Date: January 7, 2020
To support expansion plans, Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) has helped its members Zahra Mohammed Saif Ambu Saidi to launch a new booth in Mall of Muscat for her business ‘Shiyaka”. Zahra Ambu Saidi, founder of Shiyaka Photography, was among the 10 members selected for the Zubair SEC’s flagship Direct Support Programme (DSP) for the year 2018.
Shiyaka started as a picture studio, offering various photography and tourism-related services. Apart from studio services, Shiyaka has also been developing custom made souvenirs for some time for important tourist destinations such as Nizwa Fort and Al Hoota Caves.
Recently, Shiyaka started specializing in digital printing services and as such launched the new booth at Mall of Muscat, which is strategically located at the lower level next to The Lulu Hypermarket entrance. The booth, which is approximately 28 square metres in size, offers large format printing, custom printing on mugs and cups, bespoke printing on T–shirts, embroidery on T-Shirts, printing photographs on canvas, printing on special surfaces such as crystal, ceramic and wood surfaces and custom-made personalised stamps. Shiyaka also provides design support and special printing for birthday, anniversary and special occasion is undertaken.
Zubair SEC had recently helped Zahra to launch a new studio in Mawaleh. Zahra had first set up Shiyaka Photography studio in early part of 2015. To support her entrepreneurial journey, Zubair SEC has been extending extensive advisory support to Shiyaka Photography, guiding them through their business development, marketing strategy, and expansion plans. After supporting Zahra to establish a professional digital studio at Mawaleh and a souvenir store, Zubair SEC guided her to set up a new website for Shiyaka Photography and further develop her business’ services portfolio. Recently, Zahra has added multi-media and animation production services to the business portfolio of Shiyaka which has a very good potential to enhance its competitive advantage and the comprehensiveness of their services offered to the market. Zahra, who has a bachelor degree in Multimedia – Computer Science from Middle East College, is very enthusiastic about the future growth.
Thanking Zubair SEC, Zahra said, “I am grateful to the centre for their constant support. Their direction and counselling have played a major role in my business journey ascertaining growth and sustainability.”
She added, “I am delighted to offer my services in Mall of Muscat which is a very popular shopping and leisure destination. At Shiyaka we are incessantly working to boost our service portfolio and we aim at acquiring a leading position in the market. I would also like to my utmost gratitude to the management of Mall of Muscat for their unwavering support, and for facilitating for me such a generous space at a very strategic location in the mall. I would also like to thank my husband Ishaq Al Busaidi for his constant support and partnership.”
Nauzer Nowroji, Senior Advisor at Zubair SEC said, “We are proud of Zahra’s achievements and business growth. Passion is the most important trait of the successful entrepreneur and Zahra has always been passionate about her business. Though she started off with a small photography studio, Zahra has grown and expanded her business. Zahra has proven that consistency and perseverance are key to entrepreneurial success. With a strong work ethic, she has focused her energy on making her business work. She has also brought a different perspective to the traditional studio business by offering much more. Innovativeness, creative thinking, determination, knowledge-seeking, and communication skills have immensely helped Zahra and we are glad to have assisted her in achieving her goals.”
Shiyaka Photography has executed corporate photo shoots for major corporations in the country, besides corporate events. The Souvenir Shop at Mall of Muscat also retails unique tourist souvenirs, gifts, merchandising and promotional gifts related to Oman. The company’s expertise in photography and videography gives it an edge to apply creative ideas, designing destination related items.
Zubair SEC has recently launched the sixth round of its flagship Direct Support Programme and is currently receiving applications to join the programme, as 10 applicants will be selected to join the Programme in its 6th round. All details are provided on its website www.zubairsec.org. As one of Oman’s significant social responsibility initiatives, Zubair SEC has always been in the forefront in assisting ambitious small-business owners and entrepreneurs to grow assertively. Through Zubair SEC, its members have been having better access to knowledge, expertise and understanding of different market dynamics.