Ever thankful to the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said for the gracious living she and the rest of the nation enjoy, inspired by the late South African leader Nelson Mandela who observed that “there’s no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living” and nonchalant about criticism or fear of failure, Sharifa Al Barami is a woman galvanised by the passion and desire to preach and promote entrepreneurship.
Co-Founder and CTO of MarkeetEx, she has been a trailblazer, taking on every project and idea that has caught her attention with gusto. This passion saw Sharifa leave a job of seven years in the medical sector to set up her own business and eventually become an advocate of entrepreneurship.
An MIT Entrepreneurship Certificate holder and graduate of the National CEO Program (Oman) conducted in association with IMD, Switzerland, Sharifa has been at the forefront of promoting entrepreneurship and the SME ecosystem in Oman.
She spearheaded the setting-up and launch of Cisco Entrepreneur Institute for AMIDEAST in Oman in 2010 and later founded the BizHub Entrepreneurhip Foundation to provide consultations, project designs in the setting-up and management of small business accelerator and incubator programmes as well as support start-ups.
Talking about her passion to promote entrepreneurship in Oman, Sharifa says: “When I ventured out to set up my own business, I discovered that there was a lot to learn about entrepreneurship.
I wanted to share the experiences that I went through and also the knowledge I was exposed to when it came to setting up businesses. I wanted to help as many people as possible through proper SME building to ensure a positive effect on the economy as whole.”
In 2018, Sharifa and her business partner launched MarkeetEx, an e-commerce platform that delivers everything from household products to groceries and foodstuff, fashion, beauty and more. For orders placed within Muscat, the timeframe of delivery is two hours. The idea for MarkeetEx stemmed during Sharifa’s tenure as the Managing Director of Wadi Accelerator at Oman Technology Fund from 2016 to 2018. “I had the opportunity to learn about investments and venture capital during my time at OTF. When I did the due diligence reports on investments and start-ups in the region I saw that Oman offered a huge opportunity in the field of technology and e-commerce. That’s when my partner and I decided to launch MarkeetEx,” Sharifa points out.
Staying ahead of the curve is among Sharifa’s many qualities.
“One of my mentors told me early on that those who create the future are the ones who lead. That statement has stayed with me.”
Sharifa Al Barami
She is also not one to be fazed by criticism or fear of failure. “I am an action-oriented person. I am a firm believer of the fact that no knowledge is of value if there is no action taken upon it. And I am not afraid to fail. I am not afraid to start something and move on if it does not go as planned. I don’t listen to people’s judgements,” Sharifa stresses.
A person not to shy away from hard work, Sharifa feels this is the time for the people of Oman to grab hold of opportunities and make the nation stronger. “The effects of the pandemic are being felt everywhere. But Oman has a lot of potential. There is a lot that has been achieved and lot more that can be achieved. Where there is a crisis, there are also opportunities waiting to be created.
It’s also time for all of us to work harder. In the ’70s everyone worked hard to build the nation. In the same manner we can work just as hard and make our nation strong to withstand anything that comes along our way.”
As Oman celebrates its 50th National Day, Sharifa shares her tribute to the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. “As we get ready to celebrate, we must first send our prayers to the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos. If it weren’t for him and his vision for the nation, we would not be here.
As an Omani woman from Dhofar I would not be talking in fluent English and thinking about technology, venture capitalism or SMEs if it weren’t for the late Sultan’s vision. May he rest in peace.”
