PHOTO
In collaboration with BTECH and Tamkeen
In collaboration with Bahrain Technology Companies (BTECH) society and Tamkeen, Microsoft Bahrain hosted its first Build Your Business (BYB), a training course designed to empower aspiring young entrepreneurs by introducing them to the basic principles needed to successfully launch, lead and scale up micro and small enterprises.
Build Your Business is a key initiative in Microsoft's continued investment in the Kingdom and the region to foster local business growth and entrepreneurship, providing young talent the access to productivity and technology tools to grow their businesses.
Commenting on hosting this event in Bahrain, Sherif Tawfik, Regional Country Manager for Microsoft in Bahrain and Oman, said "we understand the vital role small businesses play in growing our local economy in Bahrain and helping it thrive. We have a long-standing commitment to helping youth in Bahrain realize their full potential; Build Your Business program aims to empower entrepreneurs and startups with tools and the know-how to develop their ideas, build and sustain their businesses and eventually play a positive role in boosting the national economy and create new job opportunities for other youth."
This 'train the trainer' session witnessed the participation of about 20 young Bahraini trainers representing ministries and government organizations such as Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education and Tamkeen as well as a number of independent trainers. "Train the Trainers session of the Build Your Business program aims to equip a number of local trainers in Bahrain who have the basic knowledge, skills and experience to train and assist the growing number of SMEs and Entrepreneurs and help them enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of their businesses and the sector and the overall local economy," Tawfik explained.
Addressing the trainees at the graduation ceremony, President of the Bahrain Society for Technological Companies, Obaidli Al-Obaidli explained that the goal of this training program goes beyond the actual content of the session to developing the trainers' skills; he encouraged the trainers to actively and effectively utilize the diverse training tools to build and sustain their businesses as well as pass their expertise to other entrepreneurs in Bahrain.
The one-week 'train the trainers' program consisted of a comprehensive introduction of the Build Your Business, a global initiative by Microsoft and International Youth Foundation, is currently used by over 300 organizations in 20 countries to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. International Youth Foundation also provides trainers with valuable insights into the implementation of youth development programs based on its nearly 25 years of experience.
On behalf of Tamkeen, Community Engagement Manager, Raed Abdulla said "we succeeded through this session to share skills and knowledge that we at Tamkeen need to help the local entrepreneurs in launching and managing prosperous businesses, such as the technical support and training, access to development tools, and provide companies the opportunity to showcase their products and ideas to a wider base of clients and investors." He added that the positive effect of this session goes beyond the training experts in Tamkeen to benefit the customers and aims to enhance the business eco-system in Bahrain, encourage more entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into businesses and help boost the private sector growth in Bahrain.
A number of participants commended this initiative and expressed their appreciation to all concerned parties for bringing it to Bahrain. Khaled Al Awadi a participant from Tamkeen conveyed his satisfaction and confirmed that this program provided lots of new information and skills that will help him better serve the clients of Tamkeen and benefit them in their businesses. On a more entrepreneurial note, Aisha Hassan Al Faou, Educational Consultant at the Ministry of Education said that she will benefit from the program in launching her own business, she also hoped to have this program implemented in the high school education to encourage senior students start their own business and provide them the needed skills and tools.
The curriculum draws on best practice training content and approaches and was developed with partners, which included the International Youth Foundation, a youth development charity; the University of Stellenbosch Business School in South Africa; Enablis, a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization; and Manpower, a workforce solutions and services provider.
The business curriculum is suitable for entrepreneurs in all industries; the course modules include: market research, business planning, marketing, accounting, life skills and governance and ethical business practices. Content provided for the curriculum includes: DVD tutorials, video case studies, interactive practice exercises and educational games, business document templates, Microsoft Digital Literacy Curricula and lesson plans.
-Ends-
© Press Release 2015
