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His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki Al Said, COO, Brand Oman Management Unit, discusses innovation, entrepreneurship and youth.

“GREAT POTENTIAL”

For more than a decade His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al Said has worked in a number of government roles promoting inward investment, export development and Oman’s national brand.

Why is innovation and entrepreneurship so important to Oman’s youth?In Oman 43 per cent of us are under the age of 15. We don’t want that potential and talent to go to waste. It’s critical we identify and pursue innovative ap-proaches for increasing and improv-ing economic opportunities for our young people.

Entrepreneurship has a major role to play in this. According to the Kaufman Foundation (2008) more than one-third of job creation is due to new businesses.

Entrepreneurship, in general, has seen an upsurge since the start of the global economic crisis. The Global Entrepreneur Monitor (GEM) estimates that up to half a billion people worldwide were already engaged in creating businesses in 2009.

Is entrepreneurship in itself the key?Encouraging and facilitating new business formation is one of the most important socio-economic activities that Oman can be involved in to support its youth. But encouraging our youth to start new busi-nesses and be more entrepreneurial is, by itself, not enough.

We have to equip them with the skills to do so, show them the possibilities and create a framework and environment that breeds success.

The economic crisis has made govern-ments around the world rethink their strategies for generating employment and stimulating economic development.

They’re recognising that in order to prosper they need to out-innovate the competition and are shifting focus to growing their own entrepreneurial talent. And entrepreneurial talent is something we have in abundance in Oman. I see this, in particular, in our youth. It was evident at last year’s Muscat Youth Sum-mit. The spirit and desire for success of the participants, their motivation and spirit, was inspirational.

Apple’s Steve Jobs said that innovation has nothing to do with how much you invest in research and development. His view is that it’s about the people you

have, how you’re led and how much you understand what innovation is about. I couldn’t agree more.

How does youth entrepreneurship fit in with the goals of Oman?It is intrinsically linked to national com-petitiveness, an issue that is central to the success of any country. Youth entre-preneurship will help Oman realise its full economic potential. A nation with a thriving culture of entrepreneurship is competitive in the international arena – it attracts investment, attracts talent and creates a positive image – success generates success.

Is entrepreneurship just about the economy?In the first instance, entrepreneurship is about creating employment opportuni-ties. It’s also, in the long run, about success and by that I mean success for the individual and success for the nation. It’s about preparing our young people to deal with the challenges of the future.

It’s also about choice and career satis-faction; about having control and inde-pendence. Being an entrepreneur gives young people the chance to create for themselves the career they’ve dreamed of. And being entrepreneurial, innovative – having those skills – being creative, flexible, adaptable and resourceful – will allow them to meet the changing demands of the global economy, the job market and the workplace.

Let’s not forget social entrepreneurs – applying innovative and entrepreneurial thinking to solve social or community problems – the end result is a benefit for the community or society. Of course, this might involve profit for the individual, but that’s not the focus.

But isn’t becoming an entrepreneur risky?Of course, the path of the entrepreneur is not all roses and it isn’t without risks – ask any entrepreneur – but studies in the US by Experian show that, on aver-age, entrepreneurs make at least 25 per

cent more than the general population, and research by Stanley and Danko concluded that entrepreneurs and self-employed people are four times more likely to be millionaires than those who work for others.

Are our young people ready? Absolutely, and this was the message we received at last year’s Muscat Youth Summit. Our children will be the inno-vators and entrepreneurs of the future. That’s a simple truth. They will be the ones who will meet the economic, social and environmental challenges of the future and I have to say, listening to the participants at the Muscat Youth Summit, that they’re definitely ready.

They’re eager to make a difference, contribute, innovate, create. They are a sharp reminder of the talent Oman has at its fingertips, they’re our most

precious asset, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure their thoughts and ideas are taken forward.

The endeavours of our youth in enterprise, their energy, enthusiasm and success will showcase Oman to the world and as such are a key part of the government’s efforts to create a positive international image and identity for the sultanate.

Muscat Youth Summit 2010 focused on youth entrepreneurship, can you tell us a little more about this?That’s right. The Muscat Youth Summit ran a series of workshops on entrepre-neurship, full-day sessions delivered by The Prince’s Youth Business Interna-tional, the Commonwealth Secretariat, The Young Foundation, Intilaaqah and Knowledge Horizon. It’s through this type of exposure that we were looking

Q&A

Initiative: The 2012 Muscat Youth Summit takes place December 4 to 7 at Millennium Resort, Al Musannah

Real entrepreneurs are different from the rest of us.

40 Gulf Marketing Review September 2011

Q&A

to encourage Summit participants to be-come entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers. Hopefully we achieved this by immersing them in real life learning ex-periences where they could take risks, manage the results and learn from the outcomes.

Entrepreneurship isn’t something special that a few people are born with, it’s a way of thinking that can be nurtured – this is what we wanted the summit’s participants to understand.

Perhaps people don’t realize the size of the world’s youth population and its importance to the global economy.

The World Bank estimates that by 2015 – target year for the Millennium Development Goals – there’ll be three billion people in the world under the age of 25. However, although this

generation will be the most educated ever, International Labour Organisa-tion statistics forecast a sustained rise in youth unemployment. They esti-mate that young people already make up as much as 40 per cent of the world’s total unemployed, and are almost three times as likely to be unemployed as adults – a situation exacerbated by the recent world eco-nomic crisis.

Indeed, young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of an economic downturn, during and after a crisis, it’s the youth who are hit hardest in terms of unemployment.

On a more positive note entrepre-neurship can act as the engine for economic growth as well as provide a successful route to long-term em-ployment, especially if entrepreneurs

receive the right support and advice in the business start-up phase.

Given the potential of start-ups and SMEs it’s particularly important that Oman fosters the conditions for an en-terprise culture at a time of economic crisis when the global job market is stalling. This was the message we wanted to get across at the summit’s workshops.

What’s your take on teaching entrepreneur-ship in schools?As I mentioned earlier, if we’re intent on raising Oman’s competitiveness then we need to focus on youth entrepreneur-ship. Entrepreneurial acumen needs to come at an early age. Picasso once said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain one once we grow up.”

Creativity, innovation, drive and a willingness to take risks subsides when we get older. We’ve got to keep these traits alive. Introducing entrepreneurship in classrooms across Oman should be part of the fabric of school life.

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Entrepreneurship is a behaviour rather than a personality trait.

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Starting young: ‘Introducing entrepreneurship in classrooms across Oman should be part of the fabric of school life, says His Highness