The Entrepreneurial Revolution in Oman

 

Oman

As recently at the 1970’s, the Sultanate of Oman was simply a simple nation, with poor infrastructure, poor educational facilities and a closed economy. Now, as elan reports, is seeing something of a renaissance: literacy rates are around 90%, there is educational parity between boys and girls, and the country has created a number of new large-scale structures such as universities and a state of the art airport.

But more than that, Oman is seeing its economy begin to diversify. Oil revenues still represent the overwhelming majority of government funds and that will not be changing anytime soon. However, there are the beginnings of entrepreneurial boom in Oman.

Entrepreneurial Incubator

Oman has positioned itself to be the type of place where start up businesses can thrive. The country is a tax haven to residents and investors who wish to do business without levy. There has been a focus on fiscal, trade and labor freedom within Oman that does not exist elsewhere in the region. The country is also awash in government and non-government organizations – such as “I’m an Entrepreneur” and “Sharakah Youth Fund”- meant to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in Omani youth.

Challenges

The primary challenge facing Oman’s new economic ecosystem is the period required for a start up company to become a mature and stable venture. Population growth in the country is outpacing economic growth such that roughly 45,000 jobs would have to be created every year in order to satisfy the needs of that growing working population.

Serial Omani entrepreneur, Qais al-Khonji, believes that Oman suffers from two basic market issues that, if faced head, can be overcome. The founder of Qais United Enterprises Trading and Genesis International, al-Khonji thinks that slow payment cycles slow productivity and thus slow growth. He also believes that the country’s small population leaves most entrepreneurs competing for the same market. But he also believes that diversifying businesses, particularly the service economy, can overcome these challenges.

To read the original article, head over to elan.

Building a Path for Growth in Oman

Qais al-Khonji

Oman, like many Middle Eastern nations, has generated many fortunes out of its energy production but still suffers from widespread inequality. According to a report on Oximity, widespread unemployment is still the norm in Oman, going as high as 25% for young people between the ages of 18 and 29. And with oil and gas revenues representing 45% of government funding and 50% of GDP, it is safe to say that the economy of the Sultanate of Oman is heavily dependent upon natural resource exports.

In recent years, however, an economic strategy has emerged in oman to strengthen the private sector in Oman through entrepreneurship. The strategy involves diversifying, courting foreign investment, and moving the country away from its heavy dependence on natural resource production.  One of the men spearheading this strategy is Omani entrepreneur Qais al-Khonji, who has started many business in the country and is currently the CEO of Genesis International.

Al-Khonji believe that the greatest problem with Oman’s economic prospects has been what he calls “the two ‘S-S’”- too slow and too small. Slow in the respect that the market is slow to execute business orders leading to increased execution costs and a shorter project budget cycle. It is small because the population of the market is small, with an active population that is even smaller. With this type of market, it can be difficult to foster a diverse economy. For young investors and entrepreneurs, al-Khonji emphasizes services over goods, to diversify the market for long term growth.

But to foster long term growth, al-Khonji believes that Oman needs what he calls “feeder brains.” These are the minds of educated young people with eye toward entrepreneurship. He considers this key for making far-reaching structural change in Oman society. He notes that there is a growing movement within the youth of his country towards entrepreneurial activity. There are many youth-oriented programs in Oman, some of which are headed by al-Khonji, that attempt to instill entrepreneurial spirit in the next generation.

Oman has many built in strengths for future economic expansion and long-term job growth, according to al-Khonji. The number of multinational corporations at work in Oman provide a significant amount of foreign investment in profitable Omani enterprises. Also, Oman’s natural industry exports give the country strong business ties to emerging economic powerhouses, such as China.  A stable plan for growth will allow Oman businesses to thrive and build an economy outside of oil.

To read the whole interview, head over to Oximity.

Entrepreneurial Possibilities in Oman

Qais al-Khonji and Fellow Entrepreneurial Influencers

It has only been in past hundred years or so that Oman has become a more contemporary nation in terms of education and economy. Prior to 1970, the nation maintained highly traditionalist society. There were no females allowed in the education systems, they had hardly any international relations with nearby countries, let alone those in different continents, and their communications network was subpar.

However, Oman has come a long way since these more traditionalist times. The country has reinvented itself; now boasting gender-equal classrooms, literacy rates at roughly 90%, a number of Universities sprinkled about, cutting edge airports and airlines, and a green infrastructure that has been cultivated to develop and support new entrepreneurial endeavors. The population of the nation as a whole is extremely young- 43% of Oman is made up of individuals aged 15 or younger. This young population makes for the possibility of a strong entrepreneurial revolution that could transform the Oman economy into a contender in the global marketplace.

Oman has cultivated an environment that is truly a conducive springboard for any entrepreneurial ventures. With its three crucial components of entrepreneurial success, which are fiscal freedom, labor freedom and trade freedom, there is a workplace mobility within Oman that sets it apart from nearby nations. The existence of lower-priced duties, a higher rate of profit-retention, and affordable non-monetary expenditures, like health benefits, make for an ideal platform for launching new, innovative business ventures.

The government and non-government groups have recognized the importance of new business and budding entrepreneurs in the facilitation of the economic growth of Oman, and have thus launched initiatives to spread awareness of entrepreneurial possibility and inspire creativity in the youth of Oman. Campaigns such as “I’m an Entrepreneur,” and “Shakarah Youth Fund,” are among some of the initiatives that target youths and aim to get them excited and thinking about the entrepreneurial possibilities that lay ahead of them.

To learn more about the entrepreneurial climate of Oman and Qais al-Khonji’s influence on the growth of the nation’s economy, check out this article.

Developing the Private Sector of Oman’s Economy

Oman City

In order to develop a nation with a strong economic presence, said nation must implement quality education in order to produce a population of young people who can improve and expand the nation’s economic presence.  In recent years, the Sultanate of Oman has seen a tremendous growth rate and has seen an increasingly large budget deficit in the face of the rising prices of oil.  The economy of Oman is highly dependent on revenue from energy, which makes up roughly 45% of government income and somewhere near 50% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the nation.

That being said, there is currently an issue of unemployment in Oman.  The unemployment rate has stayed at 15% for nationals for some time, but has crept up to 25% in the demographic of young people between the ages of 18-29 years old.

The nation is thus seeking to move away from such a heavy dependence on energy for revenue, and has thus created a strategy for the economy that focuses on the development of the private sector and small, up-and-coming businesses.

The private sector of Oman is mainly in the areas of tourism, retail, agriculture and textiles.  The private sector of Oman is extremely sturdy and offers a wide variety of opportunities, thus making it an attractive niche for young entrepreneurs.  Similarly, the private sector offers more opportunity for international relations and the development of Oman as a larger contender in the global marketplace.  Above all, increased business ventures within the private sector home to create more job opportunities and thus decrease the unemployment rates, primarily for the younger demographic.

As a successful entrepreneur himself, Qais al-Khonji understands what it takes to be successful in the economy of Oman and seeks to educate the Omani youth on entrepreneurship and all of the opportunities for success they have at their fingertips in the current economy.

To see more about what Qais al-Khonji had to say about the Oman economy, have a look at this article for his full interview with the Fair Observer.

Entrepreneurial Education in Oman

As  a proponent of educating young, ambitious minds in the skills and practices of entrepreneurship,  I was happy to see this article about a workshop that was put on recently at the Caledonian College of engineering, but on by Minister of Commerce and Industry.  The workshop was two days long, and directed at experienced educators and entrepreneurs, with the intent of examining and relating personal endeavors in entrepreneurial education- what are the most frequently-encountered roadblocks, what must be done to advocate teaching entrepreneurial skills at the level of higher education, and so on.

Oman’s economy is in need of young entrepreneurs with new ideas in order to expand and diversify the economy and help Oman to grow as a global business force. One issue preventing people from trying to climb the ranks of the business world is the wealth from the discovery of oil in the state, which has thus provided subsidies to citizens, keeping them wealthy and with no incentive to make money by way of business endeavors.

Efforts need to be directed toward Colleges and Universities as well, in that they are teaching entrepreneurial skills, as well as becoming entrepreneurial entities themselves. Small and Medium enterprises, known as SMEs are something that young aspiring entrepreneurs need to be educated about as well.  There needs to be a teaching of not only business tactics, but values as well- students need to be educated on why entrepreneurship is necessary, the possibilities it creates for an individual and the rewarding career that it offers.

 I feel that this workshop is a good place to start on raising awareness about how to educate and motivate people to become hardworking, successful entrepreneurs, but more needs to be done.  We need to have courses set up in universities that are dedicated to entrepreneurship- skills, history, economy, etc- we need to make all the information we have available and accessible to students.  Similarly, we need make businesses and entrepreneurs themselves aware of the need to diversify our economy and encourage them to offer help to small businesses that are just starting up, as well as offer their expertise and advice to these young people/businesses.  I am hoping to see development in not just the area of entrepreneurship, but in the area of education of the field as well.