Bahrain to raise SME financing to 20% of retail banks’ portfolio by 2025

“Bahrain believes in the importance of this vital sector, and has made significant efforts towards providing innovative, sustainable financing services that support SMEs,” the minister stressed.

The minister said this as he opened an event to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises by Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) and the SMEs Development Board.

Bahrain’s SMEs Development Board strategy 2022-2026 focuses on the ‘Access to Finance’ pillar through which 13 initiatives have been established by the Board of which 10 have been completed.

“The initiatives include ‘Al Waha’ Fund of Funds, Women Banking Solutions, the Crowdfunding Platform, the Bahrain Investment Market, Support for Phase 1 Startups, the Public Procurement Financing Program for SMEs – all of which have had a significant impact in developing financing processes,” minister said.

The minister added that work is still underway to expand SME financing solutions and increase the loan portfolio of local banks, for which partnerships are required to achieve these objectives, and BisB has focused on offering simplified, innovative banking solutions to support these enterprises.

Yaser Alsharifi, Chief Executive Officer of BisB, said: “We are committed to continue to provide simplified and innovative financial solutions for our corporate customers that will facilitate their growth and unlock possibilities.

Jawad Humaidan, Chief Corporate and Institutional Banking Officer at BisB, said: “This event reflects our commitment towards SMEs in the Kingdom. Jointly with our partners we are offering an integrated solution for our corporate customers that will enable growth through fully digital banking and financing solutions and exclusive and discounted service by our partners.”