Bahrain Delegation Meets Skolkovo Foundation Representatives to Strengthen Ties
Representatives from the Bahrain Economic Development Board, the Bahrain Small and Medium Enterprises Society, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Embassy of Bahrain met with Skolkovo Foundation representatives to further ties and attended presentations by four resident companies.
Skolkovo-Bahrain relations go back as far as the autumn of 2019 when a former Skolkovo resident, Angara Development, opened an office in Bahrain. It subsequently began talks with Arab oil companies, service providers, and industrial experts, culminating in the signing of a memorandum with Saudi Arabia’s state oil firm, Saudi Aramco. In addition, Group-IB, a resident of the Skolkovo IT cluster specializing in cyberattack prevention, was instrumental in providing critical data to NGN International, the first 24-hour center to open in Bahrain for monitoring and combating cyber threats. The center is a Bahraini state entity that works with the private sector, gaining expert advice and financing.
In September of 2020, the Skolkovo Foundation ran an online business mission to Bahrain with the support of the Bahrain Embassy to Russia and Kanoo Group. As a result, nine Skolkovo companies presented their solutions to potential investors and partners, conducted ninety B2B meetings, and established relations with organizations such as the Bahrain SMEs Society, Atyaf Technology Solutions, Kanoo Group, etc.
The Bahraini delegation, comprising sixteen representatives, was headed by H. E. Mr. Sameer Abdulla Nass, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Among them were Dr. Abdulhasan H.A. Yusuf Al-Dairi, the chairman of Bahrain SME Society and Deputy Chairman of Khair Holding Company, and Ms. Dalal Adel Rashed Abdilrahman Buhejji, executive director of the Bahrain Economic Development Board.
Representing the Skolkovo Foundation were Igor Drozdov, chairman of the board; Kirill Kaem, senior vice president of Innovations; Maxim Romanov, deputy vice president of International Development; and Anna Bezlepkina, head of projects at the Department of International Cooperation.
Five Skolkovo Foundation startup companies Chromis, Botkin.AI, DRD Biotech, Epilogica and BRIO Group, presented their solutions to the delegation.
Chromis company’s project involves developing whey peptide fermentolizates which could be used as natural ingredients for cosmeceutical products. They are also developing proprietary protocols to get a product with pronounced regenerative and anti-inflammatory activities. Ongoing studies aim to identify individual active peptides.
Botkin.AI presented its software platform, which diagnoses and assesses risks of diseases using machine and deep learning. The value of its solution lies in its ability to reduce medical errors for radiologists while also reducing their workload. The benefit to healthcare authorities means decreased mortality, including one-year mortality in patients with malignant neoplasms.
DRD Biotech develops and implements diagnostic devices – rapid blood tests based on innovative bio- and IT technologies. It recently began exporting its rapid covid test, which received CE certification.
BRIO Group is a group of companies working on solutions for the construction sector.