Tamkeen, the organisation tasked with developing Bahrain’s private sector, has launched its revamped Enterprise Support Programme (ESP) for businesses in Bahrain.

The new programme comes as part of the restructuring of Tamkeen's operations and programmes in line with its strategic focus on enhancing quality, focusing on customers, and achieving results.

The programme was restructured to achieve three main objectives: support enterprise needs based on their business type, size and the sector; facilitate the process of applying and monitoring; and accelerate the approval process.

In addition, the restructuring took into consideration lessons learned from past experience, feedback from stakeholders and customers, impact assessment studies, and recommendations of the National Audit Court.

Tamkeen’s chairman and acting chief executive Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa said: “Launching the revamped programme in September delivers on the promise we made in Q1 of this year. The programme has been restructured to deliver a better service that enables enterprises to grow and effectively contribute to economic development.”

Among the key enhancements made to the programme is the launch of an online portal on Tamkeen’s website, which allows customers to conveniently submit and track their applications, as well as attach the required documents.
 
Tamkeen has also adopted a unified and systematic assessment model through which the type and amount of support will be determined. Instead of off-the-shelf solutions, each enterprise will receive a customised and integrated package of support solutions that matches its exact needs.

Shaikh Mohammed stressed: “Enterprises are expected to provide information related to their current business activities and operations, as well as their business development plans, so that Tamkeen can diagnose and serve enterprises in a manner that addresses their business needs.”

The support amount will be calculated based on the enterprise’s current status and future plans, taking into consideration: current and previous financial statements, size of the enterprise in terms of turnover and number of employees, and the enterprise’s vision for the future in relation to its desired support amount.

The support will be linked to a new incentive scheme, which involves setting development objectives for each enterprise based on their current status and future plans. Enterprises which achieve those objectives receive 80 per cent of the cost of the desired support.

Another aspect which sets the revamped programme apart is its ability to serve all enterprises, including enterprises in the process of starting up, growing enterprises, and mature enterprises.

All registered enterprises from the private sector are eligible to apply, whether registration is from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, or any other official government entity which issues licenses to engage in economic or professional activities.

“We expect the enhancements made to the programme to have a positive impact in a number of areas; namely, instilling sound management concepts amongst business owners, maintaining a healthy balance between easing processes and achieving Tamkeen’s goals, enhancing flexibility, efficiency, transparency and the ability to measure results, and encouraging enterprises to set objectives that contribute to national economic development,” said Shaikh Mohammed.

Priority in processing will be given to enterprises which do not have active contracts with the Enterprise Support Programme.

To date, the Enterprise Support programme has served more than 9,100 enterprises, with the total Tamkeen support amount reaching around BD78.2 million ($204.75 million).

Business owners need to apply online and should they have any queries they may contact Tamkeen’s Call Centre (17-383333) or visit its customer service centres or email support@tamkeen.bh . - TradeArabia News Service