MUSCAT: The Board of Directors of the Al Raffd Fund held its fourth meeting this year under the chairmanship of Dr Hamad bin Said al Oufi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries for Fisheries and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Fund. The Board approved minutes of its third meeting and reviewed the achievements of the Fund since the beginning of its actual activity until the end of October 2017, which included the mechanisms of the Fund, especially with regard to financing procedures, financing programmes, electronic systems and other mechanisms that would organise and develop the work of the Fund to achieve the desired results, in addition to statistical indicators in all governorates of the Sultanate.
As of the end of October 2017, the Fund’s loan portfolio shows that the fund has financed 1,874 projects in all governorates of the Sultanate with a total amount of RO 73 million, providing 3,291 job opportunities for Omani youth, (66.6 per cent males) and (33.2 per cent females).
The repayment ratio of the fund loans reached 79.6 per cent, which is positive after 4 years of the Fund’s activity compared with regional and international similarities, especially during the first years of incorporation.
The meeting reviewed the quality management programme in the fund and selected the name of Irtiqa, as a reflection of its objectives of upgrading the Fund’s services, working mechanisms, upgrading human resources and raising the level of internal efficiency.
The Board directed to continue the efforts to follow up and support entrepreneurs funded by the Fund to ensure the continuity of their projects and to maintain new job opportunities, in order to ensure the repayment of their loan installments on time, through intensifying field follow-up, consultation and promotion of their products and services. — ONA
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