SMEs to promote their products on Amazon

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Riyada) announced its intention to launch an e-commerce programme soon to register 100 small and medium enterprises on Amazon platform, in an effort to deliver their products and services to the world.

This programme is one of the economic stimulus initiatives announced by the Ministry of Economy in cooperation with Riyada. This initiative enhances the presence of the products and services of the targeted institutions in the global markets and platforms.

The programme includes a guiding tool on how to use these platforms, live broadcasts with experts, practical training and illustrative videos.

Amazon is an e-commerce and cloud computing website founded on July 5, 1994, by Jeff Bezos, and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington.

The latest data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) revealed that the total number of SMEs registered with the Authority in the Sultanate of Oman increased by 35.3 per cent by the end of January 2022, to reach 66,769, up from 49,337 during the same period in 2021.

This confirms that the policies in the Sultanate of Oman encourage companies – both early and existing ones – to access international markets and not be limited to the local market.

The Sultanate of Oman has many investment incentives and opportunities in this regard. The result indicates that a large percentage of the recently established establishments have innovative products that enable them to compete outside the national markets.

According to specialists, among the most important things to support entrepreneurial activities are providing more facilities for entrepreneurs from the public and private sectors, finalising the procedures to start a commercial project in the unified station, inclusion of entrepreneurship in school curricula, and providing cultural and social support.

It is also important for governments to strengthen the entrepreneurship sector using advanced technology, improving creativity and innovation in the products and services provided, establishing incubator programmes and incubators, providing more funding for emerging entrepreneurial projects and facilitating access to capital.

Besides, setting up a national system for tenders for small and medium enterprises, simplifying procedures in government offices, developing a policy-making system, and encouraging home and side trade projects.