“The ICT financing is one of the segments of the Private Sector Support programmes and Tamkeen is encouraged with the results of the ICT financing,” Dr Mohammed Ali Amin, Private Sector Support, on the sidelines of the event said.
“We help businesses after going through the feasibility study and assessing ICT requirements and major beneficiaries were from SMEs sector,” Dr Mohammed said.
“There is no restriction on the medium to large organisations and if they come Tamkeen will help in transforming their ICT capabilities,” he said.
Dr Mohammed was joined by the representatives of the two partner banks i.e. Bahrain Development Bank’s Ahmed Juma Salem, AVP and Head of Islamic Finance and BMI Bank’s Salah Khalifa, who is AGM and Head of Islamic Banking.
Dr Mohammed said that the total portfolio of ICT investments reached BD1.4million while the overall size of BDB and BMI Bank’s reached BD120million and BD30million respectively.
The scheme is one of the Private Sector Support programmes offered by Tamkeen to develop the capabilities and sustainability of enterprises in Bahrain, as part of its overall objective to make the private sector the main driver of the national economy.
The event was attended by senior Tamkeen officials, owners of the benefiting enterprises, BDB Bank and BMI bank, which partnered with Tamkeen to finance the scheme, and members of the Bahrain SMEs Society
Certificates of appreciation were handed to the enterprises which successfully implemented the ICT solutions they obtained through the programme, which represent a broad cross-section of sectors, including construction, retail, education and training, media, manufacturing, and more. A number of businesses – Installux, Alpha Fire Services, and Al Rashid Al-Amin Company – also presented to the audience their success stories through the programme.
The ICT Finance Scheme has served 60 enterprises, more than 80% of which are SME’s, with a total financing portfolio of around BD1.4 million.
Through the scheme, Tamkeen provides low-cost financing solutions through three partner banks ranging from BD3, 000 to BD 50,000 to acquire advanced ICT systems. The profit on the financing, offered through Bahrain Development Bank (BDB), BMI Bank, and Bahrain Islamic Bank (BiSB), are 100% subsidised by Tamkeen on behalf of the enterprises.
As an added incentive, Tamkeen’s support under this scheme also includes repaying the enterprises up to 25% of the principal amount if the enterprises repay the financing within the specified period, which ranges between one to five years.
“Enterprises benefiting from the ICT Scheme have achieved wonderful results, with a success rate of more than 98% in the implementation of acquired ICT technologies. These modern solutions helped the beneficiaries achieve substantial improvements in many of their operational facets and optimise how they manage their resources,” Tamkeen Acting Vice President for Private Sector Support Mahmood Bucheery said.
Bucheery also extended his thanks to BDB, BMI Bank, and BiSB for collaborating with Tamkeen in this scheme and other low-cost financing programmes it offers to enable private sector companies in Bahrain, especially SME’s, secure the necessary finance to propel their growth and prosperity.
The ICT Finance Scheme was launched in February 2011 following market studies which showed that enterprises in Bahrain needed finance solutions to procure sophisticated ICT systems which enhance their competitiveness and efficiency.
Following the success of the scheme, and in line with its efforts to make its programs more flexible and accessible, Tamkeen merged the ICT Finance Scheme with “Techania”, one of the schemes under its flagship Enterprise Development Support programme.
More than 77,000 Bahrainis and Bahraini enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen programmes to date, with the figure expected to rise to 150,000 in the near future.