*** ----> An inspiring day for regional entrepreneurs at Unbound | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

An inspiring day for regional entrepreneurs at Unbound

ManamaEntrepreneurs from around the region shared their success stories, challenges and advice during the final day of Unbound yesterday.

An inspiring day of Unbound, an innovation and startup festival which took place for the first time in Bahrain, saw many entrepreneurs sharing their inspirational stories and advice. Yesterday featured many panel sessions and speeches from entrepreneurs from around the region.

The panel sessions held included ‘ Routes for Growth - Sourcing Capital’. ‘ Global Stories of Startup Success’ and ‘Building MENA Innovation Ecosystems’, and ‘Engaging the GCC Connected Consumer’. 

A special panel session featuring successful Bahraini female entrepreneurs ‘Female Entrepreneurship in The Kingdom of Bahrain’ was hosted to commemorate the International Women’s Day and celebrate female entrepreneurship. The session was hosted by Zain Bahrain. The panellists were Dr Sana Farid, Co-Founder - Munfarid Consulting, Hala Sulaiman, Founder and Managing Director - Beyond Borders Consultancy, Lana Alattar, Founder - Tasafah, Saba Saleem Warsi, Founder & CEO - The Stories Studio and Wafa Al Obaidat, Chief Executive Officer and Creative Director - Obai and Hill.

To the moderator Shaima Aseeri’s question “Give me one piece of advice for female entrepreneurs starting out today?, Lana Alattar replied “ Test your market, see where your clients are and be bold.”, “There are loads of people ready to help, start knocking on doors and believe in yourself” said Dr. Farid, “Read and increase your knowledge, network and benefit tremendously from the entrepreneurial ecosystem” said Sulaiman, “Develop your mentorship network and use your mentors to overcome challenges “ said Al Obaidat, “Use the great support network” said Warsi.

An entrepreneur from the US, Gabriel Schillinger gave his advice about raising funds for startups. “The most important thing when raising money is the team. People invest in people, they do not invest in an idea unless the idea is really amazing. Even if the idea is horrible they are still going to invest in you if the team is amazing. For me, in my journey, I have raised money raised from friends and family, but I prefer going after professional angel investors. You need to find the right strategic angels that are right for you” he said.