The Bahrain Development Bank (BDB) has launched a $100 million Venture Capital Fund of Funds aimed at boosting the start-up ecosystem in Bahrain and the Middle East.

The fund was set up following instructions from HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and chairman of the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB).

The Al Waha Fund of Funds will invest in venture capital funds that have a presence in Bahrain – providing additional capital to funds supporting start-ups in Bahrain and across the Middle East, said a statement.

Khalid Al Rumaihi, chairman, BDB, said: “This is very exciting news for the start-up ecosystem both here in Bahrain and across the Middle East. We know that access to capital is one of the biggest constraints on growth for start-ups, so this fund will help businesses in Bahrain and across the Middle East to get access to the capital they need to expand.”

“Venture capital investment in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region is a fraction of the level in markets like the US and China – this means there are entrepreneurs with great ideas that are not realising their potential because they cannot access the funding required,” he said.

“We are delighted to be able to utilise the strengths of Bahrain as a regional financial centre and its growing start-up ecosystem to support the growth of a new wave of innovative businesses across the region,” he added.

The fund was launched at Gateway Gulf Forum, which is being held under the patronage of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, and brings together over 500 global investors and business leaders to explore ways of unlocking the opportunities being created by the economic transformation in the GCC.

The event provides a direct route into accessing the GCC market by showcasing major investment-ready projects worth $18 billion, with projects in the planning phase driving up the value of the project pipeline to $26 billion.

The event also offers an opportunity to match funding with large-scale infrastructure projects in Bahrain.
 
As well as providing additional capital to regional start-ups, the fund is expected to help attract additional venture capital funds to Bahrain, enhancing the local start-up ecosystem.

Bahrain’s ecosystem has benefitted from a number of major economic reforms in recent years, including a reduction in the minimum capital required for starting a business, measures to enable onshore crowdfunding in conventional and shari’a-compliant finance and the introduction of a regulatory sandbox for fintech.

These advances were reflected in the recent Global Startup Ecosystem Report, released by the Global Entrepreneurship Network and Startup Genome, which included Bahrain in global ‘ecosystems to watch’ in both fintech and gaming.

Bahrain was the only Arab country to be included in either list, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service