Saturday 15 / March / 2025
Muscat: More than 30 families have started benefiting from a major programme called ‘Makken,’ which aims to provide more than 2,000 families in Al Amerat with a chance to start up their own businesses.
Trainers have started voluntarily training people on how to market their brands and present their products, according to Sami Al Haj, head of the groups’ Media Committee.
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After two days of workshops, 34 women were honoured at a graduation ceremony and got a chance to exhibit their products at a gallery under the patronage of Shura member Ahmed Al Mashari.
“The women were very shy at first, but after the short course, they became very outspoken and showed promising skills in marketing and communication,” Al Haj said.
Last week, the group organised another workshop in cooperation with the Omani voluntary group “Lecturers Without Borders” to teach entrepreneurs the art of marketing and conducting feasibility studies.
“Makken’s target is to achieve total financial independence for these families by end-2017,” Al Haj stated.
“Young businessmen need more education before approaching government-funded programmes like Raffd,” Al Haj explained, adding that all courses are free of charge and open for anyone to register in.
Al Haj further explained that this initiative is restricted to Al Amerat only, but that he is planning to expand it to include other parts of Muscat.
Nasser Al Tubi, a trainer, said the programme needs more support from local companies and investors. Al Tubi was recently selected by ‘Tasis,’ a national initiative to support and fund.
