MTCIT signs MoU with Celestia Capital
The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, in cooperation with The Public Authority of Special Economic Zones and Free Zones, has signed on Monday an MoU with Celesta Capital in ICT industry.
The MoU included areas of collaboration such as providing financing opportunities and the capital for the ICT startups to innovate solutions. Moreover, them enter the market in Oman and GCC countries for marketing their products and expand to more markets with the help of Celestia’s business network . Celestia will also work to transform the Sultanate into a hub to promote and market the products and companies in which it invests in and extend the network of promotion and marketing of Omani tech companies into the Omani market,the regional markets,and other countries of the world.
The MoU also outlined the role of Celestia Capital. It will support in the key priority sectors identified for value proposition development such as manufacturing and testing drone solutions for security purposes, blockchain, bitcoins, data mining. Additionally provide an opportunity to locate to Special economic Zone at Al Duqm(SEZAD) and create a Hub for data mining and developing web3.0 in the region. Moreover it will support in vital sectors such as Supply chain,IoT and AI.
MoU significance
Fahad bin Sultan Al Abri, Director General of Sector Stimulation and Future Skills at the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technology, confirmed that the Ministry is continuing its efforts to attract foreign investment to the Sultanate of Oman by focusing on international technology companies.He Added that the deep technology natured Celestia Capital , without a doubt will open up new horizons in supporting and finance Omani startups in the local market then pipeline them to investment opportunities abroad henceforth expanding to global markets.
Al Abri noted that MTCIT will propel the Vital ecosystem of the business environment to be more attractive and supportive to the growth of startups. Moreover, MTCIT will facilitate the obtaining of relevant licenses for Celestia to initiate its operations in the Sultanate of Oman. Inviting international ICT companies and link them to the local business environment will without a doubt help local companies grow and prosper.
Abdul Majeed bin Abdullah Al Ansari from the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones also stated the importance of signing this MOU between the two sides, which aims to attract companies interested in artificial intelligence, drone experiments and future technology industries. The Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones has allocated a 18 km2 site space for the uses of artificial intelligence in the Special Economic Zone at Duqm, in addition to enabling the companies to establish their investments in special economic zones and free zones.
“The tests of drones have been launched in the special economic zone in Al Duqm” added Al Ansari. “This test manifests the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones intention of benefiting from drones for mapping, Topographic survey,3rd modeling for the area, food and packages deliveries testing, inspection and many other uses.”
Al Ansari also added that such drone tests aim to provide aerial photography and data that will stimulate an overall, delicate yet executable visions. Moreover, it will enhance the potentials and technologies made used by construction and maintenance industry engineers henceforth uplifting technical operation quality, productivity and efficiency while avoiding wasting time and many other benefits.
“We’re thrilled to come to this mutual agreement with The Sultanate of Oman’s Ministry of Transport, Communications, and IT, and we’re looking forward to seeing the progress that can be made between our portfolio companies and the ministry’s team of experts,” said Sriram Viswanathan, Founding Managing Partner at Celesta Capital. “Oman is a critical country as a gateway to the region, whose emerging start-up ecosystem has immense potential. This partnership will support expansion into the Middle Eastern markets for the Celesta portfolio and other pipeline companies.”
Fahad bin Sultan Al Abri, Director General of Sector Stimulation and Future Skills has signed on Th MoU on Behalf MTCIT, Abdul Majeed bin Abdullah Al Ansari on behalf the Public Authority for Special Economic Zones and Free Zones and Sriram Viswanathan, Founding Managing Partner on Celestia Capital Behalf.