As part of its strategy to continuously promote young potential entrepreneurs to embrace entrepreneurship and join the startup ecosystem journey in the kingdom, Tenmou, Bahrain’s first business Angels, concluded the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2016, on a high note. The Start-up Weekend competitions and the announcement of the winners marked the end of the GEW celebrations in Bahrain.
The Start-up Weekend took place from 8th – 10th December, 2016. There were 11 participating teams, who presented their innovative ideas to a panel of expert judges. All pitching startups had their concepts validated by recognized establishments in the field of their e-businesses.
Organized by Tenmou, the event was held in strategic partnership with Tamkeen, and sponsored by Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA), Microsoft and Coca Cola Bottling Company Bahrain.
As part of the GEW, this year more than 1000 participants attended 13 different events hosted by the partners. The partners included: Tenmou, Tamkeen, Zain Bahrain, Suhail Al Gosaibi, 4SPOTS, Rowad and Bahrain Businesswomen’s Society.
Commenting on the event, Hasan Haider, Chief Executive of Tenmou, said: “At Tenmou, our strategic objective is to inspire, build and empower individuals and teams to join the startup ecosystem in Bahrain. Startup Weekend provides the right platform for young upcoming entrepreneurs in the kingdom to be part of the large global community of passionate entrepreneurs. We are pleased with this year’s competitions which showcased young entrepreneurs with different skill-sets. Every year we see a variety of innovative ideas being presented which make us proud.”
The first winning team was HOVR who won BD 2,000 and one year co-working space at Tenmou’s offices. In the second place, MyLoanNow won BD 1,500 and 6 months co-working space at Tenmou’s offices. Last of all, in the third place, Saloom won BD 1,000 and 3 months co-working space at Tenmou’s offices.
Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, Tamkeen’s Chief Executive Officer stated: “We are proud of our partnership with Tenmou as part of Tamkeen’s efforts towards motivating the Bahraini youth to interact as entrepreneurs; as an alternate option to employment which comes on top of Tamkeen’s priorities in positioning the private sector as the key driver to economic development.” He also added: “the competition aims to celebrate the Bahraini youth’s achievements and highlight their ability to excel in various sectors and honour the most unique ones amongst them.”
Launched in 2011, Tenmou aims to support entrepreneurs with valuable business assistance, including financial investment, mentorship, advice and guidance. Tenmou recognizes that for many entrepreneurs, mentorship programmes can be as valuable as financial investments. Each project receives practical advice and training from the company’s board members, who bring with them a wealth of business experience. These training sessions expose the entrepreneurs to real business situations and are conducted in the form of regular workshops
Established with a start-up capital of BD1 million (US$2.7 million), Tenmou invests an average of BD 20,000–30,000 for a stake of on average 20%- 30% in each project that meets its criteria, and will provide a three-month mentorship period, including support services, at no cost to the entrepreneurs.