MUSCAT - The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Riyada) organised a dialogue session titled ‘Opportunities and Challenges for Small and Medium Enterprises’, reaffirming its commitment to strengthen partnerships with stakeholders and enhance the competitiveness of Oman’s SMEs ecosystem.

The session was held in the presence of Dr Mahad bin Said Baowain, Minister of Labour, and Halima bint Rashid al Zariyah, Chairperson of the Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises Development, along with representatives from several government entities and a wide participation of SME owners.

Entrepreneurs actively engaged in the discussions, highlighting the most pressing challenges faced by small and medium enterprises in the labour sector. Officials responded with constructive proposals aimed at improving service efficiency and driving development in the coming phase.

Dr Baowain praised the ministry’s unified occupational guide, which currently includes around 1,500 professions, and announced that an expanded guide featuring more than 3,000 professions will be launched soon. He also noted that new mechanisms have been approved to streamline the addition of emerging professions.

The session focused on strengthening the role of SMEs in identifying opportunities and navigating challenges by presenting innovative solutions, raising operational efficiency, and enhancing collaboration between the government, private sector and SMEs community.

Key topics included supportive policies and legislation in the labour and employment sector, fees and licensing requirements, and enablers such as wage support initiatives, incentives, facilities, on-the-job training and human capital development programmes.

According to Riyada’s statistics, as of October 2025, the number of SMEs registered in its database reached 128,812. Of these, 109,099 are micro enterprises, 18,654 are small enterprises and 1,059 are medium enterprises. In addition, 26,105 enterprises have obtained the Entrepreneurship Card.

2025 © All right reserved for Oman Establishment for Press, Publication and Advertising (OEPPA) Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).