NBC hosts open day for Riyada, Al Raffd Fund

Business Wednesday 10/October/2018 14:37 PM
By: Times News Service
NBC hosts open day for Riyada, Al Raffd Fund

Muscat: The National Business Centre (NBC), which falls under the umbrella of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), on Wednesday organised an open day event at the Public Authority for SME Development (Riyada). The open day event aimed at spreading awareness about the services offered by NBC through a premier platform set up for budding Omani entrepreneurs.
The event briefed the audience on the objectives of NBC, which 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 the office space, administrative support, financial support and consultancy services that are crucial in ensuring the success and survival of new ventures. It should be noted that the services of NBC are divided into three phases, namely pre-incubation, during incubation, and acceleration phases.
Officials of Al Raffd Fund gave a brief on the Fund that was established under Royal Decree no. (6/2013). The Fund acts as a financial organisation aimed at supporting, encouraging and promoting the entrepreneurial growth and advancement among the citizens of Oman.
The objectives of the fund include fostering and supporting the culture of entrepreneurship in Oman, supporting and diversifying the Omani economy through the development of new and existing Omani enterprises, creating and promoting employment opportunities for citizens, and empowering rural women and the low income Omani population by helping them achieve financial independence and supporting their integration into the national economy.
The event also highlighted the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada), which was established as per Royal Decree no. 36/2013.
Riyada aims at developing small and medium enterprises, planning, coordinating and promoting their deployment; instilling a culture of entrepreneurship and self-employment among youth; strengthening the role of institutions by providing employment opportunities; assisting entrepreneurs to establish and implement their own projects; enhancing the competitiveness of existing institutions; and increasing the capacity of institutions to bring added value to the national economy, contributing to economic diversification, and supporting both innovation and the use of modern technologies.
Officials of Riyada noted that the incubator was launched in December 2014, and it consists of 23 offices, four meeting halls, a training hall, among other facilities. In 2015, an MoU was signed between Riyada and NBC for the latter to manage the Riyada incubator.