About Tamkeen
 
Tamkeen is an initiative funded by the private sector for the private sector, tasked with developing Bahrain’s private sector and positioning it as the key driver of economic development. Established in August 2006, Tamkeen is one of the cornerstones of Bahrain’s national reform initiatives and Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.
 
Tamkeen has two primary objectives: Firstly, fostering the creation and development of enterprises, and secondly, providing support to enhance the productivity and growth of enterprises and individuals.
 
Under each of those objectives, certain mechanisms and innovative support initiatives have been put in place by Tamkeen to address current and future gaps for individuals and enterprises in the private sector that have been identified by thorough studies of the labour market landscape. To date, Tamkeen has created 180 such support programs for Bahrainis, Tamkeen’s programs range from developing the skills and capabilities of Bahrain’s human capital, to promoting sound workplace ethics and training on leadership and management best practices, among others. For enterprises, Tamkeen provides programs which offer enterprises with subsidized business support services, facilitate access to financing to bridge the enterprise financing gap, and enable entrepreneurship, to name a few.
 
As of end of 2012, Tamkeen’s programs have benefited 66,000 Bahrainis and enterprises in the private sector, and allocated more than BD 292.5 million to the sector for its ongoing and completed programs. In all, more than 100,000 beneficiaries are expected to benefit from these support programs.
 
Tamkeen’s human capital development programs have benefited more than 47,000 Bahrainis, including funding training for nearly 30,000 Bahrainis. In addition, they enabled a further 3,500 Bahrainis to find gainful employment, and more than 2,000 Bahrainis to obtain professional certifications in their respective fields.
For enterprises, nearly 19,000 enterprises have benefited from Tamkeen’s support programs, including enabling more than 4,900 enterprises to get low-cost capital through its BD210 million financing portfolio, and more than 4,500 enterprises to enhance their performance through its subsidized business support services.

 

In parallel, Tamkeen’s programs have played a key role in institutionalizing new concepts within Bahrain’s private sector, including SME and micro-financing, entrepreneurship as a viable career path, women empowerment, modern accounting and auditing systems within SMEs, and many other paradigms needed for a vibrant sustainable private sector.
 
Tamkeen’s funds come from 50% of the fees collected from the Labour Market Regulatory Authority.