Beyster Institute Offers Entrepreneurship
Training to Further Middle East Reform Efforts
November 29, 2004
DOING BUSINESS
IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Jordan, Bahrain and Morocco have each signed a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. This workshop will feature executives from these three countries who will discuss the implications and business opportunities the agreement represents, both for their countries and U.S. businesses as well. The workshop also will address business opportunities in Iraq for U.S. companies.
Time: 7:30 am - 8:00 am Dec. 9
Continental Breakfast & Networking
8:00 am - 9:30 am
Program
Location: Doubletree Club Hotel San Diego
1515 Hotel Circle South, San Diego
Cost: Free
Speakers
Akbar Jaffari, Managing Director, Jaffari Consultants (JAFCON), Bahrain. Previously an advisor in the Ministry of Development & Industry in Bahrain, Jaffari has been the managing director of JAFCON for 14 years.
Jalal Askander, General Manager, Alfred Engineering, Iraq. Askander has more than 16 years of management in governmental sectors in Iraq.
Nedal Zatari, General Manager, Energy Management Services (EMS), Jordan. EMS is a leading regional company in the field of energy management and energy conservation.
Ali Kettani, General Manager, Sigma Technologies, Morocco. Kettani is general manager of this media company in Morocco and is also managing partner of Mariner Lighthouse Funds. |
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The Beyster Institute at the Rady School of Management today will welcome 35 business executives from the Middle East and North Africa region to participate in the Middle East Entrepreneur Training program in the U.S. (MEET U.S.).
MEET U.S. is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Middle East Partnership Initiative office. The program brings owners and executives of growth companies from fifteen Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries to the United States to receive advanced business training and to participate in networking activities that promote economic reform, growth, and opportunity in their region.
While in San Diego, participants will attend a ten-day executive business seminar conducted by renowned entrepreneurship experts and also will have the opportunity to network with local business leaders and Rady School students. Four of the participants will speak at a public forum at 7:30 a.m., Dec. 9, at the Doubletree Hotel San Diego on "Doing Business in the Middle East."
"The changing demographics of the MENA region underscore the importance of fostering entrepreneurship and job creation," said Ray Smilor, executive director of the Beyster Institute. "The companies participating in the MEET U.S. program have the potential to significantly contribute to the region's economic development, engage women and youth in the process, and offer hope and choice for thousands of current and future employees."
The MEET U.S. program will continue into 2005, when the Beyster Institute will conduct three additional seminars focusing on specific industry sectors of importance in the region. Upon return to their home countries, participants will attend alumni events to reinforce training, develop business associations, and build business networks. In May 2005, a Business Women's Summit will be held in Tunisia to assist women-owned businesses in all 15 MENA countries. Overall, more than 200 executives and entrepreneurs will participate in the program.
The Middle East Partnership Initiative is a presidential initiative that, in addition to economic reform, also supports political and educational reform efforts in the MENA region. The initiative also places a strong emphasis on providing opportunities for women and youth of the region. |
