Daleel Petroleum’s participation in youth development encompass direct contribution to programmes such as Outward Bound, local SME summits and sponsoring various youth development projects, says Azhar AlBarwani, Head of In-Country Value, Daleel Petroleum.
What are Daleel Petroleum’s initiatives to help SMEs in Oman?
Apart from initiatives aimed at fostering SME development, SME’s form an integral part of Daleel’s operations since a large portion of our outsourced operations are directly awarded to them. Further, under the agenda of Ministry of Oil and Gas’ In-Country Value programme, Daleel utilises tendering mechanisms that push larger firms to develop SME value chains via direct measurement of the following: Local sourcing of goods; local sourcing of sub-contracts; development of national suppliers and national training, education and R&D.
The company also has dedicated resources to liaise with public and private entities to develop plans and contribute in implementing in-house and collaborative schemes, such as the recent SME mentorship.
How is the company enabling the youth to develop SMEs?
All segments of the industry are now involved in a vision to promote human capabilities and to encourage local provision of goods and services required within the oil and gas sector.
Daleel’s participation in youth development encompass direct contribution to programmes such as Outward Bound, Globe Programme Earth Day, local SME summits and symposiums (Public Authority for SME Development), and sponsoring various youth development initiatives like the engineering and geological societies.
A recent milestone for Daleel is voluntarily managing a number of ICV projects aimed at Omani youth in career guidance, tools and videos about the oil and gas industry in addition to an online learning hub and data center.
How can SMEs in Oman grow more competitive and dynamic?
Success can be measured from various angles, and for SMEs to maintain sustainable growth key elements include having a clear business model and using strategic planning as the key to adjusting and remaining agile. From my experience in the O&G industry, SMEs should also leverage their size by focusing to show true capability. They should ascertain the quality of bids on tenders for projects; join collaborative value chains; use innovation & technology as early adopters to give them an edge.
What do you think are the future prospects of SME sector in Oman?
The widely accepted notion is that the entrepreneurial spirit of an economy is what pushes development. This comes in the form of SMEs- they not only spur employment, but also give the necessary products and services to support the major projects and with the government’s policy currently giving them renewed emphasis, SMEs should step up in adding more value to the national economy, and the opportunities range across the whole spectrum of operations in the oil and gas sector.
Further, leveraging on empowerment initiatives and looking into the myriad opportunities in Oman clearly shows bright prospects for SMEs. Within Ministry of Oil and Gas’s ICV realm alone, 26 out of the main 53 identified opportunities in the 2013 published industry-wide blueprint review have been earmarked for SMEs, spanning manufacturing and services in the upstream and downstream sectors.