On behalf of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism Mr. Zayed R. Alzayani, Undersecretary of Commerce Affairs Mr. Nader Al Moayyed inaugurated the 4th edition of eCommerce Forum and Exhibition 2017 for trading establishments. This year is held in a strategic partnership with Tamkeen and Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH), and silver sponsorship from Gulf Petrochemical company. The event was held under the theme "eCommerce ... Bahrain Platform ... for a Global Market" at the Crown Plaza Hotel.

On this occasion, undersecretary delivered a speech stressing on the importance of organizing such events with aim to raise the awareness to the owners of small and medium enterprises about the electronic transformation that is witnessed by the world today, by combining the latest technical solutions in terms of cloud computing to enable them to add a qualitative leap towards improving the performance of the Bahraini eMarket.

In this context, the latest eCommerce statistics in the region were highlighted according to the eCommerce Foundation in September 2016, in which the turnover of the B2C global eCommerce transactions has doubled in the Middle East and Africa region for 2016 to be approximately $ 26 billion, with 150 million Internet users in the region for the same year. In contrast, the growth rate of global eCommerce among individuals and enterprises is estimated at 17.5% Dollars.

For his part, Tamkeen Chief Executive Dr. Ebrahim M. Janahi stressed the importance of supporting initiatives aimed at promoting the commercial and economic prosperity in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

“Tamkeen, as strategic partner in this Forum, stresses its role in providing the Bahraini market with all the required components of sustainability and competitiveness to level it up to highest international standards and actively contribute to the realization of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030,” Dr Janahi added.

The Chief Corporate Services Officer Dr. Yusuf Ahmed Dashkooni praised in a speech during the opening ceremony the objectives of the Forum in widening the horizons for the exchange of expertise as well as spreading the culture of eCommerce and its latest updates and best practices.

Moreover, the Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH) noted the importance of such events, which highlight the reality of eCommerce in the Gulf region and its growth at all levels. Mr. Rashed Senan, Secretary of the Society BTECH praised the ministry's ability to continue its effectiveness and success in transforming it into a regular event that meets with its stakeholders in the eCommerce market to exchange views on the possibility of developing its performance in the Bahraini market in particular and the Gulf in general.

BTECH emphasized the need to establish an Echo System capable of efficiently keeping the Bahraini market alongside of developments in the eCommerce market, including the shift from traditional practices to those based on cloud computing.

He added that there were noticeable shifts in the discussions on online trading platforms. There are two main examples to be cited including BitCoin, the digital currency, and Block Chain.

The speech praised the strategic partnership between the three departments: The Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the Labor Fund (Tamkeen) and the Bahrain Technology Companies Society (BTECH), stressing the need for such activities to continue and receive the attention they deserve from all relevant institutions.

Following that commenced the first of the discussion beginning with the seminar moderated by Dr. Abdul-Hussain Al-Deiri, Chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in Bahrain, on the future of eCommerce. In the discussion, Mr. Khaled EL Shabrawy, Cloud Solutions Lead for Public Sector from Microsoft Gulf, talked about the role of modern technological means to promote eCommerce. Ms. Amal Al Mudaifa Product Marketing Manager in Data Centre and Transactions in Batelco, continued to deliver the leading technology solutions in the field of eCommerce, cloud computing and the benefits to small businesses when applied. The most important legal outcomes addressed by Dr. Abdelgadir Warsama Ghaleb legal consultant and professor in the university, the importance of eArbitration and eLitigation to promote eCommerce and its various applications.

On the other hand, the second panel discussion, which was moderated by Mr. Abbas Hussein, Director of Digital Middle East, dealt with the topic of business accelerators and the most important means of support provided to emerging businesses and entrepreneurs by providing an environment conducive to inspire and encourage them to launch their ambitious work at the level Both locally and globally. This was presented by Mr. Mohamed Al Tawash Managing Director Founder & MD from Corporate Hub CH9. In addition, the most successful stories in this field were presented, which they are Wnna by Mr. Ali Mohsen, Akalati by Mr. Abdulla Al Radhi, Ingrab by Mr. Hussain Haji and ProCloud Institute project by Mr. Ahmed Al Sari.

In this context, Mr. Ahmed Abdulnabi Ali, Head of Technical Support and eServices from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, discussed the recently launched virtual trade records under the title "SJILI", which supports and encourages small-scale enterprise projects and certain types of business activities that can be carried out without the need for a physical office. These activities have reached a total of 39 activities and the requirements for their operation is aimed at simplifying the procedures for setting up establishments for entrepreneurs within a legal framework.

The forum concluded with a series of recommendations and constructive suggestions by the attendees and businesses in this field. A mini exhibition was also held, for the relevant commercial establishments where the most relevant services of digital transformation were displayed.