National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), in collaboration with CPI Business, is inviting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to attend its complimentary workshops dedicated to opportunities at Expo 2020 Dubai.

With 20 per cent of its budget - worth Dh5 billion - committed to SMEs, the Expo offers unique prospects for smaller companies.

The workshop is part of the NBAD’s SME Academy programme and the bank’s citizenship initiative, and is taking place between February 26 and March 7 in four emirates, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah.

During the first part, SME owners will get a chance to meet with the Expo team and learn from them directly how to tender competitively and understand the procurement process, as well as benefit from opportunities such as the recently launched Licensing & Merchandise Programme – which will offer 5,000 types of products to millions of Expo visitors.

During the second session of the workshop, Protiviti, one of the world’s top-10 consultancies, will provide attendees with practical tools to deliver on the Expo opportunities, looking at the keys to successful forecasting and at how to match the choice of competitive tenders with existing resources and ambitions.

Yousif Kruse, NBAD’s executive director – SME segment, said: “SMEs have a critical role to play in the development of the UAE and supporting these businesses is central to NBAD’s business and citizenship strategy. We are extremely glad to offer SMEs a unique exposure to growth generators such as Expo 2020, and help them prepare for the tremendous business opportunities they provide.

The workshop sessions in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah are already over. The Dubai session will be on March 5 and the Abu Dhabi one on March 7.

The NBAD SME Academy was launched in 2015 in the UAE to help small businesses address skills gaps and improve the bankability of their projects. The programme offers a cost-free series of skills-building workshops focused on practical training for revenue-generating businesses on the critical path to growth.

Previous sessions have addressed topics such as how to be bankable, marketing techniques for SMEs, principles of accounting, how to prepare for VAT introduction in the UAE, customer services and pitching for finance. - TradeArabia News Service