Cairo, March 1, 2006—
The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank, has signed a partnership agreement with the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, which will allow the Chamber to provide IFC’s
Business Edge
training to local entrepreneurs.
The chamber will benefit from a range of
Business Edge
products, including 36 self-study management workbooks, training manuals, and train-the-trainer workshops. The chamber will also benefit from a promotional campaign IFC is running for
Business Edge
partners.
“This is an excellent cooperation that I think will expand Business Edge’s reach to small and medium businesses substantially in Egypt and the region. I look forward to an engaged and fruitful partnership,” said Mr. Jesper Kjaer, IFC’s General Manager of the Private Enterprise Partnership for the Middle East and North Africa, which directs the
Business Edge
program.
Dr. Taher Helmy, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham) said, “AmCham’s Career Development Center trained 2,320 candidates in 2005 and hopes to continue to expand its training and projects with IFC’s Business Edge training products and services.”
The American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt is one of the largest and most active overseas affiliates of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It has successfully helped to promote economic and investment relations between the United States and Egypt since 1982. The chamber currently has over 1,000 members consisting of Egyptian companies with business interests in the United States, and American and multinational companies doing business in Egypt. The chamber specializes in delivering training through its Career Development Center, which was established in 1991, to include continuing educational programs for Egyptian executives in the business field. The center delivers 12 International Certification Programs and an Executive MBA program in cooperation with Alexandria and George Washington Universities.
The International Finance Corporation is the private sector arm of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. IFC coordinates its activities with the other institutions of the World Bank Group but is legally and financially independent. Its 178 member countries provide its share capital and collectively determine its policies.
The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY05 was $19.3 billion for its own account and $5.3 billion held for participants in loan syndications. For more information, visit
www.ifc.org
.
PEP-MENA is IFC’s technical assistance facility that supports private sector development in the Middle East and North Africa. PEP-MENA focuses on improving the business enabling and regulatory environment; strengthening the financial sector; promoting the growth of small and medium enterprises and their support services, such as business organizations and consulting firms; helping restructure and privatize state-owned enterprises; and developing viable private sector and public-private partnership projects, especially in infrastructure.
Business Edge
is a SME management training program focusing on many of the functional and operational deficiencies that prevail in SMEs. Specifically localized for the MENA region,
Business Edge
is a comprehensive training program that includes 36 management courses in 5 different topics namely: Marketing, Human Resources, Production & Operations, Finance & Accounting, and Productivity Skills (available in both Arabic and English), a delivery methodology (training of trainers, trainer manuals etc) and a technical assistance component. The Program's delivery vehicles are private training institutes that enter in to agreement with the IFC and in turn adopt
Business Edge
as part of their business model and offer it to the SME public. The IFC accredits these institutions, training their trainers and provides hands on support in helping them deliver the program. BE is currently available in seven countries in the region (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Palestine and the UAE). For more information check out,
www.businessedge-me.com
|