Labour Fund & Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. International
14 Nov 2007Private sector empowerment took a major step forward in Bahrain with the appointment by the Labour Fund (LF) of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. International (TAGCO) as a central agency to manage the day-to-day operations of its Enterprise Development Support (EDS) project.
The agreement was signed by Acting Chief Executive of the LF, Mr. Abdulellah Al Qassimi and the Chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh.
The four-year BD 560, 000 contract was awarded after a tendering process saw 6 respondents and it will mean that TAGCO, as the EDS Agency (EDSA), will streamline the programme so that applicants from the private sector, especially SMEs will get swift and effective response to their applications. About 1000 beneficiary companies are expected to reap the gains of the project over this four-year period LF officials say that productivity improvement of SMEs is a key indicator of the project’s success.
“Based on a tendering process that saw six respondents, the LF has selected the well-known firm of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh & Co. International to manage the day-to-day operations of the EDS programme,” explained LF’s Acting Chief Executive Mr. Abdulellah Al Qassimi, “The decision to outsource the EDS programme stemmed from the tremendous positive response generated from the SMEs.
Since we did not want to create any red tape barriers or delays, we felt the best way forward would be to select an outside agency to manage the project under the LF’s supervision. “
SMEs will still have access to EDS interface through the LF website and all applications will be monitored through the different stages of registration, verification, contracting, administration and finance.
“As an international organisation that has developed its resources and skills in providing specialist development services, we are committed to making this project one that will offer swift and focused assistance to the private sector,” said TAGCO Chairman Mr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, “In such projects, the response time is crucial and our goal will be to deliver maximum results with the least red tape while retaining transparency and accountability.”
The Enterprise Development Scheme is a co-finance programme containing several schemes whereby the Labour Fund finances certain percentage of the SMEs’ requirements. The scheme gives SMEs, small and medium businesses, unprecedented access to new business methodologies, modernisation and ways to improve specific areas of the business to increase productivity through training, equipment upgrades, consultancy studies and implementation.
As the newly appointed Enterprise Development Support Agency, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh will handle the day-to-day operations of the scheme, starting from receiving the applications to processing payment and follow up. The Labour Fund will monitor the EDSA and receive periodical reports.
According to the Labour Fund’s Acting Vice President for Private Sector Support Mr. Mohammed Bucheery, the selection criteria were based on the applicant company’s profile (15%), quality (50%) and commercial standing (35%).
“The number of SMEs benefiting from the programme is one very important key performance indicator which is the target number of 500 SMEs per year.,” said Mr. Bucheery, “While the number of SMEs are limited, the process itself is thorough and requires professional care and management for maximum returns, which is why we chose to outsource the management of the programme.”
The programme began in November 2006 with a pilot phase of 10 SMEs. Following a comprehensive evaluation of the pilot phase, the EDS programme was developed further and the full launch was carried out in April 2007.
The signing ceremony, held at the Grand Ambassador Suite of the Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel, was attended by members of the media, Labour Fund board members and executive management, Talal Abu Ghazalah and consultancy Agencies working within the EDS Programme.
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