Riyada organises networking event in Oman

Muscat: Public authority for small and medium enterprise (SME) development (Riyada) held its first networking event for the third batch of participants for its annual mentorship programme, themed “Inspire and Celebrate” at a ceremony, which included both the mentors and the mentees.
The event was held at the Crowne Plaza Muscat in the presence of Talal Sulaiman Al Rahbi, deputy secretary-general of the Supreme Council for Planning and deputy chairman of Riyada. Khalifa bin Said Al Abri, chief executive officer of Riyada, welcomed the attendees and highlighted the objectives of Riyada in launching the mentorship program, which is designed to be an annual chapter to create a platform for SME owners to receive guidance and support from experienced mentors in a structured, open and collaborative environment.
Subsequent to this, Al Abri announced a list of 161 accepted participants of the third batch of the programme, which included 90 mentees, 53 mentors (37 Omani and 16 non-Omani), and 18 business volunteers (eight Omani and 10 non-Omani).
The event also included a networking session between the mentors and mentees, aimed at enhancing the interactions between the participants.
It is worth noting that the mentorship programme is one of the most important initiatives offered by Riyada for effectively transferring knowledge from reputed business leaders (mentors) to young entrepreneurs (mentees).
Graduates honoured
On the same day, Riyada also honoured 66 participants, who have completed the second batch of the mentorship programme, which was held over last year (2014-15) at a graduation ceremony held under the patronage of Dr Ali bin Masoud Al Sunaidy, minister of commerce and industry and the chairman of Riyada at the Crowne Plaza Muscat.
Although it started with 142 participants, the programme saw only 66 members (including 33 mentees, 29 mentors, and four business volunteers) actually completing the programme.
Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, board member of Riyada and head of the Mentorship Committee, in his speech explained the main goals of the sustainable mentorship programme.
Raising the profile of SMEs in Oman and inspiring a supportive environment for entrepreneurs, as well as motivating entrepreneurs to set and achieve their business goals while helping them understand the importance of non-financial support for success in business were some of the goals identified by him.
Al Yousef also thanked the mentors and business volunteers for their time and dedication in supporting Omani SMEs.
“It was a fruitful experience for me, and a mutually learning process between mentees and mentors. There are real obstacles and challenges that mentees face and as a mentor you have gone through them, so this set up between mentors and mentees strengthens the way a business grows. ,” said Dr. Salim Al Wahaibi, a mentor and ex-director general of Health Affairs at the Ministry of Health.