Tamkeen’s Chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, in his message in the 2012 annual report, highlighted Bahrain’s economic strength, as well as key role played by Tamkeen’s milestones and achievements over the year.
As of December 2012, Tamkeen served nearly around 75,000 beneficiaries in the private sector – 56,000 Bahrainis and 19,000 enterprises – through its Human Capital Development and Private Sector Support programmes. Tamkeen’s total contribution to those beneficiaries reached in excess of BD207 million, with BD 46 million contributed in 2012, an 87% increase compared to 2011.
Tamkeen has issued its 2012 Annual Report, the fifth such report it has issued since its establishment by Royal Decree 57 in 2006.
In a departure from reports of years past, the 2012 report uses sleek magazine-style design and simplified content to make it more approachable and reader-friendly. The purpose of this approach is to enhance the understanding of Tamkeen’s role and encourage the general public to benefit from its support programmes.
In addition to the Chairman and Chief Executive Messages and highlights of the past year, the 2012 report also includes Tamkeeners, which is an intriguing inside look into different roles within the organisation.
The special features, Pioneers in Entrepreneurship, Realising People’s Potential, Moving Women Forward, and Enhancing Engagement illustrate the leading role Tamkeen’s programmes have made to create sustainable foundations to drive private sector development and growth. Each feature includes interesting case studies from beneficiaries which illustrate how they benefited in each of the aforementioned areas.
These achievements were recognised with two prestigious regional awards, as Tamkeen won the Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders as ‘Best Initiative Supporting SMEs in Arab Countries’ and the ICAEW’s ‘Training and Development of Finance Professionals’ Award for the Middle East Region in December 2012.
“Tamkeen stepped up its support in 2012, re-injecting nearly twice as much capital through its support programmes back into the private sector compared to 2011,” Tamkeen’s Chief Executive Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji, said.
Among its key Human Capital Development initiatives launched in 2012 was the Professional Qualifications Scheme, which has enabled more than 3,000 Bahrainis to obtain accredited certifications in different sectors. In all, more than 24,000 Bahrainis were served by Tamkeen’s human capital programmes in 2012 alone, a 43% increase from 2011.
As for Private Sector Support programmes, Tamkeen contributed around BD29.5 million to the benefiting enterprises in 2012 alone. It also successfully added BD50 million to its Enterprise Finance Scheme portfolio, raising its total value to BD210 million. More than 5,000 enterprises secured low-cost loans through this programme.
Other highlights include boosting community outreach efforts through such initiatives as Tamkeen Ambassadors’ programme as part of a larger awareness campaign, in which actual beneficiaries continue to share how they benefited from Tamkeen’s support with their respective communities.
In parallel, Tamkeen’s representatives attended more than 220 public events across Bahrain over the course of the year, which resulted in over 90,000 contacts and yielded dozens of potential joint initiatives and valuable feedback for improvement.
On the operational side, Tamkeen initiated several projects as part of its drive to improve its efficiency and level of services, and commissioned a number of impact assessment and feasibility studies to ensure alignment with current and future market needs.
“We look to continue our focus on maximising available resources to achieve sustainable results. With more than 150,000 Bahrainis and enterprises set to benefit from our current and planned programmes and in excess of BD 87 million allocated for current and planned programmes, Tamkeen’s impact continues to touch all sectors and segments of society in its role one of the leading enablers for business in Bahrain,” Al Kooheji, added.