(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat -
With a keenness to empower members and SMEs to enhance their contribution to the growth of the national economy, Zubair Small Enterprises Centre (Zubair SEC) recently organised a 'Tajribati' session. The focus of the session at Bait al Zubair was on 'Opportunities for SMEs in the Special Economic Zone of Duqm (SEZD)'.
AbdulAziz Mohammed al Hinai, partnership and development manager responsible for CSR/SME and ICV, Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (SEZAD), was the key speaker.
The session highlighted the support provided to SMEs and start-ups in the sultanate. It also threw light on what needs to be done to empower SMEs to have business endeavours at SEZD.
The session was moderated by writer and journalist Hamoud Ali al Touqi, chief editor of Al Waha and Souq Al Mal magazines. It was also attended by a large number of members of Zubair SEC and non-member owners of small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs.
Hinai explained at the session that SEZAD has several decisions and regulations in place that encourage maximum participation of small and medium enterprises in the development of projects within SEZD.
He said that the partnership and development department was established to create an empowering business environment with the necessary infrastructure to ensure that SMEs get the opportunity to bid for assigned works and to grow and thrive.
Affiliated to the department are a number of decisions that have given the department the opportunity to ensure this development by mandating the ten per cent of the value of all government contracts to be tendered to SMEs. It gives everyone an equal opportunity to bid for contracts especially to those SMEs that have a entrepreneurship card and are registered with SEZAD.
Hinai added that as per the new regulations, contractors implementing projects in SEZD were required to advertise work opportunities for SMEs in daily newspapers.
SEZAD has also launched its tender portal for contractors to release tenders to SMEs through the Joint Supply Registration System (JSRS). In coordination with the contractors, PDD requests clear assigned works that could be distributed to SMEs at the start of each contract to ensure PDD recognises the potential opportunities that could be tendered to SMEs.
SEZAD has also now put new measures in place to ensure that all its registered SMEs have access to tenders and subcontracting work undertaken by it and continuously encourage the private sector to follow suit in its endeavours to support SMEs within the zone.
Tajribati series serves as a unique platform to connect industry experts with start-up owners and new entrepreneurs.
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