Tamkeen urged to help Struggling businesses
Manama : More efforts need to be made in helping struggling local businesses to avoid closure, according to prominent Bahraini businessmen.
Despite the various government initiatives, a majority of the struggling businesses do not receive the help they need in order to avoid closure, according to businessmen.
Tamkeen must make it a priority to support failing businesses, they said. While Tamkeen offers support to businesses with its Enterprise support programme and various other schemes, more needs to be done to save struggling businesses, they said. The apparent lack of support to struggling businesses is hurting the economy, said Yousif Bukhammas, a well known businessman.
“When a business fails the entrepreneur is often left without a source of income and so he turns to the government for financial support because he is unemployed. I am sure that he would rather receive government help as a businessman rather than as an unemployed citizen. As a business he would contribute to the economy rather than take from it,” he told DT News.
“Tamkeen is doing a lot and I am glad that they are working hard, but I wish that they would focus more on small businesses. When small businesses begin to struggle they only need a small loan or financial aid to get back on their feet. But the situation I see today is that the businesses do not receive such help and are forced to close down.” he said.
Another prominent businessman Mahmood Al Namliti said that the public needs more transparency on the criteria for businesses to receive financial
aid.
“We are seeing that some businesses are getting financial support while others don’t. The talk in the business community now is that there is no clarity on who exactly are entitled to the aid. It should not be a case where a businesses takes money from Tamkeen and spends it on unimportant things while those who really needs the money suffer. All the information and statements on that businesses that have received financial aid from Tamkeen should be made available to the public, there should be greater transparency regarding this,” he said, adding “There are many businesses that desperately need this support but are not receiving it so Tamkeen must make it a priority to reach them first,” he said.
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