MANAMA: Industry and Commerce Minister Dr. Hassan Fakhro said that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) serve as backbone of the economy and the Government would continue to support entrepreneurial culture in the society.
He was speaking as the United Sates Embassy organized in collaboration of Bahrain Business and Professional Women Club in Al-Jasra, a dinner reception to celebrate the Global Entrepreneurship Week in presence of US Ambassador Thomas C. Karjeski and President of Bahrain Business and Professional Womens Club Shaikha Hind bint Salman Al Khalifa.
Dr. Fakhro delivered a speech stating that Entrepreneurship is the life blood of any economy. Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, enunciated by our wise leadership, assigns a pivotal role to the private sector as the engine of growth and productivity. Stimulating entrepreneurial activity to develop a dynamic private sector remains a key plank of our national economic strategy.
He added that Entrepreneurship is an old tradition in Bahrain which has been a regional trading hub for centuries. Our human capital is widely recognized as our greatest competitive advantage. Facilitating entrepreneurship is reiterated in National Economic Strategy of 2030 as an important strategic initiative to be implemented through a set of sub-initiatives aimed at strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The essence of our entrepreneurship ecosystem is to provide access to the human, financial and professional resources along with an enabling environment in which government policies encourage entrepreneurs.
He noted that the development of thriving and competitive local enterprises is a cornerstone of our economic strategy; we have a mature model for entrepreneurship development that has been internationally acclaimed and emulated in several developing countries. The Business Incubators operated by Bahrain Development Bank with the support of Ministry of Industry & Commerce have been very successful in nurturing nascent enterprises. We are also making efforts to include entrepreneurship development in school curricula. Enterprise building, incubation and linking to finance and market are the pillars that support our entrepreneurial ecosystem.
He pointed that we are making continuous efforts to further strengthen the private sector through comprehensive policy measures and in tandem with other stake holders in government as well as private sector. Simplification of procedures to set up new businesses, an effective & transparent regulatory mechanism to foster competition, world class industrial infrastructure in industrial parks, availability of industrial land at competitive price, maximising market access through multilateral and bilateral trade agreements and optimising use of technology to deliver services are some of the noteworthy measures to spur the growth of entrepreneurial activity in Bahrain.
He added that the idea of celebrating the Global Entrepreneurship Week stems from the belief that the entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in economic and social development of the Country.
Then US Ambassador to Bahrain Thomas C. Karjeski delivered a speech stating that the US- Bahrain Free Trade Agreement has helped to support entrepreneurship in Bahrain by allowing easy accesses to the U.S. market and investors, strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights and transparency, and signaling to the world the strong business environment that Bahrain maintain.