In a significant step toward advancing Bahrain’s tech landscape, Oracle has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Labour Fund, Tamkeen, to establish an Oracle Engineering Center in the kingdom. The announcement came during the Gateway Gulf Forum 2024, an event that brought together top government figures, business leaders, and executives from around the globe.
This new center is poised to play a vital role in nurturing local IT talent, enhancing their proficiency through specialized training and Oracle certifications. Such programs are designed not only to meet the increasing regional demand for Oracle Cloud services but also to support Bahrain’s ambitions of becoming a tech innovation hub in the Gulf.
“We’re prioritizing our work with Bahrain – a pioneering country of the Abraham Accords – because we believe the Kingdom will continue to experience the economic strength that the Accords create,” said Safra Catz, CEO, Oracle. “I am delighted to participate in the MoU signing ceremony with Tamkeen this week because of the important decision made by Bahrain’s leadership to prioritize peace, prosperity and opportunity through the region.”
Her Excellency Ms. Maha Abdulhameed Mofeez, CEO of Tamkeen, emphasized the initiative’s alignment with Tamkeen’s strategy for 2024. “We are committed to equipping national talent with the necessary skills to meet the demands of the growing Information Technology sector in the job market, ensuring their competitiveness both locally and globally,” she said.
Nick Redshaw, Oracle’s Senior VP for Tech Cloud in the Middle East and Africa, highlighted that the programs would fortify the Oracle partner ecosystem in Bahrain and offer a state-of-the-art learning platform for local students.
This partnership signifies an essential milestone for Bahrain, positioning it as a focal point for regional technology investment and innovation while driving sustainable economic growth through an empowered local workforce.