< Previous20 AB/Oman Supplement Vol. 22/17S – November 2021 FEATURE / ENTREPRENE UR SHIP A key part of its economic diversification agenda includes boosting the private sector’s contribution to gross domestic product, which requires greater supports for startups and SMEs. To tackle the country’s problems, “A robust, self- sustaining entrepreneur- ship ecosystem is not just a passing priority – it is a necessity to realise the aspi- rations of Vision 2040 to create more high skill, high wage jobs in knowledge- based industries for youth, nurture globally competitive, fast-growing companies in priority economic areas that drive economic diversifica- u Oman’s Capital Market Authority (CMA) approved licensing for crowdfunding platforms in August 6% Oman’s GDP growth in 2022, according to forecasts by Trading Economicsarabianbusiness.com 21 / ENTREPRENE UR SHIP up across the country this year. Among the governo- rates, Muscat topped the list, marking an increase by 25.2 percent compared to the same period in 2020 to reach 19,187, followed by North Al Batinah with a rise by 23.7 percent to stand at 8,945 SMEs. In terms of other gover- norates across the sultanate, there was a marked increase: A’Dakhiliyah by 20.1 percent to reach 6,961; Dhofar by 23.8 percent to 4,737; South Al Batinah by 28.1 percent to 4,341; North A’Sharqiah by 21.2 percent to 3,751; South A’Sharqiah by 27.5 percent to 3,392; A’Dhahira by 17.4 percent to 3,156; Al Buraimi by 23.9 percent to 1,207; Al Wusta by 37.5 percent to 755; and Musandam by 44.9 percent to 255. PrepUp takes the spotlight One of these Oman-based startups is edtech plat- form PrepUp that connects students and career shifters to job shadowing opportuni- ties with experts in their field of interest, which has the potential to have far reach- tion, and to mobilise private investment in startups and growing small and medium enterprises,” analysis from Tahseen consulting found. There is a long way to go, but business registration is ing economic benefits for the country. Selecting an area of study to get a degree in has always been a chal- lenge for students, with 51 percent of them changing majors during university and roughly 40 percent of graduates ending up work- ing in an area they hadn’t even majored in, according to studies PrepUp CEO Firas Matraji quoted. “As simple as the concept is, if you think about it, the most difficult question your children could ask you is about their career or what they want to study… I would say 90 percent of us went through this,” says Matraji. “I tried it with both my daughters. One of them wanted to be in F&B and the other in marketing, so I placed them in both these industries for job shadowing and it worked. One of them said marketing was exactly what she wanted, while the other one did not find herself in F&B at all,” he continues. Job shadowing differs from internships in that it is limited to one day mini- mum – and a few days maxi- mum – and is more focussed, whereas internships tend to u Firas Matraji, CEO of edtech platform PrepUp q THE MOST DIFFICULT QUESTION YOUR CHILDREN COULD ASK YOU IS ABOUT THEIR CAREER OR WHAT THEY WANT TO STUDY”22 AB/Oman Supplement Vol. 22/17S – November 2021 FEATURE / ENTREPRENE UR SHIP drag, often becoming “erro- neous for the companies and boring for the students”, Matraji explains. He came up with the concept for PrepUp last year during coronavirus, worked on developing the technol- ogy last August, and started the beta testing earlier this year, in Oman. “We went to a couple of family offices that immediately loved the idea,” he says. With the testing phase recently completed, PrepUp has 14 major companies and eight schools that have signed up in Oman. As well as the sultan- ate, it is now operational in the UAE and Bahrain and has recently signed with an entity in Texas. In Bahrain and Texas, PrepUp is collab- orating with local partners. Aside from university and high school students, PrepUp also offers job shadowing packages to career shifters, meaning people who want to explore different fields of work. Matraji says this pack- u A robust, self-sustaining entrepreneurship ecosystem is a necessity to realise the aspirations of Oman’s Vision 2040 u Moody’s affi rmed its rating for Oman at Ba3 $11bn Oman’s external debt maturities over 2021-2022, according to S&P q WE ARE GETTING A LOT OF EXCITEMENT BECAUSE WE ARE THE ONLY ONES IN THE JOB SHADOWING PLATFORMS”arabianbusiness.com 23 / ENTREPRENE UR SHIP PrepUp’s business model. PrepUp’s pre-seed fund- ing was initially financed by Matraji and his partner, but then they “wanted more vali- dation so we went to a couple of family offices who imme- diately said they want to be a part of it”. “We were looking at Series A funding for the end of this year or beginning the next, but we have a regional family office that wants to invest with us right now. We are getting a lot of excitement because we are the only ones in the job shadowing plat- forms,” explains Matraji. Matraji has the following advice for startups seeking funding: “If you are looking for seed funding, there is no right or wrong. The only advice I would give is to make sure you listen and if you need to pivot or change your busi- ness model slightly, then do it. “Any investor will have their own ideas about it and you need to listen and look at pivoting if it makes sense.” age is gaining as much pick- up as that of the students because large organisations are adopting it for their employees who want to try out different departments within the company itself. PrepUp also gives students free access to webi- nars it organises featuring industry experts. “We get the students to moderate these sessions so they become very engaging,” explains Matraji. The Oman-born startup partners with schools, giving students a free job shadow- ing session and access to the webinars. “Should parents be interested in pursuing job shadowing for their chil- dren further, they can buy packages from our website,” says Matraji, explaining u Business registration is up across the sultanate this year u The number of SMEs operating in Oman at the end of August stood at 56,687 25.2% The rise in business registrations in the Governorate of Muscat until the end of August 202124 AB/Oman Supplement Vol. 22/17S – November 2021 BY LARA ABOUELKHEIR The sultanate has lifted its arrival ban for vaccinated travellers and reopened its land borders with the UAE FRESH OPTIMISM FOR OMAN’S TOURISM SECTOR Oman’s tourism sector, which has taken a hit as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic, is set to receive a massive shot-in-the-arm as the sultanate reopened its land borders with the UAE. And a leading industry expert tells Arabian Business he expects the benefits of reopening to be felt on both sides of the border. Oman recently lifted its arrival ban for fully vaccinated indi- viduals from 18 countries, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Omani citizens, resi- dents, those who do not require a visa to travel to Oman, and those who can FEATURE / OMAN TO URISM arabianbusiness.com 25 / OMAN TO URISM obtain an arrival visa, were allowed into the country from September 1. The arrival ban, which was imposed in June, resulted in hundreds of expats being stranded in their countries for over two months. Oman also announced that it would allow travellers from the UAE to enter the sultanate via land crossings from September 1. “The reopening of the borders and easing of travel for Omanis in the last few months is also a good sign for the Dubai hospitality market. Omanis have always been a very important source market for the city,” says Bruno Trenchard, senior manager, Hotels and Hospi- tality, CBRE Middle East. “The Expo should be a good catalyst to increase visitors from Oman as it will have a variety of offerings, which I believe will be espe- cially appealing to Omani families,” he adds. Improving conditions The decision to reopen came following a substan- tial decrease in coronavirus 83,000 The total number of inbound visitors to Oman in September, according to government data infections across the coun- try, according to the sultan- ate’s Covid-19 committee’s latest press briefing. “The land borders between Oman and the UAE will be open on September 1. People who will be travel- ling from the two countries using the land borders will need to be vaccinated and will be required to do PCR tests too,” says Dr Seif Salem Al Abri, director general of disease control at the health ministry. All travellers must present their vaccination card, indicating that they have received two doses of a vaccine approved in Oman, as well as a pre-travel nega- tive PCR test result. The test should be conducted 96 hours prior to the scheduled time of arrival for international flights of more than eight hours and 72 hours for shorter flight. Speaking about the impact of the reduced travel restrictions on Oman’s tour- ism sector, Trenchard said: “It’s great to see Oman on the path to a full reopen- u Oman’s tourism sector has been heavily affected by border closures due to the pandemic u Bruno Trenchard, senior manager, CBRE Middle East u Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, health minister of Oman q THE REOPENING OF THE BORDERS AND EASING OF TRAVEL FOR OMANIS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS IS ALSO A GOOD SIGN FOR THE DUBAI HOSPITALITY MARKET”26 AB/Oman Supplement Vol. 22/17S – November 2021 FEATURE / OMAN TO URISM u Six Senses Zighy Bay, One of the sultanate’s most popular tourism destinations, reopened its doors on October 15 62.4% The percentage of Oman visitors in September who came from the Gulf region q IT’S GREAT TO SEE OMAN ON THE PATH TO A FULL REOPENING. THE COUNTRY IS A GREAT REGIONAL TRAVEL DESTINATION” q WE’VE WORKED INCREDIBLY HARD TO MAINTAIN THE RESORT DURING OUR HIATUS, AND WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO SHOWCASING IT TO BOTH FAMILIAR FACES AND NEW GUESTS” ing. The country is a great regional travel destination and its tourism industry has been heavily affected by border closures and different levels of lockdowns through- out the pandemic.” According to the latest figures by Oman’s Civil Avia- tion Authority, the number of inbound and outbound flights in the sultanate fell by 70 percent this year, while the number of passengers dropped by 81 percent. Muscat Air Surveillance Centre registered 139,041 flights during the first half of 2021, a slump of 53.5 percent, compared to the first half of 2019. “While the rules of entry to Oman are still slightly more intricate than other destinations, such as Dubai, we expect travel from the UAE to Oman to pick up. Oman is a convenient desti- nation due to its geographi- cal proximity as it is a short drive away from the UAE; anxious travellers avoid the fears linked to busy airports and planes,” says Trenchard. Travellers from the two countries using the land borders will need to be vaccinated and will also be required to do PCR tests. Pfizer/bioNTech, Oxford- AstraZeneca, Moderna, Sino- vac and Sputnik are among the coronavirus vaccines approved by Oman. Oman’s health minister, Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Saidi, also confirmed the country’s intention to expand its vaccina- tion campaigns targeting residents, stating that the sultanate has already booked a total of 8,597,740 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, of which 3,536,171 have so far been administered. He also said that 53 percent of the population Six Senses Zighy Bay, reopened its doors on Octo- ber 15 following an enforced closure due to the global coronavirus pandemic. A six-hour journey from Dubai, guests will drive to the Al Dhara border, where the resort 4x4 vehicles will be waiting to take them on a three-hour off-road journey that’s not for the faint-hearted. The resort said in a state- ment that all guests must receive a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival at the border, and as soon as the Dibba checkpoint reopens, the resort will revert to their usual method of transfer with or without an arrival by paraglider. It added that while closed, the resort has refur- bished its four and three- bedroom beachfront villas. A resort built upon sustainability for environ- mentally conscious travellers, Zighy Bay has also launched an industry-leading carbon- in Dhofar, the largest of the 11 governorates in Oman, has been vaccinated, noting that, as of last month, there were no hospital admissions registered among tourists and visitors to Dhofar. Hospitality industry reopening One of Oman’s most popu- lar tourism destinations, neutral rate, pledging to donate $10 per room per night to wind turbine projects in Turkey to offset the amount of carbon produced during their stay at the resort. Andrew Spearman, general manager, says: “We are all thrilled to be able to welcome guests back to the resort. It’s been a long 18 months where we’ve been unable to see and share guests’ smiles, laughter, and sense of wonder when they visit us, and so we can’t wait to get back to what we do best, providing memories that will last a lifetime. “We’ve worked incredibly hard to maintain the resort during our hiatus, and we’re looking forward to showcas- ing it to both familiar faces and new guests, for what will be a new chapter in the story of Six Senses Zighy Bay.” Six Senses Zighy Bay is nestled in Oman’s Musan- dam Peninsula and offers 82 indigenous style pool villas. zero-hour. Investments are subject to a variety of risks. 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Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd, Abu Dhabi Global Market Branch is licensed under the supervisory authority of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) [FSRA Permission Number 180046] to: Advise on investments or credit, Arrange deals in investments and Arrange credit in and from Abu Dhabi Global Market and provides this material as a branch of Bank Lombard Odier & Co Ltd., with its Head Office in Geneva, Switzerland. For CO2, time is up. It’s time to transition to a post-carbon world. COP26 is our once-in-a-generation opportunity. At Lombard Odier we are already investing with a net zero mindset. Decarbonising entire portfolios with a holistic, scientific perspective. Not tomorrow, but today. Because net zero isn't 30 years away. Net zero is now. Learn more in The Zero-Hour Sessions at COP26 on LombardOdier.comNext >