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Fea ures Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Muscat Youth Summit: Investing in Tomorrow In today’s competitive world it’s important we project Oman’s stance on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. We understand the enterprise culture and its significance to our social and economic development
O
ver 200 young people aged 15-24 drawn from around the world will attend this year’s Muscat Youth Summit (MYS), December 4-7, at the Millennium Resort in Al Mussanah. Organised by the Brand Oman Management Unit, MYS 2011 will focus on social entrepreneurship, digital participation and urban art and culture. The high-profile fourday residential programme is supported by the Diwan of the Royal Court, Sultan Qaboos Centre for Islamic Culture; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Education; Unesco; the Commonwealth Secretariat; The Prince’s Youth Business International; The Young Foundation; Oman Oil; Sohar Aluminum; Nawras; BankMuscat; Omantel; Khimji Ramdas; Oman Air; Zubair Corporation; Oman LNG; Omran; and Qalhat LNG. Oman Daily Observer sat down with His Highness Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al Said, the man spearheading MYS to talk about youth, entrepreneurship and national competitiveness.
Excerpts from the interview What sparked the global interest in youth entrepreneurship? For the past 25 years, public policy makers across the world have sought to increase the entrepreneurial capacity of young people. Initially, this was a response to global youth unemployment in the early 1980s but more recently there’s been a focus on bridging the gap between the world of work and education; and increasing national competitiveness through the enterprise culture. In a response to this, we’ve seen a number of highly successful enterprise schemes designed to specifically help young people start and run their own businesses. Perhaps the best known international examples are: The Prince’s Trust, Shell Livewire, the New Deal for Young People (UK), Law 44 (Italy), Youth Business Initiative (Australia) and Atlantic Canada. In fact, it’s estimated that there are over 68 major entrepreneur initiatives specifically targeted
at young people in Europe. Why is the Muscat Youth Summit looking at entrepreneurship? In today’s competitive world it’s important we project Oman’s stance on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. We understand the enterprise culture and its significance to our social and economic development. Indeed, as a nation, we actively encourage and welcome innovators, talent and ideas that add value to Oman. It’s this philosophy that’s at the heart
If you look at nations that have a long history of enterprise and innovation their statistics clearly reveal the importance of entrepreneurship
of the summit. In simple terms, the success of our youth in enterprise, their energy and enthusiasm present a wonderful image of Oman to the world and as such are a key part of the Sultanate’s branding efforts. The summit will focus on social entrepreneurship, can you tell us a little more about this? That’s right. MYS will run a series of full-day workshops on social entrepreneurship, sessions delivered by folk from The Prince’s Youth Business International, the Commonwealth Secretariat, Injaz, The Young Foundation, Sharakah and Knowledge Horizon. It’s through this type of exposure that we’re looking to encourage summit participants to become entrepreneurs or entrepreneurial thinkers. Hopefully, we’ll achieve this by immersing them in real life learning experiences where they can take risks, manage the results and learn from the outcomes. It’ll be an exciting experience. On a positive note and despite the current global economic challenges and vulner-
abilities, entrepreneurship can act as the engine for economic growth as well as provide a successful route to long-term employment, especially if entrepreneurs receive the right support and advice in the business start-up phase. If you look at nations that have a long history of enterprise and innovation their statistics clearly reveal the importance of entrepreneurship. For example, in Britain, SMEs account for 99.9 per cent of all businesses and are responsible for 59 per cent of private sector employment and 52 per cent of private sector turnover. In the US more than 87 per cent of all businesses have five or fewer employees. These small businesses create new jobs on average at a rate of 900,000 per year. Given the potential of startups and SMEs it’s particularly important that Oman fosters the conditions for an enterprise culture at a time of economic crisis when the global job market is stalling. This is a message we want to get across at the summit’s workshops. Have we the necessary support infrastructure to help domestic entrepreneurs? I think so. On the domestic front, we’ve a number of highly successful initiatives that support and promote entrepreneurship, from The Knowledge Mine business incubator programme at Knowledge Oasis Muscat; The SME Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; The Research Council; Sanad; Intilaaqah; Sharakah; Injaz;
Oman Development Bank; and the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation Oman — all evangelising the enterprise culture. In this regard, we’ve the necessary ingredients to take youth entrepreneurship on and up. How would you define entrepreneur? In the movie Heat, starring Al Pacino (good guy) and Robert De Niro (bad guy), De Niro turns to Pacino and says: “One of the things that let’s me do what I do is, there's nothing in my life that I won't walk out on in a matter of seconds. Nothing. So if you're going to chase me, and if there's something in your life that you're not willing to walk out on in a few seconds, you're going to lose.” That's what it's like to be an entrepreneur. Real entrepreneurs are different from the rest of us. They pursue lives of extremity — extreme ideas and expectations, extreme workloads — impelled by an idea and passion. But when you talk to most people about entrepreneurship they think of it as being limited to the creation of new businesses by adventurous capitalists. In my view, this is limiting. Entrepreneurship is a behaviour rather than a personality trait. And if we’re to become more competitive as a nation then we need to be promoting entrepreneurship, particularly with young people. Are today’s youth interested in entrepreneurship? Absolutely, and this was the message we received at last year’s summit. From an international perspective, the
HH Sayyid Faisal bin Turki al Said US-based Kauffman Foundation carried out a study which showed young people want to be their own boss. Their online survey interviewed 2,438 young people aged 8 to 21 about entrepreneurship. It showed that four in ten young people would like to start their own business in the future, while another 37 per cent believe starting their own business is a possibility. The survey also revealed that 25 per cent of those interviewed believe entrepreneurship is a more desirable career opportunity than other options. What are the advantages of encouraging youth entrepreneurship? Work for young people unleashes multiplier effects throughout the economy and society, boosting investment and consumer demand and ensuring more stable and cohesive social ties across our communities and generations. Indeed, it’s been suggested by economists that if we could halve the world’s youth unemployment rate then we could add an estimated $2.2 to $3.5 trillion to the world economy.
Not an insignificant amount of money. Starting and running a business also helps young people achieve economic independence, reducing their reliance on the state. Young entrepreneurs are more likely to engage with their local community, spreading their experience and energy and creating jobs. Employment also boosts a young person’s self-esteem, making them more productive members of a family and community. What’s your opinion on teaching entrepreneurship in schools? If we’re intent on raising Oman’s competitiveness then we need to focus on youth entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurial acumen needs to come at an early age. Picasso said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” Creativity, innovation, drive and a willingness to risktaking 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.