Bahrain government is taking all steps to improve the commercial climate for organic growth of firms, including facilitating new company incorporations, and continuously amending laws and regulations to ensure their relevance, said a senior official.

'The country is a haven for business development, and this is clearly evident from Bahrain's 12th place world ranking in the Heritage Foundation's 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, and the first among the Arab countries,' Industry and Commerce Minister Dr Hassan Fakhro told delegates at the First Global Intrapreneurship Forum yesterday.

'The ministry has a specific policy, in line with the Economic Vision 2030 to encourage, support and develop small and medium enterprises, believing that entrepreneurs are the economic drivers of the country,' he explained.

'Whilst entrepreneurs are those innovative risk takers who start up new business ventures, intrapreneurs, which is a phrase coined by this forum's keynote speaker Gifford Pinchot, describe what essentially are those employees of businesses who act like entrepreneurs in developing the business and creating new ideas,' Dr Fakhro said.

'Intrapreneurs are, if you like, the business growth engines, and companies can tap into the creativity of these employees to ignite their future growth,' he added.

'We all recognise the need for employee recognition and empowerment, and also the fact that companies, in addition to providing employment, also create a creche for budding entrepreneurs who need the financial safety net of employment,' the minister said.

'Those companies which do not encourage and reward their creative employees risk not only the loss of these employees, but also significant potential future competition,' he stated.

'It is hoped that participants in this forum will come up with a new or invigorated view of their employees, and that at the same time some intrapreneurs will be encouraged to go that extra mile to become the entrepreneurs of tomorrow,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service