Saturday 05 / October / 2024
Muscat: As an extension of the visit of His Highness Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said, Honorary President of the Promising Omani Startups Programme of the Swiss Federation, the delegation accompanying His Highness, with the technical work teams of representatives of government agencies and a number of owners of startups, made a series of visits, including the investment fund of the telecommunications company (Swisscom Ventures).
During the visit, the delegation got acquainted with the Fund's work mechanisms and the programs it offers to support innovations and talents. They also reviewed aspects of cooperation with the promising Omani startups programme and raising their global competitiveness.
The visit included the Innovation Centre of the Federal University of Technology in the Swiss city of Lausanne (EPFL Innovation Park). During which the delegation got acquainted with the work mechanism of the Innovation Centre, which hosts more than 350 specialised laboratories and more than 400 emerging companies, with an estimated value of more than 4.5 billion Swiss francs.
The delegation was briefed on the mechanisms of linking large companies with emerging companies through the development of innovative solutions and opening markets for expansion and growth. There was also a discussion about aspects of cooperation with the promising Omani startups program and the application of some methodologies to support innovative ideas in the Sultanate of Oman.
The delegation also visited the IMD Business School, which is among the top 3 business schools in the world. It specialises in leadership education and research related to increasing the competitiveness of markets and making them more attractive to innovation, identifying research capabilities and enhancing competitiveness to reach a supportive economy. For small and medium enterprises and startups, they also discussed building joint cooperation opportunities between the two sides through the promising Omani startups programme.
The delegation concluded its visits by getting acquainted with the innovation complex and incubators (Station R), School 42 of Technology and the role of the complex, which is an attractive environment for innovators from different countries of the world and provides office space, laboratories and entrepreneurial training to transform ideas into existing projects. During the visit, they also learned about some of the emerging companies in the field of biotechnology, digital manufacturing and ways to transfer their application to the Sultanate of Oman.
During the visits, a series of bilateral meetings were held with a number of Swiss authorities in the areas of trade, industry, exports, investment and emerging companies.
In addition, a meeting was held with the Swiss Innovation Agency, one of the governmental bodies concerned with promoting innovation, scientific research and technical development.
The agency works to support companies, institutions, researchers and innovators in the Swiss Confederation to enhance their ability to excel and innovate by transforming research and development, promoting cooperation and partnerships between companies, universities, research laboratories and other institutions to exchange knowledge and promote innovation in the industrial field and facilitate the transfer of technologies from laboratories and research to marketable commercial products and services. . The agency provides awareness and training programmes for companies and innovators, such as technology marketing programs and intellectual property management.
They also discussed the exchange of expertise and experience in the field of developing innovative projects and ways to strengthen strategic partnerships between the Sultanate of Oman and the Swiss Confederation, in addition to enhancing cooperation between innovative companies and institutions between the two countries, reviewing ways to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, and identifying best practices with regard to encouraging and supporting emerging companies and developing an encouraging business environment. For technological innovation, enhancing communication and building networks between the Sultanate of Oman and the Swiss Innovation Authority, and activating sustainable communication mechanisms.
The bilateral meetings also included the Economic Suisse Foundation, which is concerned with attracting expertise and skills from around the world. Aspects of economic cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and the Swiss Confederation were discussed, as well as cooperation in technical and innovation fields, especially in the fields of modern technologies, artificial intelligence, information technology, the development of emerging companies, and foreign trade.
Another meeting was held with the Swiss Global Enterprise to learn about the Foundation's efforts in supporting Swiss entrepreneurial projects to expand in global markets by exporting services, products and industries around the world, and to identify tools that contribute to increasing exports of Swiss products as the Foundation works to attract investments to The Swiss Confederation, by presenting investment opportunities, facilities, commercial information, and discussing linking Omani startups with Swiss companies and building promising business relationships.
The visiting delegation included His Excellency Qais bin Muhammad Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, Her Excellency Halima bint Rashid Al-Zariya, Chairperson of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, a number of Omani startups based on innovation and technology, and technical work teams from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion, and the Enterprise Development Authority. Small and medium-sized enterprises, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, and the National Program for Investment and Export Development (Nzdhir).
