Tamkeen disburses $2.2bn for private sector development

MANAMA: Tamkeen, the labour fund authority, has injected nearly BD830 million (around $2.2 billion) into the development of the private sector since its establishment in 2006.

A report by the government agency says it provides support to the private sector through several packages designed to meet the needs of enterprises and individuals, which the business development and the training and wage support programmes fall under.

The authority’s mandate is making the private sector as the main engine of the national economy, while ensuring that Bahraini citizens are the first choice in the labour market.

Tamkeen has spent more than BD193m to support 13,659+ enterprises through the business development programme, which was launched in 2009.

The support consisted of financial grants to private sectors enterprises of all sizes to support their operational costs or cover the costs of the materials and machines they need.

Tamkeen also operates a number of schemes aimed at bridging the funding gap for enterprises by facilitating their access to finance at lower costs, and encouraging banks to provide loans and guidance to companies, especially the small and medium-sized ones.

To date, it has provided support to more than 200,000 individuals and 53,000 institutions.

Under a separate scheme, which covers up to 50 per cent of operational materials and services costs, total support provided since 2009 amounts to BD193m aiding 13,659 enterprises.

Since 2014, start-ups have comprised 47pc of business development programme beneficiaries, while SMEs made up 42pc, and 11pc were large enterprises.

A sector-wise break-up shows services businesses were 55pc of recipients, while 25pc were from trade and retail, and 20pc from construction.

Tamkeen said another area of emphasis is upskilling Bahrainis and increasing their employability in the private sector, through a set of programmes designed to develop their skills and support their wages.

Since its launch in 2007, the training and wage support programme has contributed to salary increments of 26,146 Bahraini employees, with total assistance amounting to BD36m and average support per institution of BD1,400.

Accordingly, the average wage of beneficiaries increased by BD92 from BD668 to BD760.

Growth

Training has been provided to 20,481 Bahrainis since 2016, with total support for enterprises to train their employees reaching BD21.6m.

Tamkeen said more than 44,000 training opportunities were provided for Bahrainis, with each beneficiary getting two courses.

In recent years, there’s been a significant growth in the amount of support, a result of the introduction of the training and wage support programme for private sector employees in its new form, which also supports the objectives of the National Employment Programme.

The average support per enterprise for each employed individual amounted to BD3,800.

Since 2011, when the individual support programme was launched, 48,890 courses have been provided in different fields.

It has supported 24,374 international accredited professional certifications and 24,516 certifications in basic skills for fresh graduates and job seekers, to increase their employability.

The total support for training of individuals was BD58.7m.

The career progression programme that ended in 2015 was designed to increase productivity and enhance the efficiency of Bahraini employees.

It contributed towards supporting the wages of more than 17,000 Bahraini employees, with an amount exceeding BD26.6m.

Following the directives of His Majesty King Hamad as part of national efforts to combat the impacts caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, Tamkeen has redirected its programmes towards supporting adversely affected small and micro enterprises.

The support was provided through financial grants to cover their operational expenses.

The agency has also expanded its circle of beneficiaries to support taxi and public transport drivers, and kindergarten workers.

During this time, Tamkeen provided support to more than 15,600 small and micro enterprises, with the total budget exceeding BD54m.

The programme was extended during the second phase with the most affected sectors for an additional six months, which included restaurants and coffee shops, gyms and fitness studios, training institutes, travel agencies, salons and spas.

During the two phases, financial grants provided to these sectors supported 1,925 beauty salons with an amount exceeding BD10.44m, 498 restaurants and cafes with funding in excess of BD1.9m, as well as 211 gyms with aid of more than BD1.2m, and 139 training institutes to the tune of BD1.16m.

Source: http://www.gdnonline.com/Details/911103/Tamkeen-disburses-$22bn-for-private-sector-development