The second edition of Bahrain Tech Week launched last week from September 28th until October 8, and it was filled with informative and invigorating sessions for techies, entrepreneurs, investors, and even students. The action-packed week was held all around Bahrain, and people from all over the region flew in to experience this exciting journey. Make sure you check out Startup MGZN and StartUp Bahrain’s Instagram stories for a full recap!
Some of these events included the AWS Summit, MIT Innovation Forum, Runway to Web Summit Pitching competition, #WePowerTech event by C5 Accelerate and AWS, “My Startup Bootcamp” by CH9 and Yo Startups, designed specifically for entrepreneurs to help execute their business ideas, and so much more!
Tech Week Bahrain is brought to you by the Bahrain Economic Development Board in strategic partnership with Tamkeen Bahrain with the aim of showcasing opportunities for innovation and growth in Bahrain’s technology sector.
We asked a few members of the community what they thought of this week. Here’s what they had to say about it:
- “Following a successful first year, planning Tech Week 2018 remained a challenge in the type, size, and number of events. Nonetheless, Tech Week 2018 was a dramatic improvement, especially seeing more international participants in various events,” Ahmed Janahi, Community Engagement Manager at Tamkeen Bahrain.
- “I found that Tech Week was a great culmination of various events of different target audiences. I think it brought together the ability for opportunities for people that are at policy levels, people that are on operational levels and even for entrepreneurs to experience different elements that are important for technology and how they also intertwine within the ecosystem, I think when we say that the whole week was actually packed, it was packed but it was great because for each different type of interests or opportunities there was an event and the ability for people to attend, it was very inclusive and it brought together people from all different backgrounds. And it was nice to see that in various events we had people that weren’t even involved in the startup ecosystem but on an operational technology level that were coming together exchanging ideas and thoughts and it was a great display of the collaborative environment that we have here in Bahrain,” Areije Al Shakar, Senior Vice President at Bahrain Development Bank.
- “Putting together TechWeekBH brings me joy & pride every year! I particularly love how it brings together people from different professional backgrounds to attend one or more sessions with remarkable speakers – some flying to Bahrain for the first time. At the EDB, we take this opportunity to promote Bahrain’s latest ICT & Startups’ Development whether on a legislative, economic or cultural base,” Pakiza Abdulrahman, Manager, Business Development – Startups at Bahrain EDB.
- “It has been an amazing, fast-paced, and highly-charged week, much like the tech industry itself. We didn’t only get a chance to showcase our businesses, experiences, and expertise but also to take in the energy and learn from industry giants. It’s always exciting to work collaboratively with other stakeholders and ecosystem players to ensure growth and sustainability. We are looking forward to next year’s tech week already,” Hadyah Fathalla, Executive Director of C5 Accelerate.
- “Techweek is a demonstration of how far the ecosystem in Bahrain has come and continues to grow. There was a variety of events from summits to pitch competitions to networking events to seminars. The involvement of both global players such as AWS and Web Summit and also local corporates such as BBK is a testament of where the ecosystem is heading in the next couple of years,” Yasser Abdulaziz, Co-Founder, and COO of Malaeb.
- “Tech Week Bahrain was an incredible week with a series of interesting events that highlighted the progress Bahrain’s ecosystem underwent in the past few years. It’s also important to showcase how attractive our tech industry to investors and startups from abroad,” Zaman AH. Zaman, Chief Executive Officer of Level Z and Skiplino.
- “Bahrain Tech Week is becoming my favorite time of year. It’s inspiring to see everyone involved in the ecosystem getting together, exchanging knowledge and truly collaborating to advance the Technology Sector forward,” Alharith Alatawi, Co-founder at ONEGCC and Skiplino.
- “It’s great to have the StartUp Bahrain community and the regional community come together and showcase how great Bahrain is and how it can be,” Yasin Aboudaoud Chief Development Officer of Brinc Batelco IoT Hub.
- “It’s so exciting to know that we are only few months away from the day AWS starts their operations in Bahrain and can’t wait to see the transformation that’s coming with it,” Abdulla Al-Radhi, Founder and CEO of Akalati.
- “Tech Week had an impressive showcase of events, which we were honored to be a part of, with our first Demo Day in Bahrain. The large turnout of attendees is a reflection of how the startup ecosystem in Bahrain continues to grow and build momentum,” Saleh Abbas, Community Manager at Flat6Labs Bahrain.
- “Tech Week has been getting bigger and bigger every year, so it’s quite enlightening to see how we are actually progressing in the right direction. All these events are different, AWS to Flat6Labs to Web Summit to Founder Hour. The formats are getting interesting, there are lots of new formats so it’s not just the same old discussions. The people are also getting interesting, and a lot more people are coming to the event from Saudi, Kuwait, UAE, and Egypt. And the startups that are also coming around – I was impressed by their pitches at the Flat6Labs demo day. I expect that this is going to get bigger next year, and I think StartUp Bahrain and Tech Week are right on track,” Amjad Puliyali, Co-Founder and CEO of GetBaqala.
- “It was refreshing and inspiring to experience such energy, and consume knowledge about Bahrain’s technology sector and startup ecosystem. It’s a prosperous time to be alive in and we’re happy to be a part of this journey. We look forward to Tech Week 2019,” Startup MGZN team.
And what about you? How did you find Tech Week? Voice out your thoughts and opinions by connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Missed Tech Week? Don’t worry about it because we’ve got it all covered for you in our Instagram highlights, you’re welcome.