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Bahrain tops London and Silicon Valley for percentage of female startup founders

Agencies
June 18, 2019

Bahrain, Jun 18: Bahrain is one of the top 10 startup ecosystems with the largest share of female founders, according to the 2019 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), launched at the recent TNW conference in Amsterdam.

Described as 'the world's most comprehensive and widely-read research on startups', the report is produced by Startup Genome in partnership with the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.

India enjoys a thriving international partnership with Bahrain in many sectors. As for FinTech, the Bahrain Economic Development Board recently signed an MOU with the Government of Maharashtra, for cooperation on the promotion of FinTech in their respective markets.

Indian Companies such as Rsquare Technologies and Innosoft, are currently residing at Bahrain FinTech Bay (BFB). BFB is rapidly gaining international recognition as a FinTech leader, with a number of key companies like Visa partnering with the organisation. Bahrain also continues to be the region's leading financial services hub, through its forward-thinking regulation including the regulatory sandbox, crypto-assets, and open banking.

With 18 per cent of its start-ups founded by women, Bahrain topped even internationally recognised startup hubs such as Silicon Valley (16 per cent) and London (15 per cent). The report also lauded Bahrain as:

* one of the top 10 ecosystems to watch in FinTech in Europe and the Middle East

* A top 15 Global Ecosystem for affordability of qualified talent.

"This report draws on the views of the people who know best - entrepreneurs and founders. In a very short time Bahrain has emerged as a leading ecosystem with particular strength in FinTech. With both female founders and women taking leadership roles throughout the ecosystem, Bahrain is a dynamic and diverse market at the head of new trends that are shaping the way society and business operates", said H.E. Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chief Executive of the Bahrain Economic Development Board.

"Over the past decade, Bahrain's startup ecosystem has made significant progress where start-ups can access a global network of partners to scale up and capture opportunities in Bahrain and the region", said Dr Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, Chief Executive of Tamkeen (Bahrain's Labour Fund).

Dr Janahi pointed out one of Bahrain's key competitive advantages in the region, which lies in its firm belief in the importance of women as an active player in shaping Bahrain's economic future.

"In line with these national objectives, Tamkeen has launched a number of ad-hoc programmes to foster the development of female-owned businesses in addition to Tamkeen's flagship programmes supporting individuals and enterprises." he added.

According to Dr. Janahi, more than 59 per cent of women have been served as part of Tamkeen's micro finance support, while more than 50 per cent were served within the business development program, which offers a co-financing service to cover 50 per cent of business equipment.

The Kingdom has a long history of women in senior leadership positions. Currently, a group of female leaders in FinTech is helping to steer the country's FinTech strategy.

Leading female Bahraini startup founders include Hala Sulaiman and Ameera AlQubaiti, Co-founders of Alrawi, a successful audiobook startup and Pitch@Palace Global 3.0 People's Choice 2018 Winner.

Furthermore, Bahrain's Al Waha Fund of Funds, a $100 million fund set up by the Bahrain Development Bank, has an all-female leadership.

The report also recognised Bahrain as a Top 15 Global Ecosystem for affordable talent. Bahrain boasts one of the most skilled and entrepreneurial workforces in the region, over 60 per cent of which work in the private sector.

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services' AWS Educate training scheme is providing Bahrainis with the necessary skills for cloud-based jobs. Interestingly, it's estimated that more than 60 per cent of computer science students at the University of Bahrain in 2018 were women.

Bahrain's tax regime - the most liberal in the Gulf - and wage subsidies for new employers emerged as real differentiators among the key draws highlighted in the report. The report reflects the views of more than 10,000 founders and draws on data from over one million companies. It ranks the highest-performing startup ecosystems, cities and regions by assessing performance against the following factors:

This story is provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Kabul, May 11: Four back-to-back roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Monday, wounding four civilians including a child, police said. Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said a clearance team was at the site of the attacks.

Militants have carried out several roadside bombings and rocket attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country in recent weeks, but Monday's four consecutive explosions appeared to be the first coordinated effort for some months.

The Taliban has not carried out any large attacks in the city since they signed a landmark withdrawal deal with the US in February, meant to pave the way for peace in the country. No group has claimed the attacks. The explosions come as authorities are trying to impose a lockdown in the capital to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Mar 13: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife announced they were self-isolating Thursday as she undergoes tests for the new coronavirus after returning from a speaking engagement with "mild flu-like symptoms."

Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau's symptoms have subsided since she recently got back from Britain, but as a precaution the prime minister "will spend the day in briefings, phone calls and virtual meetings from home," according to a statement.

Trudeau also cancelled a meeting Thursday and Friday with Canada's provincial and territorial leaders in Ottawa, but still planned to speak with them and world leaders by phone about measures being taken to curb the spread of the virus in Canada.

Gregoire-Trudeau's symptoms had included "a low fever late last night." She immediately sought medical advice and testing.

Trudeau has exhibited no symptoms, and was advised by doctors "to continue daily activities while self-monitoring."

"However, out of an abundance of caution, the prime minister is opting to self-isolate and work from home until receiving Sophie's results," said his office.

Since the novel coronavirus first emerged in late December 2019, 127,070 cases have been recorded in 115 countries and territories, killing 4,687 people, according to an AFP tally compiled at 1200 GMT on Thursday based on official sources.

Canada has so far reported more than 100 cases in six provinces, and one death.

Also Thursday, the Canada's Juno music awards cancelled its upcoming gala show, planned for Sunday evening in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

"We are devastated to cancel this national celebration of music, but at this time of global uncertainty, the health, safety and well-being of all Canadians must stand at the forefront of any decisions that impact our communities," organisers said in a statement.

And in Quebec province, Premier Francois Legault unveiled a series of measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including placing all travellers returning from overseas under quarantine for two weeks.

Quebec also banned indoor gatherings of more than 250 people.

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News Network
July 22,2020

New Delhi, Jul 22: With a spike of 37,724 cases and 648 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of COVID-19 cases in India stands at 11,92,915, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The total number of cases includes 4,11,133 active cases, 7,53,050 cured/discharged/migrated and 28,732 deaths, the Health Ministry informed.

Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with 3,27,031 cases and 12,276 deaths.
The second worst-hit state, Tamil Nadu has reported 1,80,643 COVID-19 cases so far while Delhi has reported 1,25,096 cases, according to the Ministry.

Other states that have witnessed a higher number of COVID-19 positive cases include, Andhra Pradesh with 58,668 cases, Karnataka with 71,069 while Telangana has reported 47,705 COVID-19 positive cases.

Meanwhile, as per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the total number of samples tested up to July 21 is 1,47,24, 546 including 3,43,243 samples tested yesterday.

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