SMEs Development Board

Brief about “SMEs Development Board”:

In accordance with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, The Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB), the SMEs Development Board (SDB) was established in 2017. It aims to coordinate the efforts of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce & Tourism, Economic Development Board (EDB), Labor Fund -Tamkeen, Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) and the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) to strengthen Startups and SMEs capacities to boost their competitiveness in domestic, regional and global.

Within this framework, an Integrated Tasks Plan, has been established for the SDB over the next five years. It tracks initiatives/ programs prioritized under five strategic themes as follows: Access to Finance, Access to Market, Streamline Business Environment, Skill Development, and Foster Innovation. It also targets 3 KPIs: increasing the contribution of small and medium enterprises to the GDP, increasing the contribution of SMEs to exports, and increasing the number of Bahrainis working in SMEs.

The plan of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Board (updated 2.0) has been launched, in line with the economic recovery plan (2022-2026), as the total number of initiatives has reached 43 initiative.

Stakeholders:

Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism