Wardat Al Wadi Al Wataniya
Remarkable Turnaround
Jamila Hamed Said Al Siyabi has renovated her company’s showroom and a new warehouse and now imports and distributes doors and accessories for commercial and residential projects
Initially, Jamila Hamed Said Al Siyabi started as an employee in a company which specialised in selling doors and windows. After two years and because of her desire to enhance her income, she decided to resign and establish her own business.
Together with the encouragement of friends and family, Jamila succeeded with her vision in 2013, opening a small workshop in the Wilayat of Samail. Focusing on the sale and installation of doors and windows, this workshop marked her first step into the world of business. Jamila, the owner of Wardat Al Wadi Al Wataniya, has launched her specialised shop with its modern look and feel. Her company now imports and distributes doors and accessories for commercial and residential projects.
“My experience in the respective field and my desire to enhance my income were factors in my decision to establish my own business. With the support of my family, especially my father, I started preparing the business plan for my business. In 2013, I opened a shop and a workshop for the sale and installation of doors and windows in the Wilayat of Samail. Shortly after, I negotiated an exclusive agreement with a leading manufacturer in Turkey to import their range of doors and windows and sell them in Oman. At the start of my business, I was faced with a lot of distrust, since I was a woman working in a field which has largely been regarded only for men, but it was a hurdle I managed to overcome”, says Jamila with confidence. She also explains that her business initially suffered from the high costs of renting trucks for the transport of her products, which resulted in reduced profits. But she resolved the situation with a purchase of a pick-up truck, which made transportation and delivery to her customers easier.
With the goal of further growth for her business, Jamila set out to become a member at Zubair SEC in 2014. She states, “My business was growing but I had greater plans for it and realised that I needed specialised support and advice from a leading institution that could provide consultancy for small enterprises. One of my friends who was already a member at Zubair SEC suggested that I join and that it will be beneficial with its various expert services and benefits. So I registered at the Centre and soon found that they have a lot to offer in terms of consultation and guidance with regard to business strategies and development. It helped me steer my business on the right track, ensuring its growth in the way I intended”.
Three years after joining Zubair SEC, Jamila applied for the Direct Support Programme in 2017, relying on her years of experience and a clear vision together with a strong feasibility study. She also explained to the consultants that her business is now moving towards excellence, but it still requires more financial and technical support to fully meet her ambitions.
Today, Jamila continues her close cooperation with the team at Zubair SEC to develop a modern retail presence, with an attractive corporate and brand identity, together with a comprehensive revamp of her store which is set to transform the customer experience. The Centre also helped her secure more contracts to supply doors and windows, the most notable being with one of the new hotels in Muscat, marking a major achievement for her company as she managed to prove her capabilities to deliver large scale projects within the agreed-on timeframe, which boosted her client’s trust in her to assign to her two other projects in Nizwa.
Thanking Zubair SEC, Jamila said, “I would like to express my gratitude to Zubair SEC for all their support which has been significant for my business development as well as their assistance in establishing my brand in the Sultanate’s market. I am still working with them to achieve more success, and I would recommend the Centre to other entrepreneurs, so that they too may benefit from its services, as well as the chance to be accepted into the Direct Support Programme, which marks a real turning point for small businesses”.
“After applying for the Direct Support Programme in 2017, I was selected for one of the ten seats. Joining the Programme was a turning point for me and my project. I benefitted from Zubair SEC support which included expert consultations, guidance and follow-up, alongside a financial grant which helped me to develop many aspects of my business. Zubair SEC helped me find new suppliers in Turkey at lower prices while still retaining the quality of goods. I planned to open new branches but the Centre’s advisors suggested that I collaborate with contractors and shops that sell building materials, so that I could sell to them directly or they displayed my product in their shops for a certain agreed commission. I was successful in signing contracts with five different distributors so far in different Wilayats across the Sultanate”, says Jamila Hamed Said Al Siyabi.