Innovation comes from Oman’s pivotal moment in its economic journey. For centuries, the development of Oman was built upon oil and gas, however, the breaches in the oil and gas sector and the pivot towards sustainability beg the answers to these questions: What next? What can sustain the Sultanate of Oman? There lies the next economic opportunity; monetising the privately held innovative resources of the country. Oman has touched the tip of the iceberg, as it is now seeking to invest and generate bankable solutions to these innovative and economic monetisable resources that create jobs, sustain inward investment and help make the Oman economy stronger.

The Business of Ideas

A prominent issue Oman is now facing, as well as many other nations, is the gap stagnation; the gap between innovative thinking and implementation. Oman is ignoring the current perception at the global forefront and is instead focusing and investing on and devising policies to make its country more exploitable phenomenon. As it is apt to focusing investment on the advancement of the influencing constituents of invention profitability, the country stands to gain handsomely.

The policy actively seeks to create elastic linkages between technology and investment, capital. Oman vision 2040 seeks to invest and fundamentally transform learning, the economy and the engineering sector of Oman.

The Startup Ecosystem

One of the signs of progress is the growth of Oman’s startup ecosystem. Oman Future Fund, Riyada and Invest Oman, for instance, have contributed to supporting entrepreneurs, especially in fintech, renewable energy, logistics and agritech. These initiatives offer seed financing, training and network access, easing the turbulence associated with the fragile early years of a startup.

The concern, though, is how these startups can expand and compete in the region or globally? Fostering a climate of ‘calculated risk’ is one of the needed answers. Progress does not occur without risk and the innovation of failure is welcomed. This futuristic scenario captures the essence of the cultural defiance many young Omanis face. Leaving the safety net of government jobs to pursue an entrepreneurial journey is a challenge.

Digital Transformation

Besides the monetisation of innovation, Oman’s digital transformation agenda is also another driver for it. The 5G rollout, cloud computing proliferation and government investment in AI are creating a springboard for an industry reset. Emerging is, for instance, the supply chain and logistics sector driven fintech for SMEs, blockchain-based supply chain solutions and Omani-centric integrated e-commerce platforms.

The presence of a youthful population skilled in ICT, supported by government investment in digital infrastructures, facilitates the implementation of a number of initiatives, technological, economis and otherwise. However, to effectively monetise these initiatives, it is important to diversify and extend beyond the boundaries of the Sultanate of Oman, taking advantage of the country’s strategic position to the Gulf, Asia and Africa.

One recurrent issue in developing economies is the gap between educational institutions and the business world, otherwise known as the ivory tower syndrome. There is a plethora of quality research being conducted in the universities in Oman and there is a risk a significant portion of it may be confined to unpublished manuscripts as opposed to marketable commodities. The strengthening of IP, the establishment of technology transfer vehicles and the connection of researchers with business entrepreneurs are all endeavours that aim to bridge this gap.

This cooperation has the potential to change the academic landscape in Oman by introducing research that enables post-academic businesses, providing the country with new patents and international strategic partnerships, while at the same time enriching the private sector and economically diversifying the country by providing Oman a new exportable commodity: knowledge.

In contrast to the preceding sentences, Omani investment is relatively low, as Oman has failed to attract significant private investment, which rests as the main reason to Oman's as well as the region's innovation ecosystem stagnation. Private investment in the country is not fully untapped, as government funds are joined with marketable ventures to facilitate the investment from capital funds at a relatively low interest. The precondition for Oman’s investment attraction is trust, which is unfounded in the region.

The growing private sector in Oman is not a risk due to the intention to facilitate deeper investments from the Gulf region, which is proven to have a significant reserve in private funds, with Oman being the region with the lowest investment activity. The willingness to invest rests in the existing legal and economic environment, which restrict the amount of investment that can flow into it.

The question that lies ahead of Oman is the extent to which these policies will be preconditioned. Investments on the other hand will be easier to attract in the presence of material that is easily for Oman to achieve.

A Change in the Culture

The most vital transformation is changing the culture. The successful monetisation of an innovation goes beyond engineers and financiers — the story must be told and sold; and risks taken. It means unshackling one’s mind from job creation to value creation, from the confines of a national economy to a global one. Thankfully, an increasing portion of Oman’s youth appears to be moving in this direction. After attaining international education and contact with global systems, many reemerge prepared to tackle pertinent problems in Oman using entrepreneurial approaches.

The Future

Monetisation of innovation is a substantial investment to make and must be treated with the the same fervour as an extreme endeavour. Oman has levelled the terrain with suitable policies, scaffolding and other adjacently supportive institutions. The upcoming phase will be Oman’s ability to scale achievements, pool international collaborative resources, as well as eliminate cases where budding entrepreneurs are treated as anomalies.

Should Oman succeed, its position in the global economy will not be the same. It will no longer be viewed merely as a country fortunate to have an abundance of natural resources, but as an oasis that nurtures the intermingling of ideas and industries and turns innovation into prosperity.

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