Bahrain Development Bank Group’s (BDB) CEO Mr. Sanjeev Paul stated that the number of small loans disbursed in the first half of 2019 has doubled by 2.5 times comparing to the number of small loans disbursed in the same period of last year.

“This is a great achievement by our Bank in supporting entrepreneurs, small businesses and SMEs who are a key pillar of the economy,” he said.

The achievement is a result of BDB’s keenness to enhance its objectives and services that supports and develops SMEs through its comprehensive “Entrepreneurship Ecosystem” which is an integrated system consisting of a range of financial services in addition to non-financial services such as training, counselling, incubation, networking, creativity and innovation.

Mr. Paul explained that what distinguishes the Bank from other financial institutions in the Kingdom, is that BDB is more than just a Bank … it is an institution that implements the equation of comprehensive services, through the application of flexibility in dealing with clients and supporting them through all the stages of their projects and help them develop and succeed.

Mr. Paul also emphasized on the importance of the Bank’s strategic partnership with various developmental sectors such as Tamkeen, Bahrain Supreme Council for Women, Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism and the National Initiative for Agricultural Development and many others.

BDB’s strategic partnership with Tamkeen aims at creating specialized financing schemes that support young entrepreneurs in running and managing their businesses successfully and enabling them to enter the market and adapt to its requirements.

Since the inception of the BDB-Tamkeen scheme and until the end of the first half of this year, the joint financial portfolio has reached to BD234 million with a total number of 6756 finances.