EDIP Program
The Bahrain – Arab Model for Enterprise Development & Innovation Promotion Program around the world.
Economic growth required for the eradication of poverty and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) depends on capital accumulation (investment) and technical change going hand in hand. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in particular is an important driver of industrial performance, as it is expected to improve industrial productivity growth directly by infusing new capital, technologies and managerial know-how, and by improving the average skills and efficiency levels of industry.
An important factor, inter alia, which would influence the success of FDI promotion efforts, is the availability of qualified local entrepreneurs/investors backing the investment projects.
However, finding qualified and capable local investors, and matching the expectations of foreign investors, still remains a grave problem in many developing countries. A credible local investor base will emerge only if the private sector is induced to engage in productive activities by encouraging domestic investments. Therefore, in order to attain growth, developing countries and those with economies in transition need to mobilize investment—both domestic and foreign—as well as modern technologies, so as to expand their productive assets.
Enterprise Development Program
The EDIP is a package approach aimed at developing the capacities of potential entrepreneurs/investors in order to boost their capabilities and assist them in developing their own private businesses. The EDIP is multifaceted in the sense that it need not only assist in developing start-up entrepreneurs (Enterprise Creation Program) but rather represents a major mechanism for upgrading and expanding existing MSMEs (Enterprise Growth Program). This is achieved through the provision of value-added services, tools and programs to entrepreneurs/investors. Moreover; it facilitates and promotes domestic investment which undoubtedly leads to the attraction of foreign direct investments mainly through the linkage with the UNIDO ITPO Network, thus leading to job creation and a more diversified economy. Further to the above the EDIP has evolved into a practical well-structured Incubation System.
The EDIP consists for five steps:
- Preparation & Empowerment
- Business Counseling & Technology Tie-up leading to full-fledged joint ventures
- Financial linkages
- Incubation (In-Wall and Virtual)
- Post Incubation and Growth programs
The main features are:
- The programme is result-oriented in the sense that potential investors are expected to set up their own business enterprises–which have to be appropriate to their abilities and backgrounds–after relevant training and as a result of it.
- There is a firm commitment on the basic objectives by the counterpart institutions.
- The entrepreneurs and investors are identified and selected through a rigorous selection process involving assessment of personality, competence and commitment by means of written tests and personal interviews.
Enterprise Development & Innovation Promotion Program Modality
With the ultimate objective of assisting the potential entrepreneurs/investors to set up their own enterprises, the business skills development has been designed to cover the following:
- Setting up an enterprise: Rules, procedures and formalities, whom to contact for what, nature and extent of assistance available from various institutions
- Business Opportunity Identification: How to identify business opportunities, how to screen them, how to firm up a business idea for further exploration.
- Market Assessment: How to assess the market potential, guidance in carrying out field work for market assessment for the proposed product/service
- Entrepreneurial Competencies
- Business Plan: Skills in preparing a Business Plan and assistance in finalizing it
- Essentials of managing an enterprise
- Inputs on how to implement a project/enterprise