Bank Muscat co-hosts Shell Intilaaqah Club gathering
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in line with its vision ‘To serve you better, everyday’ and commitment to diversifying the Sultanate’s economy, joined hands with Shell to co-host the first gathering of the Shell Intilaaqah Club at the Bank Muscat Head Office recently.
The event was attended by senior officials from Shell and Bank Muscat.
Welcoming the guests, Abdullah Humood Al Jufaili, Head of Retail Enterprises, Bank Muscat, spoke to the gathering about the benefits and services provided through Bank Muscat’s Najahi programme. A discussion on “Business opportunities in the Blue Economy” and a speed networking session were also organised as part of the gathering so as to encourage the members of the club to further increase their business networking and improve their business capabilities.
A key USP of the Najahi programme is that it offers unsecured loans to MSME customers. Najahi’s customised financing solutions without collateral help - MSME enterprises to focus on growing their business. The Najahi programme is a testimony to Bank Muscat’s commitment to strengthening the role of micro and small businesses, thereby diversifying the Sultanate’s economy and creating job opportunities for Omani youth.
Securing credit without putting up collateral has been a major hurdle for micro and small businesses. Bank Muscat Najahi products fulfil the primary need of finance for the micro and small business segment without the need for security.
The Najahi suite of products include the value-added Najahi Current Account, Najahi Flexi Loan to support working capital, business expansion and other business needs; Najahi Business Credit Card; and Najahi PoS Receivables financing for customers who use PoS machines for sales. All financing options are available to clients ‘collateral free’.
Maintaining cash flow is a challenge faced by small businesses. Addressing this critical need, Bank Muscat launched the firstof-its-kind collateral free Najahi Flexi Loan facility. This facility allows customers to choose when to avail a loan and for what period. Customers pay interest only when they avail the loan and not when the facility is granted.
For short-term financing, the bank has launched Najahi point of sale (PoS) financing product. The specially designed short-term finance facilitates borrowing for working capital requirements simply based on the track record of sales that a business routes through their Bank Muscat PoS machines. The higher the proportion of non-cash sales, the higher the loan eligibility.
The key features of Najahi PoS financing includes daily installment repayments. A small amount is automatically deducted daily from the customers’ bank account to repay the loan. The evergreen facility allows Najahi customers to keep repaying and replenishing the loan, thereby ensuring assured cash flow.
Bank Muscat has launched a series of initiatives covering all segments of the SME sector in Oman. Serving as building blocks for entrepreneurs, these initiatives assume importance in the backdrop of the priority accorded by the government to develop the MSME sector in Oman.