Partner Article

North East founded business course hits 19 countries within its first six months

A business course founded by a North East entrepreneur has attracted learners across 19 countries in the six months since its launch.

The Roadmap MBA is a CPD-certified training course that provides the real-world skills to grow a business, aimed at organisations of less than 250 people.

Steve Pugh, from Gateshead, launched the programme in February 2021 to make business education accessible to all.

He said: “There are millions of people who feel that there are parts of their job that they’re not trained to do; write a strategy, manage a team or sell to customers.

“Meanwhile, business owners are often looking for ways to outperform the competition, but traditional Master of Business Administration courses are often prohibitive on cost, time, or the content they teach, which is aimed at large multinationals and not businesses like theirs.”

The Roadmap MBA combines traditional printed materials with weekly livestream classroom sessions accessible in every time zone, inspired by the growth in online learning during the Covid pandemic.

Steve, a chartered mechanical engineer, said: “SMEs account for 99 per cent of the business population and the challenges they face are different.

“In smaller businesses, people are often asked to perform multiple roles, some of which they’re not trained to do, so to create high performing teams you need to teach these skills.

“The support I offer lasts for a full 12 months and the concept is built around being able to pick up the course for two minutes or two hours, ask questions, and make a real change in your business or career.”

Since launching in February 2021, the course is being used by businesses across Europe, as well as in China, the US, Nigeria and Australia.

Additionally, up to 50 per cent of the Roadmap courses are donated to people who otherwise would not have access to business education, such as those from poorer backgrounds or parents who cannot commit to the time or cost of other business programmes.

Steve said: “The Roadmap MBA is giving access and support to help make a real difference in people’s lives. There are millions of people who don’t have access to quality business education and I’m looking to change that.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Harvey & Hugo .