There is a digital revolution happening here in Bahrain, and it’s only just beginning. Have you accessed everything that’s available?
Bahrain is witnessing a new era of tech/digital entrepreneurship—one we should be wholeheartedly embracing. Around the world, we see the development of tech centers: from stalwart Silicon Valley to up-and-comers like London, Hong Kong and others. Now we are joining the digital startup club here in the GCC.
Worldwide, digital startups, including websites, apps and other e-products, have been growing exponentially over the last few years. In the region, things are also heating up; Jordanian business accelerator Oasis500 has largely seen digital ventures through its doors, and it has supported these companies with $2.4 million in seed capital. Furthermore, there are now over 80,000 employees in Jordan’s booming tech industry, which has a whopping turnover of $2.3 billion.
In Dubai, Afkar is searching for “the next big thing for the MENA digital sector,” allocating $20,000 for selected startups. In Internet City, In5 aims to cultivate the digital media startup environment, offering their expertise in the process. According to Intigral, the company behind Afkar, acting CEO Dr. Ismaeel Makdis values the regional digital market at around $5 billion, with expected growth to $18 billion by 2018.
Over the last 12 months, a number of innovative digital ideas have come to fruition in the Kingdom of Bahrain. You can read about startups in the Kingdom’s first digital magazine, Start Up Bahrain, order your groceries online from Al Osra, and take in the highlights of our island with Bahrain’s first e-guidebook, StreetSmart Bahrain. Support local fishermen by picking up your phone and ordering from Fish Transporter, or if something else tickles your fancy, use the Talabat app to order in from a range of Bahrain’s eateries.
“there are now over 80,000 employees in Jordan’s booming tech industry, which has a whopping turnover of $2.3 billion.”
There is something for everyone being created online these days in Bahrain. Gamers have live gaming sites (Live Gaming ME); designers can use the creative cloud solution for 3-D rendering (EXA Technologies, Inc.); and PaperV has been established as a social crowdsourcing platform. If you want to be savvy with your money, check out Filoosy’s bank comparison site; the virtuous can donate their time through the innovative Charitime.
In 2013, Bahrain held Social Media Masters, a conference under the patronage of the Minister of State for Communication Affairs. This event was the first and largest in the region, and further demonstrated the eagerness of the community while marking a series of encouraging first steps taken by the government to support this new field.
More recently, the growth of i-commerce, or commerce through Instagram, has been outstanding. Innovative small business owners are posting photos of their goods and selling them through WhatsApp. If you want homemade cakes, cars, homes, or even designer knockoffs, it’s all there on Instagram. Despite downsides to i-commerce such as lack of quality control, assurances, and reliability, Bahrainis are still embracing it in great numbers. Perhaps it represents a natural extension of our trading history here in the Gulf, an area that could see even more growth and innovation in the near future.
In the recent batch of startups supported by Tenmou, Bahrain’s first business angels, the entrepreneurs were nearly all digital innovators, and the organization’s financial investments demonstrated the support of the Kingdom’s top business leaders in the new digital wave. From EAT, an online dining reservation system, to uTrack, a go-pro sports filming company, to One Box Solution, an educational e-book tool— in the words of Sami Jalal, Tenmou Chairman, “These companies are part of our country’s promising digital sector, and will be paving the way for many more.”
“Nearly 400,000 people on Facebook, over 250,000 on Twitter, and 120,000 on Instagram give Bahrain the highest usage per capita in the GCC.”
This digital wave should come as no surprise, given the country’s strong embrace of social media. Nearly 400,000 people on Facebook, over 250,000 on Twitter, and 120,000 on Instagram give Bahrain the highest usage per capita in the GCC, even before inclusion of those on YouTube and Keek. High levels of English fluency amongst Bahrainis make the country the Middle East’s most liberal ICT market.
However, our fledgling digital sector needs more support. Organizations like Tenmou and rukn.me, the country’s first tech incubator, cannot do it alone. We need more digital incubation initiatives, tech-specific mentorship, and a continuing dialogue with telecom companies. Furthermore, it should be easier for digital startups to register for CRs. A consultation with the BCCI for the digital startup community would be a positive start.
As with all startups, a certain percentage will fail. Digital businesses are not immune to this. However, we can put measures in place to support them. For the digital and tech businesses that do succeed, we will be creating a wealth of new jobs, stimulating the economy, encouraging FDI into the country, and opening up our island to a whole new digital era.