The first of its kind in the region - launching the first Bahrain Productivity Improvement Conference

This conference aims at announcing the main findings of the program launched last May as well as opening the registration to all Bahraini companies that wish to benefit from the program. The conference is expected to convene on 28 November at Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel-Bahrain.

This was announced at a press conference held on Tuesday 26 September 2006 at Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, and attended by Mr. Abdel Elah Al-Qassimi, Deputy CEO of the Labour Fund, EDB, Dr. Nizar Baharna, Second Deputy Chairman, BCCI, Mr. Adel Mattar, Board member, BCCI and Mr. Ali Radhi, Vice-President, Business Sector Support, Labour Fund, EDB.

Mr. Al-Qassimi said that this conference was the first of its kind in the region, since we have heard a lot about conferences on quality, on competitiveness, or human resource training amongst other issues. Productivity improvement, however, is a new concept locally. The conference will be the first to address such topics and themes in the Gulf & the Middle East Region.

Mr. Al-Qassimi clarified that the main findings of the pilot phase of the Productivity Improvement Project would be presented to consultant firms and owners of the ten Bahraini Companies participating in the pilot project.

Al- Qassimi continued, "The idea underlying the program was to assist Bahraini enterprises, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to develop and improve productivity in accordance with international standards of quality."The pilot program selected a number of consultancy firms to study the cases of ten enterprises from different economic sectors, to identify challenges in the sectors as well as the challenges faced by the enterprises, with the best means to overcome these challenges. The candidate company should then select the consultancy firm to work with from a list of approved firms, which receive 80% of the cost of consultancy from EDB, with the company covering the remaining cost.

Dr. Nizar Baharna, Second Deputy Chairman, BCCI said, "This first conference is a culmination of the joint effort of the Labour Fund and BCCI in proposing new programs in Bahrain and the Gulf that focus on improving the productivity of SMEs in Bahrain".

Baharna added,

"This conference represents a concrete outcome of the constructive cooperation between BCCI and EDB, which effectively contribute to supporting the Chamber's activities and approach for activating the private sector, creating jobs and creating a real private- public partnership".

On another level, Mr. Adel Mattar, BCCI Board member said that the conference would target all stakeholders, including decision- makers and businesspersons of the Bahraini business sector, and would constitute a good opportunity for SMEs in Bahrain. We invite all BCCI members and private sector SMES to register in this conference and join the project.

Mr. Ali Radhi, Vice-President for Business Sector Support, Labour Fund EDB stated during the press conference that the conference will identify challenges that enterprises face that prevent them from improving productivity and increasing profits. The analysis will determine whether they constitute real challenges for their sector or just facing the particular company.

Mr. Radhi raised the issues on how Bahraini companies could sustain growth, how they can overcome obstacles and challenges in the market, establish themselves, and consequently increase their profits and competitiveness. These will be the main themes of the conference. It will also include some surprises of other initiatives that aim to upgrade SMEs in Bahrain.