When you look at the Sultanate of Oman in general, or its geopolitical history, you will find one consistent fact for the past two thousand years, which is that Oman, always seeks to chart its course in long-term domestic and international policies.
When you visit the Oman Across Ages Museum, you will find that this is true for the early Ras Al Hamra settlement period in and other areas, the Arab settlement phase, the Islamic conquests era, and modern times.
Just like a startup in an entrepreneurship ecosystem, Oman moving smoothly through the four phases of ideation, startup, scale-up, and growth. So, if we consider Oman’s dynamic history as an ideation phase, then the leadership of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said, may his soul rest in peace, was the renaissance startup phase.
This helps us understand why in our present time Oman still chooses to scale up modestly and with confidence, whether in domestic development projects or international affairs.
The national focus on three major, ongoing projects shows how one option Oman chooses not to pursue is extravagant, over-the-top, headline-focused projects - Oman National Strategy (ONSS) and Sultan Haitham City (SHC), Moving Forward Together, and Oman Future Fund.
ONSS and SHC
Oman National Strategy (ONSS) and Sultan Haitham City (SHC) represent a true paradigm shift in spatial strategies, and it is not only an urban development or real estate project. What is unique about SHC, as stated by the project leaders, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning Dr Khalfan Al Shuaili, is ‘not only that it’s happening through a partnership between more than 60 project partners from public, private and civil society institutions. The fact is that the project resisted the temptation of copying international models and focusing on skyscrapers, and focused instead on the sustainable quality of life for every being.’
Together forward forum
I grew up watching a real-life example of Management by Walking Around, or what is known in business schools as MBWA - Meet the People Tour by the late Sultan who visited every city, town, and village from Khasab in the North to Dhalkut in the South.
The current annual Together Forward Forum, organised by the Council of Minister’s General Secretariat, is the perfect policy formulation for innovative evolution in terms people to people-to-people communication and civic participation.
Every year, hundreds of stakeholders in Oman, from every walk of life, meet face-to-face with policymakers, led by HH Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tariq, to give and receive constructive feedback on national policies, broadcast life on television, and all digital channels.
Oman Future Fund
The Future Fund’s $2 billion over the next five years is not only an economic stimulus fund by Oman Investment Authority but also a game-changing venture capital that will unlock one of Oman’s most valuable potentials - the innovation and productivity of youthful demographics.
With 90 per cent dedicated to direct investment and 10 per cent for SMEs and startups, this Future Fund is guaranteed to become a success story on how ‘it is never too late to invest in paving the road for inspiring founders to transition from a startup phase to a scale-up phase’, as put by Qais Al Tobi, Rising Startups Programme General Supervisor, and the SME Development Authority.
In the world of entrepreneurship, conventional wisdom says that around 60 per cent fail, around 30 per cent get while not more than 10 per cent make it to the scale-up phase. For Oman, leveraging ‘Oman Vision 2040’ is proving to be a gradual but steady catalyst in facilitating a nation's transitions from the startup phase to the scale-up phase.
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