Omantel institutes awards to honour SMEs

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel), the leading telecommunications provider in Oman, has announced the launch of Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards a new initiative aims at boosting the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector and recognising the rising stars and entrepreneurs. Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards is the first of its kind from Omantel and follows the success of the Omantel Business Alliance that was launched earlier this year and hosted key global speakers addressing the Sultanate's key corporates on different business issues and latest global trends. Addressing the media to launch the new initiative, Todd Dick, vice- president of Omantel Corporate, said: "Omantel Business has built a reputation for credibility, reliability and trust, creating long-term and highly-valued partnerships by helping companies succeed in many sectors of the Omani economy. We are proud of the long-term partnerships and well established relationships we have created with government organisations and companies across the full spectrum of business activity.- "Today, we are pleased to renew our commitment to the business sector and the nation's economy again by the launch of the Omantel Business Excellence SME Awards with an aim to help accelerating the economic growth of Oman.- "Our initiative will recognise the rising stars in the small and medium enterprise segment in Oman, and will celebrate young entrepreneurs who have made their mark. Rewarding and recognising those who practice excellence, and make it a habit,- he explained. The business excellence awards will be presented in five categories -” Best Performing Company (Small Enterprise), Best Performing Company (Medium Enterprise), Best New Entrant, Turnaround Success Story of the Year and Community Contribution. Todd Dick said for selecting the winners, the panel will take into account the financial performance of participants for the last three years between 2009 and 2011. This is not applicable to the best new entrant category. "SME is an important sector that is expected to play a significant role in realising the economic growth plans and help creating more jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for young Omanis,- Huda Abdullah Al Habsi, general manager of Marketing at Omantel Corporate said. "By implementing this initiative and benefitting from Omantel wide reach and capabilities, we want to build awareness of the importance of SME development, to support the government's Omanisation plans and provide opportunities for SMEs to network- added Huda. Registration process Entries are open from today, October 21, and are open until November 21. Registration can be done easily online through the following website: www.omantel.om/smeawards, or by filling the form and sending it by post to: P.O Box 139, Postal Code 114, Muscat ,Sultanate of Oman and call 24566567 for any inquiry. Application forms will be available at Omantel outlets. The award function will be held in December this year and the winners will be provided with the opportunity to network with other industry members and peers. In addition, Omantel will put together a comprehensive package that includes free participation in Omantel Business Alliance events and membership, free consultancy service for a period of one year to help build tailor- made telecommunication needs that best suits their business, one year of free exposure through newspaper advertisements and hoardings, free public relations support for a period of one year in addition to advertising support through free bulk SMS to help promote the winners businesses. Winners will also be provided with free facilities from Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) that include utilisation of OCCI Conference Room twice a year and placement of the winner's banner in OCCI website for one full month. "The support that we received from OCCI and Ernest & Young has been instrumental in launching this initiative,- said Todd Dick. Omantel Business is the dedicated unit providing advanced tailored solutions to meet the needs of corporate and government customers. "Our solutions include a full suite of telecom and hosting services, to connect your business to your customers and partners globally as well as locally. The solutions leverage a state of the art networks and systems. Our MPLS service is our first service to receive an ISO certification. We serve our individual customers through a team of specialised account managers. Times Of Oman