EDB, Tamkeen announce Startup Week activities

Manama : The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Tamkeen (Labour Fund) announced yesterday the detailed activities of the anticipated “Startup Bahrain Week”, held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board. The Kingdom will host “Startup Bahrain Week” from March 3 to 8, in cooperation with the Tamkeen as a strategic partner.

The Startup Bahrain Week will feature five events, four competitions and more than 30 speakers from Bahrain and the region. The week’s events will be organised in five different venues around the Kingdom and is expected to attract more than 2,500 participants from around the world. It will serve as an open platform for the startup community to discuss experiences and challenges, as well as to showcase the services offered by incubators and accelerators to startups.

Shaikh Mohamed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Chairman of Tamkeen, said, “Tamkeen has an important responsibility towards supporting Bahrain’s economic diversification efforts through empowering the private sector. It is through events such as the Startup Bahrain Week that we are able to showcase our achievements and offer significant mentorship and education opportunities for startups. 

The Bahrain Model for Economic Empowerment is followed by 48 countries and highlights the Kingdom’s efforts around delivering economic empowerment to youth and women, he added. 

Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain EDB, said, “In the first week of March, Bahrain will host a series of events for entrepreneurs where they will be given the opportunity to network, exchange creative ideas, and discuss their experiences. In cooperation with our partners, we will continue to support Bahrain as a regional hub to attract and incubate startups from around the world.” 

The week will begin with the first GCC Game Conference, which will be held on Saturday, March 3 after the GCC Game Jam. The conference, organised by INFINITEWARE, will feature several respected game developers from around the region. The GCC Game Conference will be hosted at Bahrain Polytechnic and will include the announcement of the Game Jam competition awards.

Rowad will host their ‘Majlis’ on Sunday, March 4 at Alto, Downtown Rotana featuring Walid Mansour, Partner and Chief Investment Officer of MEVP Funds, and Elie Habib, Co-Founder of Anghami. Both speakers at Roward Majlis will discuss the experiences and challenges of their startup journey.

From Sunday March 4 to Monday March 5, CH9 and YoStartups will organise “My Startup Bootcamp to provide aspiring startups an intensive bootcamp that delivers a complete overview on what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur – equipping participants with the methodologies for success, empowering them to progress in their journeys and providing support to startups who have high growth potential.

In the heritage houses of Muharraq, THINKERS & DOERS will bring to Bahrain on Tuesday 6th of March ”Follow The Leaders” a full day of business meetings, panel discussions, lively sessions, inspiring talks, debates, workshops, masterclasses, and prizes for best startups.

Unbound, in partnership with the Bahrain EDB and supported by StartUp Bahrain, will bring its globally established, award-winning innovation festival to Bahrain during the week. It will celebrate the Kingdom’s commitment to fuelling a digital future for the MENA region. The two-day event will be held at Bahrain International Circuit from Wednesday 7th to Thursday 8th March and will feature an Innovation Expo, a pitch competition, and a hackathon. 

On the side-lines of Unbound, American Express Middle East will organise “Hack @ The Track” hackathon powered by AngelHack to encourage the development and adoption of digital payment solutions. More information on the week’s activities can be found on the dedicated webpage at www.startupbahrainweek.com.