Alba, the world’s largest aluminium smelter on one site, has announced its progression to the accelerator phase of the Open Innovation Programme – a strategic collaboration with the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and Brinc Mena – with the selection of three Bahraini startups and SMEs to join this phase following a comprehensive evaluation process.
This milestone builds on Alba’s early involvement as the first company in Bahrain to join this initiative, reinforcing its commitment to fostering innovation and empowering local businesses to grow and succeed.
The selected SMEs will enter a six-month accelerator phase under the Open Innovation Programme, during which, they will receive financial support, tailored mentoring and technical guidance from Alba and Brinc to co-develop proof-of-concept (POC) solutions leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as AI and IoT to address specific data integration and asset reliability challenges at Alba.
UData was selected for the ‘Data Management Challenge’, and Dyanvate and Infiniteware for the ‘Asset Reliability Challenge’.
In the fifth month, each startup/SME will present its POCs to a steering committee, which will select one winner per challenge for pilot implementation within Alba’s operations.
The shortlisted SMEs will work closely with Brinc Mena and Alba experts to refine and test their solutions, with potential for broader deployment across Alba’s operations.
Mr Al Baqali
Commenting, Alba chief executive officer Ali Al Baqali said: “Innovation underpins Alba’s operational excellence. Our collaboration with Tamkeen and Brinc Mena enables us to work with Bahraini startups and SMEs to build technology-driven solutions to operational challenges, while promoting entrepreneurship and long-term economic resilience.”
Yasin Aboudaoud, chief development officer and MP at Brinc added: “The selection of these startups reflects the real value the Open Innovation Programme offers. By matching Alba’s complex operational challenges with high-potential Bahraini SMEs, we are forging a path toward deeper collaboration and tangible economic impact.”
Mr Aboudaoud
Brinc Mena, Tamkeen’s appointed innovation partner, led the end-to-end scouting and evaluation process, applying rigorous standards to ensure alignment with the programme’s goals. Key benchmarks included Bahraini founder presence, proven technical competencies, innovation readiness and the ability to operate within the programme’s governance structure and respond effectively to corporate challenges.
The evaluation phase included interviews with shortlisted SMEs, conducted by a joint committee of representatives from Alba, Tamkeen and Brinc Mena.
Startups presented their capabilities, founder backgrounds and proposed solutions, and the final evaluation was based on a structured scoring matrix, resulting in the selection of the top-performing companies for the accelerator phase.
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