April 2022 43 www.bahrainthismonth.com Bahrain Bourse (BHB), a self-regulated multi-asset marketplace, has joined 188 global exchanges in the annual United Nations Ring the Bell for Gender Equality initiative, which took place virtually in conjunction with the celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday, March 8. The initiative featured key executive females in leadership positions from several listed companies as well as other key stakeholders. Narjes Jamal, Chief Operating Officer at Bahrain Bourse and Head of Gender Equality Committee, says: “Evidence from global stock exchanges reveals that listed companies with women on their boards outperform those without, and it gives us great pride to be part of this initiative and capitalise on the opportunity of closing the global gender gap. The percentage of women working at Bahrain Bourse is 42 percent, which is a very strong representation of females within the workplace.” The “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” virtual event is a collaboration between the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) Initiative, the UN Global Compact, UN Women, Women in ETFs, and the World Federation of Stock Exchanges to raise awareness about the private sector’s opportunities to advance gender equality and sustainable development. A UK-based socially conscious mobile payments Fintech startup, KogoPAY, announces its strategic partnership with The Private Office of H.E. Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Duaij bin Khalifa al Khalifa, the GCC region’s growth enablers for independent business development, consultancy, and advisory. Having recently participated in the 2nd Edition of the Royal Investment Summit in January 2022, hosted by Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Duaij Al Khalifa Private Office, KogoPAY has already started to establish and leverage relationships with both local and international like-minded individuals with similar values including social impact, technology, financial inclusion, as well as startup empowerment. KogoPAY offers virtual IBAN accounts in GBP and EUR, as well as a mobile wallet in several currencies. Their mission is to make it simple for anyone to transfer money globally. The technology allows anyone to send money instantly to friends and family, conduct simple commercial transactions, and support charities in receiving donations with minimal costs. KogoPAY’s future plans include embedding crypto-tofiat and fiat-to-crypto payments to the wallet, as well as CBDCs. Additionally, the firm aims to boost the ‘Pay it Forward’ concept. Mohammad Al-Razaz, Serial Entrepreneur and Co-founder & CEO of OTO - MENA’s largest shipping integrator and aggregator solution for online businesses, indicated that Bahraini entrepreneurs have the potential to expand globally due to an integrated support system that includes a variety of financial services and programmes, incubators, business accelerators, and export services. “The more original a project’s idea is, the more it will be able to traverse borders, compete, and get funding from investors,” says Mr. Al-Razaz who went on to highlight his entrepreneurial journey in Saudi Arabia during a Fireside chat hosted by the ‘Collective Hub’ in Bahrain Bay and sponsored by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP). “Entrepreneurs must make decisions based on facts, data, and information, to carefully assemble their team, assure continuous improvement, and consistently push themselves,” he adds. The event was part of Tenmou’s initiatives to enhance angel investment, inspire more Bahraini entrepreneurs to develop their ideas into viable economic initiatives, and benefit from the experiences of entrepreneurs on a regional and worldwide level. RINGING THE BELL FOR GENDER EQUALITY A Strategic Partnership The Potential to Go Global business bites
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