Rabat, Morocco, April 28, 2016
—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is renewing its partnership with CJD, the Young Managers Center of Morocco, to provide key business skills to young graduates and entrepreneurs and help enhance their employability.
CJD launched its Entrepreneurship Academy in February 2015 to help develop the skills of young entrepreneurs and managers using Business Edge, a global training program developed by IFC to improve management capacity and business performance. Nearly 350 training participants were part of the Academy’s programs to date.
“Business Edge is a complete set of practical modules covering marketing, finance, accounting, human resources and soft skills that is in high demand by our clients,” said Hicham Zoubairi, CJD Entrepreneurship Academy President. “The interactive methodology enables our trainees to enhance their business skills, and leave with tools and knowledge to help them grow and improve their business.”
Salma Roudab, 25, from Casablanca, who took Business Edge training with CJD last year, said: “The training was practical and helped me review my business plan, and also helped me in terms of cash flow management and planning. My business is now performing better.”
Mouhcine Ait Hssaine, a young entrepreneur from the Meknes area, added: “The marketing module, in particular, helped me to better position and promote my alteration, repair and other fixing services. The impact on my business was felt shortly after.”
SMEs represent 95 percent of all firms in Morocco but often cannot find the human resources with the right skills to employ, due to a mismatch between needed skills and current academic programs.
“Enabling Moroccan youth to improve their performance and employability with the right soft skills and managerial competencies is critical for their future and also a priority for IFC, since it helps contribute to broader economic growth,” said Sylvia Zulu, IFC Global Manager for SME and Value Chain Solutions.
This project was made possible with the support of the Islamic Bank of Development, the Government of the Netherlands, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and UKaid.
Globally, IFC’s Business Edge program has been used to improve the performance of more than 200,000 individuals across 56 countries.
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
About CJD
The CJD is an international network of entrepreneurs’ association that was created in 1938. Its objective is to coach and train "leader-entrepreneurs" to help make their businesses more dynamic and competitive. It is also the creator of the Total Performance concept, which covers economic, social, societal and environmental factors. The CJD has more than 4,200 business leaders and executives in France, and 13 CJD and 25 international correspondents worldwide. To date, more than 75,000 active entrepreneurs have gone through the CJD. As an independent movement, CJD has always fueled thinking and influenced economic, political and social decisions. Created in 2001, the CJD Morocco now has more than 150 members through its branches in Casablanca, Rabat, Tangier, Fez, Marrakech, Agadir and Dakhla.
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