Supervisory Committee of Promising Omani Startups Programme holds 4th meeting in 2024

Muscat: The Supervisory Committee of the “Programme of Promising Omani Startups (POPS)” today held its 4th meeting of 2024 under the chairmanship of HH Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said, Honorary President of the Programme of Promising Omani Startups.

The committee reviewed the progress made in implementation of its decisions endorsed in the 3rd meeting in 2024.

HH Sayyid Bilarab was briefed about the progress made in the programme’s initiatives, which included the establishment and activation of the venture capital fund within of the framework of Oman Future Fund.

Other accomplishments of the programme included: The implementation of the Promising Omani Startup Accelerator in cooperation with the Industrial Innovation Academy and Madayn (which hosts 20 startups in the pre-seed funding stage, and 20 startups in the idea shaping stage); the establishment of specialized accelerators in cooperation with the holding groups affiliated to Oman Investment Authority (OIA) and inauguration of the Startups Support Programme (the financial grants initiative that benefited 75 startups and 33 student companies, to the tune of RO 600,000.

POPS introduced the Angel Investors Programmes in cooperation with Estidama to support the growth of start-ups and spread of the culture of innovative financing (The programme is presented by the European Business Angel Network “EBAN” through 6 workshops); Implementation of the Bold Investment And Family Business Governance Programme in cooperation with the Tharawat Family Business Forum.

The programme supported licensed crowdfunding platforms and opening up a page for Omani start-ups in the “Invest Oman” platform and the global “Dealroom” platform. As many as 70 new Omani startups were registered so that they could have better access to investors around the world in cooperation with the Financial Services Authority.

Furthermore, the meeting included a visual presentation on performance indicators of POPS initiatives.

The committee also discussed the progress made towards the implementation of a project to draft a law for startups based on innovation and technology in the Sultanate of Oman.

The bill of law provides for the formation of a working group to be tasked with enhancing innovation and entrepreneurship, stimulating investment, generating new employment opportunities and supporting digital economy.