Oman is a beautiful, peaceful, and safe country. I value these qualities, but they are not enough to produce companies that can compete globally.
In Forbes Middle East’s 2025 list of the 100 largest listed companies in the region, the UAE had 33 companies, Saudi Arabia had 30, and Qatar had 12. Oman had only four.
Small and medium-sized businesses make up around 98% of all companies in Oman and employ about 76% of the private-sector workforce. However, they contribute only around 33% of non-oil GDP.
Oman also ranked 69th in the 2025 Global Innovation Index. Its ranking was lower in knowledge and technology outputs, at 91st, and creative outputs, at 85th.
Capital, regulations, and market size are part of the explanation, but I believe mindset also plays a role. Too many businesses are satisfied with being acceptable. There is less interest in becoming the best in the market or building a company that can compete outside Oman.
The local market should not be the limit of a company’s ambition. Oman does not need to lose its peaceful character, but it does need greater professional ambition, higher service standards, and more willingness to take calculated risks in business.
The four Omani companies on the Forbes list also need to be viewed in context. They do not necessarily represent a new generation of innovative private companies that started in Oman and expanded across the region. Some are state-owned or have significant links to government and semi-government institutions. Most operate in traditional sectors such as energy, banking, and telecommunications.
I would like to see more innovative private companies grow in Oman and expand into regional markets. At the moment, there are still very few of them.
