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The Board of Directors consists of 9 members representing the public and private organizations which play a key role in developing the private sector (4 from the private sector, 3 from the government sector, and 2 from the Labour union). The Board is chaired by H.E.
Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa.
Tamkeen believes that Bahraini human capital constitutes the core success factor of the local trade landscape and the catalyst of the tomorrow’s sustainable economy. The programmes Tamkeen offers to Bahrainis have helped narrow the gap between the supply of human capital and the needs of the labour market.
Tamkeen remained committed to this proven approach in its annual strategy and business plan for 2016, supporting and strengthening efforts aimed at making Bahrainis the top choice for employers and help them reach a better a standard of living over the long term.
Private enterprises are the backbone that props up the economy. Hence, providing them with the support they need is vital in bolstering and ensuring the sustainability and robustness of trade activity in Bahrain.
Since its establishment, Tamkeen has made it a point of emphasis to provide enterprises big and small with an ever-evolving set of programmes to transform them into efficient, effective, and productive commercial operations. Over the past decade, Tamkeen’s support has reached nearly 40,000 private enterprises, roughly 43% of the active commercial registrations in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Based on its firm belief in the importance of women as an active and key player in shaping Bahrain’s economic future, Tamkeen launched a series of projects in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Women to empower women in the business world. These projects encouraged women not only to become entrepreneurs and start their own businesses, but also enabled them to advance in their careers, thereby enhancing Bahraini women’s chances of success and their contribution to their country’s economic development.
Among the main programmes designed to support women is Bahraini Women’s Incubator Centre “Riyadat”. With a budget of $ 100 million, the initiative was launched in partnership with the Supreme Council for Women and Bahrain Development Bank as the very first business incubator for women business leaders in the entire region.
In addition to empowering women to set up their businesses by providing micro-financing solutions to women-owned businesses and productive families, Tamkeen provided training programmes to enable them to find gainful employment in a variety of sectors, with the aim of increasing female representation in the workplace from the current level of 35%.
Also in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Women, Tamkeen established the Equal Opportunity Commission to integrate the needs of women in all areas of work and achieve the principal of true equal opportunity with regards to Tamkeen, whether in terms of internal hires or access to its support programmes. This initiative also involves providing input on issues relating to the integration of the needs of women within the framework of equal opportunities.
Tamkeen’s vision of empowering Bahrainis to prosper and contribute to the national economy requires extensive and concerted efforts to make each and every Bahraini citizen - whether they be students, employees, job seekers, or entrepreneurs - to be aware of the support programmes and services it offers and how they can benefit from them.
During the past year, the community communication experience proved to be a resounding success, further broadening Tamkeen’s expansive reach and awareness across all segments of Bahraini society, with more than 15,000 Bahrainis attending more than 290 events held in different areas of the Kingdom’s governorates.
Moreover, Tamkeen’s customer support team took part in more than 680 educational and advisory activities, ranging from lectures and workshops to exhibitions and forums. These public functions were attended by nearly 20,000 Bahraini people from all strata of society. Tamkeen policy of ensuring that its outreach covers the entirety of Bahrain’s urban landscape has been very effective, thanks to:
•Opening customer service branches in all 5 governorates of Bahrain, in addition to the main Tamkeen headquarters.
•Offering a range of events, forums and local gatherings to raise awareness about Tamkeen’s programmes at the grassroots level.
•Appointing community representatives in all the various cities and villages to help organize events and transmit their respective community’s feedback to Tamkeen.
•Participating in the events, forums and local councils to introduce Tamkeen services.
•Simplifying procedures and facilitating access through the online portal
•Pushing ahead with the initiative to establish joint committees with leading sectors to further improve support programmes
Annual Report 2007 – English
Annual Report 2008 – English
Annual Report 2009 – English
Annual Report 2010 – English
Annual Report 2011 – English
Annual Report 2012 – English
Annual Report 2013 – English
Annual Report 2014 – English
Annual Report 2015 – English
Based on the principles of sustainability, fairness and competitiveness that underpin Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Bahrain is progressing steadfastly towards achieving sustainable development by working with all official bodies to improve the business environment and attract investments.
In its role as a key initiative created to achieve this vision, Tamkeen has focused since its establishment in 2006 on enhancing the productivity and sustainable growth of both individuals and businesses by aligning its programmes with the latest developments and addressing pressing challenges facing the local labour market to ensure maximum effectiveness.
The regular research Tamkeen conducts to identify market trends and requirements has been a critical success factor for the organization, allowing decision makers of the organization to be up-to-date on the changing economic and social landscape at the local, regional and global levels and adapt the support programmes accordingly.
10 years later, Tamkeen – along with its partners - has invested more than BD 900 million (over USD 2.4 billion) in the national economy in the form of support programmes that target Bahrainis and private businesses. The investments saw Tamkeen support the career development of more than 100,000 Bahraini citizens (around 37% of the total workforce) and help 43% of all active commercial license holders substantially improve their productivity and business sustainability.
In essence, Tamkeen’s first decade has been instrumental in laying the foundations for a robust private sector that leads the march towards a truly diversified economy.
Tamkeen’s undeniable achievements over the past decade have earned it the respect and admiration of everyone, both domestically and abroad, and I expect more of the same as we embark on the second decade of this world-class organization.
Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa
Ten years after its establishment, Tamkeen has had a tangible positive impact on the local community and the Kingdom of Bahrain’s economy as a whole. In implementing sound research-based strategic and operational plans, it has enhanced the overall prosperity of Bahrain by continually investing in Bahraini employability, job creation, and social support, all as part of its vision to enable Bahrainis to prosper and be the driving force of the national economy.
The reforms undertaken to develop Bahrain’s labor market have empowered Bahrainis to become the preferred choice when it comes to employment opportunities. These efforts opened new horizons before them to actively participate in the expansion of the private sector and truly make the engine that fuels the Kingdom’s economic growth and diversification goals.
Along those lines, Tamkeen’s continued investment in Bahrain’s human resources stems from its unwavering belief that they represent the Kingdom’s most valuable asset, and that they are fully capable of spearheading the economy and achieving a bright future through their dedication and hard work.
This belief also drives Tamkeen to spare no effort in finding solutions to existing and potential challenges that the private sector or individuals may face, in order to help reach their full potential as the leaders of the sustainable economy that we envision as a nation.
With 2016 marking the second year of Tamkeen’s 2015-2017 strategy that focuses on customers, quality and results, the achievements made over the year outlined in this report reflect the positive spirit and enduring impact of Tamkeen, and affirm that the economic future of Bahrain is moving in the right direction towards the fulfillment of Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030.
Tamkeen’s Programmes for individuals aim to:
•Making Bahraini’s the employee of choice .
•Bridge the gap between wages and productivity by providing wage support to Bahraini employees and training them to increase their productivity.
•Enhance the skills and the professional qualifications of the Bahraini workforce.
•Qualify Bahrainis in their vocational development.
•Fill the skills gap in the Bahraini workforce.
Tamkeen provides support to individuals across three main segments:
Because students are the shapers of the future, enabling them to make the right decisions about their career trajectory and their education pathway from an early age is a critical success factor for their future employability and ability to compete in the labor market. Tamkeen’s support also extends to the development of their entrepreneurship skills, opening up their eyes to consider the possibility of self-employment as a viable career option. It achieves these objectives through student-oriented business plan competitions and work ethics awareness programmes, as well as Tamkeen-led interactive lectures by business leaders that offer guidance on career choices.
Job seekers, which includes employees actively seeking to change or advance their career as well as those without paid employment, are an important target segment for Tamkeen, as they can unlock opportunities for existing businesses to grow and expand. As such, Tamkeen continues to support the empowerment of Bahraini jobseekers through a variety of programmes that give them access to training that broadens their employability opportunities. Ranging from basic to advanced professional certifications, Tamkeen complements its offerings with career guidance and financial support programmes.
In today’s tech-driven global economy, the importance of investing in up-skilling employees to keep pace with the rapidly changing needs of the labour market cannot be understated. These investments not only help the companies they work in grow and prosper, but also boosts their attractiveness to would-be employers - both on the domestic and international fronts - which in turn amplifies their contribution to the national economy.
Over the past year, Tamkeen continued its drive to enhance its offerings and provide Bahrainis with a fully-fledged suite of integrated support programmes that enable them to expand their knowledge in their fields and improve their career prospects. These programmes also assisted employees looking to enter a new field of work, as well as those who desire to become self-employed entrepreneurs.
Professional Certifications:
Targeting job seekers and employees, Tamkeen’s Professional Certifications Scheme enables Bahrainis to access financial support to obtain professional certificates from recognized awarding bodies, thereby bettering their chances of finding gainful employment and enhancing their career progression prospects.
The scheme has a proven track record of success since its launch, allowing thousands of Bahrainis to be certified in a number of sectors. By offering professional training matched to real business opportunities in the labour market identified through Tamkeen’s market research, the scheme enables local employers to narrow existing labour market gaps.
Over the course of 2016, around 3,340 Bahrainis enrolled in the programme to receive professional certificates. Additionally, 108 professional certificates were added to the growing list of approved certificates under the programme, bringing the total number of approved professional certificates to 387 certificates in 40 sectors. These achievements further Bahrain’s compliance with international standards and business’ expectations of today’s increasingly globalized labour market.
The financial support Tamkeen provides to Bahrainis through this programme is not limited to training services available locally, but also extends to overseas and online training providers, thus increasing the programme’s flexibility and reach. Moreover, Tamkeen also assists businesses in need of employee training in covering some of the costs associated with training and certifying their staff, which, in turn, boosts organizational productivity and efficiency.
Available certificates cover such sectors as Information Technology, Networking and Programmeming, Accounting and Finance, Health and Safety, Quality Control, Human Resources, Logistics, Marketing, and others.
Basic Skills:
Through this scheme, job seekers can obtain financial support to earn Certificates of Basic Skills, an endorsement that serves as a stepping stone for job seekers to enter the labour market, and for employees to further their knowledge and performance and develop their careers. The number of individuals who benefited from this programme totaled 1,680, with a total support amount of BD 860,000.
“Mashroo3i” Youth Business Plan Competition:
This initiative aims to spark and nurture the entrepreneurial spirit amongst school and university students. Through the programme, students who have a creative idea for a business receive support to refine their ideas, create a business proposal, build prototypes of the service or product concept they have in mind, just like a real entrepreneur. The competition culminates with a grand finale in which the ideas are exhibited publicly, judged by a panel of experts and the best ideas are announced.
“A9eel” Programme:
The programme offers students insights into what it is like in the workplace and the skills needed to not only be deemed employable, but to excel and quickly climb up the corporate ladder. From work-readiness skills to business ethics and more, students learn the skills and attributes that are valued most by employers and colleagues in the workplace.
Tamkeen’s continued building on its outstanding achievements of years past in the area of supporting Bahrainis, enabling well over one-third (37%) of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s total workforce to access training to date.
Tamkeen’s Achievements of 2016:
•Launching 24 initiatives to train and develop Bahrainis in a wide range of sectors.
•Enabling 10,000 Bahrainis to access training programmes.
•Increasing number of approved applications for training by 36% compared to 2015.
•Introducing new professional certification programmes.
•Establishing an e-portal to streamline and expedite the registration process for applicants seeking to enroll in training programmes.
•Re-launching the basic skills scheme and making it accessible via Tamkeen’s individuals’ portal.
•Collaborating with the Ministry of Labor and Social development (MLSD) on the Basic Skills scheme, with the MLSD using its database to •identify and register job seekers who stand to benefit from the programme.
•Conducting a number of studies, including:
-Studies amongst local active training institutes and providers that indicated that 95% of them are currently registered with Tamkeen, and that 80% of them witnessed robust demand from Bahrainis driven by the professional certifications support programme.
-Studies amongst employers that showed that 71% of employers saw an improvement in the performance of their employees as a direct result of the training and wages support programmes,whether in terms of work efficiency, quality of achievements and ethics.
•Bespoke training programmes, such as including:
-Internship programme with Batelco
-Alumni training programme with Bahrain Airport Company
-Bahraini talent pooling with Sofitel Hotel
-Training with Air Arabia
-Medical funding scheme with the Military Hospital
-Legal Sector Support Programme.
Tamkeen’s Programmes for enterprises aim to:
Support the private sector adjustment to new market conditions, providing access to capital to alleviate short-term cash constraints as businesses set to expand or to improve productivity.
Provide management know-how and technical knowledge to support improvements in productivity and reduce reliance on expatriate labor.
Tamkeen provides support to enterprises across three main segments:
Pre-Startups:
Entrepreneurs are a segment that needs a lot of support, especially in the very early stages when they embark on their dream of starting their businesses. This is a stage when their knowledge of running a business is at its lowest and risk of failure is at its highest. As such, Tamkeen has developed a wide range of support programmes such as finance support schemes, business incubators and advisory services that provide entrepreneurs with a solid springboard from which to launch their business and make their ideas a reality.
Startups (the first 4 years):
The first four years are crucial in any business’ life cycle, requiring a tremendous effort and support to gain a solid footing in a competitive market. With those needs in mind, Tamkeen developed programmes that provide the kind of support new enterprises need to become viable profitable businesses. These programs offer funding, grants to purchase equipment and machinery, and access to professional advisory services
Scale-ups and Mature:
Enterprises in operation for more than 4 years need to continue investing in ways to maintain and grow their market share. Through Tamkeen’s support programmes, these enterprises can gain access to funding, grants and advisory support to use in developing new products or services, enabling these mature organizations to stay ahead of the curve and possibly extend their physical geographic footprint to the regional and even international level.
Collectively, Tamkeen’s support programmes are designed so as to cover the entire growth cycle of private enterprises, from support to would-be entrepreneurs who have a business idea in mind, to established companies looking to boost their revenues sustainably. Tamkeen programmes and initiatives for enterprises include:
- Grant programmes
- Funding for enterprises to boost their growth and productivity
- Funding for entrepreneurial initiatives in Bahrain to drive innovation and job creation
- Support of strategic investments in the Kingdom to boost technology and knowledge transfer and knowledge transfer, as well as employment opportunities for local talent
- Support and grants to employees through training and wage support programme
Business Development Programme:
The Business Development Programme is one of the very first programmes ever launched by Tamkeen to support enterprises. Specifically designed to support the development of emerging enterprises, the programme provides grants that cover 50% of the cost associated with acquiring approved business-relevant equipment and services. In 2016, the number of enterprises supported under this programme totaled 1,000 institutions with a total support amount of BD 23.1 million.
Tamkeen determines the amount of support given to the organizations based on its specific requirements and nature of its activities, encompassing support for:
-Equipment and machinery
-ICT systems
-Marketing and brand building activities
-Participation in exhibitions, local and international
-Professional advisory services
-Quality improvement and certification
Over the 10 years since its establishment, Tamkeen’s pioneering financing schemes have helped address a significant gap in the market that long stood in the way of enterprises growth, and that is obtaining low-cost financing from traditional lenders. Through the schemes, Tamkeen helped unlock funding opportunities for enterprises while at the same creating an entirely untapped market segment for the 7 banks it partners with in this programme.
To date, these schemes have supported over 7,200 enterprises, more than 50% of which are start-ups, with total funding exceeding BD 438 million. Of the business owners who benefited from the schemes, 70% said that their businesses would have folded had it not been for the critical financing they secured through the schemes.
In line with its drive for optimal disbursement of its funds, Tamkeen revised the structure of the Financing schemes in 2016 to make it more customized for the different types of enterprises. The result was the creation of four categories of financial support: Tamweel, Tamweel+, Tamweel Riyadat, and Microfinance. In all, 1,272 enterprises benefited from the restructured programme in 2016, with support amounts totaling of BD 58.7 million.
Formalized in December 2016, the first portfolio will be launched in partnerships with local banks some time in 2017.
In 2016, Bahrain Development Bank had the largest share of financing facilities for enterprises (48% of the total Tamweel portfolio). Targeting new and existing enterprises, the scheme provides financing up to BD 500,000, of which Tamkeen guarantees 50% of the total loan amount. 734 enterprises received support amounts totaling BD 54.1 million through this scheme in 2016.
On International Women Day (March 8, 2016), Tamkeen launched “Riyadat” Fund for Women’s Business Financing, a financing programme for female entrepreneurs that gives them access to affordable start-up financing. In 2016, 77 women received BD 1.76 million in support through this innovative programme.
In partnership with Family Bank, this scheme provides individuals and small businesses with Shariah-compliant financing, with the aim of empowering low-income individuals to pursue trade activities to earn them a steady income - whether that be in the set-up of a small business or the development of an existing one – by covering 87.5% of the profit rate and up to 18% of the loans which range from BD 500 to BD 10,000.
Tamkeen Business Incubator Support Programme provides a number of customized services to meet the needs of organizations during their critical initial stages, helping them achieve a level of stability and sustainability.
In addition to incubator units, the programme provides meeting facilities, low-cost funding and strategic consultations, as well as specialized training courses in entrepreneurship. The initiative is a catalyst for converting wishful innovation into actionable entrepreneurship that takes the form of new businesses, an important pillar of any sustainable private sector.
Tamkeen, in collaboration with partner banks, lends its support to a wide array of business incubators, including: Bahrain Incubator Centre, Riyadat, ICT Projects Incubator, Beit Al-Jasra Incubators Centre, Incubator Centre for Retail Projects, Tameer Centre for Business Incubators, Arts Cluster for Technical Projects, and the creative 973+ Trader.
The Training and Wage Support Programme was conceived as a way to help organizations develop their Bahraini employees through training. Since its launch, Tamkeen has provided 19,000 training opportunities for employees, with a total support amount reaching in excess of BD 25 million.
Again in line with its drive for continuous improvement based on customer feedback and research, Tamkeen introduced major improvements to the programme in 2016. This included extending the wage support period for new staff from two years to three. 1,049 employees benefited from the programme over the same year, with the support totaling BD 1.1 million.
Another improvement was making the program more flexible and inclusive. Whereas previously the ability to access training support was limited only to enterprises seeking professional qualifications for the purpose of raising wages, Tamkeen started allowing the option of obtaining training and professional qualification support only, without stipulating an increase in wages.
As part of its ongoing efforts to support institutions across all stages of growth, Tamkeen launched a new platform in 2015 to provide advisory services to private enterprises. Through this platform, Tamkeen enables qualified business owners to access high-standard guidance and advisory services. This includes Business Orientation, a programme which targets enterprises seeking guidance and expert advice to improve and develop their business through direct, long-term interaction with experienced mentors.
Tamkeen’s programmes for women aim to empower them:
•Economically, by enabling them to contribute fully in the establishment of a sustainable economy.
•Educationally, by creating opportunities for institutions to benefit from local competencies and expertise through training.
•Internationally, by expanding their business reach beyond Bahrain to regional and global markets.
Tamkeen’s achievements in the area of women empowerment include:
•Support to more than 50,000 women through its general training programmes, which represents 53% of the total number of Bahrainis served through those programmes.
•Launch of the Women Entrepreneurship Support Programme in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Women to create job opportunities commensurate with women’s needs. 150 women have benefited from the programme to date, obtaining grants for small projects in the fields of transport, fashion design, photography, and others, 27% of whom started a home-based business or established a company.
•Launch of the Microfinance Portfolio for Women - also in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Women - under the patronage of HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Supreme Council for Women. The initiative encourages women to start their own businesses through micro-financing solutions from Ebdaa Bank, whereby Tamkeen covers 50% of the loan costs.
•Launch of the Women Technology Empowerment Initiative in partnership with the Women Union and Microsoft, which has so far served around 1,300 women.
•Establishment of the Bahraini Women Incubator Centre (Riyadat), in cooperation with the Supreme Council for Women and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB). To date, the initiative has provided services to over 120 women-owned start-ups, with total support amounts reaching BD 1.76 million.
•In partnership with the Supreme Council for Women and the Bahrain Development Bank, Tamkeen launched a financial portfolio for the development of women-owned businesses worth BD 37.7 million to be disbursed over a period of 5 years, with funding ranging from BD 5,000 to BD 100,000 and payment periods of up to 10 years, depending on the nature of business and finance.
