CBB hosts Venture Capital seminar

Manama, May 7 (BNA): The Waqf Fund held its 8th Roundtable Discussion on "Venture Capital – Building the Next Phase of Economic Development in Bahrain" at the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) premises. The half-day session on Wednesday was attended by a select group of 39 senior professionals including CEOs of Islamic banks, entrepreneurs, academics, Sharia scholars, CBB officials, AAOIFI, CIBAFI, audit firms and law firms. The Roundtable started with presentations from the CBB and Venture Capital Bank, outlining the concept and the reasons why venture capital industry is important to build to next the phase of economic growth in Bahrain and the wider GCC region. The Bahrain experience in venture capital was also shared with the participants. Ralph Kietel from International Finance Corporation informed the audience about the experiences, best practices and role models in this area. Ihsan Jawad, the founder of Zawya shared his experience as an entrepreneur and later as a venture capitalist. After the presentations the participants openly shared their views on the subject and the discussion went on for nearly two hours.