Omani high-performing entrepreneur Qais Al-Khonji has been named Social Entrepreneur of the Year Oman by leading global publication Business Worldwide Magazine.
A popular figure amongst Omani's business and political elite, Al-Khonji is known for his lobbying of government officials to provide policies aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship - even to the extent of including it as a subject in the national school curriculum. This, he insists, will encourage youngsters to look beyond the typical confines of government or private industry when they leave school.
Ultimately Al-Khonji, 37, hopes to be able to help foster a nation of aspiring individuals to go on and develop sustainable businesses and by doing so, grow the economy of Oman as a whole.
At eight per cent, the country's current unemployment rate is higher than its neighbours of a similar stature. However, thanks to improvements in the country's transport industry and the development of three ports and two international airports, Oman's tourism sector is expected to flourish over the next few years - and opportunities for new business grow.
Referring to his recent Business Worldwide Magazine accolade, Al-Khonji said: "Certainly I'm delighted to receive this reward. Not just for myself but for the fact that it is validation that more needs to be done to create opportunities for entrepreneurship in Oman.
"I can speak from personal experience when I say starting up your own business where there is no organized structure for entrepreneurs to rely on can be extremely daunting. And yet the idea of being able to fund and lead your own company is incredibly empowering and liberating.
"Entrepreneurship is certainly something I believe we should be encouraging the next generation to focus on here in Oman, especially if we want to be a stronger and more independent country in years to come."
The owner of two companies - Qais United Enterprises Trading and Genesis International (the latter involving a research unit) - Al-Khonji has also been campaigning for an organized Angel Investment structure in Oman for some time. It is something the country desperately needs if it wants to be able to provide finance for business start-ups, he insists.
Another ambition is to see a separate tender board established - one which is unique to small to medium-sized companies. The latter would ensure that less financially able outlets didn't have to compete against global brands, particularly within the profitable oil and gas industries for which Oman is envied worldwide.
Al Khonji choose not to go in to the family business but rather forge his own path when, at the age of 32, he gave up a successful corporate banking career in order to establish a goods importing business. The enterprise failed a couple of years later, but the entrepreneurial bug had already bitten and the knowledge he had gained from his experience helped lay the foundations on which his next enterprise would be built, and grow.
His business interests today are rapidly accumulating. His Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) laboratory services company, for instance, is the first-ever outsourcing company to operate within the company's oil and gas industry - a sector where more opportunities undoubtedly lie for other ambitious entrepreneurs, he says.
https://about.me/qaisalkhonji
