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The Women Business Development Center “WBDC” is a
non profit self-sustainable Resource Center, established under the umbrella
of the National Council for Women (NCW). It is one of several NCW development
projects designed to achieve the economic empowerment of women, as set forth
in the NCW mandate. It is a "One-Stop-Shop" providing women clientele with tools
and skills to establish, run, and sustain small and medium businesses (SME's),
or enter the Egyptian labor force well prepared via training, in addition to
assisting working women sharpen their skills for improved performance.
Services provided by WBDC:
1- Training
2- SME's online information
3- Assisting in developing small enterprises through E-marketing websites
4- Business Information Center
5- Business Counseling
6- IT Unit (promotional materials used for marketing products)
7- Cleo Store (E-business support center)
8- Afkar Gadida ( Information & investment opportunities)
9- Seminars & Workshops
WBDC's Achievements:
WBDC conducted 40 events and workshops designed to build awareness regarding
SME's, e.g. seminars on leadership and management, branding, exporting, the
new tax law….etc.
WBDC has built a database for 500 Egyptian women entrepreneurs and has provided
business consulting to 1600 women.
WBDC’s training department has positioned itself in the market as a reputable
center that provides quality training at reasonable costs for women entrepreneurs
and fresh graduates with the aim of facilitating their access to courses, seminars,
and workshops. This will improve their skills benefiting them economically and
socially.
WBDC has trained approximately 3000 persons since 2003 in several disciplines
such as:
- Basic & Advanced Microsoft Office.
- Business & Technical Writing in English.
- Basic Sales & Effective Internet Sales Skills.
- Job Entry Skills & Secretarial Skills.
- How to Manage a Small Business.
- Leadership Skills in Small Business.
- Effective Communication Skills.
- Human Resource Management.
- New Techniques in Measuring and Improving Quality.
- Time Management.
- Stress Management.
- Photoshop.
- Quality Control.
Through a grant by Microsoft, training in IT and soft skills will be offered
to 150 women graduates and 100 women entrepreneurs and a certification will
be given.
WBDC offers technical, marketing and managerial support to women seeking to
establish small businesses. For this purpose, WBDC has created a model project,
the E-business support center: Cleostore.
www.Cleostore.com is a web portal
that provides information about small businesses run by women entrepreneurs
in Egypt. It is designed to help women entrepreneurs market their products in
both national and international markets through displaying online catalogues
of quality products with competitive prices. It also provides various means
of guidance and assistance to develop new marketing strategies. Cleostore has
250 registered women entrepreneurs till now, with several business women exporting
their products to both Arab and European countries.
WBDC built the website www.afkargadida.org
to help existing and potential women entrepreneurs wishing to improve
or start their own business. The site provides information about business ideas
(services, commercials and manufacturing), samples of feasibility studies, investment
opportunities and the legal steps required to establish a private business.
It also helps entrepreneurs by acquainting them with the export procedures and
conditions, and providing information about NGOs, associations and financial
institutions that support SMEs.
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