KSA- Bab Rizq academy launched 

(MENAFN - Arab News) A new virtual business academy was launched Wednesday evening as part of the Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Community Service Program to help young businessmen in entering the market.

Saad Al-Ghamdi, executive vice president of ALJ, launched the virtual academy during the conclusion day of the Business Youth Exhibition 2008.

Al-Ghamdi said that the academy aims at providing lessons on how to establish small business and the scientific methods that are to be followed in order to start the business correctly.

The academy's program includes several training units in various fields, including the identification of desired types of businesses, setting the budget, identifying target clients, location of project and the setting up of a business plan.

In addition, a participant in the academy would also undergo a training program on marketing and sales and future development of business. At the end of the course participants will undergo an online test that will qualify them to receive a loan from ALJ's Community Service Program (Bab Rizq Jameel), he said, adding that ALJ has specialized consultants who would provide support and business studies to the participating youth.

"This virtual academy is part of ALJ's Bab Rizq Jameel community programs, which aims at providing young men and women with solid ground for them to start their business," Al-Ghamdi said. "We would appreciate the feedback and development suggestions from any participant in the academy."

The Bab Rizq Jameel program offers loans up to SR150,000 for people who want to start small businesses. The program has managed through the first half of this year to provide support to 832 small businesses around the Kingdom. The number of supported businesses since the establishment of this program in 2005 has reached 2,690.