LBS launches Dubai entrepreneur mentor scheme
Launched at an event in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) by Kamalini Ramdas, Professor of Management Science and Operations and Deloitte Chair in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the ‘Entrepreneurship Mentor in Residence’ scheme gives entrepreneurial students and alumni access to year-round mentorship from four successful business personalities in the region.
Three former alumni – Genny Ghanimeh, Mohamed Nassar and Tommy Wakefield Smith – join Aman Merchant to sit the School’s first Dubai-based mentoring panel. Students, who currently have remote access to London-based mentors, will now have direct access to mentors up to twice a month for one-on-one consultations.
Jane Khedair, Head of Entrepreneurship, Career Services at London Business School, said: “Premised on the success we have had in London, we are thrilled to launch the Entrepreneurship Mentor in Residence programme here in Dubai with four prolific entrepreneurs each with their own areas of specialisation.
“There really is no substitute for sitting across a desk from someone who has the experience and insights aspiring entrepreneurs need especially in those first few, daunting months. Students and alumni will now have the opportunity to benefit from mentors who each have considerable regional experience and know-how.”
Mohamed Nassar, who graduated with an MBA from London Business School in 2012 before setting up his own company, spoke to students at the School’s Dubai Centre:
“Dubai represents a fantastic place to launch your business – it is one of the few places in the Middle East where you can truly succeed by your own merit. In Dubai we are so used to importing ideas or products from the West or the East, I think now is the time to start making them our own.”
Students were addressed by keynote speaker Saygin Yalcin, Founder of sellanycar.com, before asking the mentors-in-residence for their insights and guidance.
London Business School’s Dubai Centre is based in the DIFC where it teaches its Executive MBA programme, aimed at experienced professionals with an average of ten years’ work experience.
