MEW – a new season of success

Manama

The sixth edition of the Manama Entrepreneurship Week (MEW) which will go live next week (October 19) opens to a radically different world. The year 2020 made us change our thinking and our pattern of work and life. Many traditional doors have closed and several windows have opened. ‘Work From Home’ has become a new way of work and life. Just this week, Microsoft created a professional commotion by announcing that its employees will all be allowed to work permanently from home even after the pandemic. All this means that new opportunities will open up for entrepreneurs and much of the 21st-century work patterns shall be based on how well we adapt to digital technology.

Quite correctly, would-be entrepreneurs attending the MEW will be able to access talks and workshops that will teach them just how to navigate the fast-changing workplace world. It is heartening to see that Bahrain authorities are not sitting quietly because of the pandemic and are actually aggressively promoting new business perspectives and ways to work. This period of lull in activities is the time that we must all regroup and draw up a new blueprint for 2021. According to estimates from McKinsey & Company, the minimum economic value that has been vaporized by the pandemic is somewhere in the range of $9 trillion.

Against such a disastrous backdrop, the need of the hour is courageous innovation across all business sectors. Entrepreneurs are especially well placed to manage change because they are at the start of the trajectory. But we need to create an eco-system that can give them the encouragement to move swiftly with the times and events such as the MEW are great platforms to promote networking and innovation. When we talk of entrepreneurship, the topic sticks immediately to financing. But this year has taught us that start-ups need a fresh approach and a willingness to innovate much more than money. To all the entrepreneurs who will attend the MEW, I urge you to take advantage of Bahrain’s great business environment and adapt to the new season of success.