National Bank of Oman Hosts 5th Annual Ibtikar Competition

Inspiring a culture of bold innovation, the National Bank of Oman (NBO) hosted its 5^th annual Ibtikar event. Held at its headquarters in Athabia, the Bank’s internal innovation day that encourages employees to develop creative solutions that adds value and creates superior customer’s experiences.

Al Sayyid Wasfi Jamshid Al Said, Acting CEO at the National Bank of Oman said, “The success or failure of a company comes down to its people and how their energy is harnessed and directed. With technology at the forefront of our future, we are committed to igniting our team members’ creativity in such a way that provides them with opportunities to grow personally, and professionally. This in turn also extends growth to the company, furthering its capabilities to better serve our customers. Encouraging people to take that idea which is so farfetched and develop it into what will become our new normal is how innovation changes the world.”

Established in 2014, ibtikar’s objective has been to motivate employees to produce original ideas that help to advance the Bank’s business performance, with an opportunity to have the winning idea put into practice. Participants spend months brainstorming and developing their idea into a working prototypes. The best prototypes are then shortlisted and pitched live to a panel of external and internal judges on the ibtikar Day to determine the winning teams.

Faizal Eledath, Chief Transformation Officer at the National Bank of Oman said, “Events such as these are essential show how ingenuity and imagination of our people be leveraged to enhance our products and services to our customers. Encouraging the teams to think outside of the box while keeping technological advancements at the heart of the growth process is essential to implementing an innovative culture. Over the years, we have seen levels of originality and resourcefulness through this initiative including virtual reality based marketplace, voice recognition based banking application, and enhancements to NBO’s mobile app and this year has been no different.”

As the Sultanate continues to make strides towards becoming more digital, NBO remains committed to cementing its position as the ‘bank of choice’ with financial solutions that are not only competitive but innovative as well. Programmes such as Ibtikar go beyond engaging employees but harness an extraordinary amount of untapped potential that there is no shortage of.

The winning team, Cards Remote, said, “The encouragement we got for senior staff and managers to develop our ideas is an example of the success that can be achieved when you believe. The belief we had in our idea, and the belief our organization had in us to reach new heights gave us the momentum to push through when things got difficult. Creating something new is never easy, but with genuine support anything is possible.”

NBO is committed to empowering its staff, by nurturing great ideas and successful innovations, further developing the next generation of industry leaders. The Bank has continued to lead and inspire innovation among youths in Oman through platforms such as NBO Hackathon and SME Innovation Awards.