ASMED outlines government efforts to enhance entrepreneurship in Oman

Muscat: The Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED) organised in Muscat a workshop to showcase government efforts in promoting entrepreneurship.

The workshop showed the extent to which the government is keen to highlight the sector of small and medium enterprises (SME) as a basic pillar of the national economy. It outlined the incentives and exemptions extended to this sector in response to the needs of the local market, as well as the steps taken to help SME products get access to global markets.

Papers presented at the workshop elaborated on the roles of many establishments and institutions in promoting SMEs. These include ASMED, the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Oman Investment Fund, the Tender Board, the Capital Market Authority and the Ministry of Education.

The papers cited the incentives, programmes, packages and initiatives made by ASMED to serve the enterprises.
They provided important data and indices by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor in the field of SMEs.
The papers demonstrated the initiatives of the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), whose subsidiary firms lend sustainable support to SMEs, notably through the Supplier Development Programme and the Business Privatization Programme.

The papers also listed the exemptions provided by the General Secretariat of the Tender Board in favour of small and medium enterprises.

The workshop underlined the Capital Market Authority’s role in furnishing a sound entrepreneurial environment through innovative financing, insurance and related commercial activities.

In addition, the workshop highlighted the efforts undertaken by the Ministry of Education in spreading the culture of entrepreneurship. This was introduced through school curricula, seminars and conferences, besides activating the roles of career guidance centres and the student orientation centre.

The ministry’s system includes training programmes in financial planning, a programme on startups and related research and studies and statistics about student companies.

The workshop exhibited Sas Centre’s experience in supporting SMEs, as well as the roles of Oman Technology Fund in promoting bold investment ventures.

The workshop also presented examples of the operations of Beehive, a company specialising in innovative financing.