Date: April 13, 2015
Zubair SEC opened its new offices at Bait Al Zubair in Muscat, under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Eng. Ali Masoud Al Sunaidi, Minister of Commerce and Industry with the presence of a number of distinguished guests from the public and private sectors as well as members of the Centre.
The opening of the new offices comes within a transitional phase for Zubair SEC in confirmation of The Zubair Corporation strategy and vision in supporting small businesses in line with the directions of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may Allah bless him with long healthy life, to intensify support provided to small and medium entrepreneurs to further contribute to the development of the national economy.
The new offices:
Zubair SEC new offices meet the requirements needed by the members of the center, in line with the strategy and vision in supporting small entrepreneurs, equipped with the facilities and requirements of modern offices to enable entrepreneurs to carry out their work in the most successful and sustainable manner.
Also, the offices location plays a key role in the integration of the community services concept, as the new headquarters is within Bait Al Zubair, which is in itself a cultural complex that includes a variety of services provided to the Omani community and hosts many young Omani talents in various fields of arts and literature.
The new offices also took into consideration to provide the right facilities to people with disabilities in order to give them the opportunity to take part along with their fellow entrepreneurs and easily access their offices of work and undertake their significant role in the field of entrepreneurship businesses in the Sultanate. The White Hands Center for Assistive Technology and Rehabilitation, one of the outstanding members of Zubair Centre, provided consultation services during the preparation stage of the centre’s new offices and accordingly all the centre’s facilities were designed to the best standards in this respect. The White Hands Centre for Assistive Technology and Rehabilitation was among the winners of Zubair SEC’s Direct Support Programme in its second round that was announced earlier this year.
Khalid Muhammad Al Zubair, Managing Director of The Zubair Corporation, stated: “Zubair SEC was launched two years ago to support entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses, to provide them with the right working environment, self-confidence and intensive guidance coupled with constructive criticism. Zubair SEC expanded with time to assume bigger duties and provide services to a larger number of members and today The Zubair Corporation is proud to witness the Centre’s members developing a range of successful projects in the market.”
He also added: “With every success achieved by Zubair SEC, further responsibilities are assumed to increase the momentum of support provided to its members and hence to the national economy. Today’s project is the opening of new offices for the center that comes aligned with the requirements of entrepreneurs to progress with their projects and to stand on solid grounds of extensive experience and knowledge.”
Zubair SEC:
Since its launch two years ago, the Centre has achieved tangible success and included more than 240 members of the small entrepreneurs and created the right environment for their ideas and projects and provided them with counseling services in administrative, legal and financial aspects through a range of experts and consultants who have a wide experience in different areas of entrepreneurship. A website was also launched to keep members and stakeholders updated with the latest events and news of the Centre, as well as providing a platform for the members to interact.
Kathya Hamid Al Nabhaniah, the Principal of Jana’en Al Hamrah’ Private School, member of SEC and winner of the Direct Support Programme, said: “Since our childhood we were taught that nine-tenths of our livelihood is in trading. Now, we have grown up and realized that going after this source of livelihood is not enough unless it is based on a set of values and knowledge. We realized what is needed to be a successful entrepreneur and understood that it is not merely a source of livelihood for us and our family; today, we can turn our goals and ideas for small enterprises into realty to serve us, our families and our country through effective contribution to the development of our national economy”. She added: “Today, we are confident that members of Zubair SEC are fully aware of the size of the responsibility with regard to their contribution to the building of our beloved country and achieving sustainable success. Thanks to the attention and guidance provided to us we are not anymore content with just a mid-way place, but seek to be at the summit, moving from one peak of success to the other”.
The Direct Support Programme:
Although Zubair SEC’s model mainly relies on providing guidance, counseling, preparation of studies, and problem solving skills, it also works on creating a competitive spirit amongst its members to revive the chances of success in new small businesses. As such, Zubair SEC implemented a Direct Support Programme which is based on specific standards granting winners direct support based on the quality and timeliness of their business ideas, method of implementation and the seriousness of the owner and commitment to achieve their goals. It has been two years till now since the programme has been launched, with eighteen members benefiting from its various features so far.
Entrepreneurship Award:
Zubair SEC won the Entrepreneurship Award for Best Private Sector Initiative serving SMEs, which is granted by the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada). Zubair SEC was the only initiative from the private sector winning this award in its first edition in 2014. This award was granted for the efforts exerted by the center to provide support for small business entrepreneurs.
Over the past two years Zubair SEC had a key role in supporting and developing small enterprises which are now having a significant presence in the field of entrepreneurship, making the center a distinctive destination for entrepreneurs, especially in the field of creating real partnerships for the benefit of small projects owners. Its services also include workshops, programmes and activities prepared by the Centre for its members to expose them to different types of experience and various local and foreign expertise.
Workshops and training programmes:
The support of Zubair SEC to its members is not limited to providing expertise and experiences by businessmen only, but it includes providing various practical workshops and brainstorming meetings presented by a group of experts from inside and outside the Sultanate, which enable the center’s members to meet some business owners from outside the Sultanate and identify ways of success in connection to their projects and how to expand from the local level to the international level. Several workshops have been held, and have contributed with valuable practical training along with shared knowledge a parallel to providing greater awareness to entrepreneurs on how to proceed with small projects in the private sector.
It is noteworthy that Zubair SEC successfully signed a number of partnerships with some of the leading institutions from the public and private sectors from inside and outside the Sultanate, which are concerned with providing support to entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises and share with the Center its vision to provide every possible support in this regard.
About Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC)
Established in June 2013, the Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) is a key initiative derived from The Zubair Corporation’s Social Responsibility strategic vision towards the Omani society. The vision reflects the corporation’s belief in the importance of small enterprises (SEs) in enhancing the national economy and contributing to sustainable socio-economic development. The Centre extends business mentorship and guidance to Oman’s promising member entrepreneurs and owners of small businesses, as well as financial support to selected members every year, to help them succeed and grow in a sustainable manner.
For more information on Zubair SEC, please contact the Communications Office at info@zubairsec.org