​Under the patronage of the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Bahrain's 6th Annual SMEs Day Conference & Exhibition was launched under the theme of "Technology Transfer in the Leadership and Development of Small and Medium Enterprises". The forum is organized by Bahrain SMEs, in cooperation with Golden Trust, EDB, Tamkeen, BDB, BCCI and other related parties at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in Bahrain Bay, Kingdom of Bahrain.

During the opening ceremony, a recorded speech of HE the minister of Industry, Commerce & Tourism was presented emphasizing the importance of the SMEs sector in the economy of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Recently the Government of Bahrain has focused on this vital sector and supported it. This year Business Incubators and Accelerator was launched, since its establishment, 16 companied have been launched with a capacity of 1000 companies and 148 active incubated start-ups.

The minister referred to the official visit by HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister to the USA, the Ministry of Industry of Commerce & Tourims signed a cooperation agreement with Small Business Administration. He added Cabinet decision to allocate 20% of the value of government procurements and tenders for small and medium enterprises. This shows government's interest in this vital sector.

The conference will also include the launch of a Bahraini research initiative by academics and researchers to provide an interactive platform that brings together experienced researchers to support the research needs of the business sector in Bahrain and to ensure that it continues to keep pace with Bahrain's transformation towards a knowledge economy.