Takeaways from KPMG's Family Business Summit in Bahrain

Last week, KPMG hosted the 2024 edition of its Family Business Summit in Bahrain – a round up of the event’s key highlights and takeaways.

Hosted at the Gulf Convention Centre on the 14 February 2024, the Summit brought together family business owners and leaders to explore strategies to sustain and reinvent family legacies while embracing innovation and digital transformation.

Jamal Fakhro, Managing Partner of KPMG in Bahrain, launched the summit with a welcome note, reinforcing the vital role of family businesses within the economy across the region, and the importance of preserving the legacy of the family and the traditions and values that have shaped them.

“During his opening speech, Fakhro said, “Family businesses have historically been an important part of our economy, and today still play a vital role in our national growth, influence, and impact. Their deep-rooted connections to local communities and cultures enable them to navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of the region, while also supporting development areas within the community like education, healthcare, employment, and inclusive prosperity.”

Andrea Calabrò, Professor of Family Business & Entrepreneurship at IPAG Business School in France, delivered a keynote speech on ‘Building and sustaining the family business legacy’, during which he highlighted the importance of family businesses in the region sustaining their legacy to be able to grow and transition across generations.

Harish Gopinath, Partner at KPMG, outlined key opportunities that family businesses should consider leveraging as they evolve within the marketplace, while navigating through the challenges they will encounter as they look towards expanding, evolving, and transforming their organizations.

Workshops and panel sessions meanwhile focused on topics including transgenerational entrepreneurship, automation, digitization, governance, legal structures, sustainability, and more.

The Family Business Summit was hosted under the Patronage of the Minister of Industry and Commerce in Bahrain, H.E. Abdullah bin Adel Fakhro. During his discourse, he commented, “Family-owned businesses are indeed a strong pillar of our marketplace. They span across a variety of sectors – be it in retail, automotive, manufacturing, real estate, transportation & logistics, distribution, and services industry, to name a few.”

“Throughout our history, such enterprises have demonstrated unwavering dedication to hard work, innovation, and stable growth, thus, reinforcing the economic fabric of the Kingdom while still contributing towards our development.”