Bank Muscat Najahi strengthens partnership with MarkeetEx.com to promote MSMEs
In line with its commitment to supporting and developing the Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) sector, Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate has further strengthened its partnership with MarkeetEx.com Online Marketplace, which is an eCommerce platform dedicated to promote the products and services of local MSMEs in the Sultanate of Oman. The partnership, which is being spearheaded by the bank’s Retail Enterprises Unit (Najahi), has seen rapid growth as the marketplace continues to sign on new MSME customers to sell and deliver groceries, household goods, mobiles and computers, fashion, beauty, and health products at highly-competitive prices. MarkeetEx.com currently has over 1,000 merchants from different parts of the country registered on its online platform.
Speaking about the strong support extended to the MSME sector, Abdullah Al Jufaili, Head, Retail Enterprises Unit (Najahi), Bank Muscat, said: “As a pioneer in supporting the Omani MSME sector, Bank Muscat continuously launches new initiatives in alignment with the goals of Oman Vision 2040 and in line with its strong commitment to the sector. As part of the strategy to promote promising Omani entrepreneurs and increase their market share, Bank Muscat will bear the annual fees payable by selected Najahi customers who are using MarkeetEx.com. In addition, it will cover part of the commission fees for the sales transactions. We are greatly encouraged by the fact that this initiative is leading to increasing sales of the MSME and improving their financial performance.”
Khalid Al Hosni, Founder and CEO of MarkeetEx.com, added that MarkeetEx.com has been greatly encouraged by the strong response from the MSME sector and the support of the bank in taking the concept to the wider MSME community and said: “In order to nurture the SME sector, support must be channeled to encourage creativity and innovation. The initiative offers collaboration and a supportive ecosystem for MSMEs and we hope to make a big difference to their rate of success and innovation by offering this highly-localised digital marketplace that promotes local entrepreneurship. We are greatly encouraged by the strong response from MSMEs over the last few months.”
Given current social distancing norms brought about by the global COVID-19 pandemic, MarkeetEx.com is greatly helping MSME businesses reach out to customers through its online platform at https://markeetex.com. The strengthening of this collaboration carries on the success of the bank’s annual souqs and product exhibitions of previous years. It also complements other initiatives undertaken by the bank to promote the growth and development of MSMEs in Oman in recognition of their strong economic role in Oman. Bank Muscat supports MSMEs in the country through its Najahi and Al Wathbah units so as to further strengthen the Sultanate’s economy. Najahi, in particular, is well known for having pioneered the availability of a number of collateral-free credit facilities for micro and small businesses in Oman. It also offers non-financial support to its customers and other entrepreneurs through a number of innovative initiatives.