SANAD and HFE to develop free online course on financial literacy for very small and small enterprises in MENA region
SANAD and HFE to develop free online course on financial literacy for very small and small enterprises in MENA region
Amman, November 19, 2019 – The Entrepreneurship Academy of the SANAD Fund for MSME and Al Hussein Fund for Excellence (HFE) Jordan have initiated content development for a free online course on financial education topics in the Middle East and North Africa, targeting very small and small enterprise owners as well as youth. The partners aim to increase financial literacy and skills among the region’s entrepreneurs – thus supporting the business success that drives economic growth and job creation.
HFE is a nonprofit organization promoting innovation and sustainable development in Jordan, with experience in developing and disseminating tools for financial education. HFE and the SANAD Entrepreneurship Academy aim to spread financial education beyond borders and have joined forces to create and offer a free online training course that utilizes the success of the Edraak platform: a “massive open online course” (MOOC) for learners across the Arab-speaking world, serving over 2.5 million learners with over 140 courses in Arabic. By providing financial education opportunities through the Edraak MOOC platform, HFE and the SANAD Entrepreneurship Academy aim to reach a broad audience of interested learners throughout the region.
The partners plan to make the course available online in early 2020. The course will cover modules on business basics, starting a business, managing a business, and growing and financing a business.
Ines Ebrecht, Chairperson of the SANAD Technical Assistance Facility which runs the Entrepreneurship Academy, said: “Micro, small, and medium enterprises are the engine of economic development and job creation in the Middle East and North Africa. This particular project is an important initiative for providing micro and small local business owners – including women, youth, and refugee entrepreneurs – with the tools to succeed. The promotion of successful entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa is at the core of our mission at the SANAD Entrepreneurship Academy: By working together with effective partners such as HFE, we can reach an extensive learning group and contribute to greater impact for business development all over the region.”
Ali Yaghi, General Manager of the HFE and coordinator of the Financial Education and Capabilities pillar of Jordan’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), remarked: “The project is part of the HFE’s efforts to implement the National Financial Education Program launched by the Central Bank of Jordan in 2014. Moreover, it is one of the main activities in the NFIS’s Financial Education and Capabilities pillar launched by the Central Bank in 2018. The project aims to promote the entrepreneurial capabilities of youth in establishing their own businesses and to enhance the capabilities of workers in micro and small enterprises to manage their businesses efficiently and successfully. The impact of the project, through the widely-accessed Edraak platform, will undoubtedly extend beyond Jordan and be available to the entire Arabic-speaking region.”
Shireen Yacoub, CEO of Edraak, also confirmed Edraak’s commitment to creating educational opportunities that support strategic priorities at national and regional levels: “Our experience with millions of learners across the region has shown us the need for education that can unlock the potential of Arab youth. This course will be a valuable addition that will equip aspiring and existing entrepreneurs in small enterprises with the skills they need to succeed in a competitive landscape.”
General Information
About the Al Hussein Fund for Excellence
Al Hussein Fund for Excellence (HFE) is a not-for-profit NGO established by the banking community in Jordan in 1999 as part of their social responsibility commitments. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the HFE is by regulation the Governor of the CBJ. The vision of HFE is to be a center for promoting excellence, encouraging innovation and endorsing sustainable development among individuals and groups in both private and public sectors in Jordan. Since its establishment, HFE has been working on a wide scope of projects starting from enhancing the quality of education and higher education to promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of environment and renewable energy. In addition to the many projects, the Fund has been working under the umbrella of the CBJ, with other stakeholders in Jordan, to promote financial education and capabilities in all sectors of the Jordanian society. The Fund is a member of the technical committee for the National Financial Education at Schools project and leading the work group of financial education and capabilities in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2018-2020).
For more information, please visit: www.hfe.jo.
About SANAD
The SANAD Fund for MSME (SANAD) was established in 2011 to foster economic development and create jobs, particularly for youth in the Middle East and North Africa. SANAD strives to meet these goals by providing debt and equity financing to local partner institutions, such as commercial banks, microfinancers, and other financial institutions, who on-lend money to support micro, small and medium enterprises and to finance housing. The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility multiplies the fund’s development impact and outreach through capacity-building at partner institutions, developing financial infrastructures according to the principles of responsible finance and conducting much required R&D. SANAD’s investors include the KfW Development Bank, which initiated the fund, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Union, Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and OeEB, the Development Bank of Austria. A public-private partnership, the fund is advised by Finance in Motion GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. For more information, please visit: www.sanad.lu.
About Edraak
Launched by Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan in 2014 and headquartered in Amman, Jordan, Edraak is the Arab World’s leading platform for Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), offering educational opportunities to millions of learners across the region in Arabic language.
For more information, please visit: www.edraak.org
Media Contacts
Media contact - HFE
Dr. Ali Yaghi
General Manager
Phone: +962 79 850 8448
Email: aliyaghi@husseinfund.jo
Media contact - SANAD
Nikki Eggers
Senior Officer, Marketing & Communications
Phone: +49 (0)69 271 035-470
Email: press@sanad.lu
Media contact – Edraak
Eman Zabalwi
Marketing Specialist
T +962 6 5413636 Ext. 117
Email: ezabalawi@qrf.org