Intilaaqah Enterprise Fund (IEF), in collaboration with the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (PEIE), has agreed to sponsor PEIE's Big Ideas Tent, the Oman Manufacturing Group Seminar Programme (OMG) and PEIE's annual Smart Manufacturing Conference.

IEF is a revolving fund dedicated to providing business development support and finance to small and medium-sized enterprises. The $10 million fund was established by Shell in 2007 and is managed by GroFin Oman, said an official spokesman.

"Education, Training & Manufacturing: Going Global" is scheduled to be held at 7:45pm, January 28, at the Muscat Inter-Continental Hotel. The OMG seminar will explore themes of education and training and their relationship to globalisation.

Intilaaqah's director and IEF Marketing focal point, Abdullah Al Jufaili will participate in all three PEIE initiatives and will be a panellist at the OMG seminar.

"If Oman's manufacturing sector wants to compete globally then we need to upgrade employee skills and knowledge. We need to understand how Oman's higher education and training sector can equip the manufacturing sector with the right human capital, skills and know how," said Al Jufaili

"We're delighted that IEF is supporting PEIE initiatives. Indeed, this will give leverage to the fund and provide an opportunity for our fund managers to develop stronger ties with manufacturers and meet the sector's needs," said manager, GroFin, Abeer Al Abduwani.

"IEF's sponsorship of OMG, the Big Ideas Tent and Smart Manufacturing Conference adds substantial value to these important manufacturing initiatives, and the participation of Abdullah will be a huge draw card and offers great value to attendees," said PEIE's CEO Hilal Al Ahsani. - TradeArabia News Service