Individuals in the Middle East and North Africa now have access to an innovative Online Mini-MBA program offered by the UB School of Management (SOM) in collaboration with the Chicago Institute of Business (CIB).

While the SOM has offered its regular Online Mini-MBA program in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for some time, the partnership with CIB will provide participants with enhancements that make it even more valuable.

UB’s Online Mini-MBA is designed to provide a basic introduction to business and management practices. It fosters an understanding of the most important functions of business and management, and builds a foundation for making sound business judgments and decisions.

The new program is being targeted to students in the 22 Arab countries, Turkey, Kenya, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and will include the 17 modules that the SOM currently provides in accounting and finance, marketing and communications, technology, human resources, economics and general management.

The enhancements come from modules customized for each individual market, such as Islamic finance, Islamic jurisprudence and Egyptian labor law, developed by CIB. Similarly, the SOM has created specialized modules in global business and entrepreneurship that are important in certain MENA markets. An estimated 23 modules are being launched this year, with more likely to be developed in the future.

Course materials are presented in English, but CIB has created instructional videos and print materials in Arabic as reinforcement for all of the modules. CIB is an organization that strives to provide world-class education at affordable costs for developing countries.

The Online Mini-MBA program is a non-credit-bearing program and, upon successful completion, participants will receive a certificate issued jointly by CIB and the SOM. In addition, graduates of the program who enroll in UB’s full-time MBA program within three years will be given a $750 credit toward tuition.