Shell Intilaaqah, the flagship enterprise development programme of Shell Development Oman, took part in the 6th edition of “Ebdaat Omania”, the much-anticipated entrepreneurs’ event, organized by the Public Authority of Small and Medium Enterprise Development “Riyada”.

The exhibition was held in Oman Convention & Exhibition Center between 26th to 30th November 2018 and aimed to support Omani entrepreneurs in marketing their products, create business partnerships, while nurturing a culture of innovation in the community.

Shell Intilaaqah sponsored four of its alumni entrepreneurs who participated in the event’s exhibition to showcase their products, covering a range of businesses like accessories, Omani fragrances and Bakhoor, organic soap products to medical services. Participating in the event helped these businesses expand their customer-base, and above all, share their journeys to date.

The event also saw the participation of Shell Intilaaqah in the “Riyada Talk” competition, organized by “Riyada” from November 29th to 30th, which featured the competition “Support and Financing of Participating Entrepreneurs”.

Read more: Shell Intilaaqah Oman launches ‘Aspire and Inspire’

The competition was an opportunity for investors to evaluate projects and choose proposals that will potentially receive a grant, as well as a key business partnership. The chosen businesses included the “International Specialized Center for Heart and Vascular Disease” that received a grant of OMR 5,000, “Rove Adventures” receiving OMR 3,000, and the translation platform “Mutrjmcom” that received OMR 2,000.

These grants are offered in the form of services to winners that can contribute to the development of their businesses as well as tracking the return on investment and key performance indicators over a full year of grant. In addition, “Riyada Talk” highlighted inspirational stories of successful entrepreneurs from Oman.

Najwa Mansoor Al Kindi, Director of Shell Intilaaqah, commented, “We are proud of our partnership with Riyada and thank them for the opportunity to take part in Ebdaat Omania. We believe this event brings in so much value to SMEs through empowering Omani talent that are participating or visiting the exhibition to thrive and unlock their full potential. We are very proud to be part of it and to support the cause of fostering a culture of innovation in entrepreneurship in Oman.”

Worthy to mention that Shell Development Oman, represented by Shell Intilaaqah and “Riyada” are strategic partners and they jointly implementing a programme called ‘Aspire and Inspire’. This programme is a fully rounded enterprise development initiative that aims at supporting Omani entrepreneurs through the different stages of their business startups, starting from business ideas stage, to training, counselling and mentoring and business insolvency diagnostic support.