Department of Professional Development & Humanities Entrepreneurship: Creativity & Innovation M2H124701 EFK- Oman A young Omani boy performing quite well in academics throughout his school life grew up with his dreams and aspirations from society, to become a qualified engineer one day. The boy loved interacting with people and preferred human contact over love for machines. He realized he had a passion for strong human interaction during his college years at the Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, and embarked on a journey to make his presence felt in the corporate world. Equipped with the required theoretical knowledge and conceptual background, he was all set to contribute to the business world. He got his first corporate job as an HR Generalist with Daleel Petroleum LLC Oman. This job provided him excellent exposure to the domain of recruitments and related disciplines in the Oil &Gas industry in Oman. After a few years of enriched experience at Daleel Petroleum, he switched over to a promising job in the Government Sector. But within a year, his passion for the human-connect landed him with another job as a Training Analyst with Takatuf Oman, which is a subsidiary of the Oman Oil Company. It has its core competence in human capital consulting. Within just one year at his new job, he was promoted to be a Training Consultant. While working with all these organisations in different positions, he realized there was a huge demand for Omani engineering graduates in the Oil & Gas companies operating all over Oman, especially in the Sohar, Salalah and Musandum regions. He also noticed a significant gap in the supply of the local workforce comprising engineers who could cater to industry requirements in the said domains. This made him realize there was an acute shortage of local engineering talent and he began to understand the challenges faced by the Oil & Gas companies. During all these years his inquisitive mind was challenged by the issues of national interest and finding pragmatic solutions for them. He had the hunger for adding value to the community and society. It was his main driving force. For every action he would make, he would ask himself: “How can people benefit from what I do? What more can I do?” And he would get his satisfaction by helping others. Making money or making a name for himself was not his goal; it was only the result of his passion to contribute to society. During his corporate experience; primarily in the domain of Human Resources, Saif identified and examined numerous problems faced by the Oil & Gas Industry in Oman. The companies faced tough times getting suitable Omani Engineers with an inner drive and passion supported by an appropriate qualification for relevant jobs. His experience indicated that the gap in demand and supply for engineering related Omani manpower was widening. The companies operating in Oman were facing huge challenges in this area. Further, according to estimates based on survey reports from several secondary sources, the demand for engineers in the oil and gas industry is expected to rise significantly in future. Realising the immense potential and a future marked by a galore of opportunities in engineering and related domains, he was convinced that the new generation had to be prepared by honing their critical thinking and analytical reasoning capabilities. ECI-Case Analysis -Feb. 2020 Semester B 1|Page Department of Professional Development & Humanities Entrepreneurship: Creativity & Innovation M2H124701 From an educational perspective, Saif felt that a number of young Omani children were good at critical and analytical reasoning skills but they were unaware of the real benefits of studying science and technology. Saif identified a lack of interest and awareness amongst parents and their wards, as the key reasons for not pursuing engineering as their career option. He strongly felt that only selected Omani parents were forcing their wards to pursue a promising career in engineering. He observed that the young learners in Oman were good learners in their first few years at school, but eventually lost interest due to a lack of connection between their school curriculum and real world problems. After contemplating deeply over the problems experienced in professional life, Saif decided to explore the possibilities of creating awareness and interest in science, engineering and technology amongst young Omani children from their initial years of student life. He envisioned that if young children got the practical exposure to fundamentals in engineering, it would display and nurture their interest in related disciplines from childhood days. Moreover, it would benefit the Omani society and would certainly help future generations craft a better nation. This embarked Saif’s discovery of an excellent entrepreneurial opportunity. Taking this idea forward, he decided to bring this exposure to the children in Oman in their formative years. This led to his hunting for a suitable curriculum based on contemporary learning pedagogies. Finally, he found the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education system during one of his visits to Virginia, USA. By now the young boy’s dream and passion had shaped up to establish him as one of the leading young Omani entrepreneurs branded as Saif Al Manji. With strong vigor and determination, Saif Al Manji took up the challenging task of training young Omani minds for engineering by introducing them to the world of STEM education which is known to create a lasting impact on a child’s future by establishing Engineering for Kids – Oman L.L.C with its motto: “Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers!” which is a Franchise from an international brand. It is interesting to understand and analyse Saif’s entrepreneurial journey of setting up EFK-Oman based on the novel idea of bringing STEM education to Oman. At the outset of his venture Saif faced many challenges. He had to make numerous decisions and commitments, and work with dedication for this project. Though it affected his personal and family life, he decided to follow his dreams and worked passionately towards making them a reality. Initially Saif found it quite difficult to leave a secured job with an established company in Oman. But his passion and a strong desire to help society helped him. Along with contingency planning, it helped him to establish “Engineering For Kids of Oman”. Saif rightly analyzed that his venture would face tough competition from those businesses that keep young children engaged after school by offering fun-filled activities, like art and craft, sports, music, dance and dramatics. The biggest challenge now was to provide relatively more excitement and fun without losing the ECI-Case Analysis -Feb. 2020 Semester B 2|Page Department of Professional Development & Humanities Entrepreneurship: Creativity & Innovation M2H124701 essence of STEM education. He decided to offer different programs such as afterschool programs, classes, camps, workshops, and birthday parties according to a classification into three age groups – 4 to 7 years, 8 to 11 years and 12 to 14 years. The price determination of different programs was also not an easy task .Saif used price skimming strategy and continued experimentation to arrive at a somewhat competitive price for all its programs. Another significant point was that it was not clear which way the business would go. It may not work the way it was planned. This was exactly what happened. EFK-Oman targeted three customer groups, kids for after school programs, schools for content development and marketing, and corporates facilitating introduction of STEM education amongst children as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. It was anticipated that targeting the first customer group would be a big success, by contributing to increased revenue for business. However, post-hoc analysis made Saif realize that it was actually the third customer group comprising corporates which unexpectedly expressed immense interest and supported EFK-Oman for their novel idea of introducing STEM education to kids especially in their formative years. Further, the choice of a business location was a critical decision and required considerable thought. EFK-Oman started its operations in Panorama Mall in Bausher, but within a year or so realized that the rent was too high and the location did not generate as much footfall as expected. This led Saif to invest much more time and resources in identifying Azaiba as a better location for his business. The above mentioned points clearly highlight the dynamicity associated with business decision-making due to changes in the business environment, and improved learnings from outcomes of earlier decisions. An entrepreneur’s journey is full of challenges, risks and dilemmas, both in personal and professional domains, but at the same time this journey gets glorified by his/ her excitement, enthusiasm, and passion. In just 2-3 years of its presence in Oman, more than 1400 young minds found themselves on the alumni list and have been truly inspired through programs offered by EFK-Oman. Saif’s entrepreneurial journey is a real inspiration for many young aspiring Omani entrepreneurs. In fact his excellent endeavor involving the development of this novel idea in Oman has made him the “Winner of the fifth edition of Entrepreneur’s Conclave 2016” as well as the “Brand Ambassador of 2017”. However, this project is still in its budding stage, and is poised for tremendous growth. A bigger question faced by Saif is whether his entrepreneurial venture of introducing STEM education to Oman will be able to find its roots through approval and support from all concerned stakeholders, especially government bodies concerning school education in Oman? Whether his dream of “Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers!” will find its wings in the near future? The course content offered by EFK-Oman at present is a pre-designed content from their partner in the US. Saif intends to customize and adapt the programs offered by EFK-Oman to suit the requirements of education in a local context. However, he is still caught up with challenges of identifying people who could support him in content ECI-Case Analysis -Feb. 2020 Semester B 3|Page Department of Professional Development & Humanities Entrepreneurship: Creativity & Innovation M2H124701 development, and getting the required approvals from different stakeholders for introducing such content in Omani school education. Attracting and retaining suitable talented workforce passionate about contributing to Omani society and the nation at large is quite difficult. Till date Saif has been managing human resource requirements primarily through a talent pool comprising young Omanis who work with EFK-Oman only on a part-time basis. This might pose some problems related to the sustainability and future growth of EFK Oman’s business. Realizing the criticalities involved in the issues mentioned before, a few full-time job offers have already been made to select talented people in Oman, and EFK-Oman is looking forward to an excellent team comprising the right mix of full-time and part-time professionals to drive business expansion, especially in the Salalah and Sohar regions. EFK-Oman is also in the process of setting up an advisory board in order to support this endeavor from a strategic perspective. Last but not least, Saif Al Manji is also evaluating possible options for EFK-Oman’s business growth and expansion in Oman through a sub-franchising strategy. The tremendous progress in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) over the last ten years has changed markets, products and processes, ushering in a new set of opportunities and challenges for Omani employers and professionals alike. The skills required for STEM literacy, such as problem solving, technological proficiency and numeracy are fundamental to Oman’s economy and to the growing interest in supporting startups and youth enterprise. STEM proficiency is central to innovation, entrepreneurship and productivity. According to data from the US Department of Education, the demand for STEM-skilled workers globally will continue to increase, as both the number and proportion of STEM jobs grow. STEM skills open doors to a range of high-paying jobs and this needs to be conveyed to students as well as parents. Looking at the projected needs of Oman’s economy, the importance of STEM professionals cannot be overlooked. “Today, more than ever before, STEM holds the key to our survival as a planet, and our security, well-being and prosperity. It’s time we put STEM at the top of our agenda. Oman needs STEM-related talent to compete globally, and we will need it even more in the future. It’s not a matter of choice”, said Dr Nadiya Al Saady, Executive Director of the Oman Animal, Plant & Genetic Resources Centre (OAPGRC). “If you have a business idea, just go for it, and put your heart and soul into it. Do not confine these ideas only to your mind. Follow your instinct and act passionately. Challenges are there in setting up a new business, but it is fun and a rewarding experience. Only your persistence and determination can make you a successful entrepreneur”, says Al Manji. Adapted from: Srivastava & Hans, 2019. Optimize Your Venture – A Guide for Entrepreneurship Education, Oman Academy for SMEs in association with Muscat College. ----------ECI-Case Analysis -Feb. 2020 Semester B 4|Page
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