Potential for green business
Can green businesses become a reality soon in Oman, and how long awould it take?
The Environment Society Oman, in partnership with Asyad Group, held a workshop on “Green Entrepreneurship” at Muscat University as part of the ‘Oman Climate Dialogues.
The discussion explored the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of green entrepreneurship. With the participation of local and international speakers, the event turned out to be an exciting youth pitching session.
In the panel discussion held, it was concluded that some of the biggest challenges for young entrepreneurs in starting a green business are the lack of awareness, followed by the lack of training and mentorship and not having enough capital. The attendees participated in the on-the-spot poll.
Khalid Al Huraibi, Managing Director, Impact Integrated, was the moderator.
He said, “A key takeaway from the Green Entrepreneurship Workshop, organized by ESO and powered by ASYAD and featuring cleantech experts from the EU, showed the growing potential of green entrepreneurship and cleantech startups globally and in the Sultanate in particular. Founders from Oman in fields such as circular economy and green data centers noted how the demand has been growing more over the past five years due to the rising environmental awareness in the communities.”
An audience poll showed that the number one priority today for both students, founders, and experts is for the ecosystem to offer incentives that make green entrepreneurship more financially sustainable. The workshop also highlighted the importance of awareness of the new green incubators, accelerators & initiatives, such as SHARAKAH green accelerator and Be’ah EcoInnovate accelerator.
He pointed out, “The last outcome of the workshop was the importance of exploring global markets with growing demand for sustainability businesses, with particular emphasis on the European market.”
The panelists were Dr. Dina Belal, Assistant Manager, SME Development Department at Sharakah, Michael Laermann, Managing Director at Reason and Rhyme, Senior Policy Advisor at Ecopreneur.eu, Sadiya Al Bakri, Founder of EFP Oman, an eco-friendly packaging company using recycled materials; and Sharifa Al Kalbani, founder of Biocool-Teq, AI-driven sustainable cooling systems.
Independent consultant and founder of Reason & Rhyme in Brussels, Michael, building on a previous career in marketing, works at the intersection of business, sustainability, and E.U. policy to help organisations succeed with their sustainable growth strategies.
He looked at the sustainable frontrunners and said, “It requires strength and strategy to make the changes. Our grandparents fixed things and reused them, and then came the era of mass production and wastage. Now, it is important to think of being part of the solution and think of making a living out of it.
“Drastic steps need to be taken by the policy makers,” said Nadiya al Bakri.
Dr Dina Belal noted that renewable energy has huge potential.
“We have a lot of incubators, sharaaqa has financial services, and they have a seed fund for green businesses. We also have mentorship, networking, etc.
The majority of the attendees said there should be more support.
They pointed out that agriculture, drip irrigation, vertical gardening, and organic farming are all areas that can be developed for green entrepreneurship. For example, the neem trees are the best natural pesticide.
While describing her journey, Nadiya said, “We do not segregate the waste, and this was my biggest challenge because I was wondering where I was going to get my waste paper from. Today I have 60 partners. Now because of the Environment, Social, and Governance requirement from the government, people are calling. It is the mindset that needs to be changed. We have talks, but we need actions; for example, we need to have facilities.
Entrepreneurs said approaching investors and convincing them to invest was difficult.
Sharifa Al Kalbani said, “Most companies are worried about profit. We are working on improving our hardware. If the product is cheaper, companies are interested. Eco-friendly products are still expensive in Oman. Circular economy is the answer today.”
When asked what the criteria are for projects to be approved, Dr Dina said, “We basically look at the ideas to see whether they are innovative, strategic, and market-fit and feasible, and if they are already in the market, then we require financial audit statements.”