Salalah, Oman - The Financial Services Authority (FSA), regulator of Oman's capital market and insurance sector, hosted an interactive awareness platform at Salalah Gardens Mall as part of Khareef Dhofar 2025, engaging visitors with educational activities to promote financial and insurance literacy.

Now in its third consecutive year, the platform, titled ‘Youth Platform for Insurance and Investment’, was dedicated to children, youth and their families. The programme ran from 5 August to 11 August, daily from 4:00 pm to 10:00 pm.

It aimed to strengthen direct communication with different groups within the community and to instil concepts of insurance and investment in the younger generation through simplified and engaging methods that catered to their interests, while also encouraging parents to participate in educational discussions that helped embed financial values within the family environment.

The platform’s daily programme included a variety of interactive activities, most notably a reading corner presented by storyteller Rashid Al Ghafri, who captivated children with engaging narrations of stories published by the Authority, followed by interactive educational activities designed to reinforce the concepts introduced. The Authority had previously published a series of nine children’s stories aimed at instilling principles of investment and insurance literacy in a simple and appealing manner, tailored to different age groups.

In addition, the platform featured a range of educational activities and competitions that enhanced family-wide financial literacy, alongside the ‘Mulim’ corner, which showcased winning entries from the Gulf Smart Investor Award (Mulim) across three consecutive editions, celebrating creativity in investment and financial planning.

This year’s participation took on added significance through the involvement of the Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX) and Muscat Clearing and Depository Company (MCD), who contributed with a series of awareness-raising activities targeting citizens, residents, and visitors alike. Specialists from both entities conducted workshops titled ‘Stock Adventure’, designed to simplify concepts of investment and trading, and to guide participants on how to start their investment journey in a clear and accessible way.

Staff from Muscat Clearing and Depository also engaged directly with visitors, explaining how to obtain an investor number, outlining the registration steps on the Oman Stocks app or the company’s website (www.mcd.om) to view digital investment portfolios, and answering queries related to settlement, clearing, depository, and other services. Representatives from the Muscat Stock Exchange and Muscat Clearing and Depository were present daily at the Authority’s platform to provide support, raise awareness about capital market services, and explain how to benefit from available investment opportunities, including opening a new investor account with ease.

The platform formed part of the Authority’s wider programmes aimed at strengthening financial and insurance literacy among the younger generation through field presence and direct engagement with the public, offering activities that combined education and entertainment. It also reinforced the Authority’s new corporate identity, elevated financial awareness in society, and contributed to preparing a generation more aware of the concepts of investment and insurance.