GFH Bank backs student founder pipeline as featured partner of StartUp Bahrain University of Bahrain

GFH Bank has joined StartUp Bahrain University of Bahrain as a featured partner, backing the student founder pathway and contributing to the initiative’s student startup fund and awards pool. The pilot program, held from May 12–17, 2026 at the University of Bahrain, involved more than 1,000 students across disciplines who formed over 160 teams; 91 student-founded projects advanced to the semi-final stage and 10 finalist teams will pitch in June. As part of the awards pool, the GFH Award will provide BD 500 to a selected student startup team.

"GFH is pleased to support a program that gives students practical exposure to entrepreneurship and early venture building. Bahrain’s future economy will depend on young people who can identify opportunities, work in teams and build solutions with discipline, and this initiative creates a meaningful platform for that," said Razi Almerbati, CEO of GFH Capital & Chief Investment Placement and Investor Relations Officer, GFH Bank.

Program design and participation

StartUp Bahrain University of Bahrain — powered by the Labour Fund Tamkeen and organized in collaboration with the University of Bahrain — delivered an intensive, hands-on experience that moved students from idea development through to early project prototypes. The week-long program included mentorship rounds, workshops and eliminations leading into the semi-final and eventual finale in June.

Students took part in workshops and practical sessions on idea generation, startup building, pitching, finance, no-code tools, AI and product development. The program also trialled a dedicated participant system to manage high-volume student startup programming, including attendance tracking, team progression, notifications, team records and certificate generation across the cohort.

Mentorship, speakers and partners

• Keynote speakers included Ali Mohsen, Chief Executive Officer of DOO, and Ali Alalawi, Chief Executive of Unipal; the program was hosted by instructor and radio host Imran Al Aradi.
• More than 44 mentors supported teams, drawn from DOO, Tamkeen, General Assembly Bahrain, Reboot Coding Institute, the University of Bahrain, Bahrain FinTech Bay, Al Salam Bank, AstroLabs, Amazon Web Services and other ecosystem organisations.
• Sponsors and contributors to the awards pool included Tamkeen, GFH, Kuwait Finance House Bahrain (KFH Bahrain), DOO, General Assembly Bahrain, Reboot Coding Institute, American Express Middle East and Bahrain Development Bank.

"GFH’s support strengthens the bridge between student ambition and the private sector. When major institutions back student founders early, it gives teams more confidence, more credibility and a clearer reason to continue building beyond the program," said Maram Murad, Event Lead for StartUp Bahrain.

Outlook

The collaboration between GFH Bank, Tamkeen and the University of Bahrain aims to institutionalise private-sector engagement in early-stage student ventures and to accelerate the transition from campus projects to market-ready startups. With BD 500 earmarked for the GFH Award and a multi-stakeholder awards pool, the June finale will be a test of which teams can translate pilot-stage prototypes into ventures attractive to private investors and ecosystem partners. Organisers say the initiative will continue refining operational tools — such as the participant management system — to scale student startup programming across the university and wider national ecosystem.