MoC signed to enhance investment awareness, support SMEs

Muscat: Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) and the Oman Academy for Small and Medium Enterprises—affiliated with the SME Development Fund "Inma"—signed a memorandum today to enhance joint cooperation in the fields of investment awareness, training, experience exchange, and supporting and empowering SMEs, thereby enhancing their readiness to leverage the opportunities provided by the Omani capital market.

The memorandum comes within the framework of Muscat Stock Exchange's keenness to enhance capital market awareness and expand cooperation with entities supporting the SME and entrepreneurship sector, alongside strengthening the role of the capital market in providing options and opportunities that contribute to supporting the growth of private sector enterprises.

The areas of cooperation between the two sides include executing training programs and awareness workshops in the fields of investment, financial markets, and financial planning, alongside exchanging expertise and information related to financial markets and SMEs, contributing to delivering knowledge-based and practical content tailored to the needs of enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Cooperation also encompasses organizing joint events and programs that contribute to elevating the readiness of SMEs and introducing them to the available opportunities in the Omani capital market.

Badr Hamoud Al Hinai, Chief Operating Officer at Muscat Stock Exchange, said that this memorandum represents an extension of the exchange's efforts to enhance investment culture and expand the beneficiary base of the capital market ecosystem, including SMEs and entrepreneurs. He noted that through it, the exchange seeks to foster an understanding of market mechanisms and the opportunities it offers to support enterprise growth and sustainability, as well as elevate their readiness to benefit from available financing and investment options.

He added that this cooperation with Oman Academy for Small and Medium Enterprises comes to exchange expertise and develop training and awareness programs suited to the needs of enterprises across their various growth stages, contributing to empowering them to make more informed financial decisions and enhancing their ability to expand and leverage the opportunities offered by the capital market.

For his part, C.K. Bharati, CEO of Oman Academy for Small and Medium Enterprises, stated that the memorandum is an important step toward enhancing integration in supporting and empowering SMEs by combining expertise in entrepreneurship and the capital market.

He looked forward through this cooperation to developing training and awareness programs that contribute to raising financial and investment awareness among business owners and entrepreneurs, and enhancing their readiness to keep pace with growth requirements and take advantage of available opportunities in the Omani capital market.

Through its various partnerships and initiatives, Muscat Stock Exchange seeks to bolster financial and investment culture, support the development of the capital market ecosystem, and build effective partnerships with various institutions, thereby contributing to enhancing the investment environment and enabling private sector enterprises to explore the opportunities and solutions offered by the Omani capital market.

The signing of the cooperation memorandum was accompanied by a meeting between the exchange and representatives of "Inma" Fund and the Academy, during which the exchange delivered an introductory presentation on the Promising Companies Market, alongside reviewing its key plans and initiatives aimed at supporting SMEs and enhancing their readiness for growth and utilizing the opportunities provided by the Omani capital market.

The meeting also discussed several areas of cooperation and joint initiatives between the two sides, particularly in the fields of training, awareness, and qualification, as well as developing programs that contribute to raising SME readiness, enabling them to transition to more advanced stages of growth, and enhancing their knowledge of the options and opportunities available through the capital market.