ITPO Bahrain successfully hosts virtual Enterprise Development & Investment Promotion Program (EDIP)

Against the backdrop of the challenges related to COVID-19, the UNIDO ITPO Bahrain successfully completed its 112th edition of the Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Program (EDIP) between 7-18 June 2020 virtually.

With 19 potential Bahraini entrepreneurs (70% of whom were female) the virtual EDIP was conducted by the ITPO team of experts and business counsellors in cooperation with representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, the SME Fund – Tamkeen, the Bahrain Development Bank, the Economic Development Board, the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, and a number of case study entrepreneurs.

Since the inception of EDIP Program in Bahrain in 2000, 112 programs have been organized, leading to extending support to 6,000 entrepreneurs and establishment of 2,000 new enterprises, with an estimated investment of 1.6 Billion USD and generation of 16,000 jobs.

The Independent Terminal Evaluation of ITPO Bahrain for the project phase 2017-2019 commended ITPO Bahrain for its important work under the programme and noted that “EDIP has provided great visibility for UNIDO and its programmes and experts while putting Bahrain and the ITPO on the global map of investment promotion”. The EDIP programme is currently active in 52 countries and has created a wealth of successful entrepreneurs that the evaluators have met in Sudan, Bahrain and Morocco.

In line with the efforts of the Government of Bahrain to diversify the national economy and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the UNIDO ITPO Bahrain underlines its firm commitment to support Bahraini Start-ups and existing entrepreneurs.

For more information, contact the ITPO Bahrain (itpo.bahrain [at] unido.org (itpo[dot]bahrain[at]unido[dot]org))