Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) has allocated $100 million for HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa's portfolio for supporting women's trade activities, said a top official.


Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW) Hala Al-Ansari was speaking as she met BDB's chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa, in the presence of BDB's CEO Nedhal Saleh Al-Aujan, at the Women Development Centre recently.

Al Ansari discussed with Shaikh Mohammed ways to enhance cooperation with BDB, and develop the bank's support for female entrepreneurs through HRH Princess Sabeeka's Portfolio, noting that the $ 100 million provided by BDB will be used to finance micro, small and medium-sized enterprises of women seeking to develop their projects and join the entrepreneurship field.

They also reviewed the future plans for the management of the Riyadat Centre, and the role of the Bahrain Centre for Developing Emerging Projects and BDB, being in charge of the Riyadat management.

They also reviewed developing the promotional and marketing programmes for the beneficiaries of the incubators at the Riyadat Centre, as well as participation in the Bahraini Women's Day 2015 in which women's contributions to financial and banking sector will be highlighted.

Shaikh Mohammed extended profound thanks and appreciation to HRH Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of His Majesty the King and President of the SCW, for her efforts and directives which, he said, led to empowering Bahraini women and ensuring their access to decision-making positions.

He expressed hope that new channels of cooperation with the SCW will be opened up in order to boost Bahraini women's economic empowerment programmes, given the fact that Bahrain is leading in translating the principle of equal opportunities into the ground, and empowering women in all fields. - TradeArabia News Service