As an effort to help the small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in Bahrain as well as across the region, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization has initiated the set up of a new microcredit bank, Innovation Bank, which is scheduled to commence operations sometime later this year.

The bank will have an authorized capital of BD10 million (USD 25.6 million) and paid-up capital of BD5 million (USD 13.23 million). It will provide financial assistance to starters of small-scale businesses including businesswomen. The bank is anticipated to issue at least 1,000 loans by the end of the year.

The bank has a sole mandate to extend microcredit facilities and according to the Ministry of Finance Shaikh Ibrahim bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa, who is also Chairman of the Bahrain Development Bank, the new entity would be launched as soon as the formal approval of license from the Central Bank of

The bank will be owned 40 percent by the Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development Organizations (AGFUND), 40 percent by Bahrain Development Bank and 20 percent by private investors.

–Monica Sharma, Research Assistant

Additional Resources:

Menafn.com: Bahrain to get GCC’s first Grameen Bank soon.

Microfinance Gateway: Bahrain Development Bank, Arab Gulf Program To Launch Microfinance Bank.