Capital Bank sponsors UNCTAD's Empretec Director's Meeting

The Meeting was held on the 26th and 27th of October 2009, at the Le Meridian Hotel in Amman under the patronage of His Excellency Eng. Amer Al-Hadidi the Minister of Industry and Trade, and was hosted by the Business Development Centre (BDC).

The Empretec Director's Meeting is held annually in one of the countries implementing the Empretec programme, which is considered one of the strongest international programmes dedicated to developing and enhancing the management skills of SME entrepreneurs and which was run by the BDC this year.

During the Meeting, Mr. Haytham Kamhiyah, Capital Bank's General Manager, gave an opening speech in which he expressed his pride to be participating in the Meeting and thanked the international Empretec programme for helping Jordanian entrepreneurs implement their ideas and expand their businesses in a sustainable manner.

During his speech, Mr. Kamhiyah also elaborated on the importance of the SME sector in supporting the Jordanian economy through the creation of job opportunities, as the SME sector is considered one of the largest economic sectors in the Kingdom and accounts for a considerable part of the national GDP.

He also spoke of the vital role that access to finance plays in stimulating economic development and the establishment of projects.

Commenting on the benefits she gained from her participation in the Empretec training workshop, Dr. Raghda Kurdi, General Manager of Advanced Pharma Services, said, "I was one of the participants in the Empretec training workshop, which gave me considerable insight into the SME sector and changed the way I think about how businesses are run, and this proved to be particularly useful since I was on the verge of starting my own business. The workshop taught me to analyze my business model properly and set a business plan for my company."

Mrs. Kurdi went on to highlight the role that Capital Bank played in helping her develop her business, saying, "Capital Bank has truly been of real help to me, as they have given me through their SME financing department the opportunity to take the first step on the right path to starting my own company and expanding its operations through offering me suitable banking solutions. Here I am today managing a coalition of 74 pharmacies, and my business has grown to double the size it used to be when I first started."