Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy, the educational arm of Dubai SME, organised a virtual programme titled ‘Professional Certificate in Tender Management’ to enable SME owners who are members of the Government Procurement Programme (GPP) to bid successfully for procurement contracts. An initiative of the Corporate Development Department in Dubai SME, the agency of Dubai Economy mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, the programme was aimed to educate participants on the tendering and procurement procedures in government departments as well refine their skills in preparing technical and financial proposals.

The four-day programme had 40 participants and they were given four lectures led by a group of experts and specialists remotely. The course content included details of tenders and addendums; terms and conditions; preparation of technical and financial proposals; successful marketing plans and concepts; skills required in bidding, negotiation and presentation; legal procedures relating to tendering; procedures for managing procurement and finance; and a full introduction to the ‘Tejari’ system for government procurement. Overall satisfaction rate with the programme exceeded 94%.

Ibtihal Al Naji, Director, Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy, said: “The Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy has designed this specialised programme to qualify SME owners who areGPP members and enable them understand the financial and technical processes and requirements of tendering and awarding so that they can successfully bid for procurement contracts, and also use theTejarisystem.”

Raafat Radwan Wahba, Director of Corporate Development at Dubai SME, said: “At the Corporate Development Department, we seek to raise the efficiency of GPP members, develop their capabilities and enable them to grow their projects by introducing them to the most important aspects and procedures in procurement, specifically the financial aspects, which are critical to the success of their projects.”

The programme witnessed a high level of interaction between the participants and trainers. Mohammed Al Hammadi, Director General of CTC Solutions, thanked Dubai SME and Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy for their continued support for start-ups and Dubai SME members in particular, stressing that the programme content provided answers for many of the questions often raised by GPP members. He also mentioned that the programme and the environment in which it was presented had a role in his company reviewing its marketing and technical strategies.

Yaqoub Yousef Al-Hooti of Alawali Electronics & Electricals LLC remarked that the programme helped enhance his knowledge on the main points to be considered before, during and after tenders including the need for marketing the business and the role of the entrepreneur’s marketing charisma in developing personal relations, as well as the importance of corporate visual identity and negotiation skills.

Younis Aqil AlBastaki of Technical Calibration and Standards Laboratory – TechCal, praised the emphasis on scientific and technical content. “The training materials and presentations were really amazing, and it helped me gain knowledge about contract procedures and electronic bidding. I look forward to attending such workshops again.”

Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy has dedicated its programmes to empower SMEs and promote their development through establishing smart practices. The next programme of the Academy will start on the 9^th of November 2020. Entrepreneurs can send their suggestions or inquiries to dea@sme.aeor by calling 04-3613000.