Two young Omanis are using technology to find solutions to the problem of unemployment in the sultanate. 

A startup of Omar Abdullah al Maskari, a student at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, Ibra, and Nibras Hamdan Salem al Shukaili, a student at Sultan Qaboos University (College of Science) is in the process of developing an app called Kayan. It supports owners of small and medium-sized enterprises to find skilled professionals while providing a platform for job seekers to look for prospective employers.

The app, still in its elementary stage, recently won third place in a competition hosted by Sharqiyah University.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, Maskari said, “Our app got third place in the Masar Competition conducted by the Sharqiyah University. We competed against 23 teams from various colleges and universities in the sultanate.”

According to Maskari, the idea came after they noticed the number of job seekers has increased and entrepreneurs were facing many problems, especially after the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

“The app gathers entrepreneurs and people with skills in one place, and also provides them with training workshops. In addition to that, it sends notifications to those registered in the app about any available job opportunities,” he added.

“My partner Nibras and I believe in the importance of technology in solving economic problems.”

In individual achievements, Nibras won a bronze medal for her project called Green Gold, which uses Omani plants and recycled cooking oil to produce biodiesel, at the Korea International Youth Olympiad 2020 recently. Maskari has designed smart gloves for use by outdoor workers. 

H H Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tarik al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, presented Maskari the Youth Proficiency Award in the field of science on the occasion of Omani Youth Day celebrated recently. 

“We hope to find support to complete our app. It will help job seekers; hopefully, their numbers will go down and entrepreneurs will not face difficulties,” Maskari said.

Source: https://muscatdaily.com/Oman/389268/Omani-students’-startup-creates-app-to-support-SMEs