MUSCAT : The Oman Investment Authority launched four programs to enhance ICV (In-Country Value) and local content within the ‘Qimam’ project, represented in the mandatory list program, the vendor development program, the product and service customization program for the local market, and the research, development and innovation guidelines program.
The objectives of the program are to support the local market of service and product providers, encourage local production instead of import, empower SMEs to compete in the market, build capabilities of local suppliers, and establish a culture of research, development, and innovation.
Nasser bin Sulaiman Al-Harthy, Deputy President of the Oman Investment Authority for Operations, said the Authority pays great attention to empowering the private sector, enriching local content, and developing and motivating small and medium enterprises. He explained that the Authority has established a general directorate concerned with local added value, research, development and innovation, as well as social investment in the Authority and its affiliated companies in a way that contributes to the development of the local economy and the development of a sustainable competitive market for goods, services and Omani human capital.
Al-Mutassim bin Saeed Al-Sariri, Director General of In-Country Value in the Oman Investment Authority, explained that the methodology for building and designing the four programs went through several stages, beginning with a study on the local market to analyze supply and demand and available business opportunities, followed by analysis of supply chains and local market data to find out the availability of local suppliers before including services and products in the programs.
On the sidelines of the launch ceremony, OIA signed agreements with local institutions, including small and medium enterprises, with a value of more than one billion Omani rials, which included cooperation in the fields of research, development, innovation and In-Country Value addition.
Asyad Group signed two agreements – the first related to starting a digital database project with Rahal Company to develop a data warehouse capable of analyzing data using the latest digital technologies and data science, while the second relates to a partnership with the German University to develop a technology that contributes to reducing carbon emissions from ships.
Namaa Holding Company also signed three agreements, some of which extend to five years, with Omani companies for projects worth more than one billion Omani riyals in. The Oman Fisheries Development Company signed a cooperation agreement with Al Wusta International Company to establish a factory for the production of boxes for preserving and storing fish products with international specifications.
The Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development signed a memorandum of understanding with Credit Oman, a subsidiary of the Oman Investment Authority, with the aim of contributing to the economic development of the Sultanate of Oman, enhancing the role of small and medium enterprises in the growth of internal trade, and contributing to the increase of Omani exports in the regional and international markets.
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