Technology & IT | Thursday 30 April, 2015 2:14 pm |

At this era of transformational trends that drive technological transformation in the lives of people. Microsoft Arabia will be honoring all ITCan Cloud Computing Entrepreneurship Program students & graduate the fourth group of graduates from this program, the innovative result of a partnership with the Centennial Fund aimed at enabling young Saudis to acquire the technical and entrepreneurial business skills necessary to start their own businesses.

The students were equipped with the capabilities to understand a series of significant technology trends across a wide range of disciplines that are creating the conditions for rapid progress and change. As these technology trends converge with important social and business trends, it will create the foundation for breakthroughs that will transform the role that technology plays throughout our lives. The Cloud is in the heart of all these trends, IDC reports that customer demand for cloud and hybrid services is expected to reach $108 billion by 2017. Cost, scale, and innovation are the main values these entrepreneurs will bring to the local Saudi economy.

The ceremony took place at Ritz Carlton Hotel in Riyadh where graduates were presented a certificate attesting to their graduation.
“For Microsoft, it is very satisfying to be able to offer this opportunity to young Saudis with the backgrounds, the energy and the passion to strike out on an entrepreneurial path,” commented Samir Noman, President of Microsoft Arabia. “ITCan grads are already a step ahead of the competition.”

Participants in the ITCan program are actively recruited from various universities, tech groups, the TCF database of entrepreneurs and through the TCF portal. The first five-day session was held in early January with the second session coming later that month. The third and four sessions were both held in April of this year. In total, 100 young men and women have completed the program since the beginning of the year.

“The Centennial Fund was founded at a time when there were almost such opportunities for young people in Saudi Arabia,” said Sultan Al-Shuwayeb. “It is thrilling for us that the business environment has progressed to this stage and that we are able to partner with a company as prestigious and influential as Microsoft.”
The five-day program is composed of one day each dedicated to an introduction to entrepreneurship, marketing feasibility study, financial feasibility study and enterprises management.

As a leader in providing Cloud services, Microsoft’s Cloud OS vision spans public, hybrid and private cloud, the growth of which is creating significant demand for qualified business and technical professionals who are experts in the field. Microsoft Arabia intends to be a main driver of developing such professionals who can also use Microsoft technology to develop new ways and products for using the Cloud.

The ITCan program is open to all Saudis, both male and female, between the ages of 20 and 30 who have an intermediate command of English and have demonstrated the basic capability of starting their own businesses in Microsoft Cloud Computing.