The Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (BCCI) small and medium enterprises support centre has served 657 enterprises since inception, with 53 per cent of applicants seeking financial consultancy.

Non-financial consultancy and general enquiries were 10 per cent and 37 per cent respectively, BCCI acting chief executive Nabeel Al Mahmood was quoted as saying by the Gulf Daily News, our sister publication.

The chamber official urged members to benefit from the bouquet of services offered by the centre, which has been formed to support micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the kingdom.

Aimed at boosting the productivity of enterprises, Mr Nabeel said the centre, which includes counsellors from BCCI and a number of stakeholders such as Ebdaa Bank, Family Bank and Unido, provides diverse consultancy services to help entrepreneurs.

Mr Nabeel said the centre offers a package of integrated services aimed at the creation of new enterprises in terms of configuration and empowerment, public consultation, technological knowledge, intellectual property, and financial consulting amongst other vital areas essential to the progress and prosperity of the SMEs.

The SMEs are also set to benefit from the partnership of the centre with several service providers such as Zain Bahrain, the Industry and Commerce Ministry, Ebtikar Society, the Arab Investment and Export Guarantee Corporation, and the Centre of Saudi Exports.

Besides raising awareness about growing opportunities like franchising, the centre also focuses on training programmes to raise the managerial, technical, regulatory and marketing skills of entrepreneurs. – TradeArabia News Service