Zain Bahrain, one of the leading telecoms operators in the Kingdom, has signed an agreement at its headquarters to continue its strategic partnership with StartUp Bahrain. The announcement was made in the presence of representatives and key stakeholders from Zain Bahrain and StartUp Bahrain. Founded in 2017 as a national platform for innovative and scalable startups, StartUp Bahrain aims to help grow and develop the ecosystem in collaboration with startups, corporates, investors, accelerators, incubators, educational institutions, and the Bahrain government. Its growing strategic partnership will further Zain Bahrain's commitment to work towards the startup ecosystem's goals of becoming one of the most prominent and actively growing ecosystems in the region. Zain Bahrain has been an ongoing supporter and enabler of the ecosystem, for a number of years. Through this partnership with StartUp Bahrain, it aims to expand its industry-leading efforts to support the growth of Bahrain's startups and help build a fruitful, entrepreneurial pathway for Bahrain's youth. Zain Bahrain's commitment towards the ecosystem, its startups, and building an entrepreneurial mindset within the youth goes back a number of years. From its #5ameesnaZain initiative, offering free space at its headquarters to showcase startups' products and services every Thursday, to being an active host of insightful workshops, events, and initiatives in its premises, Zain Bahrain has showcased a clear commitment towards education, mentorship, and support to help founders with their first steps in this journey. Through the ‘Zain Youth Empowerment Program', Zain Bahrain signed a cooperation agreement with Majra, a Bahraini startup that built a platform to help young job seekers and students to make better career choices founded on passion and fulfillment. In line with its Corporate Entrepreneurship Responsibility's efforts, during Ramadan, Zain Bahrain collaborated with Malaeb, a Bahraini startup offering a community app for football players, to organize and host the "Zain Ramadan Tournament". Zain Bahrain also works with Akalati, a leading Bahraini corporate catering app, for its catering needs. More recently, Zain Bahrain has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Flat6Labs Bahrain, a regional startup accelerator program that fosters and invests in bright and passionate founders with cutting-edge ideas, providing seed funding, strategic mentorship, and a creative workspace. The engagement will allow collaboration on several fronts to support innovative startups in Bahrain, including events and mentorship. Commenting on the partnership, Zain Bahrain Director of Communications & Investor Relations Abdulla Khaled Al Khalifa said, "The startup sector plays an important role in the Kingdom's economy. Today's strategic partnership announcement comes in-line with Zain Bahrain's continuous efforts to support startups in Bahrain and position Zain as the preferred business partner of choice, which aims to bring growth and innovation in the startup and small and medium business sectors. Zain Bahrain has always been committed towards empowering local talents and empowering entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into real business ventures". On the announcement of this strategic partnership, Bader Kamal, a representative of StartUp Bahrain, commented, "Zain Bahrain has been a passionate supporter of startups in Bahrain and the wider region's ecosystems and has been for a number of years. To us, this validates Zain Bahrain's ongoing commitment towards the Kingdom of Bahrain, its ecosystem and startups. We're eager to continue seeing how Zain Bahrain's leading drive for innovation, daring adoption of technology, and strong commitment towards Bahrain's youth and future workforce unfolds through this ongoing partnership with StartUp Bahrain." Pakiza Abdulrahman, head of Startups, Bahrain Economic Development Board said: "Businesses like Zain Bahrain are the backbone of Bahrain's supportive ICT infrastructure that is fueling innovation in the startup ecosystem – an established leader in its industry that makes it a point of pride to both teach and learn from the innovative challengers in its field. This renewed partnership is a win for the whole ecosystem, and especially for all the startups, homegrown or international, that call Bahrain home." — SG
