Muscat – The amendments, which emphasize the flexibility for growth and sustainability of the SME sector, will enable entrepreneurs to launch and expand their projects locally and abroad; it will motivate entrepreneurs and job seekers to explore opportunities to practice their business so as to start gradually establishing and developing their commercial projects.

This will further enhance the contribution of small and medium enterprises in the gross domestic product and the development of national economy.

The amendments include raising the value of the loan ceiling without adding an administrative fee percentage to OMR 20,000, which, in the previous regulation, was OMR 5,000.

The amendment also includes the cancellation of Article 14 of the previous regulation, which referred to the possibility of financing the beneficiary with no more than 50% of the value of the original financing, with flexibility in financing beneficiaries in projects other than those previously funded in accordance with the plans and programs drawn up by the Authority.

The regulation defines the roles and responsibilities of each of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority and the Oman Development Bank, and defines the conditions that must be met by those applying for financing from entrepreneurs and craftsmen through a dedicated link with the required documents and data attached.

The regulations include the maximum time period for deciding on financing applications, which is 60 days from the date of completing the application, the grace period for paying the installments due for financing, the obligations of the beneficiary applying for financing, the mechanism for disbursing the total amount of financing, and the maximum period for disbursing it.

The Authority revealed that the total number of approvals for financing requests until August 10, 2023 amounted to 170, with a total value of OMR 15,777,431. The financing approvals were distributed among 4 different programs – the program for financing industrial projects and service projects received funding for 110 applications, with a value of OMR 11,490,905; contract financing received funding for 33 applications with a value of OMR 2,877,000; the working capital and fixed assets financing program received 26 applications with a value of OMR 1,339,526; in addition to one request for financing incubated institutions and business accelerators with a value of OMR 70,000.

The Governorate of Muscat topped the approved funding requests, as the Authority approved the financing of 63 applications with a value of OMR 4,996,762, followed by the Governorate of North Al Batinah, which funded 29 requests with a value of OMR 3,209,869, and approved the financing of 19 requests in the Governorate of South Al Batinah, with a value of OMR 1,667,800.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority launched 7 different financing programmes, namely: the In-Country Value Program, the Industrial and Service Projects Financing Program, the Working Capital and Fixed Assets Program, the Incubated Enterprises and Business Accelerators Financing Program, and the Handicraft Products, Home and Productive Businesses, and Street Vendors Program and mobile commercial activities, the contract financing program, and the financing of small and medium enterprises that have obtained contracts (tenders, purchases, or business opportunities) by subsidiaries of the Oman Investment Authority.