Muscat: A series of events in line with the Global Entrepreneurship Week kicked off yesterday (Monday) at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM). Held under the slogan ‘Growth and Sustainability’, the GEW events are organised by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates – Madayn, represented by the National Business Centre, in cooperation with the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada).

Nasser Al Malki, Director General of the National Business Centre, stated that GEW is an event that is celebrated by more than 160 countries worldwide. Organised by NBC for the seventh consecutive year, GEW series of events aim to connect experts and entrepreneurs from various sectors under one platform to share their ideas that would encourage the Omani entrepreneurs to be more visible and contribute to the growth and sustainability of their businesses.

Speaking at the inaugural event, the event’s keynote speaker Faris Alami, founder and CEO of International Strategic Management – an international technology company, emphasised on the significance of any project’s growth and sustainability. He explained that the variation between startups, SMEs and large companies, saying: “The overall picture of the business direction for the startups is usually unclear and undefined, while it looks clearer with the SMEs as they incorporate basic systems and aim at defined targets. The picture looks at its best shape with the large companies as they have well-defined and applied systems in addition to clear targets.” 

Alami added that maintaining the sustainability of a project requires several factors, which include the mindset shift from survival to growth, focus on business growth and its objectives, financial knowledge, access to market trends, clients’ requirements, innovation, and marketing and promotion. Being a recognised expert in entrepreneurship and business incubation, Alami worked with over 1,000 organisations and over 10,000 entrepreneurs in over 60 countries worldwide. 

Also speaking at the event, the Omani entrepreneur Eng. Husam Al Sulaimani, Founder of Marina Engineering Consultants shared his successful journey with his company which was established in 2009. The company today has two branches, one in Muscat and the other in Nizwa. Al Sulaimani pointed out that to ensure the sustainability of any project, the entrepreneur should pay attention to his/her passion, authenticity and being organised. He added that Marina Engineering Consultants is currently signing a number of contracts which will contribute to further development and growth of the company.

The success story of Towell Group was also underscored during the event. Abeer bint Riyadh Sultan, Commercial Director at Enhance – a W.J. Towell Group Company, stated that W.J. Towell was founded in 1866 and is one of the oldest family businesses in the Sultanate and the Gulf region. Towell Group of Companies is today one of the largest companies in the Sultanate and comprises of seven clusters. The clusters are Enhance, Engineering, Construction, Property, Services and Trade, Consumer Product Division (CPD) and Automotive. Abeer added that the factors that maintain the success and sustainability of projects include investing in human capital and focus on corporate social responsibility, backed with the right choices of business. 

A clinic for the SMEs is also available during the week at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat – KOM4 to offer consultancy services to the entrepreneurs and SMEs. As part of the GEW events, ‘Mashura’ event will be organised today (Tuesday) at Riyada incubator, which will host officials from Oman Global Logistics Group ‘ASYAD’ to talk about their experience and the opportunities available for the Omani entrepreneurs. It should be noted that GEW events are supported by Khimji Ramdas Social Development Arm (Eshraqa), Oman LNG and Round Company.