KPMG held a seminar session yesterday at the Wyndham Grand Hotel, Bahrain where it brought together over 60 representatives from local enterprises to discuss the future of SMEs within the country.
The Managing Partner at KPMG Bahrain, Jamal Fakhro, emphasized the significance of the SME’s contributions to the local economy through the volume of exports, capital investments and employment opportunities they generate. “At KPMG in Bahrain, we recognize the important role SMEs play in stimulating the economic growth. We apply our professional expertise and knowledge of the challenges and opportunities available in the marketplace to support business owners achieved their growth objectives at any stage of their business life-cycle,” he said.
According to Harish Gopinath, Partner and Head of KPMG Enterprise at KPMG in Bahrain, funding is one of the main challenges facing SMEs. He elaborates saying: “There has been an increasing funding support for entrepreneurship and startups, in Bahrain and the region, as part of the economic diversification plans. However, funding still remains a main challenge to start-ups mainly due to their financial management capabilities. Information about the business financial activities is fundamental for SMEs to source funding from lenders. Therefore, absent or inaccurate information can jeopardize funding opportunities.”
During the presentations, there was a general consensus that due to the increasing complexity of the current business environment, and the VAT implementation by next year, in addition to the growing competition, these all outline the importance of optimizing business activities to increase operational efficiencies, minimize costs and remaining competitive.