“Bahrain and Kuwait” partners with “ARI” to launch the Innovation Center and accelerate digital transformation

On the sidelines of the Gulf Gateway Forum 2025, the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, the leader in the field of retail and institutional banking services in the Kingdom of Bahrain, announced the signing of a strategic partnership with Ari Innovation, one of the leading Bahraini companies in the fields of artificial intelligence, enterprise software applications, and cloud solutions.

Through this partnership, the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait launched the Innovation Center, which attracted 30 Bahraini software engineers, in a qualitative step aimed at improving customer experience across the bank’s various digital channels. Cooperation focuses on automating operational processes, simplifying the user experience, and expanding the range of digital banking products and services provided via the website and smart phone application, which reflects the bank’s vision of consolidating its position as a leading financial institution in innovation and developing integrated digital solutions that focus on meeting customers’ needs and developing their banking experience in a way that reflects the highest standards of excellence and innovation.

According to the terms of the agreement, the two parties will cooperate in designing and implementing advanced digital solutions supported by artificial intelligence aimed at improving customer experience, simplifying banking operations, and enhancing the efficiency of operational performance.

The agreement also includes the areas of big data analysis, information security, and systems integration through cloud computing, which opens new horizons for developing innovative financial products that are in line with the requirements of the modern digital economy and contribute to achieving comprehensive transformation in the banking sector.

On this occasion, Yasser Al-Sharifi, Group CEO of the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, said: “We believe that digital innovation is the main driver of the future of banking, and from this standpoint our partnership with Ari Innovation embodies our vision of building a more advanced and smooth banking experience centered around customers’ needs and keeping pace with their changing aspirations.

This partnership represents a strategic step towards employing smart technologies and modern automation tools to improve the quality of our services and ensure their compatibility with the best international standards in digital banking services, thanks to the competencies of Bahraini engineers who will lead this ambitious digital transformation and contribute to shaping the future of the banking sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

For his part, Alaa Saeed, founder and CEO of ARRI Innovation, said: We are proud to have been chosen as a strategic partner for the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, after a careful evaluation process and strong competition, as ARRI was distinguished by its proven track record in implementing large-scale digital transformation projects, and by its advanced engineering experience and exceptional ability to respond quickly to achieve the bank’s strategic goals. We are confident that our experience in automating operational processes in the retail and institutional banking sectors, and enabling flexible software development environments, will contribute significantly to supporting BBK’s strategy towards providing a new generation of integrated digital banking services.”