More Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have opened shop in the Sultanate over the last eight months – from January to August 2021 – as the business environment picked up after a slump spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This helped raise the total number of SMEs registered in the Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (ASMED) until the end of August 2021 to 56,687, compared to 45,706 in August 2020, constituting an increase of 24 per cent,.

The data was released by the National Centre for Statistics and information (NCSI).

Muscat Governorate topped the list of registered SMEs, marking an increase by 25.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2020 to reach 19,187 followed by the Governorate of North Al Batinah with a rise of 23.7 per cent at 8,945.

An increase was also marked in the number of SMEs across other Governorates.

The Governorate of A’Dakhiliyah saw an increase of 20.1 per cent to reach 6,961, while the Governorate of Dhofar saw 23.8 per cent at 4,737.

Meanwhile, the Governorate of South Al Batinah saw 28.1 per cent at 4,341, the Governorate of North A’Sharqiah saw 21.2 per cent at 3,751, the Governorate of South A’Sharqiah saw 27.5 per cent at 3,392, the Governorate of A’Dhahira saw 17.4 per cent at 3,156, the Governorate of Al Buraimi saw 23.9 per cent at 1,207, the Governorate of Al Wusta saw 37.5 per cent at 755, and the Governorate of Musandam saw 44.9 per cent at 255.