SMEs push up the value of contracts awarded in Oman
The value of government contracts issued by Oman doubled in 2025 to reach a record high, pushed up by tenders awarded to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Oman awarded tenders worth $4.4 billion in 2025, up from $2.1 billion a year earlier and 58 percent went to SMEs, the Oman Tender Board (OTB), said.
The growth in Omani contracts was driven by the power, minerals, renewable energy, oil and gas sectors, which overtook construction in infrastructural projects in terms of value.
Most of the awards to SMEs in 2025 were in minerals, oil and gas in a bid to “boost their businesses and compete with the established companies”, Saeed Al Amri, director general of projects at OTB, said.
There are around 267,000 SMEs in Oman and they contributed $17 billion to the GDP in the third quarter of last year. The figure was up 6 percent compared to the same quarter in 2024, according to the National Center for Statistical Information.
Oman’s state-owned Development Bank increased its funding to SMEs in the first half of 2025, with the value of loans given rising 13 percent year on year to $285 million, AGBI reported.
The bank’s financing was extended to a total of 3,716 SME companies “to encourage more investments in the sultanate and capitalise on growth in support of startup businesses”.
Further reading:
- Oman Future Fund opens ‘quick’ loan scheme for SMEs
- Oman hopes tourism can foster entrepreneurship and create jobs
- Oman reports record job recruitment for nationals
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