The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) has officially launched its sixth strategic cycle (2026-2030), marking two decades of operations with a massive BD2.6 billion contribution to the national economy through direct and indirect financing.
The milestone announcement was made during a Press conference at the Isa Cultural Centre, following a high-level meeting attended by ministers, chief executives and business leaders from across the public and private sectors.
The event celebrated Tamkeen’s pivotal role since its 2006 inception in empowering the private sector as Bahrain’s primary engine of growth.
Addressing the conference, Tamkeen chief executive officer Maha Mofeez affirmed the fund’s vital role in fostering an enabling environment for sustainable development.
“Over the past 20 years, the fund played a vital role in fostering an enabling environment for private sector growth and development,” Ms Mofeez said.
She noted that this success was achieved through ‘strategic investments in developing national talent and enhancing workforce capabilities, alongside supporting enterprises with opportunities that enable them to expand, compete and achieve long-term sustainability’.
To date, Tamkeen has supported more than 300,000 opportunities for Bahraini nationals and assisted over 92,000 enterprises, while facilitating approximately BD920 million in total loans and funding support.
The new strategy is built on the significant momentum generated throughout 2025, which saw the creation of more than 52,900 economic opportunities.
During the past year, Tamkeen successfully facilitated more than 44,300 employment and career development opportunities for Bahraini nationals. This included the direct placement of 20,800 individuals into the labour market and the provision of 23,500 specialised training opportunities.
The 2026 plan is underpinned by a robust national economy, with Bahrain’s real GDP recording a four per cent year-on-year expansion as of Q3 2025. The non-oil sector continues to be the dominant force, now accounting for 85pc of total GDP.
The new five-year roadmap signals a transition towards a more ‘surgical’ and proactive model. Developed using a multi-faceted methodology – including beneficiary feedback and labour market supply-and-demand analysis – the strategy focuses on four key priorities.
The fund will prioritise sectors and initiatives that offer the highest value for the national economy and Bahraini citizens. Furthermore, Tamkeen aims to design targeted career pathways that link specialised skills directly to available market opportunities. The strategy also seeks to adopt new approaches to stimulate private sector growth while simultaneously enhancing internal operational efficiency and strengthening governance standards.
Tamkeen’s deputy chief executive officer for strategy and insights Alya Al Aali noted that these priorities would be translated into ‘a bundle of carefully designed initiatives to ensure the achievement of the desired positive impact, guided by clear performance standards’.
She also revealed that work is underway to launch the ‘Tamkeen Bahrain’ mobile application, which will ‘offer an integrated digital experience aimed at facilitating access to services and enhancing the beneficiary experience’.
Deputy chief executive officer of programme design and delivery Khalid Al Bayat confirmed that a new bundle of programmes is currently under design and will be announced shortly.
Mr Al Bayat explained that these upcoming programmes are being developed to ‘ensure their alignment with the new strategic priorities and the evolving needs of the labour market, both present and future’.
The initiatives will operate under an updated structure centred on six qualitative objectives: manpower upskilling, talent enablement, employment and progression incentives, startup support, SME expansion and the reinvention of business models.
The meeting also reflected on Tamkeen’s evolution – from its ‘Foundation’ (2006-2009) to the most recent ‘Impact and Productivity’ phase (2021-2025).
Recent highlights have included the pioneering adoption of open banking and the launch of a programme to train 50,000 Bahrainis in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by 2030.
“As it enters its third decade, Tamkeen remains committed to strengthening the private sector’s capacity for growth and expansion,” ensuring local talent remains at the heart of Bahrain’s economic development,” Ms Mofeez concluded.
avinash@gdnmedia.bh
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