MANAMA: An investor education event that brought together regional and international investors under a platform for investing in start-ups in Bahrain and the region was organised by Bahrain Development Bank Group (BDB).
The third edition of the event called Invested was led by BDB’s Rowad team and supported by Start-up Bahrain, an initiative of the Economic Development Board to establish Bahrain as a start-up hub.
It included workshops conducted by Dubai Angel Investor Network and Faith Capital, based in Kuwait, highlighting the importance of understanding start-up investment term sheets and the best ways to develop investment networks and platforms.
A mini pitch day featuring pitches by two start-ups that were evaluated using investment tools was also a part of the activity.
BDB’s senior vice-president for business development Maitham Abdul Hameed Abbas said during the event that about 86 per cent of SMEs financial transactions in Bahrain are carried out by the bank.
“Many people are not aware that we provide financial services to a very large number of SMEs in the kingdom. BDB’s activities are focused on financing and development of small and medium businesses in addition to that we also provide training, coaching and mentoring services to young Bahraini entrepreneurs.
“We are also looking at leveraging technology to offer digital banking alternatives,” he added.
BDB’s senior vice-president in the development division Areije Alshakar, who also spoke at the event, said that the Rowad programme was designed to assist and empower entrepreneurs in starting their business.
“Invested is a part of the Rowad platform which aims to support angel investors with knowledge and support tools to make informed decisions when investing in start-ups. Any investor can join the platform through www.rowad.co to gain access to the knowledge, workshops and be part of the overall community.
“We are proud to see that this community of investors has doubled in growth with 200 members on the platform since it began in 2016,” she said.
The third edition of the event called Invested was led by BDB’s Rowad team and supported by Start-up Bahrain, an initiative of the Economic Development Board to establish Bahrain as a start-up hub.
It included workshops conducted by Dubai Angel Investor Network and Faith Capital, based in Kuwait, highlighting the importance of understanding start-up investment term sheets and the best ways to develop investment networks and platforms.
A mini pitch day featuring pitches by two start-ups that were evaluated using investment tools was also a part of the activity.
BDB’s senior vice-president for business development Maitham Abdul Hameed Abbas said during the event that about 86 per cent of SMEs financial transactions in Bahrain are carried out by the bank.
“Many people are not aware that we provide financial services to a very large number of SMEs in the kingdom. BDB’s activities are focused on financing and development of small and medium businesses in addition to that we also provide training, coaching and mentoring services to young Bahraini entrepreneurs.
“We are also looking at leveraging technology to offer digital banking alternatives,” he added.
BDB’s senior vice-president in the development division Areije Alshakar, who also spoke at the event, said that the Rowad programme was designed to assist and empower entrepreneurs in starting their business.
“Invested is a part of the Rowad platform which aims to support angel investors with knowledge and support tools to make informed decisions when investing in start-ups. Any investor can join the platform through www.rowad.co to gain access to the knowledge, workshops and be part of the overall community.
“We are proud to see that this community of investors has doubled in growth with 200 members on the platform since it began in 2016,” she said.
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