Bahrain Fashion Incubator (BFI) has wrapped up the inaugural session of Dilmun Star’s second cohort earlier this month. For those unfamiliar with the platform, BFI is Bahrain’s first-ever incubator and accelerator specifically designed for fashion startups.
Dilmun Star is the flagship BFI initiative, designed strategically to provide up-and-coming entrepreneurs in the fashion niche with a platform to build new products and solutions. The first cohort of the program included 21 promising entrepreneurs from across the country and was lauded as a much-needed step for the upliftment of the Kingdom’s homegrown fashion industry.
Buoyed by its success, BFI is hosting the second cohort of the program under the patronage of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MOIC). The significance of Dilmun Star can be comprehended from the fact that BFI has already bagged support from a host of regional and international organizations that have joined the program as strategic partners.
These include the United Nations Development Organization (UNIDO), Sustainable Energy Unit (SEU), Fashion Technology Accelerator Milan, The Arab International Center for Entrepreneurship and Investment Training, KB Proto, Flat6Labs, Maison De Joelle Bahrain, and Royal University of Women.
Spanning nine months, the second cohort of the program will aim at boosting awareness surrounding a wide range of issues influencing the fashion industry. Additionally, it will also train participants in the fine art of engaging and influencing customer behavior.
Not only that, but Dilmun Star will also teach participants how to design and develop fashion products that are environmentally friendly.
“Bahrain Fashion Incubator strives to incubate innovative businesses with the vision to put Bahrain on the map as a creative hub for fashion designers,” Ms. Jalila Aarab, Founder and CEO of BFI, noted.