The University celebrates the Global Entrepreneurship Week and hosts a group of experts as part of a seminar on funding opportunities for startups and young entrepreneurs in the Covid-19 era

Under the patronage of Prof. Waheeb Alkhaja, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Applied Science University, the University, in partnership with the Labor Fund “Tamkeen”, organized a virtual seminar titled “Funding Opportunities for Young Entrepreneurs in the Covid-19 Era”, in the presence of the President of the University, Prof. Ghassan Aouad, with the participation of a group of distinguished speakers and experts who spoke about the opportunities presented despite the Corona pandemic to start a profitable business.

The organization of this seminar is part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s celebrations of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, especially that the Kingdom has made many initiatives to mitigate the consequences of job losses and business closures caused by the Coronavirus pandemic, to ensure the continuity of existing businesses, strengthen and empower young entrepreneurs and support small and medium enterprises and the most affected by the pandemic.

Prof. Waheeb Alkhaja, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in a speech inaugurating the activities of the seminar, expressed his great pride in the University’s hosting of this important event, hoping that it would benefit Bahraini youth, aspiring entrepreneurs and emerging sectors, praising the great role played by the Labor Fund “Tamkeen” organizing and coordinating the activities of the Kingdom’s celebrations of the Global Entrepreneurship Week, and stressing the University’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and expanding the educational and knowledge base supporting the graduation of entrepreneurial students who contribute to the development of the national economy.

For his part, Prof. Ghassan Aouad, President of the University, emphasized that entrepreneurship has become an integral part of the University’s educational process and one of its main priorities in its strategic plan, especially after the opening of the Business Incubation Center, which provides all the support and services that students need to develop their ideas and turn them into successful projects, and thanked all the guests and attendees for accepting the invitation, noting the University’s keenness to train students in entrepreneurship and creativity through partnerships and cooperation agreements with institutions and companies that support innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Dr. Faiza Zitouni, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs and Development, moderated the dialogue between the guests and the speakers, including Dr. Khaled Al-Ghazawi, CEO of Ebdaa Bank in Bahrain, who made a presentation about the loans provided by the bank to support small projects, stressing that Ebdaa Bank encouraged young people, during the pandemic, to transform the challenges posed by this new reality into real opportunities for investment and creativity, while Mrs. Feryal Nass, Founder and President of the Bahrain Entrepreneurship Organization, spoke about the most important activities undertaken by the organization to spread the culture of entrepreneurship in the Kingdom and the region. Mr. Nawaf Al-Kooheji, CEO of “Tenmou”, the first business angels company in Bahrain, provided a set of tips and tricks to aspiring entrepreneurs and startup owners on how to raise funds that suit the needs of their companies without creating a burden of debts that affects their business. In the same context, Mr. Saleh Abbas, Senior Program Manager at Flat6Labs Bahrain, provided an introduction to his company’s programs and the services they provide to accelerate the growth of startups. As for Ms. Haneen Azzam, Director of the crowdfunding platform “Zoomal”, which is considered the first Arab crowdfunding platform, she noted the importance of this type of financing to create a new dynamic to fund innovative projects and support young entrepreneurs. And finally, Mrs. Hana Habib Al Tareif, the entrepreneur and owner of the “Tutor Me” platform, and Senior Executive officer of the Bahrain Economic Development Board, presented the role of the Board as the first contact point for international companies wishing to establish and manage their projects in Bahrain, and its role in attracting many large and emerging companies to bring direct investments in Bahrain.