Origin Oman launches campaign and portal

According to Hamida Al Balushi, an Origin Oman Co-ordinator at PEIE, "Supporting the local economy is the number one reason for people buying local products and services. Freshness and lower prices are the next biggest influences." Indeed, research indicates that a staggering 75% are prepared to pay a bit more for products which help conserve the environment and help build a stronger national economy.

The Origin Oman campaign is designed to drive the market for local products and services and demonstrate to consumers how their buying power can benefit Oman's economy. "Our aim is very simple, we want to dramatically increase the public's awareness and take-up of Omani products and services," comments Al Balushi.

"The public care passionately about the future of Oman's manufacturing sector and the goods they produce," says Ibtisam Al Faruji, Head of PEIE's Marketing and the person leading the Origin Oman marketing campaign. "Government can do much to support local producers and service providers but consumers and institutional buyers have a vital role to play too," suggests Al Faruji.

The launch will also showcase the new Origin Oman portal which will facilitate the online business matching of local and foreign enterprises by allowing them to create and view company profiles, trade leads and product information spanning a wide range of industry sectors. Through an auto-matching mechanism, Omani enterprises will also be alerted by SMS of appropriate matches, allowing local and foreign businesses to make those first connections with each other.

"We recoginize," says Al Faruji "that acquiring international contacts and business partners are challenges faced by Omani enterprises in their bid to expand overseas. With the launch of the Origin Oman portal, PEIE aims to address and facilitate these needs by providing a ready and user-friendly online platform for businesses to profile their products and services worldwide. The response to the campaign and the portal have been excellent."