MUSCAT - The Detroit-based Global Leadership Team (GLT), which played a key role in organizing the recent World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship (WSIE), will provide coordinating support to Oman in its efforts to become the knowledge hub of the Arab world through the development of an ‘Innovation Valley’
A first-of-its-kind initiative in the Middle East, Innovation Valley will strategically position Oman on the global map of emerging knowledge-based economies.
It will provide the infrastructure and favorable business policies necessary to create an environment that facilitates the success of technology start-ups. At the WSIE forum, Maqbool bin Ali Sultan, Minister of Commerce and Industry, had described the Innovation Valley as ‘a centre of excellence, a place where people can come and innovate and exchange ideas.’
“It is intended to be an incubator, exchange and showcase of entrepreneurship and innovation development, thought and action,” said Sam Hamdan, founder and chairman of Global Leadership Team. “The concept is to be modeled after California’s Silicon Valley with a main campus in Muscat and satellite ‘valleys’ throughout the Middle East and Africa region, which will house entrepreneurs, established businesses, civic organizations and non- profit groups.
The main campus in Muscat, Oman, will be home to the Innovation Institute that will serve as the heart of the Valley, functioning as an incubator of thought, entrepreneurship and innovation development by focusing on education, research, fellowships and pilot projects.” The three-day WSIE event in Muscat (April 1-3), which was the first of its kind gathering in the Middle East, saw an impressive gathering of 600 of the world’s top CEOs, ministers and speakers from 56 countries that came together to help create a future for the next-generation of entrepreneurs.
The programme ended successfully with an ‘Action Declaration of Innovation’ by Hamdan, who chaired the event, identifying ‘actionable steps’ that can be taken by world leaders to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship including the formation of innovation clusters such as Oman’s Innovation Valley, cultivating a culture of innovation and risk taking among young people, creating public-private partnerships to provide entrepreneurs with access to capital, embracing standards of operational excellence across borders, eliminating red tape and regulatory hurdles to doing business, empowering women and encouraging cross-culture collaboration.
“Emerging countries, such as Oman, can learn so much from the United States,” said Hamdan. “To improve the quality of life of their citizens, these countries must embrace the core business principles that enable companies and individuals to be creative, resourceful and entrepreneurial.” Based in Birmingham, Michigan, Global Leadership Team (GLT) is a networked professional services organization comprised of highly skilled visionaries, branding strategists, management consultants, thought leaders, developers and integrators.
The organization delivers powerful solutions for a cross section of prestigious clients, ranging from leadership capacity building to alliance management for global live forums and innovative productions. GLT Centers of Leadership work in partnership with over 20 international governments and numerous private sector companies, as well as non-profit organizations and publications. |
