Shell Intilaaqah Oman launched “Aspire and Inspire”, an evolved edition of the two-decade-old social investment programme, to continue empowering Omani talent.

The new interactive platform is dedicated to entrepreneurs who aspire to create their own business ventures, and once successful, to continue to inspire their communities, making a positive impact on Oman’s social and economic development.

Shell Intilaaqah Oman is a long-standing initiative that aims to support entrepreneurs by stimulating their innate imagination, while ensuring they acquire the skill sets to formulate and develop their business ideas and turn them into reality.

The latest edition of the programme focuses on empowering participants to take calculated risks to excel in their business journeys, in order to be able to inspire others by sharing the valuable lessons they learned along the way.

Through the five phases, the aspiring participants evolve as they build the skill sets, working knowledge and develop their business ideas. The “Aspire and Inspire” platform is structured to meet the requirements of entrepreneurs. The phases, which can be taken in any sequence, include “Bright Ideas for Business Projects”, “How to Become a Successful Business Owner”, “Counselling and Mentoring, Specialised Training”, and “How to Manage Insolvency and Stumbling Businesses”.

The balanced series of tailored classes and workshops is an important part of the organisation’s commitment to support Omani entrepreneurs and SMEs.

“‘Aspire and Inspire’ is an all-encompassing sustainable platform that puts entrepreneurs at the centre of the Shell Intilaaqah programme. They start as aspiring participants who evolve through the stages of training until they graduate, start their own businesses, and then inspire others to embark on the path of entrepreneurship,” added Al Kindi.

Taking on the responsibility to grow the pool of entrepreneurs in the Sultanate, Shell Intilaaqah Oman has evolved over the years. In 2016, the programme partnered with the Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprise Development (Riyada), which was recently renewed for two more years, offering more support to entrepreneurs in various areas including training, mentoring and counselling. In 2017 alone, Shell Intilaaqah Oman trained approximately 800 aspiring entrepreneurs, helping create over 200 jobs in 70 start-ups.