ODB sponsors Artisan Entrepreneurship Forum

Muscat: The Oman Development Bank (ODB) sponsored the Artisan Entrepreneurship Forum organised by the Public Authority for Craft Industries (PACI) recently at the Novatel Hotel, Muscat. The bank sponsored the event as part of its continuous support to entrepreneurs for their efforts to establish and develop projects.
Yousuf Al-Ouweini, director for micro-financing manager at the ODB, in his working paper, which he presented in the forum, talked extensively about the bank’s role in developing the handicraft sector. He presented the bank’s vision to emerge as the most preferred partner in financing small and medium enterprises, in line with national development goals and plans. He said that the ODB was providing value-added financial services to various economic sectors and has lots of experience in development financing.
Al-Ouweini elaborated ODB’s areas of work, activities, financial products and products of micro-projects, including 'My Crafts' or Hirfati, which targets projects of traditional arts and crafts. In his paper, he also explained mechanisms of work and its programmes, method to get loans for crafts industries. He also presented important statistics about the activity of the bank related to craft industries. He said that the number of activities funded by the bank in the craft industries between 2009 and January 2020 reached 4,345. This had a total value of OMR21,601,450.
There are a number of activities in the craft industries funded by the ODB. They include manufacturing of various wood products, manufacturing and processing of incense, sale of perfumes and cosmetics, manufacturing of pottery products, making of Omani daggers, spinning and preparation of cotton or wool, manufacturing of candy and essential oils.
On the sidelines of the Artisan Entrepreneurship Forum, an exhibition was also held to highlight and display craftworks. The ODB also had an enclosure in the exhibition through which it showcased four projects funded by it. It participated in the exhibition with an objective to highlight these projects, their promotion and to meet the craftsmen, crafts institutions and various other supporting organisations.
Mazin Al-Bassami, owner of the Mazin Woodworks project funded by the ODB, said, "I am making furniture and artistic items using wood. The idea was to recycle local wood and merge it with epoxy. The exhibition opened an opportunity for me to introduce my products and learn about other craft industries. The exhibition also motivated me to develop my products. Here I learned skills, methods and mechanism of marketing and sales."
Humair bin Hamad Al-Omari, a silver craftsman who specialises in Omani daggers, said, "Since the very beginning, I was very passionate about the Omani dagger. This is why I create, modify and sell them. With participation in the forum, I think I have learnt the skills required to market my products. I thank ODB for its support and giving me the opportunity to us the craftsmen to promote our products in these exhibitions."
Khalisa Al-Mamarya, owner of the Omani traditional dress-stitching and detailing project funded by the ODB, said, "My project is to tailor and develop traditional dresses in a way which makes it contemporary without any changes in their authentic Omani identity. This exhibition helped me in showcasing and promoting my products. I got finance from the ODB and opened a workshop where I do tailoring. I also train Omani girls in the area of my work."
The ODB gives extraordinary importance to the promotion of the projects it finances so that they grow with its support. The crafts industries are one of the industrial resources in various countries of the world. Since ancient times, Omanis have excelled in various crafts industries, which have ultimately, became their identity. They inherited it from their ancestors, continued it generations after generations and still safeguarding, and promote it.