Date: May 21, 2018
SME Development Society of Bahrain and Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) signed a Partnership Agreement aimed at jointly exploring entrepreneurship development and support cooperation between Omani and Bahraini SMEs.
The signing ceremony was attended by Ambassador of Bahrain in the Sultanate of Oman, H.E. Dr. Juma bin Ahmed Al-Kaabi at the Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain in Muscat. The partnership agreement was signed by Ahmed Salloum, Chairman, SME Development Society of Bahrain, and Mohammed Al Hasani, Chief Communications Officer, The Zubair Corporation .
SME Development Society of Bahrain is a non-profit society that assists entrepreneurs to grow in a business-friendly environment in order to be catalysts for socio-economic development in Bahrain. Zubair SEC, a leading social impact initiative of The Zubair Corporation, provides advisory, capacity building, and business development services, to name a few, focused on the progress and development of small Omani businesses.
The main aim of the signed agreement is to support development of small and medium enterprises and to strengthen cooperation between small businesses who are members of both initiatives. The two initiatives will also work together to improve competitiveness of Omani and Bahraini SMEs in the regional markets and facilitate market exposure for their products and services.
The joint collaboration will encompass organising workshops; creating networking opportunities; holding knowledge and expertise exchange programmes for members and advisors; arranging events; and cooperating on other areas of mutual interest.
H.E. Dr. Juma bin Ahmed Al-Kaabi, Ambassador of The Kingdom of Bahrain in The Sultanate of Oman said, “we are happy with this partnership agreement considering the importance of such collaborations in the development of small and medium enterprises in both countries and the progress of entrepreneurship in such times of increasingly developing information technology and communication”. His Excellency emphasized that this partnership agreement aligns with the scope of economic and commercial development relationship between the two countries which reflects the strength of the brotherly and historical relationship that ties us and both countries’ leadership vision to further strengthen and develop this relationship in all areas.
Commenting on the importance of the partnership, Ahmed Sabah Al Salloum, Chairman of SME Development Society of Bahrain said, “Zubair SEC has achieved significant success and growth over the years and we are delighted to partner with a centre of such impressive repute which has been instrumental in developing the culture of entrepreneurship in Oman
I am certain this partnership will help augment each other’s performance and capacities and better serve our members’ needs.”
Salloum added, “Both initiatives’ objective is to support the growth of SMEs and we will surely be helping fulfil this aim. The partnership agreement formally establishes a working guideline to support SME development and will enhance current efforts towards the mutual goal of sustaining SME growth. We look forward to achieving positive results in the development and progress of members on both sides.”
Stressing that the partnership provides great momentum for close cooperation, Mohammed Al Hasani, Chief Communications Officer, The Zubair Corporation said, “SME Development Society of Bahrain is a valued partner and we are very proud to be the first in the Sultanate to sign on such collaboration with this leading Bahraini organisation.”
He added, “Since the two initiatives share many common goals, this partnership gives us an opportunity to exchange experience and best practices. Through this collaboration we will explore possibilities of joint business ventures between aspiring entrepreneurs from both sides. The collaboration will also help Bahraini and Omani SMEs gain better access to a wider market network. Zubair SEC members can look into expanding their businesses to Bahrain or establish distribution networks there, and vice versa.”
In March 2018, SME Development Society of Bahrain had extended an invitation to Zubair SEC to actively participate in the 1st GCC Business Incubators and Accelerators Conference held in Bahrain. As part of that participation, Zubair SEC advisors gave a thorough presentation on the Centre’s mission, services and efforts; the team also included three members of Zubair SEC who gave presentations on their entrepreneurial journey in the Sultanate and introduced their products and services. All presentations echoed very positively, which encouraged SME Development Society to explore further collaboration with Zubair SEC. The members of Zubair SEC who attended the conference were Adel Al Abri, founder of Uniboats, a water sport equipment and activity company; Mahmoud Al Amri, co-founder of Recycling Services, a waste management company; and Aliya Abdullah Al Nahbani, owner of Al Rawaye Al Shamikha, a modern poultry barn in Nizwa.