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.”