MANAMA: Bahrain-based Islamic banking major, Al Baraka Banking Group (B.S.C), and Flat6Labs have signed an MoU to collaborate in a series of activities including creating the start-up and entrepreneurship eco-system, sharing of knowledge, expertise and mentoring financial technology (FinTech) start-ups.
Flat6Labs is a regional startup accelerator program that fosters and invests in bright and passionate entrepreneurs with cutting-edge ideas. They provide seed funding, strategic mentorship, a creative workspace, a multitude of perks, entrepreneurship-focused business training, and directly support our startups through an expansive network of partner entities, mentors and investors. They create an environment where companies are able to grow their business multiple folds in a short period of time. The signing took place at the Al Baraka Headquarters at Bahrain Bay.
“Innovative start-ups are critical for the resilience of Bahrain’s economy and for its continued growth. We are proud to support the future business leaders of Bahrain that can grow in and beyond Bahrain. We are also proud to support the efforts of Flat6Labs under the leadership of Mrs. Sabah Almoayyed who is well-recognized banking and finance leader,” Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President & Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group, said.
“Our goal is to participate with the stakeholders in the development of the ecosystem for entrepreneurial innovation whereby entrepreneurs can develop their ideas into viable businesses and at the same time provide required tools and resources for scaling up. Flat6Labs’s initiative is one of many which are currently taking place in Bahrain to develop the technology industries,” Mrs. Sabah Almoayyed, Chairperson of Flat6Labs, Bahrain, said.
“We are proud of the partnership with Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. under the leadership of President & Chief Executive Mr. Adnan Ahmed Yousif who is a prominent promoter as an individual and as an association for entrepreneurial leadership in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” she added.
Al Baraka Banking Group (B.S.C) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain, listed on Bahrain Bourse and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion. It is jointly rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) on the international scale and A+ (bh) (long term) / A2 (bh) (short term) on the national by Islamic International Rating Agency & Dagong Global Credit Rating Company Limited, and by Standard & Poor’s at BB+ (long term) / B (short term).
Al Baraka offers retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari’a. The authorized capital of Al Baraka is US$ 1.5 billion, while total equity is at about US$ 2 billion. The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in fifteen countries, which in turn provide their services through over 700 branches. Al Baraka currently has a strong presence in Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Sudan, Bahrain, Pakistan, South Africa, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, including two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.
