Industry leaders and key-players gather to witness trailblazing discussions about the future of SMEs in Oman
Oman’s biggest ever initiative dedicated to the thriving SME sector – The Dynamics of Entrepreneurship conference, was recently held with a host of industry leading speakers from the Sultanate’s SME and a vibrant mix of sessions.
Held under the patronage of H.E Dr. Rasheed Bin Al Safi Al Huraibi, Chairman of Tender Board of Oman, this unique and very informative one-day conference was hosted by the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) in association with CPI Media Group, and took place at the prestigious Al Bustan Palace, Ritz Carlton Hotel in Muscat.
Aimed at addressing the importance of the SME community in Oman, the thought-provoking presentations and panel discussions brought by private and public sector leaders deliberated the key issues faced by entrepreneurs and SMEs in Oman.
With over 200 SME players in attendance, The Dynamics of Entrepreneurship featured compelling insights from well-known figures in the Sultanate’s SME scene such as Sulaiman Al Rashidy from the Tender Board of Oman; Sheikh Shabib Al Maamari, Executive Director of Injaz Oman; Nader Al Rawahy, Director for Accounts Business Development for the Government & Public Sector at EY; Shatha Maskiry, Managing Director at Protiviti Global; and Rym Aoudia, President of Knowledge Oman, among others.
Game-changing conclusions
During the course of the event, the powerful speeches and discussion reflected three crucial factors affecting the SME community in Oman. First, is the issue of job security, which underlined that although honing entrepreneurs can significantly develop the SME sectors, the creation of solid and reliable jobs within the SME space is just as important.
Second, the emphasis on creating a spirit of open competition. Which entails inspiring businesses to contend with each other and through this motivate them to build a true local brand that can enable them to compete at a regional and even international scale.
Lastly, is the fact that although SMEs make up 65 percent of businesses in Oman, they only contribute 15 percent to the Sultanate’s GDP, a factor that needs to be addressed and changed significantly in the next seven to eight years. However, it has also been raised that at the moment private sector players are still doubtful if they are indeed equipped with the right tools and skills to make this quantum leap.
A landmark partnership
The epic day is also the setting for the announcement of the exclusive partnership between CPI Media Group and PWC for the CPI-PWC Insight Series, which entails the collaboration of the two parties in producing world-class reports that will benefit the SME community in the region.
Further into this, Harendra Kailath, Director, Family Business Practice at PWC presented the results of the PWC 2015 Family Business Survey, a report that was exclusively released at the conference.