BTM December 2011 99 Bahrain will play host to an event aiming to shape the Kingdom’s future by investing into its most powerful tool — the youth sector. Starting your own business may be a great endeavour, but with the right stimulation and mentoring, it isn’t such a tedious task. A forum held this month in Bahrain aims to help young entrepreneurs assert and gain the required power to create their own business, which will ultimately build upon and boost an entire county’s economic opportunities and movements. The first Young Entrepreneurs Forum was held last year and brought about an awareness that created the current wave of interest from Arab youth to becoming businessmen and businesswomen. The Second Young Entrepreneurs Forum, titled ‘Start Your Venture’, will provide an opportunity to address mechanisms and ways by which to achieve the utmost benefit by young Bahrainis’ capabilities and potentials in the private sector. The forum is organised by Tamkeen, which continues to invest in Bahrain’s youth. A goal of Tamkeen’s is to enhance the Kingdom’s overall prosperity, which is deemed achievable with the help of forums such as this. The initiative understands the importance of assisting the youth, in order to achieve a better future. “This forum seeks to realise many objectives pertaining to the development of youth capabilities while boosting their entrepreneurial potential,” explains Tamkeen’s senior manager, Mohammed Bucheeri. Shedding light on the prospects and discussing the challenges entrepreneurs can face, the forum’s topics will aim to enhance the youth’s role in society in line with the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030. “This forms part of the leadership and government’s ongoing concern to help elevate the Bahraini human capital that is the focal point of our Kingdom’s prosperity in implementing all economic and social development strategies,” says BCCI board member and Tamkeen vice-chairman Khalid Al Amin. “We are focusing on developing one part of a multi-faceted spectrum of programmes and activities that the Youth Business Committee in the Chamber will roll out going forward,” Khalid adds. The organising committee believes that young entrepreneurship can act as a major catalyst towards economic development and hopes that the event’s programs will help pave the way to encourage more of the Kingdom’s youth to take on their own projects. To date, having invested more than BD140 million in more than 70 projects that targeted more than 50,000 Bahraini nationals and organisations, Tamkeen’s main objectives are to support Bahrainis to become the employees of choice, and to support high quality private sector job creation and helping the private sector cope with the impact of labour market reform. E Call 17 383-327. Also this month 100 x Entrepreneur - 102 x Interview businessthismonth When? December 14 | Event? Young Entrepreneurs Forum | Venue? BCCI Bait Al Tajjar headquarters Empowering Youth Batelco has announced the winners of Start-up Weekend Bahrain, for budding entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas, held at the end of last month. Charitime was declared the winner, with Student Tube taking second place and Paycell the third spot. The top three teams have walked away with BD4,000, BD2,000 and BD1,000 respectively. Ten teams worked over the weekend to develop a winning business model. The final presentations by Tenmou, the Bahrain Business Angel Company, with a view to allocating BD 20,000 funding to develop and launch the business. Start-up Winners Charitime winning team
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