NBC initiative highlights opportunities for SMEs

Muscat: The National Business Centre (NBC), which falls under the umbrella of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn), organised on Tuesday an event as part of Mashura initiative which consists of a series of sessions that focus on providing specialised business consultancy to the incubated companies.
Held in cooperation with the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada), the event highlighted the investment opportunities available in Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre (OCEC) and Oman Tourism Development Company (Omran) for the entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises.
Organised at Riyada incubator, the speakers at the event comprised Said Al Shanfari, Chief Executive Officer of OCEC, and Ahmed Al Hamdani, Sr. Manager Purchasing and Tendering Administration at Omran. The speakers remarked that Omran was established to enhance and diversify the national economy through the tourism sector. The company has succeeded in achieving this by maximising the potential of tourism and property sector in the Sultanate and enhancing its infrastructure.
The officials mentioned that Omran aims at accelerating investment and development in the growing tourism sector at an enhanced pace in the Sultanate as Omran is today the master developer behind major tourism, heritage and urban developments in the country. Omran has delivered major projects in the Sultanate that contribute to the social and economic growth in the various governorates of Oman.
Moreover, the session’s speakers pointed out that the Oman Convention and Exhibition Centre, is architecturally advanced in design and capability and it is amongst the first to be built to meet the rigorous LEED certification by the US Green Building Council. The centre provides meeting spaces that meet the needs of conference and exhibition organisers as it features two tiered auditoriums to seat 3,200 and 450, while the five exhibition halls feature 22,396 square metres of column-free exhibition space. OCEC also includes an additional 20 meeting rooms for 25-360 delegates, a Grand Ballroom to seat up to 1,200 guests, a Junior Ballroom to seat up to 540 guests for a banquet10 hospitality suites, and a VIP Pavilion.
Mashura event, which consists of a series of workshops that raise awareness on various topics related to entrepreneurship, is being sponsored by Oman Oil Refineries and Petroleum Industries Company (Orpic) and Oman Oil Company.
It should be noted that the National Business Centre is an initiative by Madayn to offer promising Omani entrepreneurs a platform to develop their business ideas and advance them into growing ventures. Objectives of NBC comprise facilitating and supporting the growth of investable ideas into successful businesses; building entrepreneurial skills through dedicated and focused training, coaching and mentoring; and providing business support facilities from office space, administrative support, financial support and consultancy services that are crucial in ensuring the success and survival of new ventures.