Bahrain has begun implementing a major National Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Initiative that will create a secure digital ledger for all financed trade transactions and invoice submissions in the Kingdom. Led by BENEFIT and Singapore-based MonetaGo, and supported by Bahrain FinTech Bay and the Bahrain Association of Banks, the project aims to de-risk SME lending, expand trade finance, and strengthen financial integrity. The initiative also establishes a digital bridge between Bahrain and Singapore, connecting two globally recognised fintech ecosystems through interoperable DPI frameworks.
Bahrain is building a national digital system that records every financed trade transaction and invoice on a secure digital ledger. Think of it as a tamper-proof digital database for the country’s entire trade finance ecosystem.
The goal is to fix a major regional challenge:
🔹 SMEs make up 92% of Bahraini businesses, but only 11% get access to finance.
With this new DPI, banks can see verified, trustworthy transaction records — which means:
- Lower fraud risk
- More confidence for banks to lend
- More SMEs qualifying for credit
The project is being built by BENEFIT (Bahrain’s national digital infrastructure provider) and MonetaGo, a Singapore-based fintech company. Singapore already built a similar national registry that onboarded 50+ banks — now Bahrain is doing the same, but with the ambition to connect both countries’ infrastructures together.
This creates a “digital trade bridge” between the Middle East and Asia, enabling:
Stronger financial ecosystem links
Cross-border trade verification
Shared fraud-prevention mechanisms
Easier financing for exporters/importers
