INNOVATION FOCUS at the StartUp Bahrain Week

MORE than 2, 500 people from around the world participated in a series of events held in Bahrain which helped them enable in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The StartUp Bahrain Week held at the Bahrain International Circuit from March 3 until 8 under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and Chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB) was supported by Tamkeen (Labour Fund), the event’s strategic partner.

The community-led initiative pitched the region’s most exciting start-up events and the week was packed with activities under five (six?) events, four competitions and hosted more than 30 regional and national speakers.

The events and activities analyzed and explored the merits and prospects of Bahrain’s nourishing start-up scene which is supported by favorable business regulations, tech-savvy infrastructure, and a flair or expertise.

The debut event of the week on March 3 was themed on Bahrain’s first ever game development after the GCC Game Jam. Organized by INFINITEWARE, the event featured presentations from several acknowledged game developers from around the region. The conference introduced like a camp had players who spent 48 hours in a row, developing and presenting their games, a variety that spanned from popular through modern to fictional. The platform offered a valuable opportunity to Bahraini youth an inclination towards video games to refine their talents, thus paving way to establish the Kingdom as a regional hub in the field.

On March 4, “Rowad Talk” was organized at the Downtown Rotana Hotel featuring an evening with Walid Mansour, Partner and chief investment officer of MEVP Funds, and Elie Habib, co-founder of Anghami. The event expanded to support all stages of the entrepreneurship business cycle on coaching, training, incubation, funding, mentoring, partners, and network, offering businesspersons a holistic sustenance to help them initiate, grow, and succeed.

From March 4 to 5 My Startup Bootcamp, organized by CH9 and YoStartups, focused on aspiring startups, with a  complete overview on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. The bootcamp took the participants on a journey through methodologies for success, empowering them to progress in their path and providing support to startups that have high growth potential.

Heritage Houses in Muharraq hosted the sixth (fifth?) event, themed “Follow the Leaders”, the international conferences cycle by THINKERS & DOERS.

A full day of business meetings, panel discussions, lively sessions, inspiring talks, debates, workshops, master classes, and prizes for best startups in Bahrain, were the highlights.

The last (sixth) event unbound Bahrain was held by Bahrain International Circuit in partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board and supported by StartUp Bahrain. The event brought globally established, award-winning innovation festival to Bahrain, celebrating the kingdom’s commitment in fueling a digital future for the MENA region.

Marking the finale of the StartUp week, American Express Middle East held “Hack @ the Track” event sponsored by “…”. The event highlighted ways to build a solution that makes digital payments more accessible.