1.What is the enterprise support program Business Development?
It is a co-financing program designed to provide financial grants to help growth and development of enterprises in Bahrain.
The grant covers 50% of the approved items / services cost, and may reach up to 80% if the enterprise achieves a set of growth parameters by the end of the contract period.
2.What does the program cover?
The program covers a number of areas that are directly related to the enterprise’s operation activities to achieve your business objectives.
These areas include the following:
1. Machinery & Equipment
2. Information & Communication technologies (ICT)
3. Marketing & Branding
4. Participation in Exhibitions
5. Business Consultancy
6. Quality Improvement & Certification
Your enterprise is entitled to apply for any of the services under one application form only. Therefore, it is very important to understand your business requirements for the upcoming 18 months in detail, prior to submitting your application.
3.What is the eligibility criteria required to apply for the program?
The program is available to all active enterprises registered and licensed in Bahrain.
Enterprises in process of registering or obtaining a license (proof of in-process documentation from the authorizing body is required) may apply and final approval is subject to obtaining the final Commercial Registration Certificate or License to operate the business.
4.How much is the support amount?
The support amount will depend on certain factors, including the size of the enterprise, the industry it belongs to, number of employees, financial performance, and its business characteristics.
5.Can I apply if I previously benefited from any of Tamkeen’s enterprise support programs?
Yes, you are entitled to apply for the Enterprise Support Program (ESP) again however, under the current format, each enterprise is entitled to apply once during the contract period of 3 years.
6.How and where can I apply?
Step 1: You need to register and create an account through the online portal
Step 2: Activate your account by email and visit any of our customer service branches for verification. (Seef Mall, Enma Mall, Sitra Mall and BCCI. For financing and labor queries you may also access the BDB – Bahrain Development Bank - and Ministry of Labor Offices/Desks at our branches or their respective offices.)
Step 3: Access and submit the online application by filling in the required details about your business, as well as the required support documents.
For more information about how to apply, please watch this tutorial video.
7.What do I need to prepare before I apply?
Before applying, you must have the following information ready to enable us to accurately assess your application and support areas of need:
• Your short-term business plan
• List of all of your immediate and short-term requirements (i.e. items / services to be procured within the next 3 – 18 months)
You will be required to submit the relevant quotations of all immediate requirements (to be procured within the first 3 months).
Submitting quotations for short term requirements (more than 3 months and up to 18 months) will help you in providing accurate estimates of the costs as well.
If you do not list any immediate requirements (items / services to be procured within 3 months), and did not attach any quotations at the time of submitting the application, your application will be considered incomplete until rectified or cancelled.
8.What documents do I need to upload with my online application?
The required documents are essential operating documents which may include (CR/License, Electricity Bill, LMRA Violation Report, SIO Bill, Bank Statement, Authorized and Primary contact ID’s, etc.).
However, the application form and required documents are dynamic. Therefore, the required documents will only be defined at a later stage based on your selections in the application form.
E.g. if you are a company you will be asked to provide an Article of Association, therefore if you are not you will not be asked for it.
9.What is the full list of questions of the online application?
The application form is dynamic, thus we do not have a list of all questions in one form.
10.Can I stop in the middle of the application and return to it later?
Yes, you can save your application or return to a partially completed application.
11.Can stages of application be skipped?
Stages of application cannot be skipped or saved unless all required information is filled in.
12.How long does it take to fill up the application form?
The application will take 2 to 3 hours provided that you are well-prepared and have all the needed information and documents.
13.I need help filling out the application form, what do I do?
For more information about how to fill in the form, please watch this tutorial video.
You may attend an optional orientation session conducted by Tamkeen. You may book your slot through the online portal.
In case you need further assistance, you may book for a one-to-one session with an advisor through the online portal.
14.I do not have access to a scanner, how will I upload the required documents?
Our service centers at Seef Mall, Sitra Mall and Enma Mall all have self-service desks where you can upload your documents.
15.Do I have to provide 3 quotations?
No, you will only have to submit 1 quotation. Our team will review the quality of the quotation and ensure the prices are within the market range.
If required, we may contact you to provide additional quotations.
16.What happens after I submit my application?
• We verify the accuracy and completeness of your documentation.
• Contact you to visit your premises.
• Schedule an evaluation meeting with a Tamkeen advisor to further understand your business needs and requirements.
• Provide you with an Action Plan.
• The grant amount listed in the Action Plan is tentative and is subject to changes based on the final quotation presented.
17.Who should attend the evaluation meeting?
Ideally, the owner(s) of the company or an appointed company representative in charge of the day-to-day operations.
18.What is an action plan?
The Action Plan is a detailed document that each enterprise will receive after the evaluation meeting which include all the approved items / services for the contract period.
The Action Plan will clearly define the following areas:
• The areas of support needed
• Items within each area
• Total grant amount and breakdown of grant per support area
• The effective dates of procurement
• Special conditions the enterprise has to meet in order to receive the Final Approval (If applicable)
19.What if I do not agree with the action plan?
In case the Action Plan does not meet your requirements or contains incorrect information, you may request for amendment through the online portal under the Application details page and provide us with your remarks.
Our assessment team will review your remarks and make necessary changes where possible.
20.Is the action plan considered as my final approval?
After confirming your Action Plan on the portal, we will review the prices of submitted quotations in detail and issue the Final Approval.
You may receive more than one Final Approval based on your support requirement areas and applicable effective dates as agreed in your Action Plan.
21.Where do I collect the final approval? do I need to present anything?
You may collect the Final Approval from our customer service branch at Seef Mall (near Gate 10).
When collecting the Final Approval, you need to submit an undated security cheque which equals the total grant amount.
First collect the security check –which should be equal to the total grant amount. This should be submitted at our customer service branch at Seef Mall (near Gate 10). After that you may collect the Final Approval from any of our branches and representative Offices/ Desks.
22.When can I pay for the items / services?
You may pay for the items or services only after collecting the Action plan approval. However, it is at your risk if the final approval was not given to a particular item for some reason.
Any payments made before collecting the Action plan approval may not be reimbursed.
23.Can I amend my request after it has been approved?
Yes, you may, as long as the desired amendments are in line with your business plan and allocated granted amount.
To submit the request, you must do so using the Amendment Request form available on the online portal.
All requests are subject to Tamkeen’s approval.
24.If I own more than one business, can i submit more than one application?
If you are an individual establishment, you are limited to select 1 business line to apply for.
If you are a group of companies, you may submit 1 application for each business line.
25.How long is the contract period? when can I re-apply?
The contract period is 3 years, starting from the approval date stated on the Action Plan.
The grant must be utilized as stated in your business plan within the first 18 months of the contract.
The enterprise is not eligible to re-apply during the contract period.