MUSCAT: The number of youngsters setting up businesses in Oman has increased, a study has found.
According to a data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), more than 26,000 young Omanis are running businesses in the country. “Young business owners in the age group from 18 to 29 years has reached 26,189, (17.7% of the total Omani business owners in the Sultanate), of whom 77.7% males, and 22.3% females,” NCSI report said.
According to the report, majority of the business owners are from Muscat Governorate. “4,730 of young business owners is concentrated in Muscat Governorate while Dhofar Governorate has 4,570 and North Al Batinah Governorate 4,415,” NCSI added.
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Speaking to The Arabian Stories, Ibrahim Al Balushi, a veteran businessman from Al Khoud, technology is driving young Omanis to start or promote their business. “Our population is relatively young and most of them were born after Google and have grown up with social media. So it’s no surprise that these young Omanis are already using their networks to help build their career. Most of them are promoting their businesses through these platforms,” Al Balushi said.
Meanwhile, 50.4% of Omani youth are working in the public sector, and 49.4% are in private, NCSI said. “In the public sector 60.8% of them hold a General Diploma, 13.7% hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher,” the report noted. In the private sector, construction sector attracted the largest number of young Omani workers by 23.5%, followed by the wholesale and retail trade sector and repair of vehicles and motorcycles with 14.5%.
