ODB organises Business Opportunities Forum in Musandam

Khasab: The Business Development Opportunities Forum was held in Wilayat of Khasab in the Musandam Governorate, organized by the Oman Development Bank in cooperation with the Office of the Governor of Musandam and institutions related to the business sector and the development of small and medium enterprises.

The occasion was sponsored by His Excellency Sayyid Ibrahim bin Saeed Al Busaidi, Governor of Musandam, and in the presence of a number of officials in the public and private sectors and business owners, male and female.

Muhammad bin Abu Bakr Al-Ghassani, Chairman of the Board of the Oman Development Bank, said: Musandam Governorate is distinguished by its strategic geographical location, and the promising opportunities it abounds in the trade, tourism, fisheries sector and other investment advantages that have given it an advantage in opening horizons for owners of small and medium enterprises to establish their projects.

He added that the presence of the Oman Development Bank today in Musandam Governorate comes to enhance economic growth, continue providing services, support private sector projects and harness them to provide job opportunities for citizens, pointing to increasing the size of the lending portfolio to finance projects that will be implemented in the governorate during the year by more than 60%, to reach RO 8 million.

The Chairman of the Board of the Oman Development Bank pointed out the importance of partnership and the integration of roles between all government and private agencies in providing financial and knowledge support and simplifying procedures for pioneering small and medium enterprise projects, noting that the establishment of development and business opportunity forums is a model of that desired partnership and cooperation, the pillars of which are completed by the perseverance of male and female entrepreneurs.

The Office of the Governor of Musandam reviewed a working paper on the governorate’s vital role in enhancing business opportunities in the governorate, the projects being worked on, and investment opportunities for small and medium enterprises, presented by Engineer Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed Al Alawi, Director of the Oman Vision 2040 Office.

Hamad bin Salem Al Harithi, Acting CEO of the Oman Development Bank, explained that the growth rate of loans granted by the Development Bank in Musandam Governorate increased by 94% during the last ten years to reach 5 million Omani riyals in 2023, indicating that the bank’s short operational plan aims to To reach RO 12 million in total financing for projects in Musandam Governorate by the end of 2025, in addition to financing projects with local added value and providing the necessary support for self-employment projects for youth.

The forum included the presentation of nine working papers from the public and private sectors, in which the entities presented visual presentations on the business opportunities available in the governorate in the sectors of industry, energy, tourism, oil and gas, and transportation, in addition to the Development Bank signing a partnership agreement with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Musandam Branch, and five financing agreements for various development projects. In the governorate, the total investment value reached approximately 1.2 million Omani riyals.