Business | General
Emirati entrepreneurship encouraged in new partnership
The Dh1.5 million partnership, which was announced in the capital by senior executives on Monday, will allow for the training of 4,000 Emirati students between the ages of 13 and 24.
- By Samihah Zaman, Staff Reporter
- Published: 18:14 May 16, 2011
Abu Dhabi: Aspiring Emirati entrepreneurs across Abu Dhabi will soon be able to avail of entrepreneurial skills training and hands-on corporate experience as part of a new deal between the the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (Khalifa Fund) and non-profit business education organisation Injaz-UAE.
The Dh1.5 million partnership, which was announced in the capital by senior executives on Monday, will allow for the training of 4,000 Emirati students between the ages of 13 and 24.
Speaking at a conference held to announce the partnership, Shaikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of Injaz-UAE said paying attention to entrepreneurial aspirations in the UAE was particularly important.
"We cannot overlook the importance of entrepreneurship education in the region, especially now that youth unemployment figures are alarmingly high across the region," Al Nahyan added.
The Injaz training sessions will also uniquely target schoolchildren in a bid to create a culture of innovation in the UAE, said Dr Ahmad Khalil Al Mutawa, chief executive officer of the Khalifa Fund.
"Most entrepreneurial training programs target business students or those who have already decided to open up their own businesses. The Injaz training is therefore particularly important because it exposes young children to the skills needed for self-employment and seeks to spark an interest towards enterprise among them," he added.
Dr Al Mutawa also told Gulf News that the partnership was likely to extend into the future, and could even be geared towards elementary schoolchildren and young families in future.
According to statistics presented at the conference, 64 per cent of Emirati youth in the country had plans to set up their own businesses within the next five years.
"This training will therefore provide them with the hands-on training they require while allowing them to learn from real-life corporate executives as well as teachers from international business education organisation Junior Achievement," said Sulaf Al Zu'bi, chief executive officer of Injaz-UAE.
Although the training program will initially target students across 20 educational institutions, this could be expanded if others students and schools show interest as well, she added.
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