Bahrain's labour fund Tamkeen has won recognition as the "Best Initiative Supporting SMEs in Arab Countries" at the awards ceremony of Mohammed bin Rashid Award for Young Business Leaders.

Shaikh Mohammad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the chairman of Tamkeen, received the award from Sheikh Mohammed at gala function held on Wednesday (December 12) at the Dubai World Trade Centre under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, PM and Ruler of Dubai.
 
This year's award saw strong competition from organisations and companies from across the Arab World. The evaluation and selection process was carried out by a panel of renowned experts and professionals from different sectors.

Speaking after receiving the award, Tamkeen chairman said, “As a Bahraini organisation that is an integral part of Economic Vision 2030, we are extremely honoured and privileged to represent Bahrain in this prestigious award, and will continue our best efforts to enable the private sector to become the primary driver of our national economy.”

Mahmood Al Koheeji, the chief executive of Tamkeen, said, "We extend our sincerest thanks to the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Establishment for SME Development and judging panel for selecting Tamkeen for this prominent award. This recognition is the result of joint of hard work and collaboration with our partners and beneficiaries to continuously improve our services, support the private sector, and enhance Bahrainis’ employability to enable them to achieve their potential."  

Tamkeen's submission detailed the integrated approach it utilises for its enterprise and human capital development support initiatives in order to encourage entrepreneurship amongst Bahrainis.

Starting from the early stages of formal education all the way to established enterprises, these programmes include fostering an entrepreneurial culture in the youth, women empowerment, enterprise development support services, low-cost financing schemes, and many other programmes.

More than 65,000 Bahrainis and enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen's programmes, with more than 100,000 beneficiaries set to benefit from these programmes overall.-TradeArabia News Service