MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in step with its vision ‘To serve you better, everyday’ and commitment to strengthening support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has launched a monthly series of Najahi Talks seminars. The Najahi Talks programme, which kicked off with a seminar in Muscat in September, held its second event in Sur recently. The two events received an overwhelming response from the participants and followers on social media platforms. The Sur event was addressed by Salim Al Shidi, Regional Manager – South Sharqiyah, Bank Muscat. It was also attended by Hamed Al Adawi, Senior Regional Manager – Dakhaliya and Sharqiya, Bank Muscat.

Various topics were discussed at the event such as challenges faced by the SMEs in their start-up journey, how they were overcome, learnings as well as some interesting anecdotes related to the business and future plans. There was also a lot of interest from the audience on role played by Najahi in helping SMEs in their journey.

Najahi Talks is a recently launched event series by the Retail Enterprises (Najahi) unit of Bank Muscat that aims to provide a knowledge-sharing platform for the SME entrepreneur community in the form of information and knowledge-sharing sessions in a casual setting. Each event is organised in a different part of the country in an effort to maximise its benefits to entrepreneurs and also to have different success stories from guest speakers. Every event facilitates knowledge-sharing through panel discussions, addresses by guest speakers, Q&A sessions and also provide networking opportunities that often go on to create long-term business opportunities for young Omani entrepreneurs.

Abdullah Al Jufaili, Head, Retail Enterprises, Bank Muscat, said: “Najahi Talks is a platform for knowledge sharing and networking for MSMEs. It is part of the bank’s commitment to develop the MSME sector in Oman and provide crucial support to the Government’s economic diversification strategy so as to further strengthen the National Economy. We are happy to welcome so many budding entrepreneurs to these monthly knowledge-sharing sessions and hope that each entrepreneur will be able to take back with them valuable information and knowledge that can be applied in their businesses for greater success. We further believe that communities need such gatherings to create awareness about entrepreneurship, challenges faced and ways to overcome hurdles”

Those interested can get more information about upcoming sessions from the social media accounts of Bank Muscat. The event is normally held during the first week of every month.

Securing credit without collateral and accessing innovative banking services have been hurdles faced by micro and small businesses in the past. The specially designed Najahi products mainly include credit facilities without the need for collateral to develop and grow micro and small businesses. Bank Muscat’s Najahi is the only financial product from any bank in the Sultanate to offer loans without any collateral.

The Najahi suite of products include the value-added Najahi Current Account, Najahi Flexi Loan to support working capital, business expansion and other business needs; the Najahi Business Credit Card; and Najahi PoS Receivables financing for customers who use PoS machines for sales. All financing options are available to the Bank’s customers ‘collateral free’.

The value added Najahi Current Account offers differentiated services, including Business Debit Card, branded cheque book, and online banking services. The Najahi Business Debit Card offers daily withdrawal limit of RO 1,000. The business debit card helps customers to meet day-to-day cash requirements conveniently without the need to visit the teller counter for small value transactions.

Maintaining cash flow is a major challenge faced by small businesses. Addressing this critical need, Bank Muscat launched the first-of-its-kind collateral free Najahi Flexi Loan facility. This facility allows customers to choose when to avail a loan and for what period. Customers pay interest only when they avail the loan and not when the facility is granted.

For short-term financing, the bank has launched the Najahi point of sale (PoS) financing product. The specially-designed short-term finance facilitates borrowing for working capital requirements simply based on the track record of sales that a business routes through their Bank Muscat PoS machines. The higher the proportion of non-cash sales, the higher the loan eligibility.

The key features of Najahi PoS financing includes daily installment repayments. A small amount is automatically deducted daily from customers’ bank account to repay the loan. The evergreen facility allows Najahi customers to keep repaying and replenishing the loan, thereby ensuring assured cash flow.

As with other Najahi credit facilities, customers are not required to provide any collateral guarantee for PoS financing. The convenience and speed of Najahi PoS finance help customers to meet their requirement of growth financing. In a quick and hassle free process, customers with 1-year PoS track record are eligible to avail the collateral-free finance.

Bank Muscat has launched a series of initiatives covering all segments of the SME sector in Oman. Serving as building blocks for entrepreneurs, these initiatives assume importance in the backdrop of the priority accorded by the government to develop the MSME sector in Oman.