Date: February 27, 2019
To drive the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by providing marketing opportunities for their business and products, Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) in collaboration with Muscat Grand mall (MGM) will be holding an exhibition for SMEs from February 28 to March 2.
Al Zubair M Al Zubair, Vice Chairman, The Zubair Corporation will be chief guest of the opening ceremony.
26 members of Zubair SEC will showcase various Omani products and services in the exhibition at the new extension of MGM in the main hall. As part of Zubair SEC’s support for SMEs, the centre contracted the Omani SME Al Sahel Al Sharqi to execute and organise the exhibition, considering their experience in such events across the Sultanate
This exhibition comes as part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Zubair SECsigned with Tilal Development Company SAOC. The main objective of the MoU is to develop a cooperation between Tilal and Zubair SEC towards collectively extending further support to SMEs and entrepreneurship in the Sultanate.
Hassan Jaboub, CEO of Tilal Development Company said, “We strongly believe that several Omani entrepreneurs have the ability to offer sophisticated and competitive products and solutions, but they do not have access to the necessary outlets to display them. Through this initiative and together with Zubair SEC, we will be able to offer SME owners a platform to showcase their unique products to the general public. I would like to wish good luck to all the exhibition participants during this period, who will be a valuable addition to all our visitors at the mall.”
Lina Hussein, Head of Communication and Social Impact at Zubair SEC said, “We are thrilled to be holding this exhibition for our members at MGM. This gives them a platform to showcase their products and services, while also offering a platform for networking and exposure. We thank MGM for collaborating with us in this initiative and offering prime space to hold the exhibition.”
Khadeejah Mubarak Al Battashi, Chairman of Al Sahel Al Sharqi and member of Zubair SEC said, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Zubair SEC and work with budding entrepreneurs for this exhibition. The new entrepreneurs’ capacity for innovation in a changing business environment makes them crucial for Oman’s success. We are also pleased to organise in MGM which is a space that attracts a lot of footfalls and SMEs and their products will get great exposure from visiting public. Zubair SEC has demonstrated its leadership in providing services to developing Omani small enterprises.”
MGM is located within the Tilal complex in Bausher. It has earned a reputation as a leading fast growing lifestyle hub in the Sultanate, offering choice and convenience for shoppers and residents as part of a combined leisure experience.
Zubair SEC has gone beyond the traditional notion of a SME support and moved towards a holistic ecosystem of services offering business advisory, business development, partnership and affiliations, capacity building, and a grant programme. Since its inception, Zubair SEC members and budding entrepreneurs have significantly benefited from its services. It has played a crucial role in developing a culture of entrepreneurship in the country.
This exhibition is not a first effort in opening market channels for SMEs; Zubair SEC, a social responsibility initiative of The Zubair Corporation (Z-Corp) has facilitated various business development opportunities for its members in the past. It strongly believes that the support of large organisations to SMEs, mainly through business development and contract opportunities, is of the greatest importance to the development and success of the SME sector.