‘Chamber of hope for all business persons’

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Staff Reporter

As Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) heads for polls to elect the 30th board of directors, three leading businesswomen, who are the superstars of Tojjar-22 Bloc, are on the campaign trail.

They say stable and wise governance of the Chamber is of great significance to tide over the challenges created by the pandemic and this could be only offered by Tojjar-22 Bloc under the leadership of Sameer Nass.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Tribune, three of them, who are the true epitome of empowerment of Bahraini women, unveiled their electoral agenda, encompassing the objectives of entrepreneurs representing various sectors of the Kingdom’s economic sphere.

Batool Mohammed Dadabhai, Board Member of Dadabhai Group of Companies, said, if elected one of her major priorities as a board member would be working with Executive and Legislative authorities to address the negative consequences of Flexi Visa and its harmful effects on the market.

“We need to work with the Labour Market Regulatory Authority to develop a realistic and practical strategy that meets the needs of the local market. We must also work on creating a National Tourism Strategy with all parties concerned from private and public sectors, based on research and studies as well as inculcating plans for the development of all related sectors.”

She said the Chamber supports all means to protect the continuing of family businesses and considers them as national names and brands that have a local economic component for its growth and development as national intangible assets.

“There should also be emphasis on increasing the purchasing power of the retail sector as it is the main stimulus available in the short term of the country’s economy.

Relaxation of rules can have an immediate positive effect on GDP, help maintain the sustainability of companies and provide job opportunities.”

Sonya Mohamed Janahi, Founder and CEO of Maya La Chocolaterie, said there has always been a perfect balance between men and women when it comes to running businesses in the Kingdom.

“If we look at the composition of men and women members in the Chamber, we can find that 48 per cent of CR owners are women entrepreneurs highlighting the fact that the Kingdom’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is not gender-biased.

“Anyone can own a CR here regardless of gender or nationality as long as they adhere to the rules and laws of the land. Among the ten committees of the Chamber, two important ones – finance, taxation and insurance, and health – are headed by women.

Even within the other eight committees, women members play a pivotal role.”

She said Bahraini women have always been empowered with regard to entrepreneurship and what is now required is further progress by becoming globally successful.

“Bahrain as a culture always welcomed and opened its door for women to become entrepreneurs.

Historically, housewives were entrepreneurs and they always had a hobby, cooking or knitting, which were converted into businesses.

We have a system where every man and woman can test their business models.”

Sonya Janahi said her inspiration behind the candidature is to support the SMEs as 98 per cent of membership at the Chamber represent this sector.

“We want to introduce creative financial approaches other than bank loans to support upcoming businesses.

The concept of angel investors is thriving in the outside world and it should be as well promoted in the Kingdom.

“We have people, who are creative and can initiate novel ideas, but what is lacking is financial stability to test these models. If we can create funds that would support them financially, it will be impressive.”

Sawsan Abulhassan, Executive Director, AlBustani Group, said collective measures are the need of the hour to overcome a set of unprecedented challenges imposed by the pandemic.

“The country faces a lot of challenges in terms of economic diversification, growing public debt, inflation, regional competition, attracting foreign investments, among others.”

She said she supports Tojjar Bloc for its contributions to protecting the private sector and achieving sustainability. “There is a great need to continue the ongoing mission of the Chamber in supporting the government’s recovery plan while adding more strategic initiatives.

“We, at Tojjar Bloc, believe that we can bring together various experiences from all sectors and formulate the strategies required for the future course of action. Tojjar Bloc supports the business environment, family businesses, SMEs and entrepreneurs. I believe my background in banking, finance and investments will be pivotal in formulating strategies for the chamber.”

She said the Chamber, under the leadership of Sameer Nass, has been striving to achieve a healthy business environment for all companies, SMEs and large corporations.

“We want to bring more foreign investments into the Kingdom while ensuring access for local products to regional and global markets through Free Trade Agreements. We are also in our best efforts to ensure that the Kingdom regains its position as the leading financial hub in the region.”

The Chamber is all set to elect its new board of directors on March 19, 2022.