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GWC Forum 2022
highlights and sets the roadmap for the decisive role of MSMEs in powering Qatar’s economy
Resounding Success: Hosting the FIFA World Cup™ will significantly boost enterprise and entrepreneurship in the country
The recently concluded Second Annual GWC Forum 2022 in Doha has both doubled down on the mandate and reinforced its resolve from its inaugural 2021 edition to prepare, advocate, and energize the MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in Qatar. The grand GWC-sponsored Forum featured multiple high-ranking industry-wide experts and professionals. The immediate dividend was the sharing of profound insights and the call to make the most and harness the emerging opportunities presented by the soon-to-be-staged FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ while outlining and manifesting the future growth masterplan and strategy in line with the nation’s National Vision 2030.
With just little over a fortnight to go for the greatest show on earth, at the time of writing this report, the GWC Forum 2022 set the spirit of the soon-to-be-staged FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Games into motion. The second annual Forum, titled ‘Ready for the Game’, highlighted how Qatar’s economy will continue to flourish after the World Cup.
The one-day, second annual GWC Forum 2022, concluded successfully on 1 November at The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa in the Qatari capital.
The event follows last year’s inaugural forum, titled ‘Getting you in the Game’, which attracted more than 800 delegates from 59 countries. This year’s forum focused on helping businesses capitalise on Qatar’s hosting of the FIFA World Cup™, which will be held from 20 November to 18 December.
Leading the charge in the logistics and supply chain solutions space was GWC Logistics, the organizer, convenor, and host of the event. As the Official Logistics Provider for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, GWC is playing a major role in tournament preparations. It is also helping to deliver an economic legacy by enabling Qatar’s blossoming and burgeoning MSMEs.
Hamad Al Abdan Director of Business Development and Investment Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), Qatar
Empowering MSMEs in Qatar— GWC Tribute
“Empowering Qatar’s MSMEs sector is one of our core goals and we look forward to sharing a range of insights from high-level local, regional and international participants during this year’s forum,” affirmed Ranjeev Menon, Group CEO, GWC ahead of the landmark event.
“We believe MSMEs will supercharge Qatar’s economy in the coming decades as the country leverages hosting the biggest sporting event on the planet. The FIFA
Ranjeev Menon, Group CEO, GWC
World Cup is bringing new opportunities to Qatar and enabling economic growth across a range of sectors. As Qatar’s number one logistics and supply chain solutions company, we understand the significant role we play in capitalising on World Cup opportunities, and this is something we demonstrated and showcased during the forum,” he added.
“GWC is proud to be at the forefront of MSME development, helping the current and next generation of businesses in Qatar as the country aims to deliver the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030,” affirmed Menon.
“This year’s forum has illustrated the impact of hosting the FIFA World Cup and how Qatar is leveraging the numerous opportunities that hosting a sporting megaevent offers. We look forward to continuing our work with partners across various industries as we strive to power Qatar’s economy long into the future,” he observed.
“I would like to thank all our valuable partners and stakeholders for taking part in another successful edition of the GWC Forum. We look forward to continuing the conversation as Qatar reaps the benefits of hosting the FIFA World Cup in legacy mode,” he emphasized.
Hybrid Forum
The hybrid forum, also included international participation, aimed to foster, encourage and enable MSMEs in Qatar by giving them a platform to showcase and grow beyond 2022, in line with the ambitious Qatar National Vision 2030.
It also served as an interface to unite the Government as the champion and advocate for their cause and other multiple stakeholders to unite in this endeavour
The keynote address was delivered on behalf of FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, by Fatma Samba Diouf Samoura, the Senegalese former diplomat and senior executive, appointed as the first female Secretary General of FIFA in May 2016.
“Qatar has been a hive of innovation in recent years, developing cooling technologies for stadiums and state-of-theart public transport infrastructure, including the Doha Metro and light rail tram systems,” she asserted in her video address.
Fatma Samoura lauded and thanked the Government of Qatar for taking the responsibility and delivering on the promise to develop the necessary infrastructure and
Gianni Infantino FIFA President
The FIFA World Cup 2022 has transformed Qatar. I’m greatly excited about this mega event after working on it for the past 12 years of my life.
Nasser Al Khater, CEO, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Hassan Al Thawadi Secretary General, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Qatar.
comprehensive amenities and facilities for this massively challenging world-class event. She was appreciative of the many engineering feats and marvels that constituted the demanding requirements and rigorous criteria expected of the Qatari Government.
A host of senior level speakers represented the forum partners and other global brands during the event, which facilitated insightful discussions on the role of logistics at mega-events like the FIFA World Cup™. Panel sessions and workshops also offered a deeper dive into key subjects as delegates looked to glean knowledge from the biggest sporting event ever to be held in the region.
In addition, two round table discussions and two workshops were held, focusing on business success and prosperity, occupational health and safety, design incubation and film entrepreneurship. Participants included representatives from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, FIFA, GWC, Scale7 and The Film House.
Panel 1: FIFA World Cup impact
With just little over a fortnight to go for the commencement of games and at the time of writing this report, the GWC Forum 2022 set the spirit of the soon-to-be-staged FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Games into motion.
The intent was to build on foundation from the previous year to prepare, champion, and empower the MSMEs of Qatar. It featured industry-wide experts who shared insights on making the most of opportunities presented by FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ while outlining the future growth roadmap in line with Vision 2030.
The first panel session examined the direct and indirect impact of hosting the FIFA World Cup on MSMEs in various sectors of the resilient and booming Qatari economy.
Speaking at this panel of the Forum, Jose Dhooma, Head of Event Logistics for FIFA asserted that despite many challenges, Qatar is ahead of its plans for the World Cup 2022. “Having won the bid in 2010, the State of Qatar has systematically and satisfactorily delivered at every stage and every year and with confidence I say they are well positioned,” he affirmed.
He also added that with an attention to detail, the plans have been well accomplished, and deadlines adhered to. Dhooma said hosting the FIFA World Cup in Qatar had raised the bar for a vast number of businesses.
“There is a better understanding of international requirements as a result of the World Cup,” he commented. “Many businesses now have FIFA on their CV. This helps them to grow. You should also consider the people involved in the organising committee – they will be thinking how they can create companies and take their services around the world. Working on a World Cup gives people confidence,” he added.
Panelist Syed Maaz, Chief Business Development Officer, GWC, stated that the MSME sector has grown phenomenally in the last 10 years and GWC has been constantly developing and nurturing their needs at every step of the way.
Panelist Fatma Al Nuaimi, Communications & Media Executive Director, Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, was also very upbeat about the advent and imminent holding of the FIFA World Cup Games. “Qatar will be a hard act to follow, and we have delivered on our promises and deliverables,” she underscored.
Al Nuaimi said the Supreme Committee had worked closely with MSMEs in Qatar and the region on many infrastructure projects, including stadium developments.
“We have been engaging MSMEs from the start, whether it is building stadiums or training sites. A number of businesses will be involved in the entertainment and fan experience activations during the World Cup, including event companies and food and beverage businesses. Whenever we
have opportunities, we make sure to involve MSMEs – many businesses have been developed here since Qatar won the rights to host the World Cup,” she noted.
Another panelist, Nazli Berberoglu, General Manager, The Coca Cola, felt the need for two main issues addressing the 21st century. Women Empowerment and Recycling and Waste Management.
Berberoglu commented on Coca-Cola’s commitment to working with MSMEs. “We support a large number of businesses and help them take advantage of opportunities,” remarked Berberoglu. “We always try to take a long-term approach and build a sustainable ecosystem. One example came during Covid-19 when we helped small businesses create home delivery strategies and worked with them to digitise their businesses so they could better serve their customers,” she continued.
She also spoke about two key issues addressing the 21st century. Women Empowerment and Recycling / Waste Management. “Under the directives of Coca Cola, we have been driving our market under these guidelines and empower women and also make sure we pay a careful attention to the recycling industry of our bottling plants across the world,” she asserted.
Maaz outlined GWC’s contribution to the MSME sector, including the development of 4 million square meters of logistics infrastructure and an ever-expanding ecosystem for small enterprises.
“The MSME sector has grown a lot in the last 10 years and is now a major driver for the economy,” said Maaz. “GWC has created an infrastructure to make it easy for MSMEs to set up in business. We are now managing a huge amount of warehousing in the country, including Al Wukair Logistics Park, which was built specifically to support MSMEs,” he observed.
Panel 2: The Way Forward
The second panel session, titled ‘The Way Forward,’ looked into the trends and challenges faced by MSMEs. Participants included Charles Nahas, Regional General Manager, Microsoft, Dr Manal Al Zaidan, Director of Pharmacy, Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), Dr Christos Anagnostopoulos, Assistant Professor, HBKU, and Dr Kamilla Swart, Associate Professor, HBKU. The panellists discussed the impact of
the FIFA World Cup on their various sectors and outlined the trends they expected to see after the tournament.
The second panel session delved into the trends and challenges faced by MSMEs by taking the discussion to major enablers of business transformation. Charles Nahas, Regional General Manager, Microsoft, spoke briefly on three points related to MSME’s namely start-ups, home grown businesses, commercial and small shop owners.
“We harness technology well and go out of our way to assist all three levels of MSME’s with innovative ideas to equip them for the current and future build of their company,” he emphasized.
Dr. Christos Anagnostopoulos, Assistant Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) observed that they have been doing research for the last 10 years and will continue to use this in the development not only for potential World Cup organizers, but also the MSME’s in their quest for market intelligence which will equip them on the global stage. “They will also help MSME’s to leverage their geographical location of Qatar to the region and Middle East to their advantage,” he noted.
“Qatar will shine during the 29-day period of hosting the FIFA World Cup matches and we can be counted on to deliver results. All measures are now in place for the safe and successful conduction of the Games,” assured Dr. Manal Al Zaidan, Director of Pharmacy, Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC).
Dr. Kamilla Swart, Associate Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, also weighed in asserting that with a newfound, business-friendly ecosystem in the aftermath of the FIFA World Cup Games, investors and MSMEs must take advantage of the momentum generated and harness the opportunities that come along.
Workshops
Hamad Al Abdan Director of Business Development and Investment Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Qatar, also shared insights on the incentives and opportunities offered by the Government to enable and foster the growth of MSMEs in the country.
Al Abdan earlier gave a presentation about the 1,000 Opportunities scheme, which invites businesses in the private sector to partner with global brands. He also discussed the business ecosystem in Qatar, describing the FIFA World Cup as a golden opportunity for the country’s economy to prosper in future.
Ayesha Khalifa Al Rumaihi, Manager of Special Programs Incubation at Qatar Development Bank (QDB) spoke on specific projects and the customized Scale7 incentive to encourage MSMEs
As the first Fashion & Design incubator in Qatar, Scale 7 was founded by QDB in partnership with M7, to serve as a platform to promote, develop and foster the creative industry in the country.
A final Round Table with two prominent academics Prof. Laoucine Kerbache and Dr. Adel Elomrim Assistant Professor, both from Hamad Bin Khalifa University, rounded the discussions. The two faculty members made the pitch and case for increased incentivisation and provision of resources to promote MSMEs into the wider business fold.
The final workshop focused on the research undertaken to track the impact of Qatar’s FIFA World Cup and how the education sector can work with industry to support students and alumni.
The discussions were anchored and moderated by Emily Angwin, Senior Presenter, Al Jazeera, based at the network’s headquarters in Doha.
Qatar National Bank (QNB) was the Strategic Partner for the GWC Forum 2022 and Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) was the Research Partner. Other Support Partners were FIFA; the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy; Ooredoo, the Qatari Telecommunications Company; Qatar Ministry of Commerce and Investments; Qatar Development Bank (QDB); Primary Health Care Corporation; Microsoft and Coca Cola Company.
The Media Partner was beIN SPORTS and the Gift Sponsor was Floward.
