Incubation Conference 2017 to take place in December

Muscat: A conference to encourage young entrepreneurs, Incubation Conference 2017, will be organised between December 5 and 6, 2017 by the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), represented by the National Business Centre (NBC).
This was announced at a press conference held on Monday at NBC in the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM). The conference, which is the first of its kind in the Sultanate, aims at promoting the culture of entrepreneurship and raising awareness and knowledge on the supporting institutions for the SMEs and their work mechanisms.
“This conference is the first of its kind in Oman which aspires to enhance the culture of entrepreneurship in the country and disseminate awareness on the various institutions that play a vital role in supporting small and medium enterprises as well as institutions concerned with innovation,” said, Hilal bin Hamad Al Hasani, Chief Executive Officer of PEIE.
The conference will showcase successful Omani models in the entrepreneurship sector in addition to the challenges that are being faced in this sector.
“A number of discussion sessions will take place at the conference with the participation of a group of experts specialised in incubators, small businesses, and innovation from different countries worldwide. Besides, the conference will witness an exchange of outlooks between local and regional institutions in relation to SMEs and entrepreneurship,” Al Hasani pointed out.
He emphasised that the PEIE constantly seeks to enhance entrepreneurial environment and support emerging projects through its adoption of various initiatives.
“The Incubation Conference comes at a time when countries worldwide in general and the countries of the region in particular aim at diversifying income sources, relying on human cadres by employing them, and finding alternatives to enhance their economies to ensure comprehensive and sustainable development,” Al Hasani said.
“The entrepreneurship sector is among the promising sectors in the social and economic development of the countries, which plays an important role in advancing the national economy and providing job opportunities for the youth. We hope that this conference will conclude with realistic ideas that would contribute to the development of this sector, increase production, activate the diversification of projects, and face the increasing numbers of job seekers,” he added.
Al Hasani then thanked the supporters of the Incubation Conference 2017, which comprise: BP Oman, Occidental Oman, Fund for Development of Youth Projects (Sharakah), Oman Development Bank, Al Raffd Fund, Shumookh Investment and Services, Oman LNG, Public Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Riyada), Al Wisal Radio, and Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising.
Malak Al Shaibani, director general of NBC, noted that the Incubation Conference 2017, which will take place in December, aims at creating awareness about incubation and acceleration programmes and their important roles in the SME ecosystem; sharing and learn from best practices regionally and internationally with an aim of understanding what works and what does not; getting a better understanding of the role of incubation in a growing ecosystem and the future of the incubation industry.
It will be examining best business models for creating and sustaining business incubators and entrepreneurship platforms; exploring the roles of other entities or stakeholders in supporting incubation programmes; looking at types of facilities that can best serve entrepreneurs; examining governance structures and their impact on various programmes; learning more about soft landings programme and the role incubators can play in supporting these programmes.
The conference will also be exploring the role of academic institutions (colleges and universities) in supplying and supporting incubators with a steady pipeline of entrepreneurs; and exploring the role of chambers of commerce and other entities in supplying and supporting incubators and the growth of SMEs.
It should be noted that the Incubation Conference 2017 will feature a lineup of speakers and will shed light on several topics including entrepreneurship in the Mena region, education and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship enablers, incubation models, innovation, and new trends in the entrepreneurship sector.