Rowad, the platform that provides various members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bahrain a diverse amount of training tools such as programs that involve coaching, workshops, incubation, as well as serving as a link between them and potential investment opportunities, has recently hosted the fifth edition of InvestED, which featured various prominent members of the Bahraini startup community as well as local, regional and global investors.
The event was held at the Westin Hotel, Bahrain and in collaboration with the Bahrain Development Board, BECO Capital, and StartUp Bahrain. The event included a variety of pitches from several startups, including Fetchr, a session titled “A Journey Through Time With Abdullah and Ghaith Yafi”, and a panel discussion regarding “Why startups?”, in which several issues were discussed, and to top it all off, concluded with a networking reception which allowed the attendees to communicate with one another less formally.
When asked regarding the takeaways from the event, several guests and participants had something to share, some of the attendants were more than happy to give their two cents, here are their testimonials:
“This event introduced us to so many people, from investors to venture capitalists, startups and gave us an overview of the industry and ecosystem in Bahrain, and especially with the organization and help from Rowad, we (as Hala Ventures) learned more about the Business climate in Bahrain thanks to them” – Hassan Al Marhoon, General Manager at AlMarhoon ReadyMix, Partner at Hala Ventures
“My takeaway from the (InvestED event) is that Bahrain is giving attention to the startup ecosystem, and realising that it’s not just about money, it’s not just about customers, it’s not just about tax or law, it’s about everything, it’s about everybody being connected and knowing each other, because you cannot have a thriving ecosystem unless you talk to each other! So it’s been fantastic to see all of those people, in one room, plus the entrepreneurs all getting to know each other “ – Emma Sinclair, Co-Founder, Enterprise Alumni
“If I had to name the best thing about this event, it would have to be how genuine its attendants were, as well as how knowledgeable and diverse their backgrounds happened to be” – Abdullah Al-Radhi, Founder of Akalati
“The takeaway for this event for me is that I really liked every VC and all the startups and all the people that want to invest really working together on these kinds of events, and it looks like Bahrain is really (becoming) the investment hub of this area, and we are really excited to get the opportunity to do business here and in the region” – Bart Van Raak, Head of International Business Development, Digital Insurance Group
“I can confidently say that Invested today has been able to provide angel investors with a platform to learn, share, transfer knowledge and identify opportunities, hence developing the startup ecosystem in Bahrain.” – Budoor Kamal, Manager – Development Services Division at the Bahrain Development Bank, Rowad.
We are glad that the outcome of the event was very positive, and hope to see even better opportunities such as the InvestED in Bahrain, and would like to thank Rowad for organizing and moderating such a successful event.
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