Date: August 17, 2017
For the third year in a row, Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) held two workshops on social impact for students of Injaz Oman.
The workshops provided knowledge and practical examples and exercises on how to incorporate social impact in business models and throughout the value chain of businesses.
Conducting the workshops, Lina Hussein, head of communication and social impact introduced multiple concepts and latest best practices in social impact and corporate responsibility. She also helped attendees establish a better understanding of social entrepreneurship. In the previous year, the workshop for students participating in Injaz Oman’s Sharikati programme had focused on how social enterprises can deliver sustained social value simultaneously with economic value.
Injaz Oman, a non-for-profit organisation, has been inspiring, training and encouraging students to develop a culture of entrepreneurship in the country. As part of the partnership between Injaz Oman and Zubair SEC, similar capacity building workshops have taken place, as both organisations are very keen on raising awareness on social impact and social entrepreneurship.
On behalf of Injaz Oman, Khaula Al Harthy, executive director of Injaz Oman said, “This ongoing collaboration between INJAZ Oman and Zubair Small Enterprises Centre caters to the belief of supporting the youth who want to experience entrepreneurship and stimulating their abilities to succeed”.
She added: “These workshops are platforms for effective learning for students of the Company Program and focus on instilling a culture of entrepreneurship amongst them. The aim also is to strengthen the youth’s capabilities and hone their skills through innovative activities and provide them the opportunity to network with different business organisations.”
Lina Hussein, Head of Communication & Social Impact, Zubair SEC said, “Zubair SEC’s strategy is to empower a socially and environmentally responsible business sector by encouraging young Omani entrepreneurs and start up owners to embed social impact in their businesses. Through our workshops the participants learn to value the positive role of business in society. We believe that when they establish a better understanding of how impactful business can be in the society, young entrepreneurs can improve their business strategies to contribute in that direction. We have been training attendees through such workshops on how to have proper ideation of business models that create economic and social value simultaneously, or even design the business value chains in a manner that would also have a significant social output.” She added: “applying best practices and reputable international knowledge resources along with our expertise in the field, those workshops turned to be very engaging and enlightening to the attending students.”
Zubair SEC has so far conducted 10 workshops on this topic attended by more than 240 members of Injaz Oman.
Zubair SEC has been the first institute in the Sultanate to dedicate an award for social entrepreneurship as part of its annual Direct Support Programme. It has also embedded social impact as a key part of the assessment criteria for applicants to the annual programme.
Talking of Zubair SEC’s association with Injaz Oman, Lina Hussein added, “Our solid rapport is built on the understanding that collaboration is the need of the hour to help build youth capacity. Both institutes intensely reflect that if we empower the intellectual, social, and business capabilities of young Omanis, we will be immensely and positively contributing to the wider socio-economic development agenda of the country. It has been a pleasure collaborating with Injaz Oman all past years and we look forward to many more opportunities to come”
Zubair SEC is one of the initiatives which emanated from The Zubair Corporation’s social responsibility strategic vision towards the Omani society. It is therefore keen on supporting companies that are dedicated to being socially responsible from their inception. It encourages new entrepreneurs to take up projects that create and sustain social value.