In Oman, National Financing, a non-banking finance company, has teamed up with Sharakah, a fund for the advancement of youth initiatives, to hold a series of seminars for small and medium-sized businesses called “Calculate it Right” (SMEs). In accordance with a news statement released by Zawya, the project was carried out by “Imtidad,” the business’ autonomous Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) division. The sessions are designed to aid SMEs in improving their knowledge of financial management and planning. The five sessions at Musannah, Sur, Nizwa and Muscat each had about 184 attendees.

Following input from the participants, National Finance and Sharakah have decided to continue their collaboration on the “SME Growth Programme” for a further 12 months. With this in mind, they have made the decision to start a new project that would assist six neighborhood micro and small businesses in growing their operations. “We continue our partnership with Sharakah in order to help SMEs and home-based businesses elevate their operations with the proper guidance and support, enabling them to be more resilient and successfully deliver their goods and services in accordance with the standards required,” said Tariq Al Farsi, CEO of National Finance.

They will learn marketing and financial management techniques through the curriculum. According to the press release, the corporations will determine how local businesses may enhance their operations and increase their profitability. Following this, they will put the chosen steps into action. “We think that the new curriculum will give company owners the essential skill set in financial management and planning,” said Ali Ahmed Muqaibal, CEO of Sharakah. Sharakah will use its Business Performance Monitoring Tool (BPMT), an industry-standard monitoring tool, as well as other tools like the Risk Assessment (RAT) to support these small enterprises, in order to increase overall business profitability.