HH Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa chairs Women in FinTech Bahrain Committee meeting

Manama, Dec. 12 (BNA): Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, Wife of HM the King and President of the Supreme Council for Women (SCW), has nominated SCW member, HH Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, to chair the Women in (Financial Technology (Fin-Tech) Bahrain committee. The Economic Development Board (EDB) established the committee but transferred its affiliation to the SCW. The panel will focus on implementing the priorities of the national initiative for gender balance in the field of future sciences, announced by the SCW as one of the fruits of the Bahraini Women’s Day 2019, themed “Women in the Field of Higher Education and Future Sciences”. The committee will focus on implementing the royal vision on being fully prepared to deal with the requirements of digital economy, in accordance with the national efforts to keep pace with the emerging trends in the field of digitilisation and modern sciences, which were emphasised by the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030, aiming to increase productivity and innovation, as well as creating new promising job opportunities. During the first meeting, chaired by HH Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa, the committee focused on the SCW’s role in following up on women’s advancement and reviewed the National Gender Balance Model. It also highlighted the Women in Fin-Tech Bahrain Committee’s terms of reference and priorities in 2021. The meeting also reviewed the recommendations of the report on gender balance in the field of Fin-Tech, issued based on study conducted recently by the SCW in partnership with the Bahrain FinTech Bay. The report will contribute to proposing development opportunities and reaching solutions to developing Bahraini women’s expertise and skills in the field of banking technology. Based on its formation edict, the Women in Fin-Tech Bahrain committee shall propose public policies pertaining to encouraging and increasing women’s competitive potential in fields of future sciences, particularly fin-tech, in a way that contributes to achieving gender balance in this field. It shall also propose the necessary programmes, initiatives and systems to develop services related to the requirements of technological development and digital transformation in the field of fin-tech, in addition to mechanisms of promoting promising fin-tech creative projects, and the financing criteria of emerging fin-tech companies. The panel also provides consultations regarding digital knowledge management and using the national expertise to develop skills, encourages national expertise in the field of fin-tech, documents the national efforts to implement the National Gender Balance initiative in the field of future sciences, and highlights Bahraini women’s success stories in fin-tech. Chaired by HH Shaikha Hessa bint Khalifa Al Khalifa, the committee members include SCW member and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) Board of Directors Chairperson, Mariam Ahmed Jamaan, Muna Al-Sayed Ali Al-Hashimi, EDB’s Business Development - Financial Services Director, Dalal Adel Buhejji, Head of the FinTech & Innovation Unit at the Central Bank of Bahrain, Yasmeen Murtadha Al-Sharaf, CEO of Bahrain “ila” Bank, Mohammed Rasheed Al-Maraj, and CEO of the Tarabut Gateway company, Abdulla Tawfiq Al-Moayyad.