MANAMA: The Global Forum in Manama, which kicks off on Tuesday, will be a rare opportunity for experts and participants to discuss the daunting challenges the global community is facing including an estimated $2.5 trillion annual funding short fall to achieve the SDGs in developing countries alone.
With focus on the goal of developing partnerships between entrepreneurs, and sharing international best practices and successes on entrepreneurship and innovation, the World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum 2017 opens in Manama on Tuesday.
Bahrain is hosting the World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum (WEIF) 2017 from October 31st to November 2nd in Manama, under the patronage of His Royal Highness, Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The Forum will facilitate access to finance and allow developmental funds/financial institutions to get a closer understanding of linking financial to non-financial services towards development of entrepreneurs and MSMEs, furthering the prominence of Bahrain as a financial hub.
The Forum themed ‘achieving the SDGs through promoting entrepreneurship and Innovation’ will have three sub-themes include Maritime-Continental Silk Road (MSCR). Through the ITPO Bahrain role — as a secretariat to the MCSR Entrepreneurs Alliance, functioning under the umbrella of the MCSR Cities Alliance — the Forum will aim at revitalizing the economic ties of the countries of East and West of the traditional Maritime-Continental Silk Road by developing partnerships between entrepreneurs and disseminating best practices, while facilitating access to finance and allowing developmental funds/financial institutions to get a closer understanding of linking financial to non-financial services towards MSMEs.
The Forum will also present the concept of “Global Impact Investing” and its role in realising the United Nations’ SDGs, thereby alleviating the tremendous cost of solving the world’s most critical problems, including an estimated $2.5 trillion annual funding gap needed to achieve the SDGs in developing countries alone. The Forum will stress the importance in private capital through financial institutions, private investors and entrepreneurs towards filling this gap and address the pressing global challenges.
The Forum will address the challenges, threats and opportunities facing women in their endeavors to be more active in the industrial arena, including: access to financial resources and new technologies, building support networks, improving technical and managerial skills and addressing social and cultural barriers. It will focus on the role of female entrepreneurs, partnerships for development, and the implications for achieving the 2030 agenda, in particular SDG 9 on industry, innovation and infrastructure.
The Forum is expected to attract around 1,000 entrepreneurs and representatives of MSME and entrepreneurship support institutions from the around the world, in addition to dignitaries and officials from the Islamic Development Bank, the African Development Bank Group, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, Global Entrepreneurship Week, United Nations MCSR Cities Alliance, World Business Angels Investment Forum, Saudi Fund for Development, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Arab Fund Social and Economic Development and others.