The Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) - the investment promotion agency for the Kingdom of Bahrain - has announced that over the course of 2019, seven Indian firms entered Bahrain’s ICT space, bringing a total investment of $3.1 million. The seven companies range from IT consultants to software and hardware developers; they are:

•  Benzy Infotech - The support service arm for Akbar Travels, a leader in the travel company in India, providing an array of business process outsourcing solutions for the travel industry.

•  JKT Technosoft - A global software solutions company preparing clients for a digital future.

•  Zeaway Tech (MENAGET) - Technology consultants offering a range of services from web and mobile app design and development to data analytics and cloud solutions.

•  Expressbase - A cloud-based platform to build and run business applications 10x faster.

•  Zerek Technologies (YUPS) - A company that supports enterprises to leverage the power of IoT (Internet of Things) to monitor and control their assets, people and processes.

•  Hacktech Solutions - One of India’s leading solutions providers in information security, ethical hacking training and Cyber Security Services.

• Techno Path Solutions - Offers cutting-edge business software solutions and consultancy services to start-ups, micro, small and medium-sized companies.
 
India is fast emerging as a global power in the ICT sector, an area where Bahrain has positioned itself as a key strategic partner. The Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) has pushed forward initiatives that are playing a vital role in creating a favourable environment for digital businesses ranging from a regulatory sandbox, data privacy and competition laws to open banking, and the most recent, robo advisory & Insurance aggregators.
 
Dharmi Magdani, Regional Director - India, Bahrain EDB, said, “India is now Bahrain’s fifth largest trading partner and trade between the two countries is on the rise. We have been particularly proud to see this longstanding relationship evolve with the times towards the technology space.”
 
“We are seeing growing interest from India in not only our manufacturing sector but also the ICT space. Bahrain’s nimble and innovative regulatory environment with a highly competitive taxation system and 100% ownership is one factor that makes the Kingdom so attractive to Indian scaleups, unicorns, or technology companies seeking access to the growing $1.5 trillion Gulf market.”
 
“Bangalore is a hotbed of technology and innovation and our presence there is testament to our commitment to bringing Indian scaleups and enterprises to Bahrain’s supportive ecosystem where they can grow and scale across the GCC.”
 
In 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made the first ever official visit to Bahrain by an Indian PM, during which he announced the introduction of the Rupay Card - a national Indian payments system - in Bahrain. Bilateral trade between Bahrain and India stands at some $1.3 billion. There is a sizeable Indian diaspora in the Kingdom, at some 400,000, the largest foreign community. There are more than 20 branches of prominent Indian companies registered, not to mention well over 3000 registered joint ventures. Some prominent names include TCS, TechMahindra, Wipro, SBI Life Insurance, ICICI & SBI, Mukta cinemas, Chemco plastics, Ion exchange & Electrosteel. The EDB has a South East Asia Regional Office based in Mumbai, and as of 2019, the EDB has expanded their presence to Bangalore and Delhi.
 
Bahrain was the first GCC country to adopt a government-wide cloud-first policy. Now with Amazon Web Services (AWS) having launched its first data centre ‘Region’ in Bahrain, it will be easier for companies of all sizes to run their existing software on AWS, build their future business apps in the cloud, simplify infrastructure management, deploy more quickly, lower costs and increase revenue.