The American University of Beirut and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Al Maktoum Foundation to establish a center for entrepreneurship and innovation at Olayan School of Business.
The MOU provides AUB with a AED 18.3-million (almost $5 million) endowment to establish the center which will serve as a regional nucleus for entrepreneurship research and knowledge dissemination in the Arab world.
The MOU was signed today at AUB by Sultan Lootah, Vice President, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation - Employment and Entrepreneurship, and George K. Najjar, Dean of the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut. The signing ceremony was attended by a significant gathering of high ranking officials from both sides, as well as by AUB faculty members, noted businessmen and members of the media.
Operating as an open source institution for its published output, the center will offer access to its resources to eligible entrepreneurs, researchers and relevant stakeholders as determined through mutually agreed criteria set by the Foundation and the AUB.
Dean George K. Najjar said: “The Olayan School of Business at AUB is profoundly grateful for this major vote of confidence from the Foundation, which proactively leads human development in the Arab World. We take this valuable opportunity with utmost seriousness and will do all we can to function as a major vehicle for achieving the worthy goals of the Foundation in promoting entrepreneurship know-how in our part of the world.”
Sultan Lootah said: “We are glad to join hands with a pioneering educational body that enjoys a long standing history of milestone achievements. We are confident the outstanding research competencies of the AUB will significantly solidify our efforts to promote entrepreneurship as a strategic solution to the overwhelming problem of unemployment in the Arab world.
“Our agreement with AUB underpins the Foundation’s efforts to catalyze the development of a regional network for Arab entrepreneurs and nurture entrepreneurship as an effective alternative for sustainable economic development across the region.”
In a statement on the signing, Mohammed AlGergawi, Chairman of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, said: “Established under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the center will further his vision of facilitating synergetic knowledge creation and dissemination in all fields across the Arab world.
“The new center complements the Foundation’s strategy to promote Arab capabilities and provide enhanced opportunities for the Arab youth. We are confident the Foundation’s partnership with AUB’s Olayan School of Business, as well as its alliances with key academic and business organisations across the Arab world, will prove instrumental in exploring and unleashing the untapped potential of youth in this part of the world.”
Under the agreement, the Foundation and AUB’s Olayan School of Business will combine forces to support and develop entrepreneurship-related research, training material and expertise in the Arab world. Through the new center, the Foundation and AUB will also work towards enhancing regional business capabilities, leading to a better understanding of current and future entrepreneurial activity and challenges in the region.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will develop and provide research and training materials fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in the Arab World, thereby contributing to creating conditions conducive to furthering employment and supporting economic activity across the region. Additionally, it will conduct regional entrepreneurship studies to identify barriers to entrepreneurship that individuals, business leaders, corporations and governments can help alleviate.
The center will also serve as a knowledge center for e-students, entrepreneurs and policy-makers by providing entrepreneurship sector analysis, country analysis, profiling and policy recommendations, regular data surveys, as well as relevant business case studies.
