Event held to attract investments for SMEs

Muscat: The National Business Centre (NBC), an initiative of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn), organised a pitch event on Wednesday.
The event gathered the incubated companies of the Wasel Business Growth Programme and officials representing several bodies, including the SME Development Fund (Inma), Al Raffd Fund, Bank Muscat, Shumookh Investment and Services– the investment arm of Madayn, in addition to other private investing companies.
The pitch event was aimed at introducing the products and services of the SMEs and attracting investments for the companies to expand and grow. Elaborating on the Wasel Business Growth Programme, Ibtisam Al Farouji of the NBC said that the programme, which is organised by Oman India Fertiliser Company (Omifco) and the NBC, incubated 15 Omani start-ups for a period of eight months during which the companies were guided by development plans tailored to their requirements to achieve expansion and growth.
During the event, the companies participating in the Wasel Business Growth Programme delivered presentations to the funding bodies highlighting their activities, achievements and growth potential. Zuwaina Al Rashdi of World of Handicrafts said that her company was established in 2013 to produce, sell, market, package and promote traditional Omani handicrafts made by talented Omani craftspeople. Al Rashdi stressed that World of Handicrafts works constantly with Omani craftspeople in order to enhance the quality of the products and meet the expectations of their local and international clients.
On his part, Ali Al Rashdi of Muaawana Company stated that the company was established in 2015 as a facility services provider that works as a mobile workshop fully equipped with proper tools used for maintenance and connected with a call centre that receives calls from clients and directs them to the maintenance team. The services provided by Muaawana include MEP work, air conditioning and carpentry work.
Superiority of Modern Services (SOMS), which was established in 2015, is one of the fastest growing industrial services companies in the Sultanate certified with ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OSHAS 18001. Ibrahim Al Malki of SOMS said, “With trained, certified and experienced personnel, SOMS has the capacity and expertise needed to meet all of the clients' service requirement on time and on budget.”
The National Business Centre is an initiative launched by Madayn at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat to offer promising Omani entrepreneurs a platform to develop their business ideas and advance them into growing ventures. The centre presents a premier platform for Omani entrepreneurs by providing business development support and guidance, training and mentoring, access to markets and industry experts, and state-of-the-art and fully equipped office space, meeting rooms and presentation facilities. NBC aspires to facilitate and support the growth of investable ideas into successful businesses; build entrepreneurial skills through dedicated and focused training, coaching and mentoring; and provide business support facilities from office space to administrative support, financial support and consultancy services that are crucial in ensuring the success and survival of new ventures.