The first session of the ‘Pioneer Evenings’, organised by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority in association with the Youth Centre, was launched on Tuesday at Grand Mall, Muscat.
The sessions target officials and decision-makers, owners of small and medium enterprises, startups, and owners of student companies, in addition to those who want to establish commercial projects, become traders, investors, economists, and those interested in the entrepreneurship sector.
To be held every week on Tuesdays, the sessions will continue until April 18. This is to encourage young people, entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises and encourage them to continue and sustain their projects and initiatives by achieving realistic approaches to cases of success and failure and expanding to benefit from these experiences. The sessions would address the challenges of the SMEs through an open dialogue platform for young people, owners of inspiring ideas, owners of small and medium enterprises, startups, and experts in various fields.
One of the participants Tasneem al Daoudi, owner of a project to invent clay oil extraction from date kernels, said, "After graduation, I had an urgent desire for a job which I shared with my friend Salma al Sudairi. Both of us landed for training in a company. After four months the company asked for an alternative project of mud oil. When the training period ended, we suspected that we might lose the bet. After seven months, however, the idea took proper shape and we were able to prepare the product, which is an innovative and environmental alternative to the clay oil pumped into wells and extracted from the date kernel.”
The Pioneer Evenings is a platform for sharing enriching lessons from life, consultations and valuable tips that raise the motivation of ambitious young people. Participants in the sessions discuss their own experiences and impact on all aspects of their lives and their entrepreneurial career to address the social incentives that contributed to refining their experiences.
Another participant, Mazin al Julandani, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Manager of the Mazin al Julandani Group, said: “My story began when I was 12 years old when I asked my father for 10 riyals to buy foodstuffs to sell in my neighbourhood. Then I moved to a small grocery project, after which I decided to travel alone to Europe to buy a car to explore myself more, and I learned many lessons from it. When I returned to the Sultanate of Oman I decided to open a steam car wash that revolutionised this field. I established an Omani factory for the manufacture of ink and a fleet of luxury and classic cars.”
He added: “There is a project in vertical farming as a pioneering experiment in the Sultanate of Oman.”
The Pioneering Evening witnessed a wide interaction from the attendees, who expressed their admiration for the idea and the experiments that were proposed, wishing them to continue and provide inspiring youth models for the community to sharpen their determination and continue overcoming difficulties and challenges.
@Afrahalbalushia
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
