The following customer analysis is broken down by general EMBA student characteristics, followed by characteristics of the higher education sector of the MENA Region.

     A. General EMBA Students:

Generally, students who apply to an EMBA program are business professionals, seeking career development, The EMBA is designed to cater to the working full-time professional, therefore, classes are structured in a part time manner, unlike an MBA Program which is a full time styled curriculum. All EMBA applicants are expected to have at least a bachelor's degree, although it is not required to be in business (Schweitzer, 2018)(Executive MBA Students). According to the Grad School Hub, the typical EMBA student profile is as follows (What is an Executive MBA Program?, n.d)(Grad School Hub):

• Senior managers, recognized industry leaders

• Around 37 years old.

• 7-10 years relevant work experience

• Seek promotions, career challenges, and contemporary business knowledge.

 

     B. Why do students choose EMBA?:

• Student’s will be able to earn a degree that adds value to their company, resume, and salary without having to put their career on hold for deeper education.

• Typically looking for career progression and will be eligible for a change within the industry, function or location.

• Gain insights and perspectives as well as be able to network with other executives in the industry.

• Lastly, students will gain new contemporary knowledge and be able to further deepen their understanding and knowledge for business.

 

      C. Derived Benefits of EMBA Degree:

One of the main reasons for students attaining their EMBA is a promotion is position and salary. According to Forbes, the average salary and bonus pack for a general EMBA student rose from $155,848 to $181,965. Also, 53 percent of graduates received new responsibilities within their organizations and 38 percent also received promotions during their time enrolled in an EMBA Program (Bajic, 2015)(EMBA Salaries). 

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1. D. MENA Region Consumers:

   1. When it comes to the MENA region, there is a huge market for people who could serve as potential candidates for an EMBA Program. In the UAE alone, Figure 8.  there are 6.29 million men and women between the ages of 25-54 that fit the EMBA Program usual age requirements, and the median age of the UAE is 33.5 years. According to Figure 1, they make a whopping 65.9% of the entire uae population. An important note is that expats and immigrants also fall into this category, along with locals (Global Media Insights, 2018) UAE Population and Statistics. These demographics are useful in knowing the consumer market at large as a way to further breakdown our target group.

   2. Expats account for 48.1% of the total GCC population, according to Go Gulf (Go-Gulf, 2016) Expats in the Middle East. As it relates to the previous Figure 8 of the UAE population, Figure 9 displays that 88.5% of  the total population is made up of expats.

              That is another huge segment of the market that could potentially qualify or be interested in embarking in an EMBA Program with 21% of expats working in the wholesale trade and financial services industry combined.
            According to  Go-Gulf, key findings show that Expats in the UAE are here because they have overall a better quality of life, confidence in the local economy, send their children to international schools. However, as claimed by Figure 10, 53% of Expats are here for career progression and 40% moved to improve job prospects. These are two key elements that could be further satisfied by attaining an EMBA degree.

         3.  Students are also choosing to do their post-graduate studies in the UAE for number of reasons. According to an article in Gulf News, Dubai is one of the most sought after global locations when it comes to post-graduate studies because aside from the extra competitive edge of an MBA or EMBA degree, students get a feel for a multicultural workforce, get hands on experiences with multinational businesses and get to network with fellow colleagues from different countries. An MBA is an enabler in an environment filled with business opportunities, hubs of corporations and startups of every kind and Dubai is an exact location for this (Maierbrugger, 2016) MBA from the UAE.