More than 350 small firms will spearhead a major digital drive in Oman this year.
Khalid Al Haribi, acting chief executive officer (CEO) of the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprise (Riyada) has detailed a hi-tech strategy to develop the Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector, which has the highest job creation rate in the country.
“Under the new strategy of Riyada, Omani SMEs will undergo a major digital transformation, especially in the fields of manufacturing, tourism and logistics, all of which have been highlighted by Tanfeedh.”
“Our target is to digitally transform 350 companies by the end of this year. A batch of 45 SMEs has already begun the transformation in partnership with Innovation Factory at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM),” Al Haribi said.
Nearly half of all jobs in the country are created by SMEs, described by the government as companies that hire less than a 100 people. However, contribution to national income and revenues by these businesses is less than a fifth, showing the efficiency gap between SMEs and large corporations.
“Our aim is to help SMEs contribute 50 to 65 per cent to the economy, in terms of revenue and jobs by 2023,” Al Haribi stated.
“Here, we are not aiming to make new inventions, but rather using the available technology to support our ideas. For example, we plan to promote Omani products and handicrafts, but not in a conventional way. Our goal is to 3D print them instead of handmade ones. Further, these handicrafts will be promoted through mobile apps, which will be available to everyone, including tourists, coming into the country.”
He added that post-digitisation; SMEs will be able to provide informative apps for tourists in terms of locations to visit and restaurants available. This would allow them to receive information about tourists, such as their purpose of visit and activities planned and they will be able to determine the exact manpower required, increasing efficiency and providing services to customers.
They are currently working on an app through which an SME can access services by 57 different organisations that aid SME work. “Our aim is to focus on setting up the whole ecosystem for SMEs where every aspect complements the other instead of only creating an environment where there is competition, support, etc that is not well connected. Creating a culture for entrepreneurship is the most important,” Al Haribi said.
“We are also under process to include all stakeholders, such as Ministry of Manpower, Ministry of Commerce, etc. to come together to form a streamlined process for SME processes that would take less time for them to set up.”
Source: http://timesofoman.com/article/113646/Oman/SMEs-to-spearhead-digital-drive-in-Oman
