Tamkeen pledges to support SMEs
Manama, April 10, 2014
A decision making it mandatory for small and medium enterprises to hire national labour force to avail Tamkeen's financial support is hindering their growth, Tamkeen chairman and acting chief executive Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa said yesterday.
At a press conference, he said Tamkeen cannot abide by such a condition because the number of Bahraini job-seekers in the private sector do not meet the labour market's demands, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
"For every 30,000 opportunities, there are only 6,000 Bahraini job-seekers," he pointed out.
"Therefore, we are now focusing on schemes that support Bahraini companies and enhance Bahrainis' skills and capabilities to keep pace with labour market developments."
He said the decision to slash financial support from 80 per cent to 50 p er cent of the capital of each project has brought about positive results.
"Around 80 per cent was granted during the global financial crisis, he said," reported our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej. - TradeArabia News Service
