Muscat – Oman Development Bank (ODB), in partnership with the North Sharqiyah governorate, on Monday organised a forum in Ibra to explore business opportunities for that region.
Christened as ‘Development and Business Opportunities Forum’, the event was sponsored by Mahmoud bin Yahya al Dhahli, Governor of North Sharqiyah.
Dhahli underscored the importance of the forum in presenting business opportunities and investment projects in various sectors. He noted that the working papers presented at the forum indicated a reasonable growth for the entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises in the governorate.
The forum sought to strengthen the partnership between institutions related to the development of small and medium enterprises, and owners of investment projects, in addition to presenting the financial and technical services provided by ODB to institutions.
The event witnessed the signing of many financial and investment agreements between various small and medium enterprises in North Sharqiyah with the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) for a number of projects in the industrial, tourism and agricultural sectors.
The Board of Directors of ODB gave a statement on the bank’s financing programmes, which include a special product for job seekers, in addition to those for the entrepreneurs, who own small and medium enterprises.
The bank took this opportunity to elaborate on its mission as one of the key facilitators in the country’s efforts to achieve the developmental goals as set in Oman Vision 2040.
Hamad bin Salem al Harithi, Acting CEO of ODB, explained that the growth rate of loans granted by the bank during the last ten years was 67%, reaching up to RO10mn in 2022.
The size of the lending portfolio to finance various projects to be implemented in the governorate during the fiscal year 2024 has been increased by 15% to reach RO15mn.
The bank’s short-term operational plan is to touch RO18mn in total, Harithi added.
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