Munir Ahmad Blog

BonArtisan.com is an innovative portal that enables small businesses to put their word of mouth on the Internet and consumer to select them in confidence. So far only in France and dedicated to craftsmen, BonArtisan.com is the largest database in France with more than 380 000 businesses.

Businesses can improve their visibility by creating a customized web site in a matter or minutes without any web technology knowledge. The real innovation lies in a patented fraud detection technology that enables consumers to rate the businesses in confidence. According to customer’s rating, craftsmen’s web site will display a color helmet from gold to bronze, or grey if no rating is available. A guest book is also available to leave comments.

Creating and hosting a web page with rating services only costs 14.90€ /month, a fraction of the cost of any other alternative and about the same price as a very basic directory service from traditionnal providers.

This innovative service is really the proof point that technology is now readily available and accessible to enable small businesses to promote their service effectively using the internet at a very low cost and with basic PC technology knowledge.

The consumer portal is designed with women in mind. This is a gold mine for people looking for the latest product or ideas in decoration and renovation. A forum allows consumers to share their experience with eachother and finally to choose a good professional near them. The site is accessible on mobile phone as well as traditionnal web browsers. So far vailable only in France, the service will expand to other service providers and soon countries.

Give it a try at www.bonartisan.com and tell people about it!

At iLearning Forum Paris 2009 last week the coveted European “iLearning Award” was presented to Jelena Godjevac, CEO of the Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute

iLearning Forum ltd and EIfEL, the European Association of eLearning Professionals, have awarded the Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute the top prize for their eLearning project in aid of entrepreneurs in developing countries. The Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute (MEA-I) initiative uses accessible information technologies to provide equal opportunity and access to learning, qualifications and social integration. Project submissions from Crossknowledge, Tata Interactive and Giunti Labs were also appreciated by the jury.

The Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute (MEA-I) is a non-profit international organization dedicated to providing training to micro-enterprise around the world. The main aim is to accelerate the economic development of companies with less than 10 employees. Mainly funded by Hewlett-Packard, MEA-I trains over 20,000 micro-entrepreneurs in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific every year.

MEA-I delivers tailored training solutions, adapted to local conditions, in over 30 countries, often in partnership with local aid agencies, with the aim of creating jobs and business success. The training package consists of an open learning center equipped by Hewlett-Packard, curricula of traditional classroom training, PC courses and an eLearning platform providing learners with serious games, videos, pod casts that blend into their learning programme via www.knowledge-city.net
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HP today announced the launch of its first virtual serious game on IT security, which is designed to educate small businesses and entrepreneurs on the best ways to protect their data and intellectual assets from unwanted intrusion.

“Accelerate Security” is a fun, practical way to raise awareness about everyday security threats and how best to tackle them. The game covers a range of common security issues such as virus attacks, identity theft and data back-up, to help small business and small office (SBSO) users make security and protection part of their ongoing business activities.

Players assume the role of Nicole Fernandez, the owner of a small events management company with a growing client base. Players must help Nicole launch a successful fashion show and win a new client, whilst avoiding any security threats. Over two game days with four 10 minute scenes each, players must tackle a range of business tasks and purchase relevant security software, such as firewalls and anti-virus products.

HP worked with the Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute (MEA-I), an international, non-profit organization that facilitates access and knowledge of IT among micro-enterprises, to develop the game after customer surveys among SBSOs highlighted a lack of awareness and understanding of how to effectively secure their information.

“Many small businesses today have neither the time nor the money to spend on in-house IT personnel, expensive consultants or heavy security infrastructures” said Charl Snyman, vice president and general manager, Commercial Products, Personal Systems Group, HP EMEA. “‘Accelerate Security’ is a quick, easy and entertaining way for them to educate themselves on the need for secure business operations.”

A recent report by independent market research company MSI for McAfee, Inc., “Does Size Matter: The Security Challenge of the SMB” revealed that small businesses fail to allocate an appropriate amount of time and resources to security and mistakenly believe themselves to be too small to pose a target for cybercriminals.

“We work with many small business owners and users who are aware that security breaches can damage their finances, competitiveness and reputation but are unsure how to protect either themselves, their employees or their customers,” said Didier Philippe, President, Micro-Enterprise Acceleration Institute (MEA-I). “‘Accelerate Security’ helps them integrate basic security procedures and products into their day-to-day activities.”

“Accelerate Security” is available free of charge at http://game.mea-i.org or www.knowledge-city.net. The game is available immediately in English, with plans for other languages, including French, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, to follow by the first quarter of 2009.

HP and MEA-I produced two new videos about the GET-IT programme to help different audiences better understand what GET-IT is about.

In the videos, GET-IT trainees, trainers and partners like MEA-I and UNIDO talk about their experiences with the programme.

Check here