One of Tamkeen's flagship programmes, which has undergone a complete overhaul in a bid to cut down on fraud and abuse, will be relaunched at the end of this month in Bahrain.

The Enterprise Development Support (EDS) scheme was started by the semi-autonomous labour fund in 2007 with the aim of helping Bahraini businesses improve their efficiency and sustainability, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

To date it has supported 9,100 small and medium enterprises with grants totalling BD78.2 million ($202.6 million), but it was suspended in March this year as part of Tamkeen's restructuring amid concerns over misuse of funds.

Tamkeen chairman and acting chief executive Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa said that the all-new 'EDS 2.0' would be more streamlined and efficient.

“By making the programmes more flexible, efficient, transparent and measurable, we are looking to prevent fraud and misuse,” he said.

“Applicants for grants will now need to present clear development goals, which can be measured, and there will be checks every step of the way.”

Speaking at the opening of a new Tamkeen branch in Sitra Mall yesterday, Shaikh Mohammed said the revamp of EDS would make it easier to access and use.

A single point of contact for applicants and the scrapping of a complex web of confusing sub-schemes were both key parts of the restructuring, he said.

Following feedback from public consultations, the results of impact assessment studies and National Audit Court recommendations a 'systematic model' is now going to be used to determine the amount of monetary support that is actually needed.

“The amount of support is linked to the potential of the enterprise - the higher the potential and sustainable impact on the national economy, the higher the amount of support will be,” said Shaikh Mohammed.

“We are also considering making payments directly to the vendor or service provider on behalf of the beneficiary, which is another step to prevent misuse.

“The plan is also to make one single payment at delivery or completion of the service, and not in stages as before.”

A pilot of the revamped scheme, featuring six companies from a diverse range of industry sectors that had enquired about EDS during its six-month suspension, started earlier this month and the results will be presented to Tamkeen's board next week, Shaikh Mohammed said. - TradeArabia News Service