Hala Al Ansari, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), has underlined the SCW’s keenness to increase the partners of the Bahraini Women’s Development Centre (RIYADAT) to diversify the support provided to Bahraini female entrepreneurs who benefit from Riyadat’s various services to enhance their contributions to the national economy, specifically in the free labour market.
Al Ansari made the statements on the sidelines of the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) and Riyadat Centre, aiming to make Batelco a strategic partner in developing telecommunication and technology services for women entrepreneurs and business accelerators based in Riyadat.
In this regard, Al Ansari praised Batelco’s interest in supporting the Riyadat Centre in order to turn it into a business platform that adopts digital solutions in all its commercial transactions and multiple services.
The SCW Secretary-General added that the rapid developments currently witnessed by Riyadat aim to strengthen the centre’s position as an integrated economic incubator through the technical, training and advisory services it provides to women entrepreneurs, which contributes to empowering them to meet the requirements of the business world and its new trends.
She indicated that the cooperation agreement is consistent with the SCW’s plans to harness all capabilities and provide appropriate options to activate the work of women entrepreneurs in the context of activating the new “Riyadat” strategy, aiming to make the centre a one-stop-shop that delivers multiple services and activities that keep pace with the digital transformation approach, and in a way that supports Bahrain’s endeavours in this regard.
Maitham Abdulla, Chief Operating Officer at Batelco expressed delight over the company’s cooperation with Riyadat to support female entrepreneurs by providing them with telecommunication services and digital products at special prices, which will help them manage their businesses efficiently.
He affirmed Batelco’s keenness to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the best solutions and services, out of its belief in the great role they play in developing the commercial sector in the Kingdom.
Dalal Al Qais, CEO of Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) Group, highlighted BDB’s keenness to encourage SMEs to keep pace with the digital world in order to grow and develop their businesses, praising the strategic partnership with Baterlco, aiming to enable Bahraini female entrepreneurs at the Riyadat Centre to advance their projects, by providing them with a variety of innovative digital solutions.
Under the cooperation agreement between Batelco and the Riyadat Centre, Batelco will provide female entrepreneurs at the Riyadat Centre with special offers related to Internet services, including mobile broadband and fixed broadband services.
Batelco will also provide digital products that will support women entrepreneurs in their business operations, such as point of sale (POS) systems and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. It will also provide them with electronic devices at special prices.
The agreement also stipulates that the stores of female entrepreneurs and beneficiaries in the Riyadat Centre will be included in the Jawaher Loyalty Programme through the Batelco app, with the aim of providing marketing support for their products and services.
Batelco will also open a digital branch at the Riyadat Centre, which will provide all the company’s services to customers, which will streamline transactions, and enable them to obtain exclusive offers.
BNA(R)
