Export Bahrain, a key initiative of the Kingdom’s national SME Development Board, has reported results for its second year running since its inception in November 2018. The results are particularly notable due to the challenging global economic environment amid the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Since inception, Export Bahrain has facilitated local businesses to go global and expand into international export markets reporting over $46 Million worth of exports covering 42 product and service categories to over 45 markets worldwide. The initiative reinforced and increased export opportunities for current, and potential exporters which included over 48% of exporters who entered new markets and over 23% were first-time exporters, where over 11% represented service exports.
From January 2020 to November 2020 alone, exports valued at over USD 30 Million were reported targeting various international markets. These results underscore the substantial Bahraini local entrepreneurial talent and exemplify the significant value exporters bring to the national economy as well as building on their growth potential to reach customers around the world and advance opportunities to promote products and services made in Bahrain within the global market.
In line with Export Bahrain’s commitment to ensure that Bahraini companies embrace world markets, multiple sectors were assisted to export various product and service categories. The initiative played a critical role in extending Bahraini local products and services to other markets and positioning them as future competitors among other global brands. The exporters made significant progress expanding into 14 new markets around the world in 2020 including – GCC countries, Denmark, Ethiopia, Greece, Ireland, Palestine, Kenya, Lebanon, Mexico, Paraguay, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore and many more.
Export Bahrain is continuing to expand and diversify its suite of export provision solutions to create an enabling environment for current and potential exporters. The current resources and solutions offered by Export Bahrain are accessible to all businesses seeking to grow their activities internationally and enable exporters throughout their entire export journey. Amidst these challenging times, Export Bahrain continues to create opportunities for SMEs and local businesses to diversify export destinations, promote national content development and internationalization and maximize their success. Additionally, it will continue to create new outlets, while building the right partnerships with key strategic entities, and business partners.
Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, and Chairman of the SMEs Development Board, Zayed Bin Rashid Al Zayani, stressed the importance of Export Bahrain as a key support instrument for exporters in Bahrain: “These results constitute a source of pride as Export Bahrain being one of the lead initiatives of the National Plan for the Development of the Small and Medium Enterprises has played a key role in taking Bahraini businesses global and positioning Bahrain as a key business hub for exporters. Aligned with the national vision, Export Bahrain is supporting the development of a national export culture and these results are testament that the foundation for that culture is robust. Export development is a key priority for the Kingdom and represents a clear opportunity to expand the footprint of Bahraini businesses internationally by providing the right solutions that will allow businesses of all sizes to tap into a global customer base. Moving ahead, Export Bahrain will continue to introduce and enhance a diversified portfolio of services and solutions that will accelerate the growth of exports with a drive to build on value, support economic growth, fuel innovation and reinforce the Kingdom of Bahrain’s position as a strategic global export hub by being a solution innovator”.
Director of Export Bahrain, Safa AbdulKhaliq, added: “As we continue to grow Export Bahrain’s export assistance to businesses in the country and celebrate their success, our growth in export values over the two years represents a key milestone which we will continue to build upon. Despite the challenges that many businesses are facing globally, Export Bahrain has facilitated over USD 30 million this year where our key mission is to assist businesses navigate around the many potential international opportunities available to them and thus reinforcing the Kingdom’s position as a highly competitive export hub of products and services to markets across the globe. We are continuing to ensure that our solutions cover all critical areas for businesses looking to go global by providing export solutions in insurance, shipping, logistics, deal facilitation, e-commerce, internationalization, market information, and many others that can assist all businesses extend their reach beyond the local market.We are keen to showcase the ample opportunities available to all businesses in Bahrain that exporting is a necessity to fuel growth and for companies across all sectors to take advantage of our services and solutions to access new opportunities and accelerate their growth.”
“We have managed to develop a great deal of traction during the 2 years of operations with our customers reaching 45 markets across the globe but have many more exciting plans in the pipeline that will raise the bar even further.Export Bahrain is committed to be a key enabler to business internationalization and support opportunities by continuously building effective partnerships locally and internationally. Moving ahead, we will further enhance our efforts to promote national exports and uplift the competitive capabilities of Bahraini businesses in global markets.” Ms. A.Khaliq added.
