GMIS Digital Series Highlights - UNIDO’s Impact Investment for Innovation Programme

Building on the momentum of the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) Virtual Summit 2020, the GMIS Digital Series is engaging thought leaders on the future of manufacturing through a series of webinars to be broadcast in the fourth quarter of 2020.

In this context the UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office (ITPO) in Bahrain led a webinar focusing on “Impact Investment through the Enterprise Development and Impact Programme”, opened by Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento, Managing Director, Directorate of Digitalization, Technology and Agri-Business, UNIDO. “COVID-19 has put a lot of strain on our society and the economies around the globe. To help SME businesses continue to recover from the pandemic, they need proper access to finance and investment to help them foster digital capabilities. We need to ensure that SMEs are part of the digital transformation if we want to build a sustainable future - allowing progress that enhances the opportunities for all,” he stressed.

Hashim Hussein, Head, ITPO Bahrain, said: “We must support SMEs around the world to become more engaged with technology and ensure entrepreneurial resilience. In Bahrain, we have long-running programs that support start-ups, micro, small and medium businesses through the creation of ecosystems that encourage investment and outside of the country, we are focused on supporting the industrialisation process of developing countries by helping to attract investment into SME programs that embrace technological change,” added Hussein.

The webinar featured further contributions from Veronika Peshkova, UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador; Her Excellency Safia Boly, former Minister for the Promotion of Private Investment, Small and Medium Enterprises and National Entrepreneurship, Mali; Khaled Hanafy, Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers; and Anjan Das, Executive Director, Confederation of Indian Industry.

Watch the webinar in-full here.