CEO of Bahrain’s Economic Development Board (EDB) Khalid al-Rumaihi has unveiled a $100 million venture capital fund to invest in technical companies and in the field of emerging companies and entrepreneurship.
Rumaihi told Asharq Al-Awsat that the launching of the fund will take place before the end of 2017, and the participating investment funds with venture capitals will get the chance to find a corporate-led industry while the government will only regulate and legislate.
Meanwhile, the EDB announced the Kingdom will host the Technology Week from 24 – 28 September 2017, designed to showcase and dissect how disruptive technologies and digital trends are revolutionizing the global industry and regional economy.
The Technology Week is anchored by two major ICT and entrepreneurship events – the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit, 25 September, and the Innovation Forum, powered by MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab, 27, 28 September– alongside a range of other exhibitions, panel discussions and talks by global leaders.
As the cloud computing platform of Amazon.com, the AWS Summit will be the first of its kind in Bahrain, providing the international cloud computing community with a forum to connect and collaborate.
The summit will offer businesses the opportunity to learn about AWS technology– one of the leading models of cloud storage infrastructure currently in existence.
Sponsored by the EDB and Investcorp, the Innovation Forum expands on similar themes, bringing together global experts and high-profile business representatives to focus on cutting-edge technologies and scientific research.
In his comments on the event, Rumaihi said: “Home to the GCC’s leading ICT infrastructure, it is essential that Bahrain continues to foster the kind of innovative technologies and frameworks that have led to world-class companies choosing the Kingdom as their home for regional operations. It is events like Technology Week that allow us to ensure that Bahrain’s digital ecosystem remains world-class”.
