The purpose of this paper is to investigate training and education support for entrepreneurship in Bahrain, using the case study of the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP).
The paper uses interviews, secondary sources and participant involvement on the part of one of the authors.
The United Nation Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and other initiatives to promote entrepreneurship in Bahrain are discussed. The characteristics of the implementation of entrepreneurship training and education are set out, identifying the importance of ‘hands-on’ practice and results orientation. 79 participants in the EDP were interviewed and their characteristics related to starting up a business discussed.
These results set out the wider policies to promote entrepreneurship in a small Gulf country and some of the factors that influence their likely success.
The main limitations include the need for further evaluation of the initiatives discussed and measures of the external business environment. The sample size, the length of tracking of individuals and measures of the external business environment are limited.
Al-Dairi, A., McQuaid, R. and Adams, J. (2012): Entrepreneurship training to promote start-ups and innovation in Bahrain, International Journal of Innovation and Knowledge Management in Middle East and North Africa, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 179-210.
