Story: E-learning is the way to go during COVID-19 (en)
Mahfuzul, an aspiring entrepreneur from Bangladesh, has no doubt that he will be able to turn his dream of running his own business into reality.
"During the COVID situation, and since January this year, I have been planning to begin my start-up. It will help me a lot in the future to start my business and manage funds", he says as he speaks confidently about the online course on raising funds for businesses that he took recently.
With dreams of making it big with their small businesses, many entrepreneurs are making full use of online learning tools.
Carla is from Bolivia and she has her eyes on the future. Believing that online business transactions are the new normal, she completed the introductory course on e-commerce to equip herself with the knowledge she needed to start.
In these times of immobility, innovative ways of learning have proved to be an asset.
During the first four months of the year alone, 53 000 entrepreneurs including Mahfuzul and Carla, enrolled for the online courses offered by the International Trade Centre's SME Trade Academy.
The Academy has seen an unprecedented rise in enrolments since the imposition of sanitary measures worldwide. The start of these restrictions in mid-March also coincided with a sudden jump in Academy users, from roughly 1,500 to over 8,000 unique users per day.
A real thirst for knowledge is almost unquenchable and the SME Trade Academy has emerged as a major learning resource, available in just a few clicks during these restrictive times.
The SME Trade Academy is supporting people from all around the world in making the most of their time under lockdown to boost their skills in export development and entrepreneurship. It stands ready to assist with continued skills development to face the challenging times ahead.
The SME Trade Academy offers more than 60 courses over a wide range of topics. The courses are free of charge and available to anyone. They run for 2 weeks and supported by a tutor. To register please click here.