MUSCAT: Continuing our conversation with Development Bank CEO Hussain Al Lawati we discuss Economic Gardening – a targeted strategy for growing established local businesses.

Al Lawati explains this innovative approach and shares success stories from around the world – making a case for its application in Oman.

Excerpts from the interview: 

During the conference there was a lot of discussion around Economic Gardening. Can you explain what that is?

Of course. Economic Gardening is a targeted economic development strategy that focuses on helping existing local businesses grow rather than trying to attract outside companies. It specifically supports ‘second stage companies’ – established businesses with 10 to 99 employees and annual revenue of at least US$1 million that have proven their business model but need specialized assistance to scale further.

The approach provides these growing companies with sophisticated resources they typically can’t afford in-house – things like market research, competitor intelligence and industry trend analysis. These are tools usually only available to large corporations, but they’re exactly what these smaller companies need to identify new opportunities and overcome growth barriers.

This was actually a central theme of our conference. I participated on the ‘Measuring Success: Economic Gardening’s Development Impact’ panel alongside Nassir Al Kasabi, Director General, Corporate Strategy at The Saudi Fund for Development; Dr. Rajneesh, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner from India’s Ministry of MSMEs; and Raed Al Shehhi, Chairman, Musandam Global Investment. Our discussions highlighted how this approach is increasingly relevant across our region, where we have promising companies that could benefit from exactly this kind of targeted support.

Why is Economic Gardening important today?

It addresses a fundamental gap we see in business evolution. Many companies reach a certain size and then plateau because they lack the resources or expertise to take the next growth step. As I mentioned earlier, businesses need different kinds of support depending on where they are in their journey. Economic Gardening provides these growing companies access to competitive intelligence and market data that allows them to optimize their potential without the substantial overhead of building these capabilities themselves.

What makes this approach particularly valuable is its focus on investing in companies that already have a successful track record. It’s not about attracting outside businesses but nurturing what’s already working in our communities. This approach enhances job creation and builds economic resilience from within.

That said, Economic Gardening isn’t a quick fix for immediate economic challenges. It’s more of a long-term strategy than a short-term solution. Communities need patience – it takes time to implement properly and reach a critical mass of growing companies. The real value comes from a sustained commitment to developing our existing business ecosystem rather than searching for silver bullet solutions.

What kind of results has Economic Gardening produced elsewhere?

The data is impressive. Florida’s GrowFL program has been remarkably successful since its launch in 2009. In just four years, participating companies created 13,000 jobs and generated over US$1.14 billion in sales revenue for the state economy. That translated to a return of more than US$9 for every dollar invested in the program.

Another good example is Network Kansas, where 58 companies in their Economic Gardening project increased employment by 344 full-time positions and 88 part-time jobs. These companies grew annual revenues by US$55 million, achieving average annual growth rates of 23% for revenue and 11% for employment. This outperformed similar companies not in the program, which only saw 6% employment growth and 4% revenue growth during the same period.*To be continued