MANAMA: His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for charity work and youth affairs, national security adviser and Supreme Council for Youth and Sport chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa visited ila Bank, the digital retail bank of Bank ABC.
Shaikh Nasser was accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Ayman Almoayyed and received by Bank ABC deputy group chief executive Sael Al Waary as well as ila Bank chief executive Mohamed Al Maraj.
The bank was launched in November 2019 as the first digital only retail bank in Bahrain.
The bank operates via mobile phones only, and follows a roadmap starting from Bahrain moving to other countries that has been developed by an empowered team of Bahraini youth.
Shaikh Nasser also met a group of young Bahrainis working in the bank.
He praised the idea of ila Bank that is based on a modern experience to address financial challenges through the use of technology and smartphones and to harness them in an ideal way to facilitate banking and procedures providing a flexible banking experience.
Shaikh Nasser said what distinguishes ila Bank is the young Bahraini employees aspiring to take part actively in the process of advancing the kingdom and various aspects of development, including the digital banking sector, expressing full confidence in the ability of Bahraini youth led by Mohammed Al Maraj to open new horizons and enhancing smart banking services in Bahrain, which confirms the interest of Bahraini youth to be part of the economic and banking development process in the kingdom.
Mr Al Waary thanked Shaikh Nasser for his continuous support to Bahraini youth working in various fields, including the banking sector in all its fields and branches.
Expressing gratitude for the visit of Shaikh Nasser, Mr Al Maraj said: “We are very pleased with the visit and we will follow his direction in order to develop this bank and contribute to upholding the Kingdom’s affairs in various fields.”
“The visit embodies the vision of King Hamad to develop a digital knowledge-based economy in Bahrain, and work to empower Bahraini youth to be the main engine for the digital economy process in the kingdom because of the high capabilities and skills that young people possess in this field.”
Shaikh Nasser interacted with a team of young Bahrainis at the bank and listened to their ideas.
The bank provides employment and training opportunities for Bahraini youth, who represent 80pc of employees in the bank, with 84pc of ila Bank’s employees being under 40 years of age.
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