On October 26, 2024, the Bahrain Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (BCICAI) held its “Start-Up Majlis” at Crowne Plaza, Manama, with Business Network International (BNI) Bahrain as its Network Partner for the event. The event featured a lineup of speakers and valuable networking opportunities, fostering connections within Bahrain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
CA Bharti Maheshwari served as the Master of Ceremony, while Chairperson CA Vivek Gupta opened the event with a vision for cultivating impactful ideas and relationships. The Guest of Honor Mr. Mohammed Abdulali Al-Ali, Vice Chairman of Hope Ventures, emphasized the importance of strong CFOs for business turnarounds and introduced the transformative “power of zero.”
The keynote speaker Mr. Nawaf Mohamed AlKoheji, former CEO of Tenmou, shared insights on building a robust start-up ecosystem, highlighting the significance of strong founders and strategic growth areas. Mr Arunoday Ganguly, the National Director of BNI Bahrain underscored the importance of networking as a tool for entrepreneurs, providing the audience a short glimpse into BNI as the world’s largest global referral marketing organization operating in 78 countries around the globe.
Technical sessions featured industry leaders, Anish Maheshwari of VSure Investment Affairs Limited who discussed investment strategies, while Gururajan Krishnamurthy from Zoho shared the company’s journey and growth in the MENA region.
A highlight was the first-ever start-up pitching competition, featuring Rizq and Unfade. Rizq, a B2B platform for finance automation, and Unfade, which empowers artisans, delivered compelling pitches. Unfade ultimately won for its innovative concept.
The event concluded with a panel discussion moderated by Narayanan Ganapathy, featuring Prashant Kumar Shrivastava and Nasra Al Abrawi, who addressed challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs in the region. Whilst Mr Shrivastava commented that partnerships with investors augurs well for startups, contributing to their growth and path to profitability, Ms Al Abrawi categorically attributed her marketing success to BNI’s referral marketing and made a mention of a new international chapter BNI All-Inpreneurs being launched in Bahrain. The Bahrain Chapter of ICAI thanked its Knowledge Partner, Keiretsu Forum, and Networking Partner, BNI Bahrain, for their support.
