Innovation Park Muscat paper shares virtual incubators programme experiences

Muscat: The Research Council (TRC), represented by Innovation Park Muscat (IPM) through video conferencing, participated in a workshop on the "Role of Industrial Incubators and Business Accelerators in Reducing the Economic and Social Impacts of the Coronavirus Pandemic."
The workshop was organised by the Arab Industrial Development and Mining Organisation (AIDMO), with the participation of fifty participants representing fifteen Arab countries.
The workshop aimed at highlighting the significance of incubators and business accelerators in the industrial field as means to reduce the economic and social repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to work to polarize young people, entrepreneurs and new graduates to establish small and medium industrial enterprises.
Iman Al Shukaili, a Business Development Specialist at IPM spoke in the submitted paper about the impact of the pandemic in general, the efforts of incubators and business accelerators in particular, and the measures taken during such crisis. In addition, she reviewed the experience of TRC and IPM through the Makers Oman Center, and the virtual incubators programme in linking enterprise development institutions and R&D centers.
The paper also focused on a range of initiatives by small and medium enterprises through platforms and websites, and their efforts to meet the needs of individuals and thus increasing their sales and ensuring their permanence, in addition to the facilities and incentives provided by various government entities to support the ambitious youth in entrepreneurship through a wide network of partners.
Iman concluded her paper by clarifying the Sultanate’s role in learning about the best business practices based on leadership, innovation and knowledge in the world to select the most appropriate tools and mechanisms that would support Oman’s vision 2040 in the transition towards the knowledge-based economy.