BP Oman, Sharakah renew collaboration to develop SMEs

Business Monday 19/September/2016 17:03 PM
By: Times News Service
BP Oman, Sharakah renew collaboration to develop SMEs

Muscat: BP Oman and Sharakah signed an agreement on Monday to continue the Khazzan project for SME Development for third consecutive year.
According to terms of the agreement, BP will fund the 12 months programme while Sharakah, the implementing partner, will be responsible for developing 20 SMEs (small and medium enterprises) by analysing their performance and identifying areas for their improvement.
Sharakah will also be responsible for monitoring the performance of these SMEs during the period of 12 months. At the end of the period, the SMEs will receive a non-refundable grant from BP to help them grow their businesses.
The agreement was signed by Yousuf Al Ojaili, president of BP Oman and Abdullah Al Jufaili, general manager of Sharakah, in the presence of vice chairman Said Al Sahib and Shabib Al Maamari, BP Oman’s communications and external affairs manager.
The existing SMEs from all governorates are invited to register for the programme online at http://bp.Sharakah.om. After registration, Sharakah will screen the applications and shortlist 20 eligible projects to undergo the development programme that will focus on the following functions: administration, human resources, branding, marketing, finance, quality and applying best practices.
Commenting on the agreement, Yousuf Al Ojaili, BP Oman president said, “We at BP Oman believe in the importance of supporting Omani SMEs. The fruitful results of our previous two years of collaboration with Sharakah in developing Omani SME, encourages us to continue this program for a third year. We look forward to working with Omani SMEs and helping to grow this important sector of the Omani economy.”
Delighted to sign the agreement, Abdullah Al Jufaili, General Manager of Sharakah, said, “We are delighted to renew the agreement with BP for the third consecutive year and we are honored to gain BP’s confidence in implementing the project. We would like to increase the competitive advantage of these SMEs by improving their performance and increasing their productivity.”