The first Cisco Entrepreneur Institute training centre in the UAE has opened at Dubai Knowledge Village.

The institute will foster the creation and success of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by providing practical insight, facilitating knowledge sharing with local business leaders and highlighting the role that information and communications technology (ICT) plays in speeding up business growth.

The announcement was made together with WideView, a leading provider of speakers, trainers and consultants. WideView will be offering in-person and e-learning sessions utilising a combination of Web 2.0 and advanced open-source tools, including Moodle and Cisco WebEx.

The courses were created to help entrepreneurs improve their skills and enhance business development opportunities, as well as provide a forum for SMB owners to collaborate and share expertise.

“With small-and-medium businesses forming a significant portion of the UAE economy, improving their performance can help accelerate economic growth and raise living standards,” revealed Sam Alkharrat, managing director for Cisco Gulf and Pakistan.

Cisco is providing the institute with an online course-management system and a choice of three curriculums: ‘Starting a Business,’ ‘Growing a Business’ and the ‘iExecutive Enterprise Essential (iExec).’

The course content was developed by Cisco in collaboration with business experts from Stanford University, Cornell University and My Own Business.

WideView will be localising the courses and delivering them both in English and Arabic; a process that will be facilitated by a user-generated function developed in Moodle.

“Through the Cisco Entrepreneur Institute, business workshops, mentoring networks and technology resources, participants gain business skills, practical knowledge and expertise tailored for their country’s business environment, while also providing the platform for governments to reach out to citizens and support new ideas,” added Issa Mohammed Al-Anati, managing director of WideView.

Cisco intends to work with business and government leaders in other countries across the Gulf region to establish similar entrepreneur initiatives. Cisco Entrepreneur Institutes are already established in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan.