After a tumultuous six months, the UAE is now striding forward despite Covid-19, with the economy showing signs of upward movement.
To ensure the future of the country is as bright as possible, the government is focusing its attention on the startup and SME sector - the backbone of the UAE economy- understanding that empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs is essential.
Given that a majority of the SME owners do not have a formal business education, a Master of Business Administration (MBA) can go a long way in boosting their confidence to take on the prevailing market conditions. After all, the prestigious postgraduate qualification equips students with the knowledge, advanced management skills and strategic thinking needed to succeed, in addition to providing access to an extensive business network.
But the sticking points for undertaking an MBA tend to be two-fold: do I have the time while I grow my business, and can I afford it?
However, there is a global online solution that liberates entrepreneurs from these roadblocks – ThePowerMBA. With its innovative teaching methodology and structured syllabus, this unique course aims to fill the gap in the market for a flexible, affordable (at around Dh3,500), yet top-class business programme. Moreover, classes and case studies are delivered by some of the world’s top business leaders, including Netflix’s Co-founder Marc Randolph, Airbnb’s ex CMO Jonathan Mildenhall, and Tesla’s Co-founder Martin Eberhard - to name just a few.
It’s proving a great fit for the scores of entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level with the help of the world’s top executives.
Enhancing skill sets
Love Mansukhani runs Ribbon Consulting, a restaurant solutions service provider in the UAE. The firm is currently enhancing its services by venturing into the digital world and getting active in the logistics industry. He says he bought into the programme the moment he landed on ThePowerMBA website.
“I did all the free courses in one day and the Business-IQ test; I then spoke to a student representative and signed up immediately,” he says.
“I haven’t been as excited about something as I am about ThePowerMBA in a while. I anticipate a lot of good learning delivered in short videos, from theories to case studies.”
Mansukhani adds that during economic downturns, it is extremely important for small businesses to be prudent with resources.
“Not only is ThePowerMBA an affordable business education programme, it is also such an impactful education platform – it packs a punch in 15 minutes a day. As a start-up your primary focus needs to be your business, and this is the perfect way to enhance your knowledge and skill sets. I see myself applying my daily learnings in my business. I can only imagine the value this learning platform will have on my business in ten months.”
Disrupting traditional education
Borja Adanero, Co-founder and Co-CEO of ThePowerMBA, says they set out with a plan to disrupt traditional business education. They wanted to do away with the outdated content, so they took a traditional MBA curriculum and built a programme based on what people need to know in today’s business world.
“Why should it only be available to an exclusive elite when everybody can benefit from the knowledge?” he asks.
“We make sure that the content is practical and applicable – every lesson we design is about applying the theory to a real-life case immediately. And we knew that hours-long online or in-person lecturing is not how people learn anymore; most people do not have that kind of time. So, we felt that the micro-learning format was the best way to go.
“Sure, we are not accredited,” he adds. “But if we were, we couldn’t integrate the newest developments on an ongoing basis or offer the programme for the price we do. And we weren’t willing to compromise on that.”
Answer to daily challenges
Sana Khouja Laout is CEO and founder of Zeena, an F&B start-up based in Barcelona, Spain. Laout says ThePowerMBA has been a key asset to building the structure for success.
“I was looking for quick answers to my daily challenges,” she explains. “I wanted to learn fast from professionals in the same situation who are really making things happen.”
The CEO describes the course so far as enjoyable, meaningful and challenging.
“ThePowerMBA is fun and easy to understand – even for those who are not coming from a business administration background or don’t have any particular business knowledge. It is meaningful because the team behind it are inspirational. They inspire you to see how if you believe in yourself, if you stand out with a real purpose, you can become the little shark that the big sharks have to pay attention to.”
The best way to upskill
For Paawan Arora, a Commercial Manager at Dubai Expo with experience working for top global hospitality brands such as Taj, Jumeirah and Ritz-Carlton, ThePowerMBA seemed the best choice for upskilling once the mega event was postponed due to Covid-19.
“I wanted a course that was dynamic, flexible and would give me real-world, real-time education,” he says. “ThePowerMBA ticks all the boxes.”
Although the course has not formally started, he says his learning has.
“The student portal is very active with new students joining on a regular basis. We have done multiple virtual sessions around business networking, book reading, and so on.”
Adanero believes one of the most positive aspects of ThePowerMBA is that it democratises business knowledge.
“We have a lot of students who tell us that they always wanted to do an MBA, but the time and money investment was just too much. That we have offered them a chance to learn. Most people cannot afford to hand over Dh200,000 and a full year of their life.
“I think the fact that in just three years more than 40,000 people worldwide have signed up for our MBA alternative is a strong validation.”
For more details about ThePowerMBA, visit Thepowermba.com/en/
