Bahrain Development Bank has wrapped the third round of its Leadership Development Programme, a three-month track run with the Institute of Public Administration to sharpen the management skills of BDB’s rising talent and, by extension, upgrade support for the kingdom’s SME economy.
The closing ceremony in Manama was attended by Dr Shaikha Rana bint Isa bin Duaij Al Khalifa, IPA director-general, who said the institute is scaling leadership programmes that “build national talent” and align with Bahrain’s public-sector modernisation goals. Participants spent 12 weeks on strategy execution, digital-first service design and stakeholder management, then presented cap-stone projects aimed at speeding loan approvals and widening BDB’s fintech partnerships. The initiative follows a May announcement that BDB would embed IPA courseware in its talent pipeline, part of the bank’s multi-year transformation to deliver faster, tech-enabled finance to startups and SMEs. The focus on leadership matters: BDB channels millions of dinars into early-stage companies each year, and better-equipped managers can push reforms—like the upcoming tijara digital lending platform—through the organisation more quickly.
For Bahrain’s founder community, that translates into smoother access to capital and advisory support. This edition also dovetails with Bahrain’s Economic Recovery Plan, which calls for stronger institutional capacity and a diversified, innovation-led private sector.
BDB says details on the fourth cohort will be released later this year; interested staff and ecosystem mentors can register interest via the bank’s HR portal.
