GEW 2019, a shot in the arm for business sector

Tamkeen has concluded its fourth edition of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW 2019), a week that was filled with more than 45 activities and events that attracted over 5,000 participants. The Global Entrepreneurship Week was held from November 17th until the 24th and it was celebrated all around Bahrain.

The GEW events were organised by Tamkeen and the Global Entrepreneurship Network – Bahrain (GEN Bahrain), and it included a variety of workshops, seminars, exhibitions, conferences, and interactive panels, held in partnership with more than 40 local and regional entity. Furthermore, more than 45 local and regional speakers took part in the week-long event.

The speakers were from different fields of expertise, some of which were entrepreneurs, influencers, and economists who shared their experiences and entrepreneurial journeys with the audience. This year, GEW was held under four main themes: GEW Education, GEW Policy, GEW Inclusion, GEW Ecosystems. The first event that was held in GEW was the 18th Annual Arab Business Owners and Investors Conference, which was organised by the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held under the patronage of His Royal Highness His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

On His Majesty’s behalf, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, First Deputy Prime Minister, inaugurated the conference. Tenmou, Bahrain’s first Business Angels Company, also hosted their edition of the MENA Angel Investors Summit during GEW. The annual event is held with the aim of providing a platform for local and regional startups to meet and connect with investors from all around the MENA region.

Moreover, Zoho hosted their first Zoholic event during GEW where attendees got to learn more about Zoho’s products and services, and how they can use the Cloud Software Suit to grow their businesses. For the second year in a row, Tamkeen hosted the entrepreneur and social media influencer Bader Isa, known as “Bo Nabeel” where he gave a seminar on How to Find Your Passion, a follow up event to the one he conducted last year.

During the seminar, Bo Nabeel spoke about his entrepreneurial journey, and shared some tips with the audience on how they can turn their passion into a successful business. Over the weekend, two main GEW events were also happening including the FinTech Startup Weekend competition where participants had to form their teams and build a startup within 54 hours. The second event was the Falak Unreasonable Weekend, held by Falak Consulting, which was dedicated to aspiring entrepreneurs who are interested in turning their business ideas into reality.

The start-up ecosystem was also exposed to a number of events and workshops in the field of art, energy, sustainability, product design, artificial intelligence, digital marketing, FinTech and more. What made GEW more extraordinary this year was the emphasis of women as Flat6Labs Bahrain hosted a seminar called “Women in Startups”. The seminar gave an overview on entrepreneurship and encouraged women to consider the entrepreneurial path for their future career.

In addition, this year’s GEW focused on encouraging young Bahrainis to pursue their careers in entrepreneurship. For instance, the Capital Governorate held a Young Trader competition, whereby children had the chance to participate in an exhibition in Seef Mall and showcase their products. Clever Play also hosted “Kids Who Startup”, a competition that allowed kids to form their teams, work on a business idea, and present their projects. Similarly, Bahrain Trust Foundation gave a workshop on “Preparing Young Entrepreneurs”.

The fourth edition of the GEW is in line with the Kingdom’s vision of supporting entrepreneurs, and to promote Bahrain as the hub for entrepreneurship. The GEW is a global event where more than 35,000 events are held around the world in more than 170 countries, with 10 million attendees. It is held under the umbrella of the Global Entrepreneurship Network and supported by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.