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The 2019 edition of GSER, the most comprehensive and widely-read annual research on startups, was released on May 12 at The Next Web Conference.

Acronym for the Global Startup Ecosystem Report, GSER is an initiative by Startup Genome in collaboration with more than 300 global partners. These reports serve as a benchmark on the progress made by the global startup ecosystem over the course of the year.

At the heart of each GSER report lies a rather extensive collection of data on millions of companies worldwide and thousands of startup founders.

The report, as informed readers would anticipate, underlines the thriving startup ecosystem in Bahrain as one of the best in the world.

Tamkeen, which has been at the forefront of the ongoing campaign to turn the Kingdom into one of the major startup hubs globally, issued a press release yesterday to present Bahrain’s #GSER2019 highlights.

To begin with, Bahrain was named one of the top-10 startup ecosystems with the largest proportion of female founders, which clearly depicts the country’s growing emphasis on empowering women entrepreneurs in its full glory.

Bahrain also generated $594 million in ecosystem value — a rather impressive feat for a country that’s just 765 square kilometers in size and is home to no more than 1.5 million people. The GSER 2019 report also identified the island nation as one of the top-15 global ecosystems when it comes to the availability of qualified talent.

The increasing clout of the Kingdom as an ideal destination for global startups was attributed to its liberal tax regime and superior wage support, among other factors.

“The Kingdom of Bahrain offers extensive opportunities for startups and showcases many success stories as a unique model of the startup ecosystem that focuses on supporting both human and business development as well as promoting investment opportunities within the country”, Tamkeen CEO Dr. Ebrahim Janahi said.

He added: “The GSER report is the world’s most comprehensive and practical research on startup success and ecosystem performance. It is a well-based opportunity to stress Bahrain’s global performance in the startup ecosystem and the role the Kingdom has played in promoting and facilitating a fast-growing ecosystem in line with Kingdom’s leadership promising vision for sustainable economic development.”

The GSER report also named Bahrain the top-performing ecosystem for FinTech startups in Europe and the Middle East.