INNOVATOR
The winners of the Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship
The Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship
T
he first ever Bahrain Award for Entrepreneurship (BAE), staged under the patronage of HRH Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, First Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), was held at the ART Rotana Hotel in Amwaj, Bahrain, on March 11, 2015. Launched in partnership with Tamkeen, EDB, Bahrain Development Bank (BDB), and knowledge advisors Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization InMicro-Enterprise of the Year Namaste Startup of the Year Obai & Hill SME Enterprise of the Year Creative Style Large Scale Enterprise of the Year Abdulla Ahmed Nass & Sons Co. (NASS) SME & Large Scale Enterprise Sustainable Business Award BMMI People’s Choice Award Almoayyed Contracting Group Lifetime Achievement Award Hussain Ali Yateem
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Entrepreneur april 2015
vestment & Technology Promotion Office (UNIDO-AICEI), and the Bahrain Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC), the award winners went through technical qualification rounds, and were ultimately chosen by the judges with the exception of the People’s Choice category. A regional representative of EY acted as a knowledge advisor for the inaugural event, and judges from across the MENA region included HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Talal Al Zain, Ahmed Nassef, Badr Jafar, Habib Haddad, Nina Curley, Rama
Mohamed Hussain Yateem and Ali Hussain Yateem accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of their father Hussain Yateem (pictured)
Chakaki, Rosemary Tan, Tony Bury, and Hala Fadhel. Seven award winners were selected from 100 nomination applications, and will be awarded with a variety of business opportunities to scale and develop their respective enterprises. BAE prizes include growth development programs and planning, startup funding, coaching, office space in business incubators and accelerators, as well as training and certification. The awards, presented by Sheikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, Chairman and Acting Chief Executive of Tamkeen, are one aspect of a multi-organizational effort to strengthen and recognize the Kingdom’s enterprise leaders, and create more awareness to the bevy of support programs and networks available to the nation’s entrepreneurs.