Manama: The digital transformation of over 90 per cent small and micro business is a key for the businesses to comeback on their feet following in the post COVID-19 era.
This came as the Bahrain SMEs Society in cooperation with the United International SMEs Organization (UNISMO) announced to hold the 9th annual edition of the UN MSMEs Day Summit entitled “SMEs and Digital Transformation Post the Pandemic” on 27-28 June 2021.
The event will be attended by Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and the former Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Abdulnabi bin Abdullah Al Shula, as keynote speakers.
The conference will include attendees from various Gulf and around the world represented by a number of Ministers who are concerned with supporting and developing the SME sector in their countries such as Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, India, the United Arab Emirates, in addition to Bahrain. The conference will be launched this year through Zoom platform, in line with the exceptional circumstances in light of the Corona Covid-19 pandemic.
Abdulnabi Al-Shula, President of UNISMO and Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Conference, said that the conference will address the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises, especially micro-enterprises, which represent more than 90% of the total institutions operating in the market. Also, the MSMEs and their role in reviving the global economy in light of the current exceptional situations is prominent. The Ministers participating in the summit will discuss the most important challenges and solutions to advance the markets once again in each of the six global continents.
Al-Shula also stressed the importance of the role played by small and medium enterprises in developing the economy and human resources and advancing the wheel of growth and development in the direction of sustainable development, as it is the backbone of the national economy of any country, therefore, the MSMEs sector must be supported to maximize its active role in stimulating the market and achieving the desired success and prosperity of the economy.
Dr. Abdulhasan Al-Dairi, President of the Bahrain SMEs Society and the General Coordinator of the UNISMO, said that Bahrain is steadily pacing in the field of entrepreneurship and support for small and medium enterprises, and that the Society’s continuation in organizing this important international conferences since its inception in 2010 with the strong support of the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Dr. Al-Dairi also pointed out that the interest of the United Nations and its declaration of June 27 each year as the International Day for MSMEs is the culmination of these efforts made over the years, as the association is moving towards globalization in close cooperation with the UNISMO, which is based in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He also indicated that the second day of the World Summit will witness the participation of a number of international organizations and companies working in the field of technology and interested in developing the sector of small and medium enterprises around the world.
The conference will witness the launch of a number of qualitative initiatives that will be announced with the start of the conference. The registration link for the conference will be announced soon, which will be free for all those interested in this field through a conference website in addition to the official website of the Bahrain SMEs Society, instagram and other social media.
It is expected that a large number of government officials and interested business dignitaries will attend the conference. Those will include owners of small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs and university students, in order to benefit from the discussions and research papers presented in this conference. The conference’s papers will discuss a vital and important topics that include issues and challenges of MSMEs. The experiences of many pioneers and business owners from different countries of the world will also be presented during the conference.
