Kingdom of Bahrain: The Future of Technological Innovation
Situated in the Persian Gulf is a small island that is only 750 square kilometers and comprised of 33 islands. Welcome to what is formally known as the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In 2008, Bahrain launched its strategic plan named Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in an effort to help the country overcome challenges and achieve objectives to put it on the technological map, which seems to be going very well so far.
The Milken Institute released a report entitled “Bahrain and the Fourth Industrial Revolution” that was authored by the institute’s director of research Claude Lopez, Ph.D. with the help of Joseph Bendix and Cesar Servin.
This report makes the remark that Bahrain has the potential to be the center of technology, finance, and innovation. This is mainly due to their development of an environment that is business-friendly and composed of a framework that has been regulated. They have also developed an extensive support system that makes them attractive in the eyes of potential investors, companies across the globe, and entrepreneurs.
Bahrain has built its economy up from having a highly-skilled population that invests in the technological infrastructure. A low-cost of living makes it feasible that Bahrain could achieve all of its objectives set forth in its original plan.
Bahrain has a huge interest in the area of startup companies and has even had three of its own startup firms listed on Forbes Top-100 Startups list. The Kingdom also likes to brag that it has the most female founders among the Middle East and Northern African provinces. In order for Bahrain to stay afloat in the ever-changing world of technology and startups, they may have to focus on merging with larger firms to overcome smaller obstacles regarding transitioning to a digital economy that was identified in the report.
The Milken Institute cites that Bahrain will need to help smaller firms grow in order to offer more jobs in the area, helping them to transition to the digital global market. While doing this, Bahrain is also going to have to take into consideration that they need to keep their wages fair and competitive with other industry leaders. Using the facilitation of international talent will help bring more talent opportunities to the country and boost it into the new technological age, allowing it to live up to the reputation it has been gaining.
