In 1935, Britain’s main military base was established in Bahrain. This is because in the 1830s, the United Kingdom became a protectorate of Bahrain as a result of military conflict with Ottoman Turkey. So to speak, the Kingdom is not recent in trade, war and politics.

A colossal part of the Kingdom’s economy is directly linked to oil and petroleum production amidst other industries. Included is aluminum smelting, iron pelletisation, fertilizer production, Islamic and offshore banking, insurance, ship repairing and tourism. Agriculture consumes only one percent of the economy. But the quick development in the Kingdom’s startup community—seems to invert the popular belief that the United States will always be the central part of startup revolution, ever since the birthing of the great Silicon Valley.

The Seedstars MENA Summit held last December at the Corporate Hub 9 in Manama featured Bahrain’s sparkling ecosystem which stimulates a healthy business climate, somewhat different and away from the cliché. Simon Galpin, the managing director at Bahrain Economic Development Board, said: “The Bahraini ecosystem doesn’t have to be the same as the one in Dubai to become a really important catalyst of economic growth.”

The Summit was attended by more than 150 industry members including entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, students and major stakeholders such as EBD, corporate hub CH9, global accelerator 500 Startups and the Babson Global Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. It is important to observe Seedstars’ intent to host the Summit in the region, which appears symbolic to Bahrain’s business development configured in a global setup. Perhaps, it was the success from the first edition that cajoled the organisers to host the event in Manama again. A study by Ernst & Young reports: 70% of young Bahrainis are ‘interested in the idea of starting their own business’ in comparison to anyplace in the Gulf.

The Bahrain Economic Development Board in partnership with Fintech consortium announced their plan to build Bahrain Fintech Bay. This was to pronounce the Kingdom as the next financial hub. Really, Bahrain may even countervail the startup trend in the United States because entrepreneurial ideas travel faster than they ever have. And establishing a company in Silicon Valley is expensive. Realising this fact, there is considerable support found in the Kingdom. Whether the support is necessary in the guise of bankrolling, or through an attractive business climate—it is obtainable.

This year’s Pitch@Palace 1.0: The Brightest and Best of Bahrain’s Startups is further proof that Bahrain is cracking the code to have a plan forward in its startup ecosystem. The event in the grace of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister, and HRH Prince Andrew, Duke of York—concentrated on enabling local entrepreneurs to connect with potential industry forces such as corporates, investors and mentors.

As part of the event, a boot camp was organised for 17 startups to refine their pitching skills. Of the startups, 12 were staged to deliver their skills during a three-minute pitch in the presence of audience (Read: industry experts). This is to explain that Bahrain is formulating new regimes to reorganise startup exposure and disintegrate business complexities.

Last year, the Amazon Web Services zeroed on Bahrain for its first-time establishment in the Middle East. Fortunately, this move has hurled a great deal of opportunities toward cloud services. It is possible to regenerate the success of Silicon Valley and scale the Kingdom’s economy by accumulating the necessary research knowledge and the skilled manpower.

For now, entrepreneurs are seemingly interested in Bahrain because of its precision in favouring small-and-medium-sized enterprises. Bahrain is caricatured as the type of place where startups would want to be and thrive.  It consist of a free trade zone area which ties into a very promising start.

The Kingdom has even identified the correlation between bankruptcy and innovation, in particular. For example: the Bankruptcy Law hopes to carve a new approach toward insolvency and business failure.

From The Economist: “The wider lesson is not to stigmatise failure but to tolerate it and learn from it: Europe’s inability to create a rival to Silicon Valley owes much to its tougher bankruptcy laws.” Keeping this in mind, the Kingdom is focused on encouraging entrepreneurs to take risks in business ventures; by fully understanding the legalities laid by the government in good faith. Mohammed Altawash, managing founder of CH9, said: “there would be no reason why [entrepreneurs] would not do it.”

Early this year, the Kingdom launched a venture capital fund worth $100 million for the sake of startups. The fund, also known as Al Waha Fund of Funds is created to secure startups in Bahrain and across the region. Speaking to Arabian Business, Al Rumaihi, chairman of the Bahrain Development Bank, said: “This is very exciting news for the startup ecosystem both here in Bahrain and across the Middle East.

“We know that access to capital is one of the biggest constraints on growth for startups, so this fund will help businesses in Bahrain and across the Middle East to get access to the capital they need to expand.”

That’s the idea behind the fund: to feed the startup scene and welcome other venture capital funds to Bahrain. Areije Al Shakar, Bahrain Development Bank senior vice president and head of business services, said: “We need VCs to come, spend more time and be present here.

“With Al Waha, these VCs will be here a lot more, and they [startups] won’t have to wait for an event or to travel to try to get access to funding or expertise.

“That will further support the growth of our ecosystem. At the same time, we have a lot of startups that are choosing Bahrain because of ease of set-up costs, access to talent and friendly regulatory environment, but they also need that kind of funding and expertise, and Al Waha will hopefully be able to resolve that.”

The Economic Development Board has even predicted a future with India by establishing an office in Mumbai. Using Bahrain as the medium, many startups in parts of India can route their products and services to the Gulf market. The acumen here is to grasp the extended support given by the Economic Development Board and reformat the facilities to best suit early-stage enterprises.

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Over 1200 global industry powerhouses, policy makers, innovators and stakeholders will converge for the three-day long forum that is spearheading a series of discussions gravitating around the theme of “Islamic Finance & Sustainable Economic Growth in the Age of Disruption” in line with its steady vision to serve as a compass for the global Islamic finance and banking industry.

Speaking ahead of the 25th WIBC, Ehsan Abbas, Chairman, Middle East Global Advisors, said: “For over 25 years, WIBC has helped forge a robust ecosystem to widen the scope of Islamic finance to meet new realities, whilst staying true to its ideals. 2018 will mark the 25th anniversary edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference – testament to its continued significance as a trusted benchmark for the industry to gather and share critical insights going forward.”

Adding further, Mr. Abbas said, “To assess recovery of economic growth, WIBC will seek to address the optimal ways that policymakers can support long-term robust growth by preparing to cope with possible bouts of financial market volatility. Countries need to rebuild fiscal buffers, enact structural reforms, and steer monetary policy cautiously in an environment that is already complex and challenging. In the midst of this, the 25th WIBC will focus on how Islamic finance can build on its global value proposition as a means of strengthening the financial sector.”

Speaking on behalf of WIBC’s Strategic Partner, Khalid Hamad Abdul-Rahman Hamad, Executive Director – Banking Supervision, Central Bank of Bahrain, said, “The Central Bank of Bahrain is pleased to be a strategic partner for the 25th edition of the World Islamic Banking Conference to be held on 26-28 November in Bahrain. The conference this year combines the best of Islamic Banking & Bahrain against the backdrop of recent changes. Key areas of focus will be new initiatives in Digital Banking, Economic Growth & Sustainable Finance, and country specific showcases. The Minister for Oil and Gas will also be talking about investment opportunities in Bahrain’s recent mega Oil and Gas discovery. The CBB is committed to remaining at the forefront of these developments by providing regulatory oversight to emerging technologies and ensuring the sustainability of financial resources. With the recent announcement of the Regulatory Sandbox and Bahrain Fintech Bay, Bahrain now also has an ecosystem in place to encourage growth in the Fin-Tech industry, making all the conference discussions & participatory interaction very relevant.”

WIBC has annually reaffirmed its reputation in generating breakthrough thought leadership. A true flagbearer for the conference and its ethos year-on-year, His Excellency Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain, will showcase his support for the event by delivering the keynote address at the 25th World Islamic Banking Conference, with the vision of furthering the ecosystem for Islamic finance entities to thrive and grow globally.

With the pace of change in Financial Services increasing rapidly, so does the urge for the industry to react. Rapidly embracing the prevalent disruption and forging partnerships in efforts to sharpen operational efficiency have taken precedence in the digital era. Over the last few years, a key focus area for WIBC has always been to connect the industry with leading pioneers and innovators in the FinTech space and forge a fresh, innovative and technology-enabled phase of the industry’s development. While last year’s edition witnessed keynote speeches by Alex Tapscott, CEO NextBlock Global, Co-Author of Blockchain Revolution & Founding Member, IMF’s High Level Advisory Group on Fintech and Xen Baynham- Herd, Head of Strategy and Lead Economist – Blockchain who spoke about embracing new technologies like blockchain in the changing face of financial services due to the advent of the digitization, this year’s edition will also see leading technology experts deliberate as part of an exclusive FinTech Panel.

Key features for WIBC 2018 include: Governors’ Addresses; High-profile Regulatory Debate among Central Bankers; a conversation with a distinguished Islamic finance veteran on the future course of the Islamic economy, The Regulations Power Table on fostering synergies among regulators, standard setters and global financial regulatory authorities to further Islamic Finance;  Panel discussions focusing on sustainable, equitable & inclusive growth, FinTech, new horizons for Islamic finance, cross-jurisdictional issues on Sharia standards & practices and much more.

Industry leaders will also be recognized for their excellence through the WIBC Performance Awards 2018, the nominees of which will be announced weeks before the November event, and the winners at the Gala Dinner on November 27. Confirmed partners at WIBC 2018 so far include: Casablanca Finance City Authority, Ithmaar Bank, Khaleeji Commercial Bank (KHCB), World Gold Council, First Energy Bank, The Perth Mint, Eiger Trading, Bahrain Islamic Bank (BisB) & Fitch Ratings.

Bahrain, the host nation of WIBC for the past 25 years has emerged as a global leader in Islamic finance, with the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) continuing to provide strong support to the financial industry. With the aim of strengthening Bahrain’s position as a Fintech and financial services hub in the GCC, the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and FinTech Consortium recently announced the launch of Bahrain FinTech Bay, among the largest dedicated financial technology (fintech) hubs in the Middle East and Africa. The 10,000 square foot space in Manama aims to support the development and acceleration of Fintech firms, as well as the interaction between investors, entrepreneurs, government bodies and financial institutions.

Interestingly, the 24th WIBC proved to be the ideal launch pad for a number of initiatives, notably ALGO Bahrain – the world’s first Fintech Consortium of Islamic Banks and Wahed Invest’s launch of the world’s first halal robo advisor – a unique way of revolutionizing halal investing by using technology. The conference also played host to the launch of The ICD-Thomson Reuters Islamic Finance Development Report 2017 and The Islamic Commercial Law Report 2018 by Thomson Reuters, arming industry leaders with critical insights going forward.

WIBC 2017 registered participation from a staggering 1200 delegates, 87 partners, 90 high profile speakers from across 50 countries, further boosting the powerful WIBC brand and its legacy. The distinguished line-up of speakers over the years include:

• His Excellency Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor, Central Bank of Bahrain
• His Excellency Dr. Kairat Kelimbetov, Governor, Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC)
• His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Abdulkarim Alkholifey, Governor, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency
• Kishore Mahbubani, Dean, Professor in the Practice of Public Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore
• H.E. Hamood Sangour Al-Zadjali, Executive President, Central Bank of Oman
• H.E. Riaz Riazuddin, Deputy Governor, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)
• Manjiang Cheng, Chief Economist, Bank of China International (BOCI), CEO, Research Company of BOCI
• H.E. Dr. Mohammad Y. Al-Hashel, Governor, Central Bank of Kuwait

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The Bahrain News Agency has not disclosed any details on the size of the reserve or the date to commence production. The capital Manama is said to be the smallest producer of hydrocarbons in the Gulf Cooperation Council. This includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

At present, it has only one oilfield with several hundred million barrels of crude reserve, according to the Jakarta Post. For now, it pumps 50,000 barrels per day and 28mn cubic metres of natural gas everyday.

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