Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME), a part of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development, plays a vital role in promoting entrepreneurship in Dubai. He also highlighted the vital contributions of ‘Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy’ that have helped enhance economic growth and create more opportunities for the youth in the private sector by providing them with the knowledge and understanding of international best practices required to launch their business ventures. This, he stressed, has led to positive economic returns.
Sheikh Hamdan also pointed out that Dubai seeks to achieve the highest excellence, as per the directives of Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to ensure the city remains at the forefront of innovation and achieves high levels of growth. Sheikh Hamdan further affirmed that the ‘Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy’ is providing the local market with a new generation of entrepreneurs capable of meeting the demands of the local market, in addition to supporting the SME sector’s growth in order to realise the objectives of Dubai Plan 2021.
The Dubai Crown Prince said: “We are delighted that the programmes offered by the Academy have achieved a 90% customer satisfaction rate despite the fact that it serves a vast number of business sectors. We are also pleased with the contributions of the entrepreneurs to the local market and the growth in the number of entrepreneurs who have launched their own projects in 2016. As much as 43% of the trainees started fully-operational businesses last year. We wish them and all members of the Academy every success”.
The ‘Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy’ has supported 4,248 entrepreneurs, providing 174 training programmes and workshops between 2014 and 2016. The Academy trained 2,000 entrepreneurs in 2016 compared to 1,100 in 2015, an increase of 80%.
Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of the Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development said that the ‘Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy’ was launched in 2014 under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum with the aim of promoting entrepreneurial talent and small and medium businesses. The year 2016 saw substantial growth in the number of trainees at the Academy and the educational programmes it provides. A total of 77 training programmes were offered in 2016 compared to 55 in 2015. During this period, the Academy also saw customer satisfaction rising to 90%.
Al Janahi said that the Academy has worked jointly and actively with partners from both private and public sectors to implement training programmes. Cooperation agreements were signed with organisations like Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, General Authority of Youth & Sports Welfare, American University in Dubai and University of Dubai, apart from a number of private-sector institutions.
He added that the Academy has opened registration for its 2017 intake. Over 35 training programmes are expected to be conducted in the first half of 2017. Such programmes will be overseen by high-level experts accredited at a local and regional level.
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