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IMA targets growth of 15% in number of granted CMA certificates in Egypt: Eng We are studying to open a regional office in Egypt as number of trainees grows
The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) has designed its five-year strategy, with the main point being to continue expansion in the region and negotiating with a number of Egyptian universities, in order to include the curriculum of the IMA certificates within courses at their schools of commerce and business administration. IMA chair-elect Alex C. Eng told Daily News Egypt that the strategy kicked off early this year, noting that the number of the IMA members in Egypt increased to over 2,500; half of whom are still in the courses stage. He explained that the five-year plan, running from 2017 to 2022, targets an annual growth of the number of Certified Management Accountant (CME) holders by at least 15% per year, with the IMA set to inject further investments to promote its certificates by conducting cooperation deals with four Egyptian universities, namely Cairo University, the American University in Cairo (AUC), Alexandria University, and Delta University. He added that the institution allocated 10 scholarships for each university last year, which will be granted to candidates who are to be selected by faculty members from each university. The scholarships cover membership fees and payment for the tests of the first and second level. Moreover, he said that the IMA office in Dubai is nicely covering the needs of the Middle East in the current period, yet there are plans to open a regional office in Egypt as the number of trainees continues to grow further. At the global level, Egypt is one of the largest markets for the IMA, since 2,500 Egyptians are members in the institution, out of a membership of 88,000 worldwide. Eng said that the IMA will offer discount offers for Egyptians seeking to obtain the certificates, considering the depreciation of the national currency following the recent flotation. He pointed out that during his visits in the Middle East over the past two weeks, he conducted six interviews with financial managers at regional and international companies in Doha and Dubai, noting that all of them were Egyptians and five had obtained CMA certificates before. "This highlights the potential of Egyptians and the importance of the certificates," he stated. Furthermore, he said that the increasing number of trainees proves that Egyptians are keen on obtaining an advantage by obtaining the certificates. He added that one of the IMA initiatives, included in its five-year plan, is to improve digital interconnection between alumni of IMA, whereby the team in Dubai would reinforce the digital efforts on the internet to increase the number of partnerships. Hanady Khalife, IMA director of operations for the Middle East and North Africa, said that demand for the certificate in the Egyptian market is still low, considering the size of its potential. "This is what we are working on in the coming period by intensifying the marketing of courses and promoting cooperation with government bodies to support the improvement of human resources to fit within the Egyptian government's reform plans," she added. She explained that cooperation protocols are being conducted with a number of government bodies to encourage public servants to pursue the certificate. Khalife told Daily News Egypt that IMA presents job opportunities that IMA's company clients in the Middle East are offering through its website.
