First of four workshops held in 2010

Aimed at providing cutting edge solutions to SME owners

Quarterly workshops facilitate interaction with industry experts

Dubai, March 11, 2010: In line with its commitment to empowering small and medium-sized businesses, Emirates NBD, the largest banking group in the Middle East in terms of assets, announced today that it is serving as the key sponsor of TECOM SME Builder 2010, the ideal platform for professionals to upgrade entrepreneurial skills through networking.

The first workshop was held recently and the remaining three will take place throughout the rest of the year. TECOM SME Builder provides a forum for small and medium enterprises to interact with experts and gain special insights into the latest industry developments.

"Emirates NBD Business Banking strives to provide not only financial support to SMEs in order to facilitate their growth, but also a platform from which to network with other business owners and industry specialists," said Saif Al Mansoori, Head - Group Business Marketing, Emirates NBD. "We received fantastic feedback upon completion of the first workshop, and we are certain that our involvement in TECOM SME Builder will be beneficial to SME owners and potential entrepreneurs alike."

Held in Knowledge Village, TECOM SME Builder workshops have attracted an increasing number of participants over the years, from sectors ranging from HR to sales, marketing, law, IT, strategy, PR and accounting.

-Ends-

About Emirates NBD Group:
Emirates NBD Group (DFM: Emirates NBD) is the biggest banking group in the Middle East by assets. At 31st of December, 2009, total assets were AED 281.6 billion and a market share of 20.5%.

The Group has a leading retail banking franchise in the UAE, with 132 branches, 705 ATMs and SDMs. It is a major player in the UAE corporate banking arena, with a market share of almost a fifth of corporate loans.  It also has strong Islamic banking, investment banking, private banking, asset management and brokerage operations. 

The Group has operations in the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Kingdom and Jersey (Channel Islands), and representative offices in India, Iran and Singapore. For more information, please visit: www.emiratesnbd.com

For further information, please contact:
Hassan Al Khuwaildi
Public Relations Officer
Group Business Marketing 
Emirates NBD
Tel: 971-4-2092263
Fax: 971-4-2329147
Email: HassanAl@emiratesbank.ae

Parisa Ansarian
ASDA'A Burson-Marsteller
Dubai, UAE
Tel: 971-4-3355969
Fax: 971-4-3356080
Email: p.ansarian@asdaa.com

© Press Release 2010