Tamkeen’s flagship Enterprise Development Support Programme witnessed a significant jump in June as business owners flocked to Tamkeen’s Enterprise Development Support Agency offices to take advantage of the updates to the programme which went into effect on June 1st.
Since the launch of the Programme’s second phase, Tamkeen has signed contracts with 765 national enterprises across all sectors with a contribution of more than BD 2.78 million in financial support. The majority of the businesses were from the wholesale/retail, manufacturing, ICT, and construction sectors, respectively.
Applications increased by an impressive 85% in June compared to the previous month. In all, 96 contracts were signed between the Agency and business owners in June alone, representing a 43% increase over May and a 64% jump compared to June of last year. In addition to the surge in application volume, traffic to the Enterprise Development Support Programme’s website (www.tamkeen.bh/edsa) more than doubled to 120% over the previous month.
Despite the increase, applications continued to be processed efficiently, with more than 90% of applications taking 7 working days less to receive initial approval, and 80% taking 15 working days or less from time of registration to the signing of the contract.
The updates, which came as a result of Tamkeen’s continued efforts to support Bahraini enterprises and make them more sustainable, encompass all schemes under the Enterprise Development Support Programme and cover three basic areas: financial support, application process, and eligibility criteria.
For the financial support, the limit was raised from BD 10,000 to BD 15,000 for small enterprises, and from BD 15,000 to BD 20,000 for medium and large enterprises, co-financing percentage was increased from 50% to 80% for all enterprises, and enterprises were allowed to re-apply to the same scheme every two years for each CR
The application process was greatly simplified by requiring only the previous month’s bank statement and utility bill instead of the last six months.
Finally, eligibility criteria were also significantly eased as applicants now have a choice of submitting either internally audited or externally audited financial statements, as well as dropping the condition regarding the Bahrainisation quota for enterprises with less than 51% Bahraini ownership and only requiring the Bahrainisation quota set by the LMRA
The five Enterprise Development Support schemes with their new simplified names – Istishara, Techania, Jawda, Tarweej, and Tasweeq – offer a comprehensive array of high-standard professional schemes through certified high-calibre service providers aimed at improving the performance of these enterprises, increasing their productivity and efficiency, and putting them on the right track toward growth and prosperity, in line with the goals of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.
Tamkeen’s Senior Manager of Private Sector Support Mohammed Bucheery urged all business owners registered in Bahrain to come forward to take advantage of the Programme’s new and improved benefits.
“These indicators are an encouraging sign that the updates have been well-received by the business community across all sectors, particularly SME’s we are fully committed to sustaining and building on this momentum to provide the best support possible to local enterprises in the months to come,” he said.