DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 26, 2010 - Cisco today announced the opening of a Cisco® Entrepreneur Institute Training Center in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in conjunction with Knowledge Horizon, an international knowledge transfer organization that promotes excellence in all aspects related to the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

Knowledge Horizon, the Dubai-based institute will offer in-person as well as distance learning sessions, to help entrepreneurs from throughout the UAE improve their skills and enhance business development opportunities. It will also provide a forum for owners of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to collaborate and share business expertise. Small and medium businesses represent a significant portion of the UAE economy and therefore supporting their development, driving their performance can ultimately help to accelerate economic growth and raise living standards. The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute courses are designed to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in the UAE, through encouraging innovative solutions and the sharing of best practices which can, thereby enable growth and job creation.

Highlights / Key Facts:

• Cisco Entrepreneur Institutes support entrepreneurship worldwide by working with local government and business organizations to foster the creation and success of small- and medium-sized businesses. They provide practical business insights, tools, and technologies that lay the foundation for success. The result-oriented approach creates long-term economic and social prosperity for entrepreneurs, communities, and nations. At the same time Cisco Entrepreneur Institutes help extend Cisco's business and social impact around the globe.
• The Cisco Entrepreneur Institute at Knowledge Horizon will offer a range of learning and business success tools through workshops, videos, simulations and an 'Entrepreneurs Oasis' website. Workshops will include Starting a Business; Growing a Business; iExec Enterprise Essentials and Establishing an Entrepreneurial Mindset.
• Cisco Entrepreneur Institutes are already established in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. In the Middle East North Africa Levant (MENAL) region there are institutes in eight countries with fifteen Cisco Entrepreneur Institutes in total.
• The success of entrepreneurs has significant economic and social benefits for individuals, communities and nations. The institute fosters innovation, growth, and prosperity by working with successful entrepreneurs who share their expertise with new business owners to help them compete and thrive.
• Participants gain access to this business expertise through workshops conducted at local institutes, which are required to operate on a not-for-profit basis. Local institutes charge participants a nominal fee to cover the cost of providing the workshops.

Executive Quotes:

 

 

"A significant economic force in the UAE lies across SMBs. Through Cisco's technology innovation, SMBs today are able to increase their productivity and virtual proximity to the world. Cisco, with Knowledge Horizon, bring the Entrepreneur Institute to the UAE, contributing to the building of the UAE SMB sector and thereby creating the opportunity to provide a contribution to the UAE economy."

 

 

"At Knowledge Horizon we continuously endeavor to offer our clients innovative learning methods in the most professional manner. To achieve that we continuously aim to innovate so that learning is simplified and concepts are demystified. Our collaboration with Cisco will enable us to help in the transformation of the economy and social landscape of UAE by cultivating entrepreneurs and helping their businesses grow."

• Wayne Hull, general manager, Cisco, UAE
• Dr Maen Qatamin, founder and president of Knowledge Horizon

Additional Resources:

• Learn about the Cisco's and other Entrepreneur Institutes at: www.ciscoinstitute.net

Links /URL's:

• Emerging Markets RSS Feed:
  http://newsroom.cisco.com/data/syndication/rss2/EmergingMarkets.xml
• Middle East News: 
  http://www.cisco.com/web/ME/about/news/index.html

About Knowledge Horizon:

Knowledge Horizon is an international knowledge transfer organization that promotes excellence in all aspects related to the acquisition of knowledge and skills. We, at Knowledge Horizon, understand the need for continuous improvement that is based on learning and the adoption of innovative solutions to various business situations. We work very closely with a number of top international and Arab expert centers to offer services that are specialized, customer-focused, skills-based and up-to-date. We believe that learning is a life-long pursuit for organizations wishing to be at the forefront of business success, customer satisfaction and orientation. We developed a full suite of e-learning solutions, utilizing multimedia and training videos to make the learning an enjoyable experience.

For more details visit: http://www.knowledgehorizon.com/