Launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM ) Report (2020/2021)

• Launch of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM ) Report (2020/2021) which includes 45 countries and Oman is becoming a member in the GEM consortium in 2019 as a joint research collaboration between Authority of SMEs Development and University of Nizwa. 

• The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor comprises 45 countries. 

• The new 2020/2021 GEM Global Report provides the world’s first evidence-based assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 on levels of entrepreneurship.

• During the pandemic, increase the level of entrepreneurial activities in Oman in 2020 

• All of Oman’s entrepreneurial ecosystem framework conditions scores increased in 2020 compared to 2019

It is difficult for policymakers to make informed decisions without having the right data. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) fills this void. GEM began in 1999 as a joint research project between Babson College (USA) and London Business School (UK). The consortium has become the richest source of reliable information on the state of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems across the globe, publishing not only the GEM Global Report annually, but also a range of national and special topic reports each year.

Entrepreneurship is one of the most important enablers for building a diverse competitive economy, and entrepreneurship in Oman is met with great interest and support during this phase of the renewed renaissance and Oman Vision 2040 under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tariq. 

The world is currently in the grip of a devastating pandemic, COVID-19, which has been causing widespread negative health, social and economic impacts. There is a pressing need for careful, authoritative and evidence-based assessment of the pandemic’s impacts on levels of entrepreneurial activity across the world, as well as on attitudes and ambitions. The new 2020/2021 GEM Global Report spells out how levels of entrepreneurial motivation and activity vary across the world. In doing so, it provides the world’s first evidence-based assessment of the impacts of COVID-19 on levels of entrepreneurship.

May Fifth has witnessed the launch of the 22nd annual GEM Global Report. A unique feature of this Global Report is that it provides the first careful assessment and measurement of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on levels of entrepreneurial activity across the globe, and on attitudes and perceptions across 45 countries.

Oman’s measures of entrepreneurial activity in 2020 reflect an economy clearly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020 48%  of adults (18–64)  reported that their household suffered an overall loss of income because of the pandemic. This was about the average rate for all GEM economies. However, those who personally know an entrepreneur started a new business in the last two years ranged from more than four out of five in Oman. In comparing the proportion of adults knowing someone who had stopped a business due to the pandemic to those knowing someone who has started a business, Oman had more than six out of 10 in both.

 It is worth mentioning that Omani’s Total early-stage Entrepreneurial Activity (TEA) rate more than doubled between 2019 and 2020, going from 6.7% to 16%, the largest ratio of increase for all GEM economies. There could be many explanations for this, including that a significant portion of Omanis who intended to start a business in previous years (in 2019 it was 63%) ended up doing so in 2020. However, Oman has one of the higher rates of adults intending to hire no additional employees (10.8%) for their business within the next five years, compared to just 1.5% expecting to hire six or more

All of Oman’s Framework Condition scores increased in 2020 compared to 2019, with one exception. Oman’s most dramatic improvements came in the education-related conditions. In “Entrepreneurial education post-school” Oman made another strong leap, from 4.4 in 2019 to 5.3 in 2020, 13th among all GEM economies. In addition the other indicators for the government policy, government support programs, and the market infrastructure have been improved in 2020 in comparison to 2019.