Date: February 19, 2017
With an objective to further contribute to the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) and WJ Towell’s Ajyal Al Musstaqbal signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend joint support to this vital sector in Oman.
The MoU was signed by Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair, Managing Director of The Zubair Corporation and Taqi Ali Sultan, General Manager of Ajyal Al Musstaqbal. The signing ceremony, held at The Zubair Corporation, was attended by executives from both sides.
Zubair SEC, a flagship social impact initiative of The Zubair Corporation, has more than 450 members who are entitled to the centre’s advisory and capacity building services along with networking opportunities and business development support. Ajyal Al Musstaqbal, a WJ Towell Group initiative, was launched in 2014 with an objective to help Omani youth develop their SMEs and scale up.
As per the agreement, members of Zubair SEC will benefit from the various support programmes by Ajyal Al Musstaqbal that bring high value to SMEs businesses. On its part, Zubair SEC will select and commend those members in need for such support progrmmes and who have the right requirements and product/service specifications.
Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair said, “Socio-economic development in the Sultanate has been a pivotal part of the strategic vision for both of our groups, and we have together witnessed much of the progress that took place over the years and realised the great potential that lies with the youth of our country. We strongly believe in the importance of SMEs for a sustainable economy and as such, this collaboration aligns with the will of both groups to remain key contributors towards a stronger and more vibrant economy now and in the future. We very much look forward to the joint efforts in this regard, and I would like to thank Towell Group and Ajyal Al Musstaqbal for their proactivity and interest in joining hands with Zubair SEC”.
Taqi Ali Sultan, General Manager of Ajyal Al Musstaqbal of Towell Group said, “The SMEs sector plays a pivotal role in the development of the national economy; as such, governments around the world gave high emphasis to the development of this sector and the growth of its contribution to the GDP.” He added: “In the Sultanate, more attention has been given to this sector since his majesty’s directions in 2013 at Seeh Al Shamikhat and his national call to extend all support to the growth of SMEs and encouraging young Omanis to presume business entrepreneurship. Since then, various public and private sectors collaborated efforts in support of SMEs. Many initiatives and programmes were launched, some relating to financing or equity investment, and others to capacity building and advisory, but all aiming to contribute to the development and empowerment of Omanis interested in running their own businesses”.
Commenting on the MoU signed with Zubair SEC Taqi Ali Sultan said: “The MoU we signed with The Zubair Corporation, through Zubair SEC, aligns with the same strategic national direction towards supporting the SME sector. This new collaboration will be manifested through joint projects between two reputable groups that have been serving the national economy for decades and have established pioneership in social contribution and social investment. Both of our groups strongly believe in the importance of national social responsibility and as such we have joint efforts with the aim of achieving high effectiveness and wider impact of serving the SME sector and young Omani entrepreneurs.
Zubair SEC has been one of the first initiatives to explore opportunities for collaboration with various public and private organisations to expand and scale up with the desired impact of developing and supporting SMEs in the Sultanate