Anish Aggrawal, CEO Phoenix Capital Partner, on the sidelines of the Gateway Gulf 2026, has applauded the EDB for organising an incredibly important event attracting right people under one umbrella at GG26 further reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a destination of choice for investors.  

“I have good meetings and it is not my first time in Bahrain. However, this year’s event was much curated d very well thought of list of invitees from across the broad spectrum of business sectors, and I think this year’s GG26 was a fantastic event unlike other conferences,” he said, adding that usually in many of such conferences you do not find a match-making meetings or discussions, generally, but GG26 has been excellent and I have very good meetings and I have no complaints whatsoever, thanks to the EDB for putting everything together everything in a very professional way.

Talking about the upcoming project, he said currently they were in talks with site owners (land) as well as other stakeholders including the banks on the debt-side; sports; media; entertainment on the content side.

About the investment or cost, at this stage he would not reveal the exact figure but confirmed that the project would be worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. About the stadium he said with the capacity of 12,000 to 15,000 seats, the multi-purpose stadium will be a perfect venue for eSports; music; concerts; conferences; traditional sports such as paddle, tennis, basketball and others.

Held at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay on November 1 and 2 under the theme “Reimagining Global Partnerships, Powering Sustainable Growth”, the flagship investment forum brought together ministers, investors and movers and shakers of banking and finance, technology giants, investment firms, and regulators who over two-days participated in highly interactive sessions with an aim stirring the economic activity and showcasing the potential of the GCC being US$2.4 trillion economy.

The fourth edition reinforced Bahrain’s role as a platform for regional and international partnership, translating its competitive strengths into tangible investment, stronger trade links, and opportunities for sustainable growth. With a clear focus on converting dialogue into action and opportunity into investment, Gateway Gulf is set to continue to deliver partnerships with lasting economic impact for Bahrain and other regional economic powerhouses.

The BHD 40 million Market Making Fund will be established to support a key initiative under Bahrain Bourse’s Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028, “Elevate,” aimed at strengthening market liquidity and enhancing market efficiency. The Fund will focus on a select basket of securities, providing dedicated capital to facilitate continuous buy and sell orders, narrow bid-ask spreads, and support fair and efficient price discovery. By enhancing liquidity and enabling more consistent trading activity across the selected securities, the Fund is expected to contribute to a deeper, more active, and efficient market. Over the longer term, the initiative aims to enhance Bahrain’s capital market, attract listings and a broader investor base, and support its readiness for potential advancement within global indices and market classifications.

“Enhancing liquidity is central to building a deeper, more competitive and resilient capital market. Through this Fund, we are bringing together key market participants to enhance market activity. This collaborative approach will support the long-term development of Bahrain’s capital market and further enhance its role in contributing to the Kingdom’s economic growth,” Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse, commented said.

“As Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, we are committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to the Kingdom’s long-term economic growth. Our proposed participation in the Market Making Fund supports this commitment and the continued development of a deeper and more competitive capital market,” Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, said.

“A well-functioning capital market helps attract investment and gives investors’ confidence in allocating capital. As both a listed company and a seed investor in the Market Making Fund, NBB recognises the importance of greater liquidity and more effective price discovery for companies and their shareholders. Our participation reflects a tangible commitment to strengthening Bahrain’s capital market with a broader investor base, while supporting the Kingdom’s readiness for global index inclusion. We look forward to working alongside Bahrain Bourse and our fellow partners to advance these shared objectives,” Usman Ahmed, Group Chief Executive Officer of NBB, said.

The Fund marks an important milestone in Bahrain Bourse’s efforts to advance the Kingdom’s capital market, in line with its Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028. By strengthening market participation and supporting a more dynamic and liquid market, the initiative reinforces the role of capital markets as an important driver of economic growth and enhances their contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

The BHD 40 million Market Making Fund will be established to support a key initiative under Bahrain Bourse’s Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028, “Elevate,” aimed at strengthening market liquidity and enhancing market efficiency. The Fund will focus on a select basket of securities, providing dedicated capital to facilitate continuous buy and sell orders, narrow bid-ask spreads, and support fair and efficient price discovery. By enhancing liquidity and enabling more consistent trading activity across the selected securities, the Fund is expected to contribute to a deeper, more active, and efficient market. Over the longer term, the initiative aims to enhance Bahrain’s capital market, attract listings and a broader investor base, and support its readiness for potential advancement within global indices and market classifications.

“Enhancing liquidity is central to building a deeper, more competitive and resilient capital market. Through this Fund, we are bringing together key market participants to enhance market activity. This collaborative approach will support the long-term development of Bahrain’s capital market and further enhance its role in contributing to the Kingdom’s economic growth,” Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse, commented said.

“As Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, we are committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to the Kingdom’s long-term economic growth. Our proposed participation in the Market Making Fund supports this commitment and the continued development of a deeper and more competitive capital market,” Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, said.

“Strong and liquid capital markets are fundamental to economic growth, investment attraction, and long-term prosperity. BBK is proud to be a founding participant in this landmark Market Making Fund, which represents a bold step toward enhancing market efficiency and unlocking new opportunities for investors. Through this strategic collaboration, we are helping to build a deeper, more resilient and globally competitive capital market that supports Bahrain’s ambitions as a leading financial centre and contributes meaningfully to the objectives of Bahrain Economic Vision 2030,” Yaser Alsharifi, Group Chief Executive Officer of BBK said.

The Fund marks an important milestone in Bahrain Bourse’s efforts to advance the Kingdom’s capital market, in line with its Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028. By strengthening market participation and supporting a more dynamic and liquid market, the initiative reinforces the role of capital markets as an important driver of economic growth and enhances their contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

The BHD 40 million Market Making Fund will be established to support a key initiative under Bahrain Bourse’s Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028, “Elevate,” aimed at strengthening market liquidity and enhancing market efficiency. The Fund will focus on a select basket of securities, providing dedicated capital to facilitate continuous buy and sell orders, narrow bid-ask spreads, and support fair and efficient price discovery. By enhancing liquidity and enabling more consistent trading activity across the selected securities, the Fund is expected to contribute to a deeper, more active, and efficient market. Over the longer term, the initiative aims to enhance Bahrain’s capital market, attract listings and a broader investor base, and support its readiness for potential advancement within global indices and market classifications.

“Enhancing liquidity is central to building a deeper, more competitive and resilient capital market. Through this Fund, we are bringing together key market participants to enhance market activity. This collaborative approach will support the long-term development of Bahrain’s capital market and further enhance its role in contributing to the Kingdom’s economic growth,” Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse, commented said.

“The launch of the Market Making Fund marks an important milestone in the development of Bahrain’s capital markets. Through this collaborative initiative, we are supporting greater market liquidity and depth, helping create a more efficient investment environment that enhances long-term value and supports sustainable returns for the pension & social insurance. We are proud to partner with Bahrain Bourse and fellow investors on this important initiative,” Abdulla Kamal, Chief Executive Officer of Osool Asset Management, said.

The Fund marks an important milestone in Bahrain Bourse’s efforts to advance the Kingdom’s capital market, in line with its Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028. By strengthening market participation and supporting a more dynamic and liquid market, the initiative reinforces the role of capital markets as an important driver of economic growth and enhances their contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

The BHD 40 million Market Making Fund will be established to support a key initiative under Bahrain Bourse’s Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028, “Elevate,” aimed at strengthening market liquidity and enhancing market efficiency. The Fund will focus on a select basket of securities, providing dedicated capital to facilitate continuous buy and sell orders, narrow bid-ask spreads, and support fair and efficient price discovery. By enhancing liquidity and enabling more consistent trading activity across the selected securities, the Fund is expected to contribute to a deeper, more active, and efficient market. Over the longer term, the initiative aims to enhance Bahrain’s capital market, attract listings and a broader investor base, and support its readiness for potential advancement within global indices and market classifications.

“Enhancing liquidity is central to building a deeper, more competitive and resilient capital market. Through this Fund, we are bringing together key market participants to enhance market activity. This collaborative approach will support the long-term development of Bahrain’s capital market and further enhance its role in contributing to the Kingdom’s economic growth,” Shaikh Khalifa bin Ebrahim Al-Khalifa, CEO of Bahrain Bourse, commented said.

“As Bahrain’s sovereign wealth fund, we are committed to supporting initiatives that contribute to the Kingdom’s long-term economic growth. Our proposed participation in the Market Making Fund supports this commitment and the continued development of a deeper and more competitive capital market,” Shaikh Abdulla bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Mumtalakat, said.

The Fund marks an important milestone in Bahrain Bourse’s efforts to advance the Kingdom’s capital market, in line with its Capital Market Development Plan 2026–2028. By strengthening market participation and supporting a more dynamic and liquid market, the initiative reinforces the role of capital markets as an important driver of economic growth and enhances their contribution to the Kingdom’s economy, in line with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030.

Its flagship platform, MachPanel, lets service providers, enterprises and government organizations automate service delivery, manage its users from one control plane, and grow without making public cloud the only path. Across the Middle East, data location and operational independence are now part of almost every technology decision.

“The future is not about choosing between cloud and on premises. It is about using both and having control,” said Max Roosenbrand, Group CEO at MachSol. “Organizations should be in control of their services and how they are managed. That is why we see real opportunity in Bahrain and across the region.”

While MachSol is introducing MachPanel to the Bahrain market, the company has been serving customers and supporting business requirements across the Middle East for decades, including in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt. That experience means understanding local priorities on infrastructure choices, sovereignty and reliable services.

Gateway Gulf reflects Bahrain’s continued efforts to showcase investment opportunities and support businesses as they develop new capabilities, strengthen local industries and pursue opportunities to serve regional markets. The forum brings together international investors, business leaders and policymakers to explore investment opportunities and strengthen cross-border partnerships.

Traditional Threat intelligence often shows what is happening elsewhere, but security teams still have to work out what it means for their own organization.

CTM360’s Next-Gen CTI Platform aims to change this by connecting global threat reporting, security advisories, vulnerabilities and emerging threat activity into unified intelligence stories, helping security teams follow a threat as it develops and understand how it could affect their organization.

Built around an organization’s Digital Asset Register, the Next-Gen CTI approach introduces three intelligence layers: indicators of Exposure (IoEs): What is exposed across your digital footprint; indicators of Warning (IoWs): What emerging threats are relevant to your organization; indicators of Attack (IoAs) and what malicious activity is targeting your organization right now.

“IoCs are about someone else, somewhere else. IoEs, IoWs and IoAs are about YOU and NOW,” said Mirza Asrar Baig, Founder and CEO of CTM360.

The platform brings connected threat stories together with CTM360’s capabilities helping organisations understand their external exposure and protect their digital presence against emerging threats.

At Gateway Gulf 2026, CTM360 officially introduced the Next-Gen CTI Platform to cybersecurity leaders and industry professionals, demonstrating its approach to making threat intelligence focus on what matters and what teams can do about it.

The announcement was made at the fourth edition of Gateway Gulf, held on 1–2 November 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay. Hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB), the forum convenes under the theme “Reimagining Global Partnerships, Powering Sustainable Growth”. Developed with the support of Team Bahrain, the project will break ground in November 2026, with production targeted for Q3 2027.

With a capacity of 100 metric tonnes per day, the export-oriented mill will supply wholesome whole-grain and multi-grain flours to customers across the GCC, Europe and the United States. Across the region, a significant share of output will supply neighbouring GCC markets from Hidd, close to Khalifa Bin Salman Port, providing a dependable nearby source of whole-grain and millet flours and shortening supply chains that would otherwise rely on long-haul imports.

Within the Kingdom, exporting allows the mill to operate at full scale year-round while complementing Bahrain’s established domestic flour suppliers. In doing so, it keeps modern milling capacity, grain inventories and a skilled Bahraini workforce permanently in the Kingdom – strategic capabilities that add depth and resilience to Bahrain’s food system. The project will also create job opportunities across production, quality assurance, maintenance, logistics, sales and administration, for Bahraini nationals which will be supported by structured technical training.

The mill will pair traditional chakki stone-grinding with modern automated cleaning, conditioning, milling and packaging. Grinding at controlled temperatures preserves the bran, fibre and natural nutrients of the grain, producing wholesome flours enjoyed across South Asian, Middle Eastern, African and European cuisines.

The product range will include whole wheat chakki atta, multi-grain atta blends and millet flours – including sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra) and finger millet (ragi) – in retail, food service, bulk and private-label formats. Grain will be sourced through KAI’s established supplier partnerships in Australia, Canada and India.

“Bahrain offers an exceptional platform for a food manufacturer serving regional and global markets: a strategic location, world-class port infrastructure and a forward-looking investment climate. We are proud to contribute to food security across the GCC. The Kingdom has been an important part of KRG’s growth, and we remain firmly committed for the long term. Our continued investments, even in challenging times, reflect our confidence in Bahrain and our commitment to building lasting businesses here,” Brijender Pal Singh, Managing Director, Konexus Resources Group, said.

“We welcome Konexus Agri International’s investment in Hidd, which strengthens Bahrain’s food manufacturing capabilities and adds value to the Kingdom’s wider industrial base. Investments of this kind support regional food security, create quality employment opportunities for Bahrainis and contribute to the growth and diversification of Bahrain’s non-oil exports,” Ishaq Abdulla Ishaq, Executive Director of Business Development for Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics, Bahrain Economic Development Board said.

Konexus’s investment will support local economic activity through spending with Bahraini suppliers and SMEs, while leveraging Bahrain’s strategic location near Khalifa Bin Salman Port to access GCC markets and benefit from the Bahrain–US Free Trade Agreement. The investment also reflects confidence in the Kingdom’s industrial and food-processing sectors.

Through this partnership, I4BH will become Shaffra’s partner in the Kingdom of Bahrain, bringing the company’s enterprise-grade AI solutions to organizations across the public and private sectors. Shaffra’s AI employees have already helped enterprises and governments save more than 2 million work hours per month in 2025. The collaboration combines Shaffra’s proven AI technology and regional deployment experience with I4BH’s local expertise, relationships, and implementation capabilities. I4BH and Shaffra will also explore developing new solutions on Shaffra’s platform for priority sectors, with scope to collaborate on opportunities beyond Bahrain.

“We built Innovate for Bahrain to put frontier technology in the hands of Bahraini organizations, and this partnership does exactly that. Shaffra’s AI employees are already working inside enterprises and governments across the region. Through Innovate for Bahrain, every sector of our economy, from banks and government entities to growing businesses, can now deploy that capability with a Bahraini team alongside them from the first conversation to go-live. Gateway Gulf 2026 asks how global partnerships should be reimagined, and our answer is global technology with local delivery,” Bader Sater, Chief Executive Officer of Bahrain FinTech Bay, said.

Through the partnership, Bahraini organizations will be able to use AI employees that work in customer service, sales, human resources, finance, operations, and project management, each with a clear role and clear responsibilities. Ready-made solutions, such as AI Call Centers, AI Sales Centers, and AI Project Managers, fit straight into existing operations. Shaffra’s Subconscious AI technology helps these AI employees remember what matters as they work, and each one learns from the organization’s own policies and systems in both Arabic and English. Each organization deploys the AI on its own infrastructure, so its data stays under its control, while a governance layer sets roles, access, and audit controls.

“As a Bahraini, I am particularly proud to partner with Innovate for Bahrain to bring Shaffra’s AI Workforce Platform to the Kingdom. Across the GCC, we have already demonstrated how Autonomous AI Teams can transform business operations, deliver measurable efficiencies, and empower people to focus on higher-value work. Through this partnership, we aim to bring these capabilities to Bahraini enterprises and government institutions, accelerating the adoption of practical, impactful AI solutions. Bahrain has always been at the forefront of innovation in the region, and we are excited to contribute to its next chapter as a leader in enterprise AI,” Alharith Alatawi, Co-Founder and CEO of Shaffra, said.

The partnership will enable AI adoption across key sectors of Bahrain’s economy, including financial services, government, telecommunications, healthcare, education, hospitality, retail, and logistics.

This also aligns with Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 and the Kingdom’s ambition to advance digital innovation, strengthen economic competitiveness, and develop a knowledge-based economy across the public and private sectors.

The announcement was made at the fourth edition of Gateway Gulf, held on 1–2 November 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay. Hosted by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB), the forum convenes under the theme “Reimagining Global Partnerships, Powering Sustainable Growth”.

Under the partnership, DOO will deploy an AI-enabled admissions service that provides prospective families with timely, accurate information in Arabic and English. Students will benefit from curriculum-aligned tutoring support that extends learning beyond the classroom, while a dedicated wellbeing service will offer students and parents a confidential channel to the schools’ counselling and pastoral teams.

All services will operate within DOO’s governance framework, ensuring human oversight of every decision affecting students and the protection of student data in accordance with the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Personal Data Protection Law.

“This partnership reflects ARKEDU’s longstanding commitment to excellence and innovation in education, and to the vision of our late founder, Abdulrahman Jasim Kanoo, of making quality education accessible to every family in the Kingdom. By adopting AI responsibly across the student journey, we aim to enhance the experience of our families, strengthen support for our students, and enable our educators to focus on what matters most,” Dr. Julie Sparkel, COO of ARKEDU, said.

“We are proud to partner with ARKEDU, an institution that has demonstrated clear leadership in embracing innovation. Together, we are establishing a benchmark for the responsible adoption of AI in education, one we believe will serve as a model for schools across Bahrain and the wider GCC,” Ali Al Toblani, Co-Founder of DOO, said.