Manama: The London Business School (LBS) has selected Dr. Abdulhasan Al-Dairi, President of the Bahrain Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Society and General Coordinator of the United International SMEs Organizations (UNISMO) among a list of the most prominent and influential international figures in the field of entrepreneurship and SMEs development, through an international project in cooperation with the European Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The project seeks to conduct a joint survey on the impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic and lessons learned to support the entrepreneurship sector, SMEs, and country economies in general, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
The study project aims to measure the indicators of success of the established plans and the adopted policies in order to provide the required support for the entrepreneurs and SMEs sector in the MENA countries during the Corona pandemic, as the study is divided into several chapters, the first of which deals with the ease of access to funding for starting a small enterprise, as well for its continuity and expansion in future and the impact of the Corona pandemic. The second chapter deals with the challenges faced by the digitization initiatives of the SMEs sector, before or after the Corona pandemic. The third chapter of the study was devoted to discussing the adopted policies related to promoting entrepreneurship and its impact on the SMEs development, whether before or after the Corona pandemic, in addition to the impact of the pandemic on that, positively or negatively.
Dr. Abdulhasan Al-Dairi said that it is a great honor for the Kingdom of Bahrain to receive this international recognition from major international organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) through London Business School (LBS), director of the study and ranks among the best universities in the world, especially in economics and business studies. Dr. Al-Dairi added that this recognition is a result of more than twenty years of diligent work in the field of developing small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship, as the Kingdom of Bahrain occupies a distinguished and pioneering position, thanks to the continuous support provided by the wise leadership in the Kingdom. Throughout the previous years, the first department specialized in training for establishing and managing small and medium enterprises was established in 1996 in cooperation with the International Labor Organization (ILO) and its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, followed by the launch of the Bahraini model for entrepreneurship development in 1999 in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). In addition to the establishment of the first professional association for small and medium enterprises in Bahrain in 1998, which launched in 2010 the celebration of the annual conference of SMEs Day in the Kingdom of Bahrain and was subsequently adopted by the United Nations in 2017 to celebrate the International Day of SMEs on June 27 each year around the world.
The Kingdom of Bahrain, under the generous patronage of His Highness the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, in previous years, launched the award of His Highness the Crown Prince for Entrepreneurship, which had a great impact on the advancement of various initiatives related to entrepreneurship in the Kingdom. Bahrain is also credited with hosting the headquarters and office of the General Secretariat of the United International SMEs Organizations (UNISMO), which was launched in the year 2020 as one of the important recommendations issued by the 8th Annual International SMEs Day conference 2020, as preparations are now underway to celebrate the 9th Annual International SMEs Day conference 2021 next month June at Bahrain.
Dr. Abdulhasan Al-Dairi praised this survey, considering it an important documentation of the exceptional global conditions that we are witnessing and that the whole world is witnessing during the unprecedented Corona pandemic, which undoubtedly will have inevitable effects on all walks of life, including the economic fields, effects of which shall remain for years to come. He also expressed his aspirations for the important results of such a study to reduce the potential damage to the business sector, especially the SMEs.
