Sunday 17 / November / 2024
Muscat: Meethaq, the pioneer of Islamic banking in Oman from Bank Muscat, has enhanced a bouquet of innovative Sharia-compliant products and services for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Aimed at helping SMEs succeed in the marketplace, the exclusive range of Meethaq SME offerings include working capital finance, term and project finance, trade services and contract finance.
Alongside tailored Sharia- compliant financing solutions, the enhanced Meethaq products and services for SMEs include AccelerateSME, a new dedicated SME portal, dedicated account relationship managers and sector-specific seminars and conferences to position Meethaq as a market leader in the SME space in Oman.
Sulaiman Al Harthy, deputy chief executive officer - Islamic Banking, said: “Aligning with the national objective of stimulating an entrepreneurial mindset, Meethaq is focused on strategic initiatives to complement and add value to the country's progress and development. Meethaq remains committed to working hand-in-hand with the government and partners to create a favourable environment for SMEs in Oman."
Al Harthy added: "As the powerhouse of Islamic finance in Oman, Meethaq extends support to all key economic sectors in the Sultanate. Alongside mandates to finance major projects, Meethaq is committed to fostering national talent and providing support for SMEs that create meaningful employment opportunities. The role of SMEs is highly important as Oman is witnessing a gradual shift towards SMEs, addressing the requirements of youth representing more than 50 per cent of the country's population."
Access to financing is one of the key challenges facing SMEs in Oman. The new Meethaq offerings address this critical need. Meeting the critical need for working capital, Meethaq offers goods financing.
Ijarah is a product that allows customers to enjoy the utility and benefits of assets, while Meethaq bears the ownership risks associated with the assets till the end of a contract. Ijarah can be availed to finance plant and machinery, equipment and vehicles.
Diminishing Musharaka (DM) is a product that allows customers to be partners with Meethaq as joint owners of assets based on the concept of “Shirkat Al-Milk”. Under this mode of financing, Meethaq enters into an agreement with customers to purchase assets selected by them under joint ownership. The asset is then placed in the possession of customers for their use under a lease agreement with Meethaq.
Meethaq also provides bank assurance in the form of guarantee to the third party, undertaking to pay a certain amount to the beneficiary (third party) upon failure of customers to meet certain obligations to beneficiaries. Meethaq provides the guarantee on the basis of Kafalah contract.
Meethaq Islamic Banking has launched various initiatives to support SME development in Oman. The ‘Meethaq Accelerate SME’ portal provides startups and SMEs with access to the most comprehensive source of business resources, services and funding solutions. The innovative portal is designed to help SMEs achieve their business goals and thereby promote SME development in Oman.
To help enable the growth of SMEs, the ‘Accelerate SME’ portal addresses the challenges faced by SMEs in the Sultanate such as unfamiliarity with procedures on how to set up business, access to tailored funding solutions to support growth and how to scale business and connect with partners and customers. The ‘Meethaq Accelerate SME’ portal, developed in association with Thomson Reuters, is free to join.
Meethaq has adopted the best practices in Islamic banking and finance worldwide to combine a robust model, which protects customers and complements the Islamic banking industry. Every Meethaq product goes through the process of Sharia compliance certification by the Sharia Supervisory Board and is created in line with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Oman.
