The Bahrain Development Bank27 has specialised in SMEs since 1992, and provides them with various conventional and Islamic bank loans, the bank also offers a financial education programme to its customers. Through this initiative,31 the number of loans to women grew by 55% and the number of bank deposit accounts held by women by 17% (December 2012). At the same time, we are also demonstrating that there is a considerable commercial advantage in providing women with concrete means to access financing for their businesses.” (