Bahrain

CIPE supports the Bahraini private sector to coalesce around key policy priorities and advocate for consensus-based reforms. A key element of these initiatives is improving the ecosystem for entrepreneurs to succeed through business mentorship and expanded access to finance.  

From 2021-2023, CIPE implemented the Economic Diversification and Access to Finance in Bahrain project funded by the U.S. Department of State (MEPI) to support the growth of Bahraini MSMEs. CIPE led a consortium of partners that included the Bahrain Business Angels Company – Tenmou, the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan (WDI), the U.S.-Bahrain Business Council, the American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain (AmCham), and the Bahrain SME Society, with a Steering Committee of Bahraini public and private sector leaders. Fifty startups and MSMEs received intensive mentorship from leaders in their fields, while a public-private dialogue series focused on expanding access to finance within the enterprise ecosystem. By the end of the program, more than two-thirds of participating MSMEs showed multiple signs of growth. The project also strengthened U.S.-Bahraini commercial relations through a bilateral dialogue series focused on the U.S.-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement (FTA). An FTA user’s guide is among the project’s outcomes, a practical tool to provide accessible information about utilizing the FTA. 

CIPE’s work in Bahrain builds upon successive projects supported by the U.S. Department of State. In 2019, CIPE supported the development of the first Bahrain National Business Agenda (NBA) with the leadership of a steering committee of Bahraini businesspeople. The NBA platform enables the private sector to build consensus around business needs and advocate for prioritized policy reforms. More than 25 percent of the NBA recommendations were enacted by the government, including reforms affecting investment, business licensing, commercial prosecution, SMEs, industrial zones, information technology, and real estate. 

In 2014, CIPE partnered with Tamkeen and WDI to develop and implement an Entrepreneur Mentoring Platform. This initiative followed a successful training program in which CIPE and WDI equipped a cadre of Bahraini instructors to provide cutting-edge knowledge on entrepreneurship to young entrepreneurs. In parallel, CIPE assisted Bahrain’s business community leaders in building consensus around policy reform priorities and recommendations in three policy papers that addressed the barriers to business registration, access to credit, and export promotion.