EXPANDING MEPI'S REACH: SBA AND OMANI MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000117 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KMPI MU SUBJECT: EXPANDING MEPI'S REACH: SBA AND OMANI MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY SIGN MOU ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Building on President's Obama's Cairo speech, which recognized the need to promote entrepreneurism in the Middle East, the Small Business Administration (SBA),through the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI),will partner with Oman's Small and Medium Enterprise Directorate, a department within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to foster small business creation. On February 16, the two organizations solidified their partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding which was followed by agreement on a detailed action plan. Through the partnership SBA will provide technical assistance to the SME Directorate in several areas, including finance and government procurement. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) MEPI and the SBA designed a program to reach out to female entrepreneurs in the region. As part of that program, the SBA approached Oman to gauge its interest in partnering in order to reach out to the burgeoning ranks of potential Omani entrepreneurs. SBA representatives met with the Small and Medium Enterprise Directorate within the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to discuss the Directorate's present capacity to provide assistance to entrepreneurs. The SBA representatives immediately identified that while the Directorate had a great desire to carry out the mission it was tasked with - fostering SME development - it did not have the necessary tools to succeed. The Directorate's positive response to the SBA's offer of technical assistance was immediate and overwhelming. ¶3. (SBU) The culmination of the groundwork for cooperation came on February 16, when SBA Associate Administrator Penny Pickett, and Minister of Commerce and Industry Maqbool bin Sultan, signed an MOU too cooperate in providing technical assistance to the Directorate. Prior to the signing ceremony, Pickett had a half hour long meeting with Maqbool, in which he shed his typical reserve, asking Pickett and other members of the SBA team detailed questions about the MOU. The signing ceremony served as a highlight to a SME Conference and workshop hosted in Muscat on February 16 and 17. Approximately 300 individuals attended the event, which was widely covered by the local media. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: The Omani government is increasingly recognizing the need to provide meaningful empowerment and career opportunities to the country's large youth cohort as it transitions from school to the workforce. As opposed to the Omanization requirements, wherein private businesses must keep a quota of Omanis on their payrolls and many Omanis are paid a fee to lend their names to such registers, encouraging the development of Omani SMEs is a sustainable way to spur business development. The recent MOU between the SBA and the SME Directorate will enhance the Directorate's role in promoting business development. END COMMENT. Schmierer