on Saturday at Sheraton Hotel attended by the beneficiaries, Tamkeen officials and media. Media organisations have been recognised as vital partners by Tamkeen throughout its journey in the past five years.
Held under the patronage of Tamkeen Chairman Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa, the special event, in which Tamkeen also distributed its 2011 Annual Report, was attended by Tamkeen Board members and senior management, media representatives, as well as beneficiaries from Tamkeen’s various support programmes.
Tamkeen Board Chairman Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa said the 2011 Annual Report encapsulates five years of Tamkeen’s contribution to the prosperity of the national economy. Over that span, Tamkeen launched dozens of pioneering programmes aimed at positioning Bahrainis at the very heart of economic development and ensuring a prosperous future for Bahrain.
“At its core, Tamkeen is a service organisation which seeks to enable every Bahraini. Over the past five years, Tamkeen closely engaged with its target audiences to gauge their needs, identify market gaps, and collaborate with private sector organisations and other stakeholders to offer programmes with real value to beneficiaries,” Tamkeen’s Chief Executive Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji, said.
Tamkeen has so far designed 180 programmes from which over 100,000 people are expected to benefit. The programmes seek to empower Bahrainis and enable them to increase their contribution to national development by enhancing their skills in order to make them employees of choice. In addition, the programmes seek to improve the performance of Bahraini enterprises and increase their productivity. More than 50,000 Bahrainis and Bahrain-based enterprises have benefited from these programmes so far.
Al-Kooheji added that Tamkeen’s programmes created paradigm shifts in various economic aspects needed to create a vibrant and sustainable private sector, among them promoting entrepreneurship and sound work ethics among the youths, empowering women economically, facilitating access to capital for enterprises, introducing the concept of micro-financing, encouraging best practices in leadership and human resources management, to name a few.
A brief film featuring beneficiaries discussing their experiences with Tamkeen’s programmes and how they benefited was also shown at the event. The film heralded the official launch of “Tamkeen Ambassadors” programme.
Al-Kooheji praised the beneficiaries’ achievements, noting the key role they play in educating others and encouraging them to also benefit from Tamkeen’s various support programmes. He said their efforts complement the local media outlets’ efforts to cover Tamkeen’s news and familiarise the public with its programmes, in addition to serving as a voice of the business community.
Tamkeen’s ambassadors represent a broad cross-section of Bahraini society, including business owners, students, and employees who, with Tamkeen’s support, were able to enhance their capabilities and achieve their potential.
Last year, Tamkeen launched 33 human capital development programmes and 21 enterprise support programmes. For 2012, Tamkeen allocated BD 107 million for its programmes, including launching 15 new human capital development programmes and 5 enterprise support programmes.