Ooredoo Celebrates the Graduation of 150 Women From Its Springboard Program

Under the patronage of H.H. Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chairman for International Cooperation at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Ooredoo, in collaboration with the British Council, celebrated the graduation of 150 public sector employees from the Springboard Programme. Led by CEO Ian Dench, members of Ooredoo’s Executive Management team welcomed over 200 guests to the event, including (Under Secretary Ministry of Civil Service), as well as dignitaries from the Ministry of Tourism. Representing Wave 6 of the programme, the participants raised the total number of Springboard graduates to 1000 since 2016, with over 250 projects and a potential of 50 SME opportunities.

Developed by women for women, the intensive course provided women from multiple government agencies and ministries across Oman with essential skills training to be applied to an exciting project development course. Participants were grouped in teams and tasked with creating a project with the top eight showcased on graduation day. An expert committee of judges were on hand to assess each entry, selecting ‘Tamrah’, ‘I Build’, ‘Karajee’, ‘Daleel Al Affiyah’, ‘Tarkhisak’, ‘Khat Sair’, ‘Al Awaam’, and ‘Waslat Afiyah’ as the eight best projects. The celebratory event was brought to a close with Ooredoo rewarding the top three teams for their efforts.

Ian Dench said, “Through the Springboard programme, we have succeeded in reaching out to potential entrepreneurs to offer them the support they need to get their business ideas off the ground with the power of technology. As this initiative continues to grow from strength to strength, we look forward to continuing to empower its alumni with mentorship and professional support to help them achieve their full potential.”

The Springboard programme was created with the belief that everyone has untapped potential that can be developed for the fulfilment of the individual, their employer and local communities. To date, Springboard has been introduced to over 175,000 women in over 22 countries, empowering them harness their talents and live healthier, happier and more productive lives.