C5 celebrates ICT sector technology champions

Manama, May 24 (BNA): under the patronage of Shaikh Mohamed bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Chairman of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), C5 Accelerate today held the second Cloud10 Pitch Da. Hosted by C5 Accelerate Founder and CEO Andre Pienaar, the event was also attended by Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, Chief Executive Officer of Tamkeen and a number of VIPs and investors from Bahrain and the region. The event marked the conclusion of the second intake of the Cloud10 Scalerator programme that started on April second with eight local and international companies. The Programme prepared participants to present their growth plans to local, regional, and international partners and investors. Dr. Ebrahim Mohammed Janahi, Chief Executive of Tamkeen said “ At Tamkeen we strive to make the Kingdom of Bahrain the hub of ICT industry in the MENA region, This initiative is one among several that towards this goal in line with many partnerships with leading technological companies across the world.” “The Cloud10 will create an advanced platform for entrepreneurs in the kingdom to elevate their businesses toward expansion.“He added. Hadyah Fathalla, executive director of C5 Accelerate in Bahrain said: “The Cloud10 programme brings together an innovative mix of business, investment, and technology tools and lessons to help technology start-ups scale their businesses. Cloud computing and tech innovation and transformation does not only continue to change the way we live and do business but provides boundless opportunities for Bahraini and regional businesses to tap into international markets and grow globally.” The programme focuses on providing scale-ups (revenue generating start-ups) and SMEs from the region with opportunities to access an array of AWS (Amazon Web Services) services and a platform to learn from and network with global industry leaders. The eight participating start-ups represent a range of industries, extending from FinTech and MedTech to Internet of Things (IoT), Smarter Cities and cybersecurity and come from Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, The United Kingdom and The United States. The eight-week resident programme takes place at the Cloud10 campus in Bahrain, where the start-upsbenefit from the direction of a team of C5 and industry experts and a network of investment and industry partners. The programme provides an extensive business and growth mentorship across a variety of business specialization skills such as commercialisation, venture funding, operations, and business services, equipping them with the competence to innovate and scale up. C5 Accelerate, in partnership with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Tamkeen have been working together with Amazon Web Services to provide Cloud10 participants with bespoke business coaching, in addition to a bundle of resources for start-ups, including AWS credits, professional training, developer support, and a community forum. With the goal to create 300 EMEA technology champions over the next four years, the Cloud10 Scalerator was launched last year and strives to enable small businesses to adopt transformative cloud technology to provide the scale and agility at a low-cost and help them grow beyond traditional IT infrastructure. The program managed to offer previous graduates with the opportunity to network with industry leaders, and capitalize on C5’s network of entrepreneurs, mentors and experts to expand their business and secure financial investments. Participants of this cohort will remain a part of the network even after the graduation. Applications for the programme's third intake are now open. For more information or to apply, please contact connect@c5cloud10.com