StartUp Bahrain, the leading platform for startups in the Kingdom of Bahrain, recently hosted the much-anticipated StartUp Bahrain Pitch series featuring a keynote speech by Hasan Haider, a seasoned venture capitalist, who shared valuable insights about raising funds as an entrepreneur and what investors look for in a startup to invest in.

The event showcased five Bahraini startups, who presented their innovative ideas to a distinguished panel of judges, which included local and regional experts from VentureSouq UAE, Flat6Labs UAE, Brinc, and +VC.

The five rising Bahraini startups showcased the great potential for success, impressing both judges and the audience with their pitches.

The startups included Procural, a B2B cloud-based marketplace revolutionizing the procurement process by connecting buyers with a diverse range of sellers; GFX Securities, a leading MENA broker specializing in forex and securities trading; A Wonder Within, a service that empowers children through stories and animations that foster social and emotional learning; Bezat, an innovative platform that elevates event participation and optimizes raffles and reward distribution; BeSuited, a platform that epitomizes elegance and quality in bespoke menswear.

Following a thorough evaluation of each startup, the esteemed panel of judges announced Procural, represented by Uzair Usman as the first-place winner, and Bezat, represented by Mohamed Qamber as the second-place winner.

Reflecting on this milestone, Uzair Usman, founder and CEO of Procural, couldn’t be more thrilled to have the chance to showcase their startup on such a prestigious platform. He expressed his appreciation for the support of His Highness Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Isa bin Salman Education Charitable Trust and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and his encouragement to all the winners to continue innovating and developing the entrepreneurship in Bahrain to increase competitiveness.

He said: “The StartUp Bahrain Pitch has truly been a game-changer for Procural, and we’re so grateful to all those who invested their time, resources, and expertise to support us. Our team’s most sincere thank you goes out to the Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Tamkeen, the Bahrain Economic Development Board, Bahrain Development Bank, our exceptional panel of judges, and, of course, StartUp Bahrain for supporting us with this remarkable opportunity.”

This initiative is powered by the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) and includes an intensive training boot camp focused on fundraising for startups, which aims to empower entrepreneurs to achieve growth and expansion.

This initiative is supported by the SMEs Development Board, which includes the Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Bahrain Economic Development Board, and Bahrain Development Bank (BDB). This reflects Bahrain’s supportive and growing startup ecosystem.