The outreach initiative comes as part of Tamkeen’s commitment to transparency and closer stakeholder engagement, in addition to its ongoing support of Bahraini businesses and economically empowering women.
The meetings were headed by Tamkeen’s Chief Executive Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji and other members of Tamkeen’s senior management who went through the plan with more than 20 business owners of various sectors and 9 prominent business women. This was followed by an open session where the participants shared their feedback on the plan and discussed other current issues within the market such as distressed enterprises and the potential for new enterprise support schemes to be integrated in the near future.
The women’s meeting also further discussed Tamkeen’s women empowerment strategy and the various programmes which support women and how they can maximise the benefits from those schemes, while also highlighting the importance of Tamkeen’s role in driving entrepreneurship amongst women.
“I found the session very useful and I would like to thank Tamkeen for providing us with the opportunity to express our views and we hope that it continues to follow in this path,” Zahra Taher, Managing Director of FinMark Communications, while commenting on the initiative, said.
“The discussions were very beneficial to us as we openly expressed our opinions. I would attend further discussions held by Tamkeen and would like to see a similar session dedicated to SME owners,” another attendee, Tareq Khalef, Owner and Managing Director of Smart Fox, said.
The Public Consultations will continue on until the first week of March, and are part of Tamkeen’s Mandate which requires consultations to take place and be evaluated before its annual and general investment plans can be approved by the Board. The sessions will continue with beneficiaries, media channels, service providers, partners, government agencies, and legislative bodies, among others. The consultations will serve as an ideal platform for stakeholders to provide input and create a better understanding of Tamkeen’s objectives, current and upcoming projects, processes, and role as a driver of economic growth and development in accordance with Economic Vision 2030.
As per its 2012 Operational Plan, Tamkeen has allocated nearly BD107 million for various projects and programmes, with 20 new initiatives slated for launch during the current year. More than 22,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from Tamkeen’s programmes in 2012 alone.
The plan is accessible to all members of the public on its official website (www.tamkeen.bh).