The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB), the investment promotion agency for the Kingdom of Bahrain, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) – the Kerala government body for supporting technology startups in Kerala. The MoU aims to provide a framework for co-operation between the two authorities to promote innovation in their respective markets in the fields of FinTech, ICT and related emerging technologies start-ups. The signing took place in Dubai, where both parties were attending the 39th annual GITEX Technology Week.
A key focus of the MoU is to build business opportunities for each country’s startups in the other’s market. The scope of cooperation also includes the facilitation of delegation visits to Bahrain and India, as well as collaboration on knowledge exchange and best practice regarding:
Education programmes and curricula, including facilitating and enhancing cooperation between relevant parties such as financial and technological institutions, universities and research institutions, technology experts, and government agencies
Facilitating the development and growth of FinTech and ICT start-ups and centres via support from hubs such as Bahrain Fintech Bay, Brinc Batelco IoT Acceslerator, Flat6 Labs Bahrain, Brilliant Lab and KSUM Hub
Exploration of innovation projects in areas such as digital and mobile payments, blockchain and distributed ledgers, big data, flexible platforms (API), AML, eKYC, and other emerging areas in FinTech and ICT
Bahrain and India have enjoyed commercial ties for thousands of years with trade currently standing at some $1.3 billion. FinTech and ICT are already a key focus for collaboration between the two countries, with a similar MoU signed by the EDB and the Government of Maharashtra last year.