Tamkeen - Bahrain Labour Fund

Check the LMRA establishment portal for outstanding levy, BHC contributions or Basic Wage compliance flags. Clear the issue at the LMRA portal, allow 24-48 hours for sync, then return to Tamkeen.

Open Sijilat, renew the CR or the lapsed sector licence (Civil Defence, MOH, municipality as applicable), allow 24-48 hours, then return to Tamkeen.

Disbursement is milestone-based — for wage support, against verified monthly GOSI salary records. Confirm the GOSI salary for the month is registered and matches the application; if a month's salary is missing or different, the disbursement holds for that month.

Tamkeen requires proof of training completion (certificates) and proof of payment to the training provider. Upload both on the case page; allow 5-10 working days for review and payment.

FSSO trust refresh issue. Sign out, sign in on advanced-tier eKey, and re-open the establishment profile. If still empty, raise on the tamkeen.bh help page citing the Sijilat CR and LMRA establishment numbers.

Tamkeen audits a sample of disbursements; if records are incomplete (missing payroll, missing training certificates, missing invoices), a clawback notice issues. Respond on the case page with the missing evidence; provide bank statements and signed documents as supporting evidence.

Total cash value depends on the salary and the horizon you expect to retain the employee. The 50%-for-three-years track is higher up-front but ends earlier; the 30%-for-five-years track is lower per year but extends across a longer horizon. For high-confidence long-tenure hires the longer track usually wins; for hires where retention is uncertain the front-loaded track is safer. Specialised tracks (doctors, actuaries, engineers) may also have the legacy 70/50/30 option which is higher in year one — useful for senior hires where year-one cost is the principal concern.

Yes, Sijili-CR holders are eligible for several Tamkeen programmes targeted at startups, freelancers and small businesses, including selected SME finance and training tracks. Some larger Business Development capex grants are scoped to full CRs and may not accept Sijili-category applicants; check the programme guide on tamkeen.bh.

Musanada is Tamkeen's business-continuity programme for mSMEs affected by exceptional circumstances. The flagship benefit is a financing-cost subsidy of up to 100% on profit charges for working-capital loans through partner SME finance, with grace periods up to 12 months and repayment extending to three years. It is targeted at preserving viable mSMEs through downturns rather than subsidising unviable models; eligibility includes a viability assessment alongside standing-check criteria.

The company identifies an accredited training provider and programme, applies on tamkeen.bh with the training quotation, candidate list and learning objectives, and Tamkeen reviews and approves a co-funding percentage. After training, the company submits proof of completion (certificates) and proof of payment, and Tamkeen disburses the agreed percentage. Co-funding ratios vary by programme and by company size; SMEs typically get higher co-funding ratios.

Yes — the establishment profile on tamkeen.bh is the basis for any programme application. The profile populates from Sijilat and LMRA identifiers via FSSO and needs a one-time confirmation by an authorised user. Once the profile is established, multiple programme applications run off the same profile.

Routine NEP wage-support applications with clean documentation typically take 2-4 weeks to approve. Larger Business Development grants and SME finance facilities involve bank or partner review and run 4-8 weeks. Musanada cases are reviewed against the continuity assessment and can run longer. Documentation gaps extend any of these significantly; pre-clean before submitting.

Tracks differ. NEP has hire-window rules that determine whether a recently completed hire is still eligible at application time. For training and capex, retroactive claims are generally not supported; the application must precede the spend. Read the specific programme's eligibility window before assuming retroactive eligibility.

Tamkeen will reject the application as 'eligibility not met'. The Basic Wage compliance check is gating for most Tamkeen programmes. Fix the flagged issues on the LMRA establishment portal (typically a worker's GOSI salary below the Basic Wage threshold for their nationality or category), allow 24-48 hours for the standing to refresh, then reapply at Tamkeen.

GOSI is the social insurance authority for Bahraini employees. Tamkeen NEP wage support is calculated against the GOSI-registered salary of the Bahraini hire under the hiring establishment. GOSI registration is a hard eligibility check; the salary basis at GOSI is the cap for the subsidy. Companies that under-register salaries on GOSI to reduce social insurance cost will also under-collect Tamkeen wage support.

Yes. The Tamkeen partnership with the Supreme Council for Women offers dedicated programmes for women-owned startups, including Sharia-compliant financing access, capability development, mentorship and accelerated review on certain tracks. Eligibility is verified against the women ownership recorded in Sijilat. Combine with the broader Tamkeen tracks the business is otherwise eligible for.

Establishment-side: Sijilat CR, LMRA establishment standing print-out, audited or management financials at the relevant size threshold. Candidate-side: CPR copy, CV, GOSI registration for the candidate under the hiring establishment, employment contract showing salary that matches the GOSI salary, and the candidate's qualification documents (for specialised tracks). Have the candidate's GOSI registration in place before applying.

Yes. Tamkeen has tracks for Bahraini freelancers including Sijili-CR-based support, training and certification co-funding, and selected SME finance facilities. The freelancer registers a Sijili virtual-store CR (or a full CR if scope exceeds Sijili), establishes the Tamkeen profile, and applies to the relevant freelancer-eligible programmes.

Use the Tamkeen contact channels published on tamkeen.bh — the case page on tamkeen.bh is the primary channel for clarifications, and the Tamkeen helpline handles general programme queries. For eligibility checks failing because of Sijilat, LMRA or GOSI standing, the fix is at the source ministry; Tamkeen cannot waive a failed standing check at the application stage.