Page 39 - SAMENA Trends - May-June 2023

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Omantel Innovation Labs hosts UK Oman Digital
Hub Cybersecurity Pilot Program for Startups

Omantel, the leading provider of integrated telecommunication knowledge within our local tech startup ecosystem.” Jessica Hern,
services in the Sultanate of Oman, hosted the UK Oman Digital hub Senior Program Manager at the British Embassy in Muscat for the
pilot program to allow Omantel Innovation Labs startups access to FCDO: “We are delighted to work with Omantel Innovations Labs on
deep-dive sessions on cyber security awareness, providing tips on the first pilot of the Cyber Oman ‘Secure’ program, which aims to
how to protect against supply chain risks, how to develop a cyber enhance Omani startups’ cyber security knowledge and give them
security ‘culture’ and on how to test new solutions quickly and the skills to ensure their infrastructure is able to respond to cyber
securely. The five-week pilot program, supported by the UK Oman threats. We look forward to continuing our work with our partners
Digital Hub, was delivered by innovation company Plexal and Al like Omantel to build on the foundation that was laid during the first
Jabr to startups at Omantel Innovation Labs, a key player within deep dive sessions. ” Omantel is the Sultanate’s first and leading
the local startup ecosystem. The program also included peer to integrated telecommunications services provider, enabling the
peer collaboration on security challenges, mentoring sessions digital society to flourish, allowing new ways of doing business and
with cyber experts, knowledge sharing by founders of startups and delivering a world of information, news, and entertainment. While
action plans on securing a business. The program, which began in striving to ensure an optimum customer satisfaction, Omantel
February 2023 at the Omantel Innovation Labs, comprised multiple plays a key social role to provide the required support and assistant
workshops conducted by experts including Amjad Beainy, co- to all sectors amongst the Omani society.
founder and CTO at Octopus CyberSecurity and Maitham Al Lawati,
CEO of PowerDMARC as well as speakers from the United Kingdom,
including Stacey Lidgate, Director of Business Development at
Cysiam and Trevor Graham, CEO and co-founder of Ampliphae.
The deep dive sessions were part of a wider program called ‘Cyber
Oman’, sponsored by the British Embassy Muscat, which has the
goal of supporting the development of a cyber resilient ecosystem
and a community with strong cyber security skills. HH Al Sayyida
Ghada Al Said, Senior Manager Omantel Innovation Labs, said: “It
was a pleasure to work with the UK Oman Digital Hub to allow our
startups to have this level of access to expert cyber security advice
and insights. Cybersecurity is a critical area of any technology
startup and our startups greatly benefitted from this experience.
We’re eager to continue working with Cyber Oman to spread this

Omantel Invests in byanat for Data Analytics Solutions Expansion for
Telecom Operators and Service Providers

Omantel, the leading provider of integrated telecommunication through a software-as-a-service (SaaS) analytics platform for tele-
services in the Sultanate of Oman, has invested in byanat's Seed communications operators and service providers. The funding
Funding Round to expand the provision of data analytics solutions round featured participation from 500 Global in collaboration with
Sanabil Investments, an investment fund owned by the Public In-
vestments Fund (PIF) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Al Jabr
MENA, a startup development and innovation firm. This funding is
set to expedite byanat's technology and product development and
enable entry into the Saudi market. byanat is one of the tech com-
panies that was incubated at Omantel Innovation Labs. The com-
pany aims to enhance infrastructure in the telecom, energy, and
utilities sectors. Their SaaS analytics platform assists businesses
in effectively scaling and maintaining connected infrastructure,
by unifying communication management, device management,
and data analytics. Talal bin Said Al Mamari, CEO of Omantel,
commented, “This historic investment partnership is an eloquent
endorsement of the trust global investors have in Omani start-

39 MAY-JUNE 2023