Bahrain Launches WE-Elevate Program to Support Women-Led MSMEs

• Bahrain has introduced the WE-Elevate initiative to empower women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises
• It is managed by the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO)
• The rollout forms part of a broader expansion of WE-Elevate to all DCO member states

Bahrain's Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications has launched the country's nationwide introduction of WE-Elevate, a DCO-formulated initiative to empower female-owned micro, small, and medium businesses (MSMEs).

The launch is part of a broader DCO rollout across all member states, which was announced on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) in New York.

WE-Elevate is a capacity development program that leverages online learning, mentoring, and exposure to trading platforms to empower entrepreneurs to acquire digital, financial, and business literacy.

The program is organized in a manner where businesses are taken from offline to online in a step-by-step training process, allowing them to sell and exchange goods across borders.

This helps to formalize women-owned MSMEs, expanding their customer reach and creating sustainable jobs.

MSMEs are already key players in the Bahrain economy, contributing to 17.8 percent of the anticipated $46.2 billion GDP in 2025 and can be compared to women in the global labor market holding only 12.2 percent of C-suite positions in STEM and women certainly remain under-represented in global digital leadership.

In the same breath as supporting women-owned businesses, in his presentation during the meeting, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa expressed Bahrain's desire to take a more active leadership role in multilateral cooperation and inclusive digital transformation.

DCO Secretary-General Deemah AlYahya added that the program equips women with the capacity and support needed to thrive in the digital economy by citing the success story of Rwanda pilot where the involved MSMEs improved digital skills, streamlined business processes, and opened up new markets.

The program aligns with Bahrain's quest for Sustainable Development Goals, namely SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

Applications are presently being invited for worthy MSMEs of all the member countries of DCO, and entrepreneurs can apply at dco.org/initiatives/stride to initiate their transition to become digital-first, scalable businesses that can compete on a global scale.