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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

SME Fund supports logistics services start-up

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Business Reporter -


MUSCAT -


Dec 21: The SME Development Fund (SMEF), which is an initiative of the Omani Authority for Partnership for Development (OAPFD), has joined hands with Planet International LLC (PIL) of India to support the development of a logistics services startup in the Sultanate.


Bin Mowyeh National Trading (BMNT) is an SME focused on logistics, mainly for the oil and gas sector.


The company has been set up by Mana Said Hassan Thoar with the support of his father, Said Hassan Ali Thoar, a seasoned oil and gas hand.


The company had approached SME Development Fund (SMEF) for its financial and business support for purchasing heavy vehicles.


Since the support was extended, a year and half ago, BMNT has made rapid strides, stream lining operations, growing their revenue, acquiring assets, and so on


BMNT has identified a growing need for short hole drilling (holes for electrical earthing, pole erection) where the traditional and inefficient way of making pits has been replaced by an automated process, improving labour productivity by 200 per cent and making the job conducive for Omanisation, as manual labour will not be involved.


SMEF and Planet International LLC (PIL) are collaborating to support BMNT to enter this market. PIL is an experienced player in this space, with a manufacturing base in India and an orientation towards social commitment, have provided BMNT with a long-term contract for the equipment being purchased. They will be providing necessary training to BMNT’s operators and guidance to the management.


Based on the success of this project, other SMEs will be developed in this field. SMEF had offered flexible financing to BMNT, without any additional collateral security and was based merely on the strength of contracts they had with companies. SMEF supports BMNT and many other SMEs with accounting support, monitoring, mentoring, financing and software.


This support has helped BMNT to streamline operations and controls and set the base for planning for this diversification and future growth.


Over the past decade and a half, with the unveiling of the Vision 2020, the Sultanate has been seeking to diversify its economy and invest in income and employment generating sectors congruent with its comparative advantages and social and cultural preferences.


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