ABU DHABI: As part of its SME Beyond Borders events, the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD), in cooperation with CPI Media Group, has organised two major roundtables dedicated to supporting SME’s in Oman.
The high-level round-table discussion, called ‘Dynamics of Entrepreneurship’, brought together thought leaders and VIPs from public and private sector to address the issue from both perspectives. It covered the main topics that characterise and challenge the Omani SME universe including turning a business into a successful and competitive local brand, competing with international brands and expand across borders, overcoming key infrastructure hurdles, closing cash flow and deliverables gap, capitalising effectively on public/private sector partnerships, gathering market intelligence and customer data and becoming a master of marketing.
Mohammed Ba Omar, NBAD’s Chief Executive Officer in Oman, said, “We believe Oman is now the critical arena of debate in the SME space, representing the choices and prerogatives that characterised the region as a whole. It reflects the region’s ambition to move from traditional business to vibrant, powerful economic growth — a growth that will be largely driven by SMEs.”
The event proved a powerful forum for underlining how Oman has become a regional champion of SME support. It is the first time in Oman that a panel debate comprehensively covers the full spectrum of challenges and opportunities of the sector.
Building on the findings of the roundtables, NBAD will hold an ‘SME Beyond Borders’ conference on April 30 at Intercontinental Hotel, Muscat. It will bring together internationally recognised thought leaders in the SME space, representatives of government and local captains of industry.
— WAM
