The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) announced its support for Maskati Bros & Co for their factory expansion which will provide approximately 40 job opportunities for Bahrainis and boost productivity of the factory by 40% and increase exports by 15%. This comes in alignment with Tamkeen’s strategic direction which focuses on supporting the expansion of local businesses, enhancing productivity, and creating quality jobs for Bahrainis.

Tamkeen’s support for the Maskati Bros & Co factory is in line with the economic recovery plan which aims to increase the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the GDP, increase national exports and create quality job opportunities for Bahrainis within this sector. This factory expansion will also enhance the supply chains of several local and regional companies. It is worth mentioning that the manufacturing sector contribution to the Kingdom’s GDP in 2021 was 14%, thus making it the second largest non-oil sector. Furthermore, the manufacturing sector is the third largest employer in the labor market as it employs 11% of the private sector workforce.

Maskati Bros & Co was founded in the Kingdom of Bahrain in 1956, and it’s the pioneering company within Maskati Group which includes several companies involved in various activities such as manufacturing (paper and paper disposables, and polyethylene products), trading, financial investments, properties and real estate, consumer products, chemicals, high voltage equipment, steel products, sponsorship, consultancy services for mega projects and joint ventures. The company’s production capacity from these modern state-of-the-art production facilities is currently over 75,000 tons annually.

On this occasion, Her Excellency, Ms. Maha Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) emphasized the importance of empowering enterprises in the manufacturing sector. She stated: “we are keen on supporting enterprises of all sizes and sectors. Tamkeen’s support for Maskati Bros & Co factory further highlights the significance of increasing production capacities and supporting the expansion of Bahraini enterprises which in turn reflects positively on the local supply chains and creates quality job opportunities for Bahraini youth.” Her Excellency added: “supporting the factory will increase exports regionally and help promote local products which will enhance the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position in the growing manufacturing sector”

In addition, Dr. Nabeel Al Maskati, Chairman of Maskati Bros & Co expressed his gratitude for this collaboration with Tamkeen and highlighted the active role it plays in the sustainability and growth of the company. He stated: “we value Tamkeen’s ongoing efforts in expanding and developing our business, as we previously benefitted from the various support programs Tamkeen offers which resulted in an increase of 45% in returns and the employment of 30 Bahrainis in quality and high value jobs across various departments in the organization. We look forward to further expanding our business by employing more national talent, enhancing productivity, and increasing exports to reach regional and international markets.”

Moreover, Tamkeen supports enterprises that are looking to achieve growth, expand their operations and increase their exports, in alignment with its strategic objectives for the year which focus on four key priorities: facilitating the increased economic participation of Bahrainis, providing training that is aligned with the labor market needs in new and emerging skills, as well as enterprise and ecosystem development, all of which drive positive economic impact and sustainable growth. During the past year, Tamkeen supported approximately 4.1K enterprises of all sizes across various sectors, whereby 71% of enterprises were supported for training and employment of Bahrainis. Additionally, Tamkeen adopted a proactive approach to attract applications from high potential businesses which led to an increase of 21% in high value jobs. This included supporting over 10K job opportunities and over 8.4K training opportunities for Bahrainis to increase their participation in the labor market.

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