Qatar Today December 2015 by Oryx Group of Magazines

inside this issue December 2015 / Vol. 41 / Issue 12

COVER STORY

44 THE YEAR THAT WAS

In our annual recap of the year gone by, we shed light on some of the memorable and world-changing events of 2015.

38 THE GOOD BUSINESSMAN

Talabat’s former CEO Mohamad Jaffar, tells young entrepreneurs in Doha that being a good human being is a prerequisite to running a successful business.

68 KEEPING THE SPIRIT OF WISE ALIVE

WISE 2015 showcases groundbreaking educational initiatives, discusses and debates solutions to some of the world’s most pressing education problems around the theme “Investing for Impact.”

72 OUR MEETING SPACE

The Female Majlis is a congregation of ideas with conversations that pave way to wrestle complex issues of women joining the knowledge economy while also maintaining social and cultural traditions.

76 NOT A WASTED EFFORT

The waste management scene in Qatar takes lessons from examples around the world.

96 FOR THE QATARIS, BY THE QATARIS

The second Launch conference offered participants a learning experience from a range of local and international speakers.

inside this issue December 2015 / Vol. 41 / Issue 12

SPOTLIGHT

79 WELCOME TO QATAR

For the country's hospitality industry, growth is a delicate balancing act; while tourism and mega-events promise brisk and rising demand, relentless and unrealistic expansion is not sustainable. We focus the spotlight this issue on companies that are taking a mature and measured approach to growth, even while looking outside the borders.

18 ALL EYES ON THE NEW BUDGET

Qatar Today speculates on the defying factors that will govern the general budget 2016.

28 THE ADVENT OF DIGITAL OILFIELDS

Disruptive technologies could be the savior oil industry seeks as it contends with low prices.

30 SECOND CITY DRIVES CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

With a wave of new projects moving from the drawing board to the roll-out stage in Qatarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lusail City development, activity in the construction sector looks set to shift up a gear.

32 COP21 POWERED BY BIG COAL

Ironically, the UN summit on climate change has been made possible through profits generated from 200 mega tonnes of coal-fired CO2. What does this conflict of interest between the summit and its sponsors mean for world leaders gathered in Paris?

64 INNOVATION NATION

How innovative are organisations in the Middle East and how can they create a culture of innovation in 2016?

92 BEYOND BRAVIA

At the first Sony Technology Event for Professionals (STEP) held in Doha, the electronics giant and its local partner, Darwish Technology, exhibited some cutting-edge audio-visual, broadcasting and security solutions.

and regulars 14

NEWS BITES

BANK NOTES

O&G OVERVIEW

REALTY CHECK

TECH TALK

88 SPORTS 90

AUTO NEWS

MARKET WATCH

DOHA DIARY

from the desk Magazine editors face a unique predicament: we must contemplate and write for the month ahead, composing our editorials in a way that they are not obsolete in 30 days' time. Just as everyone has started to think of holiday destinations and New Year resolutions, we editors sit back and think of the year gone by â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and try to define it. So what is the defining sentiment from the year that is on the way out? Acts of terrorism seems to have taken up a big part of reporting space. Broad estimates have put the number of terrorist incidents at 300 till the end of Novemeber, committed primarily by Boko Haram and ISIS. Nigeria, Kenya and Cameroon have been severely affected by terror strikes at the hands of Boko Haram, almost comparable in extent and ruthlessness to the Iraq terror strikes, ISIS attacks in Syria, Pakistan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It seems almost a paradox that there is no unifying, global arm against terrorism; even as Russia launched a major campaign of airstrikes beginning September 30 to supposedly target the extremists of IS. This has further bolstered the existing operations by the Syrian regime, which to date have killed far more civilians than any other force in the country. Between January and July of this year, government forces killed 7,894 civilians, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (a group critical of Bashar Al Assad), compared to 1,131 killed by ISIS and 734 by armed opposition groups. So that raises the question: which is the bigger evil that has to be eradicated? People place candles on November 20 on the water mirror on the esplanade of the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes, western France, to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks of November 13. AFP PHOTO / JEAN-SEBASTIEN EVRARD

Escaping from this state of despair in Syria and the areas around it, are the migrants; another major crisis that has reared its head in 2015. This significant crisis has illuminated the different ways European countries dealt with it. Germany, considered as cold and egocentric, emerged the saviour, pledging to take in an estimated 800,000 refugees this year, earmarking an additional $6.7 billion for the refugee crisis. So what will 2016 hold for us? Will terrorism be contained, or will more lives be taken in this seemingly, endless war of extremism? As we ponder macro issues, the human spirit takes center stage; the will to fight adversities, forget atrocities and move on prevails and becomes the driving sentiment of 2015. Celebrating the vision of Qatarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leaders and the power of its people, Qatar Today extends best wishes to all our readers ahead of Qatar National Day.

SINDHU NAIR Managing Editor

PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF YOUSUF JASSEM AL DARWISH CHIEF EXECUTIVE SANDEEP SEHGAL EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT ALPANA ROY EDITORIAL MANAGING EDITOR SINDHU NAIR DEPUTY EDITOR IZDIHAR IBRAHIM SENIOR CORRESPONDENTS AYSWARYA MURTHY KARIM EMAM CORRESPONDENTS AARTHI MOHAN KEERTANA KODURU ART SENIOR ART DIRECTOR VENKAT REDDY DEPUTY ART DIRECTOR HANAN ABU SAIAM ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR AYUSH INDRAJITH SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER MAHESHWAR REDDY PHOTOGRAPHER ROBERT F ALTAMIRANO MARKETING AND SALES BUSINESS HEAD FREDRICK ALPHONSO MANAGER – MARKETING SAKALA A DEBRASS ASSISTANT MANAGERS – MARKETING HASSAN REKKAB MATHEWS CHERIAN DENZITA SEQUIERA SONY VELLATT A H M IRFAAN ASSISTANT EVENTS MANAGER JASMINE VICTOR MARKETING COORDINATOR REENA LEWIS SENIOR ACCOUNTANT PRATAP CHANDRAN DISTRIBUTION SR. DISTRIBUTION EXECUTIVE BIKRAM SHRESTHA DISTRIBUTION SUPPORT ARJUN TIMILSINA BHIMAL RAI BASANTA POKHREL PRADEEP BHUSAL

PUBLISHED BY ORYX ADVERTISING CO WLL P.O. Box 3272; Doha-Qatar Tel: (+974) 44672139, 44550983, 44671173, 44667584 Fax: (+974) 44550982 Email: qtoday@omsqatar.com website: www.omsqatar.com Printed at: Gulf Publishing and Printing Co WLL Copyright © 2015 Oryx Advertising Co WLL

letters

QT POLL

SMS

33328417

TO WIN A MICROSOFT LUMIA 535

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE? NOVEMBER QATAR TODAY POLL

80 YES

20 NO

Figures in percentages

DO YOU THINK ELECTIONS FOR THE SHURA COUNCIL ARE IMPORTANT/NECESSARY?

HAPPINESS VS AFFORDABILITY It is nice to know that Doha is on the list of the top 10 happiest cities. A good standard of living has become an expensive affair here but hopefully this will end soon, putting a stop to the increasing rents and utilities costs. RICK REYMOND ONLINE SHIFT With most countries already using online platforms for their purchases, Qatar is still lagging behind in this aspect. Many people have trust issues and I believe the younger population is moving towards the online systems of sale and purchase. The market is slowly shifting away from the traditional see-and-buy methods except in the case of bigger items such as cars and furniture. RYAN SMITH STUDENT POWER Energy World Qatar 2015 has been a great experience. There should be more opportunities for students to use their STEM skills, explore their innovative sides and these initiatives should be made compulsory for all students in Qatar. AHMED SHAH LETS GET FIT Qatar as a country has shown tremendous success in the field of sports. I especially enjoyed the IPC Athletics World Championships and it has inspired me to go into the path of fitness. RAGHAVAN INFRASTRUCTURE DAMAGE The recent floods have shown that the buildings, houses, offices and malls have been poorly constructed. I hope the ministry officials will pay more attention to the infrastructure development and investigate with actual results and reports that are made public.

EXPERIENCE A NEW ERA OF READING QATAR TODAY INVITES READERS’ FEEDBACK

Share your views about the magazine or any issue that affects you here in Qatar. One lucky reader will win an exquisite Montblanc writing instrument. WRITE TO: THE EDITOR, QATAR TODAY PO Box 3272, Doha. Fax: (+974) 44550982 e-mail: qtoday@omsqatar.com

BASSIM R

CHECK OUT ALL ARTICLES OF QATAR TODAY ON WWW.QATARTODAYONLINE.COM www.issuu.com/oryxmags/qatartoday

Qatar Today reserves the right to edit and publish correspondence. Views and opinions expressed in the published letters may not necessarily be the publication’s views and opinions.

Published by Oryx Advertising Co WLL, All rights reserved. Qatar Today is published monthly by OAC, PO Box 3272, Doha, Qatar. Subscription rate QR180 per year. All subscription correspondence to Qatar Today, Oryx Advertising Co WLL, PO Box 3272, Al Hilal area, Doha, State of Qatar. For single copies call us on + 974 44672139 or e-mail qtoday@omsqatar. com. Material in this publication must not be stored or reproduced in any form without permission. Requests for permission should be directed to qtoday@omsqatar.com. Reprint requests should be directed to info@omsqatar.com. Qatar Today is a registered trademark of Oryx Advertising Co WLL.

affairs > local QATAR AT COP21

HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived for the opening of the UN conference on climate change on November 30 on the outskirts of the French capital Paris, for a meeting of more than 150 world leaders. AFP PHOTO / POOL / LOIC VENANCE

Prince Charles of Wales with Great Britain’s ambassador to France Sir Peter Ricketts, Chairman of Qatar National Food Security Program Fahad Al Attiya, British economist Nicholas Stern, Baron of Brentford, World Bank Group president Jim Yong Kim, Costa Rica’s president José Maria Figueres Olsen, Kiribati’s president Anote Tong, and former US vice-president Al Gore, who took part in a working dinner on climate change at the British embassy to France, on November 29 in Paris, on the eve of the start of the COP21 climate talks. AFP PHOTO / DOMINIQUE FAGET

AFP PHOTO / HO / QATAR UNIVERSITY

ERDOGAN’S VISIT OPENS NEW AVENUES A handout picture released by Qatar University shows Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressing an audience at the university during a ceremony where he was awarded an honorary doctorate.

urkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's state visit to Qatar coincided with the conclusion of the Qatar-Turkey Year of Culture. A number of important relationships were established such as the first ever Supreme Strategic Committee set up by representatives from both the countries. President Erdogan expressed satisfaction at the outstanding level reached by the bilateral relations in all fields and the continuous consultation

16 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

and coordination between the two brotherly countries. On the sidelines, several Memoranda of Understanding were signed, notably between the two militaries, Qatar Petroleum and Turkish Potash for cooperation on natural gasrelated matters, in the fields of press and information, and between Qatar Foundation and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey to consolidate their efforts on matters of science and technology.

WOMEN OF QATAR II7

KUWAIT

I24

BAHRAIN

A PRAYER FOR PARIS Chairman of the Paris Saint-Germain club, Nasser Al Khelaifi, HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls observe a minute of silence in tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks before the French L1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes on November 28 at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris.

II9

I22

I34

I35

UAE

SAUDI ARABIA

QATAR

OMAN

Qatar ranks towards the bottom in the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Gender Gap Index which ranks countries on the gap between women and men on health, education, economic and political indicators. Qatar was placed at position 122 out of 145 countries this year, in close proximity to several Gulf states, including Kuwait (117), the UAE (119) and Bahrain (124). Saudi Arabia and Oman were once again near the bottom, ranking 134 and 135, respectively.

AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE

A RESPONSE TO AMNESTY’S CRITICISM The Government Communication Office released a statement to counter the claims made by Amnesty International which attacked the slow pace of labour reforms in the country.

n the eve of the anniversary of Qatar winning the bid to host the FIFA World Cup 2022, Amnesty issued a report that criticized how Qatar has done “almost nothing effective to end chronic labor exploitation”, and also implicated FIFA for being a passive bystander. In response, Qatar’s Government Communication Office issued a statement arguing that the report “does not accurately reflect the progress we have made in reforming our labour system”. “The Government feels that Amnesty’s reporting lacks context, as it does not benchmark labour conditions in Qatar against labour conditions in other countries facing similar challenges. Qatar fully intends to meet the highest standards with regard to labour but for reasons that

are unclear, Amnesty International has provided no comparative data on labour conditions in other countries employing large numbers of guest workers to meet the demands of rapid growth and development,” the statement said. The office reiterated that significant reforms were being made for the migrant workforce, citing examples like the introduction of the Wage Protection System, which requires companies to pay employees’ wages directly into bank accounts. The statement addressed local perceptions of the ineffectiveness of the new laws. “Far from ‘tinkering on the edges’ of reform, Qatar has made, and will continue to make changes in our laws that will help ensure that the rights of both workers and their employers are respected,” it said.

Soldier killed in Yemen

ALMOST TWO MONTHS AFTER QATAR SENT APPROXIMATELY 1,000 GROUND TROOPS TO YEMEN AS PART OF A SAUDI ARABIA-LED COALITION TO SUPPORT THE EMBATTLED GOVERNMENT AGAINST HOUTHI REBELS, THE COUNTRY WITNESSED ITS FIRST CASUALTY WHEN A SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER WAS KILLED IN ACTION. QATAR’S FOREIGN MINISTER HE KHALED AL ATTIYAH TWEETED ABOUT THE INCIDENT WHILE HH THE EMIR ATTENDED THE FUNERAL OF THE MAN IDENTIFIED AS MUHAMMAD HAMID SULAYMAN. NO DETAILS WERE RELEASED SURROUNDING THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF HIS DEATH AND HE WAS BURIED AFTER PRAYERS AT THE ABU HAMOUR CEMETERY. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 17

affairs > local

ENERGY WORLD INSPIRES YOUNG STUDENTS OVER 5,000 STUDENTS FROM 120 SCHOOLS ACROSS QATAR ATTENDED "ENERGY WORLD – QATAR 2015" TO EXPLORE AND LEARN MORE ABOUT STEM IN A FUN AND INNOVATIVE WAY. THE EVENT CHALLENGED STUDENTS WITH FUN STEM-THEMED INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES AND INNOVATIVE ENERGY QUESTIONS TO DISCOVER WHAT TYPE OF INNOVATOR THEY ARE – DESIGNER, ENGINEER, CONNECTOR, INVENTOR OR ADVENTURER.

IS DOHA THE BEST PLACE FOR EXPATS? QATAR FROM SPACE NASA ASTRONAUT SCOTT J KELLY SHARED A PICTURE ON HIS TWITTER ACCOUNT OF A CLOUD HOVERING OVER QATAR, TAKEN FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION.

A survey conducted of about 22,000 expats by HSBC as part of its online Expat Explorer survey earlier this year has produced some insightful results about Qatar’s expat community. Qatar is the best place in the world to move to if you want to boost your standard of living, the survey has revealed.

76%

OF THOSE WHO MOVED TO QATAR – WHICH HAS THE WORLD’S HIGHEST GDP PER CAPITA – SAID THEY HAD MORE DISPOSABLE INCOME AS A RESULT.

QF’S SMART CITY INITIATIVE Qatar National Bank has signed an agreement with Qatar Foundation to issue a multipurpose co-branded card, called "Hawiyati", that will create a cashless-spending environment in Education City.

awiyati is a two-phased project that will enable its holders to have a two-in-one smart card. While providing its users with a unique photo ID that allows them smart access to Qatar Foundation’s campus, the card also enables them to make payments, perform e-Commerce, and have a multicurrency wallet, a statement released by QNB said. The dual-faced card will

18 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

include the QF details, such as photo, name, department or university, and logo on one side and the other side will include the QNB payment requirements, such as magstripe, signature panel, account number, and CVC2. The card will also come with a sticker that incorporates Near Field Communication technology, allowing the customer to make contactless payments securely.

24%

SAID THEY HAD BEEN ABLE TO INVEST IN PROPERTY BACK HOME. ALMOST

50%

OF THOSE POLLED SAID THEY COULD SAVE MORE AS A RESULT OF WORKING IN QATAR.

68%

OF EXPATS UNDER 35 YEARS OLD RECEIVE AN ACCOMMODATION ALLOWANCE FROM THEIR EMPLOYER WHEN MOVING HERE.

3I%

UNDER THE AGE OF 35 BOUGHT THEIR FIRST HOME WHILE LIVING HERE.

affairs > local "Frugality is founded on the principle that all riches have limits." Edmund Burke

All eyes on the

new budget Qatar Today speculates on the defining factors that will govern the general budget 2016. By Ilak Gan

20 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

n one go, Qatar’s new 2016 general budget has sent out multiple messages that are loud and clear. More than the numbers and allocations, it rather hints at policy changes in the offing, and with an underlying tone of frugality, improved spending efficiency, higher non-oil revenues and enhanced responsibility of the private sector in the country’s growth story. The new budget – a means to achieve a pragmatic and tangible strategy towards fiscal consolidation – has wider ramifications of an economy whose 50% of revenues come from the hydrocarbon sector, which has been wallowing in shallow prices since mid-2014 with no signs of hardening in the foreseeable future. As a run-up to the new budget, the Ministry of Finance had in March this year extended the fiscal year 2014/15 until the end of 2015 as a transitional period prior to the harmonization of the fiscal year with the calendar year, starting in January 2016. HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in his address to the Council of Ministers, made it clear that the new budget “will take the fall in oil prices into consideration, so as to avoid a big budget deficit that may cause harm”. Oil prices are now at least 50% lower year-on-year. Qatar, which largely remains ‘unscathed’ from the global contagion, has always followed a conservative approach in basing the oil prices for its budgets; implying larger surpluses than those estimated in previous years. Finance Minister HE Ali Sherif Al Emadi described the new budget as “realistic” to reflect the current situation of sliding oil prices but expected a “moderate” deficit. The Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS), in its Qatar Economic Outlook for 2015-17, had earlier hinted that the country could show the first fiscal deficit in 15 years in 2016 against the previous forecast of 2017, which was also corroborated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its projection. With the impact of lower oil prices seen most immediately in the nominal gross domestic product (GDP) estimates, the MDPS said Qatar, whose economy is slated to grow at 4% and 4.5% in 2015 and 2016 against the GCC average of 3.2% and 2.7% respectively, could still post a fiscal surplus of 1.4% of GDP in 2015 but show a deficit of 4.9% in 2016 and 3.7% in 2017. The “considerable” fall in the fiscal surplus in 2015, against 12.3% in 2014, reflects a relatively quick pass-through of lower oil prices on budget revenues. It also

points to increased spending restraint on current expenditures. However, a deficit per se is not that bad as long as the government keeps a tight rein. A small short-term deficit is beneficial for Qatar, one of the most insulated economies and will be a “shock absorber” for the growing economy that may not see derailment of infrastructure spending amidst lower oil prices, according to a senior banker. “Running fiscal deficits for a year or two will absorb the lower oil prices and keep the economy growing,” according to Marios Maratheftis, Head of Macro Research, Standard Chartered Bank. What is more striking in HH the Emir’s speech was his warning on “wasteful spending, overstaffing and a lack of accountability” and concerns about “dependency on the state to provide for everything”, both of which are clear signals of the hard measures that the government is contemplating. Although the government has ensured continued budgetary support to the vital infrastructure sector and human development projects, the spending will now come under more scrutiny, implying more accountability and efficiency as well

"From less than 42%, the non-hydrocarbon sector now accounts for more than 50% of the country’s economy. This industry will grow by 10% in 2016, which is higher than the expected growth of the oil and gas sector." HE SHEIKH ABDULLAH BIN NASSER BIN KHALIFA AL THANI Prime Minister

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 21

affairs > local as an expected improved incremental capital output ratio. Qatar has so far ring-fenced its economy from any disruptive fiscal adjustments due to its comfortable financial buffers that have been accumulated during the heydays. However, with oil prices remaining low and expected to remain at that level in the foreseeable future, as opined by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, it has become inevitable for the country to cautiously tread along the path of fiscal consolidation. For Qatar, dwindling export earnings (as trade surplus more than halved yearon-year due to a steep decline in the value of hydrocarbon exports, especially crude, natural gas and refined petroleum products) have made the income side subject to external vagaries and vulnerabilities; so one of the best options is to unleash the potential of fiscal policy since Qatar's monetary policy is stymied due to the fixed exchange parity with the US dollar, which is now gaining ground for various reasons. The wake-up call from HH the Emir is just the beginning of ‘New Oil Normal’, as put by former Dubai International Finance Centre chief economist Dr Nasser Saidi, and it implies the need for a sustained effort to support the economy through means other than the oil revenues, whose declines in the past had led to curtailed expenditure. Sensing the need for sustainability in their economies, the IMF has asked the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to broaden and deepen their revenue base through expansion of non-oil taxes, raising energy prices, which are still well below international norms, and gain a firm control over spending. Qatar, along with the other GCC countries, is now discussing introducing value added tax (VAT) in the next two to three years, which will positively contribute to the national exchequers by various proportions, if reports are to be believed. In its Article IV country consultation report, released in April this year, the IMF had said Qatar could consider levying 5% VAT and broaden the ambit of corporate income tax by including domestic and Gulf companies, which together has the potential to enhance the non-oil GDP by 3.5%. Taking a cue from HH the Emir, the Minister of Development, Planning and Statistics HE Dr Saleh Mohamed Salem Al Nabit now openly talks about fiscal austerity as he stressed the need for “greater discipline” in government spending and 22 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

QATAR'S FISCAL SURPLUS (IN PERCENTAGE OF GDP)

2015

+I.4% 2016

-4.9% 2017

-3.7% 2015

QATAR GROWTH

GCC AVERAGE GROWTH

2016

4% 4.5% 3.2% 2.7%

reforming subsidy and tax regime in an economy where expatriates constitute about three-fourths of the population. “In light of the high-level challenges facing the hydrocarbon market, a greater discipline has become an urgency in the assessment and spending of development budgets for all programmes and projects,” said Al Nabit recently. “It has also become an urgent need to consider issues such as the rationalisation of support and providing it to target groups, development of the tax system, and supporting the revenue side of the budget,” he opined. The Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development recently asked the GCC countries to “rethink generous (fuel) subsidies” as “prices that appeared munificent in the 1970s have remained constant – or even been reduced, in a few cases – despite the eroding effects of income and inflation.” As part of reforms, the state utility Kahramaa recently introduced a new pricing mechanism by introducing the slab system, which is aimed not only at rationalizing the usage but also at strengthening its financials. HH the Emir clearly said the coming budget could tend to promote growth and

expansion in non-oil sectors to diversify the economy. As per the MDPS, growth in non-hydrocarbons has outpaced that of the hydrocarbons and non-hydrocarbons’ share in GDP has also been expanding. In fact, Lagarde was all praise for the country’s diversification strategy that draws strength from Qatar National Vision 2030, which forms the bedrock for the country’s prudent macroeconomic policies in the wake of faltering oil prices. “From less than 42%, the nonhydrocarbon sector now accounts for more than 50% of the country’s economy. This industry will grow by 10% in 2016, which is higher than the expected growth of the oil and gas sector,” Qatar Prime Minister HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani told the recently held 15th World Export Development Forum. Gone are the days when the public sector was considered as the lone cylinder to power the economic engine of the country as the private sector will now have to evolve itself to be part and parcel of the country’s macroeconomic system. A clear hint to this effect was given by none other than HH the Emir when he disclosed that a comprehensive review of all state-owned companies had been carried out. “After submitting this review to the Supreme Council for Economic Affairs and Investment, I have directed that subsidies for a number of these companies be ceased, and some be privatized, and management of some be transferred to the private sector, and government corporations and companies will not compete with the private sector, and opportunities for this sector to implement government projects be enforced,” he said. The expected hard fiscal measures are all aimed at smoothly gliding the economy with the highest per capita income (in purchasing power parity terms) amid turbulence caused by weak oil pockets, which has already led Qatar Petroleum and Shell to shelve the $6.4 billion Al Karaana Petrochemicals complex joint venture and Industries Qatar to shelve the $5.5 billion Al Sejeel petrochemicals project. Nevertheless, a clearer picture has to emerge about how the new economic order will pan out as there are apprehensions that taxes and slashing of subsidies could negatively affect the aggregate demand in the economy, which was reflected in the Qatar Stock Exchange as its key index plunged 5.32% during the week when Al Nabit made the clarion call for fiscal discipline

business > bank notes “Liquidity is very comfortable at the moment. I don’t see that there is a need for any intervention [ahead of a possible US interest rate hike. The interest rate in the US might in the future go up and that will give us a chance to review monetary policies, which will be based on the condition of the market at that time.”

WAIT AND WATCH

SHEIKH ABDULLAH BIN SAOUD AL THANI Governor, Qatar Central Bank

DOHA BANK EYES AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION IN INDIA

Accolades for Al Khaliji

l Khaliji Commercial Bank has been named the “Best Private Bank in Qatar” by Global Finance magazine’s 2015 World’s Best Private Banks Awards. According to a statement, the Global Finance editorial board selects the final winners among submitted entries from across the globe based on market research and analysis, input from industry analysts and executives, third-party data, and customer feedback from users of private banking services. The bank was named Best Premium Bank in the Middle East by Banker Middle East, and Best Bank for Investor Relations in Qatar earlier in 2015.

ONLINE REMITTANCE MADE EASY Qatar-UAE Exchange has partnered with Ahli Bank to provide an online remittance service from Qatar which will allow customers of Qatar-UAE Exchange to transfer money online from Qatar to anywhere in the world instantly and at any time in a convenient and fully secure manner. 24 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Doha Bank expects to more than double its exposure in India to $5 billion over the next three years, up from the current $2.3 billion. The bank, which commenced Indian operations earlier this year with its first branch in Mumbai, later acquired two more branches in Mumbai and Kochi. Dr R Seetharaman, Chief Executive Officer of Doha Bank, said, “Investors and banks from the Middle East are keenly looking at the unfolding opportunities for investments in India in the areas of infrastructure, corporate lending and funding small and medium-sized enterprises. The bank is in the process of setting up an Indian subsidiary as early as possible and this will enable us to expand and set up more branches in India.”

E&Y MEASURE DIGITAL BANKING PERCEPTIONS QATAR CUSTOMER FINDINGS

I9% 42%

BANKING CUSTOMERS USE MOBILE BANKING IN QATAR

ARE SATISFIED WITH MOBILE BANKING EXPERIENCE

QATAR CUSTOMER VERDICT

89% 42%

CUSTOMERS WOULD SHIFT IF THEY WERE OFFERED A BETTER DIGITL EXPERIENCE

CUSTOMERS WOULD BE WILLING TO SHIFT TO A DIGITAL-ONLY BANK

Willing to increase banking service usage

78%

80%

69%

Payments

Credit facilities

Credit card

business > oil&gas

“We are experiencing a movement from the BRIC era to the Shale era, from a time of great demand and scarcity to a time of abundance in supply and weaker demand. What is happening today is a rebalancing of the world economy. People often underestimate the power of technology, such as that which has unlocked shale reserves and played a role in setting the stage for today’s market.”

BP: PLAN BACKFIRES

THE GAS SUMMIT AFP PHOTO / ATTA KENARE

GLOBAL POWER SHIFT

DR DANIEL YERGIN Leading authority on energy, geopolitics, and a winner of the Pulitzer Prize at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC) last month.

British Petroleum will need to revise its plan to explore for oil in an untapped frontier off the coast of southern Australia before regulators will approve its drilling programme estimated to cost more than A$1 billion ($710 million). The London-based energy producer’s plan “does not yet meet the criteria for acceptance under the environment regulations,” the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority wrote in a statement posted on its website. The company will be able to resubmit its proposal. BP is seeking to drill in the Great Australian Bight, a remote region the company has described as “pretty much the last big unexplored basin in the whole world.” BP has faced opposition from environmental groups worried about the potential for an accident more than five years after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

QATARGAS SHIPS POLAND'S MAIDEN LNG CARGO QATARGAS HAS SHIPPED 210,000 CBM THROUGH THE Q-FLEX LNG CARRIER AL NUAMAN, IN NOVEMBER WHICH IS SCHEDULED TO ARRIVE AT SWINOUJSIE LNG TERMINAL ON DECEMBER 11 OR 12. THE CARGO WAS SECURED UNDER A CONTRACT BETWEEN POLSKIE LNG AND POLSKIE GÓRNICTWO NAFTOWE I GAZOWNICTWO UNDER WHICH THE LATTER SERVES AS AN INTERMEDIARY FOR THE PURPOSES OF LNG SUPPLIES TO THE TERMINAL.

26 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

A picture taken on November 23 shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Iraqi president Fuad Masum, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Bolivian president Evo Morales and other officials during the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) summit in Tehran. Putin arrived in Tehran on his first trip to Iran in eight years, for talks on the devastating conflict in Syria where both countries support the Damascus regime.

PETRONET STILL IN TALKS WITH RASGAS Petronet LNG, India’s biggest importer of the chilled fuel is still in negotiations with RasGas over a $1.5 billion penalty fee after breaching the 25-year supply contract.

he company is also looking to lower the cost of LNG as it currently pays about $12-13/MMBtu for the fuel under a deal that started in 2004, compared with around $7-8/MMBtu for spot LNG. Petronet LNG negated local media reports saying that the two companies reached a deal to modify the contract and avoid the penalty fee. Petronet has reduced purchases from RasGas by about a third in 2015 due to high prices and low demand from customers. However, the company is only allowed to cut its purchases by maximum 10 percent under the 7.5 mtpa LNG deal. Petronet is now facing a hefty fine of $1.5 billion for taking less LNG than agreed.

business > realty check STRIKE IN MSHEIREB Between 200 and 300 men protested unpaid wages by stopping all work at the prestigious Msheireb Downtown Doha project, according to an online news site. While most described the incident as a peaceful protest, others said some individuals aggressively confronted their supervisors. The employer, subcontractor Drake & Scull, was quoted as saying that the issue stemmed from a onetime delay in paying salaries because of new requirements under Qatar’s wage protection system.

10 YEARS IN QATAR DTZ Qatar announced the opening of its new dedicated residential leasing and sales office in Medina Centrale at The Pearl-Qatar, coinciding with the company’s tenth year of operations in Qatar. The DTZ residential sales and leasing office was officially inaugurated with the support of the company’s Qatari partners, Ghanem Al Hammadi and Ibrahim Al Asmakh. Last month, DTZ Qatar also received the Best Property Consultancy Highly Commended Award at the 2015-2016 Arabian Property Awards event held in Dubai.

SUSTAINABILITY IN QATAR’S HOSPITALITY SECTOR

Qatar Green Building Council hosted an event titled “Towards sustainable hotels in Qatar” that brought together various experts to discuss a case study and benchmarks.

he event highlighted results of a comprehensive Indoor Environmental Quality Case Study conducted by QGBC’s Healthy Building Interest Group in collaboration with the Movenpick Hotel West Bay and a host of other partners. The survey focused on measuring numerous aspects of indoor environmental quality including acoustics, accessibility, furniture and material, housekeeping and indoor air quality. Commenting on the launch of the case study, Iñigo Satrústegui, Head of QGBC’s Healthy Buildings Interest Group and Managing Director of Quality Air Global in Qatar, said: “The case study is a ground-

28 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

breaking piece of research which will prove highly useful for indoor air quality and sustainability experts in Qatar. We would like to extend our special gratitude to the Movenpick Hotel West Bay for allowing us to use their facilities to conduct this vital study. In the near future, we will use this case study as a benchmark to help other hotels, companies and institutions improve indoor environmental quality for their buildings. QGBC welcomes further collaborations to help improve standards of indoor environmental quality within the built environment in Qatar through launching research and case studies.”

LOOKING TURKEY-WARDS

lak Group Real Estate Conglomeration met with potential investors and customers in Qatar to woo them towards their real estate product portfolio in Turkey, specifically places like Istanbul, South Marmara, Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean regions; all five regions where the company has branches. The group now has more than 24 projects pegged at $10 million in volume excluding some special lists of big-volume investments worth $1 billion. The company offered customers lots of choices such as land, estate, finished housing, housing projects and commercial real estate products (malls, hotels, touristic facilities, etc.) and has prepared some special packages and benefits for their Qatari and GCC customers that include discounts and free air tickets to Turkey.

oil & gas > viewpoint

THE ADVENT OF

DIGITAL OILFIELDS O

DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES COULD BE THE SAVIOUR THAT THE OIL INDUSTRY SEEKS AS IT CONTENDS WITH LOW PRICES.

30 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

il and gas companies, which are grappling with an intense battle for customers amid a supply glut and stressed prices, are increasingly looking for ways to improve efficiency and reliability of their assets to gain a competitive edge. One area of rising investment is in the confluence of technology that allows greater communication and integration of different devices and sensors – the socalled Internet of Things (IOT) – a promising disruptor that can allow producers to keep wells flowing and refineries running at a pace that wasn’t possible only a few years ago. IOT has captured the imagination of consumer-device manufacturers, from refrigerators that can automatically restock favourite foods to cars that communicate with other vehicles and road infrastructure. Lower costs of sensors and the ability to transfer and process growing amounts of data are enabling the shift to greater connectivity for both consumer and industrial applications. In the oil and gas sector, a critical industry that’s generally resistant to chasing the latest fads, the adoption has been explosive. Companies are rushing to create cloud services that connect and integrate wells with other equipment in an effort to optimise energy consumption, increase reliability, and allow for condition-

based maintenance that helps producers maximize returns and maintain continuous output. This is happening as a result of the growing number of devices with cellular or satellite connectivity deployed in oil and gas applications around the world, which was 423,000 at the end of 2013, according to Berg Insight, an analyst firm focused on the machine-to-machine market. Berg estimates that number will rise by 21.4% per year to 1.12 million by 2018. All those devices churn out petabytes (millions of gigabytes) of data that have to be analysed and shared on cloud systems, and protected from cyber risks. The applications are almost limitless, from drones that can inspect remote operations to wearable devices that track workers and foster better collaboration. Machines have been talking to each other for decades. With the IOT, humans are included in this conversation, transforming physical assets into digital ones that constantly monitor the surroundings and communicate to humans, making our machines more alive. By funneling this data into the cloud rather than segregated, closed systems, people are able to interpret insights and trends on how machines are behaving, and benchmark them against other assets which helps make better decisions. In the next few days, IOT will develop a trend within the industry to

create a “self healing” or a “self optimising” plant. Equipment and systems will be creating the necessary workflows based on process simulation to heal abnormalities. The value that can be generated in the oil and gas industry by implementing an integrated IOT strategy is considerable. According to a recent Deloitte study, decision makers in the industry have access to just one percent of the data gathered from assets. Improving data capture and analysis can cut unplanned well outages by 50% and increase “crude output by as much as 10% over a two-year period.” This potential for rising production from existing assets comes as international and national oil companies retrench from investing in new technologies after crude prices plunged over the past year. And it’s precisely during such a period, when planned projects are shelved and workers are let go, that low-cost oil producers in the Gulf Cooperation Council should exploit favourable pricing from service providers and make investments that will give them an edge when prices rise. Energy companies are traditionally hesitant with new technology given the numerous risks that must be mitigated, such as worker safety, protection of assets, and environmental concerns. These issues take on an even greater importance for countries in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which derive the bulk

of their income from oil and gas exports. Any adoption of new technology has to ensure that critical infrastructure is not jeopardized. Still, many companies in the region recognize the importance of digitising their assets and are well into the process of developing these new systems. One of the faster growing segments is in Digital Oil Fields, which uses big data, workflow automation, and other processes to improve efficiency and maximise output. Although the Middle East has been a relative slow adopter, according to RnR Market Research, the region is poised to be the world’s fastest-growing digital oilfield market, with spending to rise at a compound annual growth rate of 5.9% to 2022. This compares with 4.8% for the global market during the same period. Kuwait Oil Co. has launched three major pilot projects with a fourth one in the planning phase. Oman, a pioneer in deploying enhanced oil recovery technologies to boost output from its fragmented and mostly heavy crude reserves, is betting on its programme to ramp up production. The National Oil Companies in the region own some of the world’s oldest continuously operated fields. Much of the equipment lacks documents, control logics, and operational procedures; many records are missing and knowledge isn’t transferred between departing and incoming employees. It’s no surprise that GCC producers are moving to digitise their assets. IOT has also been used to build a 3D model of a refinery in the region, which was mounted on a gaming platform to create a simulator. Workers could then be trained on how to operate and maintain a plant without risking the safety of the facility or interrupting output. These simulators mimic real-life scenarios and include operating procedures that enhance the transfer of knowledge within organisations. Technology may advance incrementally on the margins for long periods of time without substantially affecting established players. Indeed, developing technologies may remain uneconomical on average, even as leading innovators approach breakthroughs. The future will see an increase in mergers, acquisitions, and the emergence of IOT (IT/Industrial) hybrid companies collaborating to bring affordable and efficient innovation to the market. But once a technology delivers cost and performance that are materially superior to the status quo, it may well be adopted rapidly en masse

BY GHASSAN BARGHOUTH VP Middle East - Oil & Gas and Industrial Segments, Schneider Electric

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 31

business > viewpoint

SECOND CITY DRIVES QATAR’S

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

WITH A WAVE OF NEW PROJECTS MOVING FROM THE DRAWING BOARD TO THE ROLL-OUT STAGE IN QATAR’S LUSAIL CITY DEVELOPMENT, ACTIVITY IN THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR LOOKS SET TO SHIFT UP A GEAR.

ubstantial spending on infrastructure, bolstered by a broad range of private sector initiatives, is expected to keep the industry working at full capacity in the coming years, though supply shortages and increasing input costs may arise as demand accelerates. Lusail in the spotlight Located to the north of Doha and covering an area of 38 sq km, Lusail City stands as Qatar’s largest development project. The fully integrated city is expected to be home to 200,000 residents and provide employment for some 170,000 workers once completed. Developers also expect Lusail to become a new cluster for entertainment, hospitality and retail over the course of the next decade thanks to a series of leisure-focused projects, ranging from golf courses to marinas.

ESSA MOHAMMED ALI KALDARI Chief Executive Officer Lusail Real Estate Development Company 32 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Progress report Much of the city’s infrastructure is already in place, with integrated services provider Marafeq currently installing the utilities. This is expected to pave the way for developers to make further progress on construction work across the office, residential and retail segments. Essa Mohammed Ali Kaldari, CEO of Lusail Real Estate Development Company, the firm carrying out the work, is confident that the construction itself will help

to raise the city’s profile. “This year, the development in Lusail is becoming more visible to observers, with vertical construction under way and the first tenants beginning to occupy the buildings,” Kaldari told OBG. “However, a significant degree of infrastructure work has already gone into the project, which is why the land is now ready to be built upon.” Kaldari told OBG that all the sites in the North and South Fox Hills districts – which will serve as the main residential area – had been transferred to developers, with work already under way on 25% of available plots. Ground was also being broken elsewhere, he added. “All of the plots in the Marina District earmarked for the commercial and residential towers have been handed over to the developers,” he told OBG. Final tenders for construction work across the rest of the city are set to be issued in the coming months, paving the way for the remaining contracts to be awarded before the fourth quarter of next year, with full completion of projects scheduled for 2018. Retail ramping up With an anticipated QR727 billion ($200 billion) worth of infrastructure projects set to be rolled out in Qatar over the next decade, building activity is growing both inside Lusail City and elsewhere, with private sector spending also gaining pace, particularly in terms of retail construction. A recent report by property firm DTZ Qatar estimated that up to 1.3 million square metres of additional retail space will come onto the market by 2019, marking a 220% increase on current supply. Up to 12 new malls are expected to open their doors before the end of the decade. Despite the growing availability of new gross leasable area (GLA), demand for retail space

is continuing apace. The planned $1.3 billion Place Vendôme, touted as the cornerstone of Lusail’s Entertainment City district, will comprise some 230,000 sq metres of GLA. An estimated 25% of construction is already complete, Sean Kelly, project director of Place Vendôme, told OBG, with handover of the upmarket mall to clients scheduled for the first quarter of 2017 and the mall’s official opening set for later that year. Price pressures The large portfolio of projects in the pipeline is expected to significantly increase calls on construction firms’ capacity from mid2016 onwards, with heightened activity also likely to put greater pressure on materials and labour costs, as well. According to estimates from infrastructure specialists AECOM, the cost of materials will soar by 15- 20% per annum starting in 2018. A drive to increase Qatar’s logistics capacity, led by planned new port facilities, is expected to ease shortages of key building materials, though the sector may still see elevated prices into the next decade, before easing as the state’s investment programme moves towards completion. Other key inputs, such as labour, are also expected to see increases in the coming years. According to a recent study by management consultancy, the Hay Group, labour costs in the construction industry have risen by 4.5% this year, outpacing average wage inflation. With extensive infrastructure and building projects set to be rolled out in the coming years, wages appear likely to maintain their upward trajectory – which, alongside other factors such as rising material costs, could contribute to tighter margins in the industry in the medium term

Vertical Progress The rapid pace of construction at Lusail is boosting the construction sector, with the final tenders set to be issued in the coming months.

BY OLIVER CORNOCK Regional Editor Oxford Business Group

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 33

green scene > viewpoint

COP21 POWERED BY IRONICALLY, THE UN SUMMIT ON CLIMATE CHANGE HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH PROFITS GENERATED FROM 200 MEGA TONNES OF COAL-FIRED CO2. WHAT DOES THIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST BETWEEN THE SUMMIT AND ITS SPONSORS MEAN FOR THE WORLD LEADERS GATHERED IN PARIS? 34 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

BIG COAL

s negotiators around the world gather for what many expect to be a groundbreaking UN climate negotiating session on this coming Sunday at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) which will seek a legally binding agreement on climate action, few may know that their meeting is being funded by the coal industry. The corporate sponsorship of COP21 creates a dangerous conflict of interest in three key respects. Many of the sponsors are highly invested in oil, gas, coal, and other carbon-polluting sectors, and have a vested interest in obstructing or weakening any real action on climate change. However, with major industrial polluters using

their deep pockets to influence climate policy at every level, how will a meaningful agreement be secured? Corporate interest at COP21 A new report released by Corporate Accountability International highlights that four of the leading sponsors of this year’s UN climate negotiations are collectively responsible for more than 200 megatonnes of CO2 emissions worldwide. The report titled, ‘Fueling the Fire - The corporate sponsors bankrolling COP21’, reveals how European energy giants Engie, Électricité de France (EDF), Suez Environment and BNP Paribas collectively own more than 46 coal-fired power plants

around the world, including investments in oil sands exploration in Canada and fracking for shale gas in the UK. This has raised serious concerns ahead of the UN conference about the role that corporate lobby groups should have, as many feel that this direct financial interest goes against the moral focus of the negotiations. Patti Lynn, executive director of Corporate Accountability International, noted that the decision to allow these large polluters to sponsor the conference is “akin to hiring a fox to guard a hen house”. She also argued that the UN climate negotiation was at risk of becoming a “corporate tradeshow for false market-based solutions.” The report not only highlights the public behaviour of many of these companies, but also what they do behind the scenes. Earlier this year, ExxonMobil was famously outed for having suppressed knowledge of their role in contributing to climate change for the past 30 years. However, it appears that many of the new conference sponsors have similarly questionable records on direct policy interference. While EDF claims to be “committed to a decarbonized world,” it is an active member alongside ExxonMobil and Shell of Business Europe. This group has been linked to openly opposing the “market deployment of energy produced from renewable sources” across Europe. But it is perhaps their public actions that speak the loudest. In 2014, the sponsoring energy giant Engie directly profited from more than 131 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. That is equivalent to the pollution emitted from driving a car around the globe 12 million times. “Despite recent announcements to stop new coal projects, Engie still owns 30 dirty coal power plants worldwide,” said Célia Gautier, policy advisor at Climate Action Network France. The report finally calls for future climate policy-making to be free of corporate interests through directly excluding large contributors to climate change from the policymaking process, in a similar way that big tobacco was kicked out of health talks a decade ago. Twenty years of inaction by UNFCCC After two decades of negotiations, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been unable to achieve meaningful action on climate change. The failure of 20 climate summits to date has corresponded with a

dramatic acceleration of greenhouse gas emission rates. In fact, since 1988, more than half of all industrial carbon emissions have been released, raising the prospect of irreversible climate change. Global inaction on climate change is also the consequence of political and economic interference by the fossil fuel industry. For decades, corporations like ExxonMobil and Shell have run sophisticated and effective campaigns of denial and deception about climate change. To undermine progress on climate policy and to secure their own profits, they have utilized a range of interference tactics, including financial contributions, corruption and lobbying, PR campaigns, litigation and legal threats, funding junk science, issuing contradictory statements, and sponsoring front groups, think tanks, and trade associations to do their dirty work. The association of such corporations with the UNFCCC has not simply blocked or impeded meaningful climate action. It also has shifted the focus of negotiations onto market-based solutions, such as carbon prices and trading, as well as onto techno-fixes, such as carbon sequestration, fracking and nuclear energy, none of which have reduced overall emissions globally or spurred widespread lowcarbon investments in national economies that meet the the deadlines for averting climate chaos. These same corporations have also interfered with the proceedings and operations of the UNFCCC. From the earliest COP meetings to today, transnational corporations and their associated business lobbies have positioned themselves to undermine or influence any potential climate treaty. The time for action is now The time for action is now. With the world watching, governments must agree to remove the influence of fossil fuel corporations and other polluting industries from climate change negotiations. With precedent established in international law, specifically in the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, it is possible to exclude the big carbon polluters from UN summits on climate change. Indeed, it is the only way to secure bold, effective policy at COP21 that will curb the effects of climate change and move us to a more just, equitable future for all

BY NEESHAD V S Co-Founder and National Coordinator, Arab Youth Climate Movement in Qatar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neeshad V S is a youth environmental activist and outspoken climate change advocate who campaigns extensively to raise the awareness about climate change, water & wildlife conservation and sustainable development.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 35

affairs > arab snippets

36 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

T H E G R A N D TO U R

United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, points out some of the highlights of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque as he takes US Secretary of State John Kerry on a tour of the mosque in Abu Dhabi on November 23. Kerry was in Abu Dhabi to meet his Emirati counterparts on efforts to build a Syrian opposition coalition to lead peace talks with the Damascus regime. AFP PHOTO / POOL / JACQUELYN MARTIN QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 37

business > listening post

THE GOOD BUSINESSMAN

40 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

THE MAN BEHIND THE BIGGEST TECH EXIT THE REGION HAS EVER SEEN, TALABAT’S FORMER CEO MOHAMAD JAFFAR, TELLS YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS IN DOHA THAT BEING A GOOD HUMAN BEING IS A PREREQUISITE TO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS. BY AYSWARYA MURTHY

o the young entrepreneurs assembled at Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC) that evening, Mohamad Jaffar was nothing less than a rock star. He was one of their own, and was blazing a trail for them to follow. He was living proof of the official coming of age of the region’s tech startup scene. Within five years, Jaffar took over a small online food delivery business based out of Kuwait, expanded it to the rest of the GCC, became a major player in the space in all six markets and sold the business to a giant internet company for $170 million (QR690 million). And the fact that he was extremely personable and refreshingly honest was just an added bonus. At this Global Entrepreneur Week talk, Jaffar charmed everyone with a fundamental piece of wisdom – carry on your business ethically and success will come knocking at your door. The die is cast For as long as he could remember, Jaffar wanted to be an entrepreneur. He would spend his summers making himself useful at his father’s company, before he was shipped off to England at 12 for his studies. “After I completed my graduation in economics, I wanted to come to Kuwait and start a business. But not only was a huge culture shock waiting for me (as I had gotten used to the European mentality and the efficiency of the Western world), I quickly learnt that I understood nothing about business,” he says. Jaffar’s father convinced him to put his entrepreneurial plans on hold and gain some real-world experience. “So I started off my career in corporate banking where I remained for four years, understanding the foundations of business, how a company is run, how to deal with people and the importance of

efficient systems, corporate governance and policies in a company.” In fact, that is another piece of advice he has for aspiring entrepreneurs. “You can’t just dive into entrepreneurship after graduation. You need the experience that you can get at big institutions like investment banks. And when do you know you are ready to take the plunge into the unknown? After three to five years, you’ll realise that you are learning at a slower rate than when you first started out. That’s the right time. And entrepreneurship is not a part-time hobby either,” he continued, answering a question on a lot of people’s minds. Many incubators like QBIC and ictQatar’s Digital Incubation Center are grappling to convince bright young people with ideas to chuck their cushy government/corporate jobs and risk it all for a chance to build something. “If you are giving a part of your time, you’ll never achieve your goals,” Jaffar said, candidly. “After all, we are all humans and we can only do so much in a day. And being an entrepreneur is not easy. You are always thinking, getting calls all day and all night, always travelling and taking big risks with your own money. Many prefer a normal 9-5 job; wrap up work, go home and watch TV. But others want to make a difference, want to do more.” Jaffar says back in the mid-2000s, food and beverage ventures were the craze among young Kuwaitis. “I wasn’t particularly interested in F&B. I always knew that I was suited for operational roles; I like to roll up my sleeves and get down to work. But it was a trend for young Kuwaiti entrepreneurs to open their own restaurants. In Kuwait right now, the most popular restaurants are local brands, which are doing much better than a lot of the international franchise brands. Really, I was just following the trend when I set up my own little restaurant with the help of my father.” And thus the die was cast. “There is one question I get asked all the time – what did I see in Talabat. Well, QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 41

business > listening post

Mohamad Jaffar talks to QBIC's Chief Executive Officer of Ayesha Al Mudahka during the Speaker Series.

I consider it a sign from the Almighty. I saw an opportunity that came out of nowhere and I ran after it. I had a lossmaking restaurant on my hands and after I listed it on Talabat in 2009 as a last-ditch effort to save it, I started seeing a big turnaround. Over 90% of our revenue was being generated through the website.” But luckily for him, he found himself losing interest in the running of a restaurant and rather keen to explore the phenomenon that was suddenly boosting his profits. It was purely serendipitous that his attention was diverted in this manner. “The natural progression would have been for me to open a chain of restaurants. But there were some issues about the F&B business that scared me (like cases of food poisoning). The business was a headache and I knew my limitations.” Talabat, meanwhile, was new and intriguing. Phase two So whether it was a sign from God or subconsciously honed businesses instincts that were now kicking in, Jaffar saw a huge potential in the business. “I went back to my father and told him that we could really do something big with this company. He was shocked at first when he heard that it was on online food delivery business. The first question he asked me was what does the company own; what are its assets. I told him we own a couple of rickety chairs and desks in a tiny office with a small window,” he laughs. Jaffar admits that he was worried his father wouldn’t cough up the cash he needed to buy the company and scale up. But that wasn’t the case. “As it turned out, he

42 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

was positive about it. There is a big delivery culture in Kuwait and internet penetration was on the rise. And the model could be replicated across the GCC. We recognized that the region is special. People are smart, their purchasing power is high and they like trying out new things. We did our due diligence and six months later we acquired the business.” This was at the beginning of 2010. In February 2015, he would end up selling the company for nearly 50 times the price he paid for it. Right off the bat, Jaffar admits he didn’t have to face the primary difficulty that plagues entrepreneurs in the region – access to capital. His family was able and willing to inject as much capital needed for the business to reach its full potential. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t other challenges. “I had zero IT experience and even less when it came to e-commerce. So I started to build a team even before we acquired Talabat. We were able to hire some of the best people (as we grew, many came to us because we had such a good reputation among our employees) who were able to learn quickly and implement efficient systems in finance, HR, operations, etc. A good company should have good systems right from the start. People asked me why I was worried about these policies when we were only seven people in the team. Well, today we are over 200 people. In a couple of years it might be 500. I knew that we needed to have these foundations laid out from the beginning. We also spent thousands and thousands building our security barriers. It was very important when we were holding so much customer information. Prevent

hacking. So there were a lot of factors to get my head around. But once we had everything in place, the growth was just a snowball effect.” One of the first things Jaffar and his team tackled were web and mobile interfaces. “We knew the website was lousy. We couldn’t scale or upgrade it. It was very important to change the whole infrastructure. The website had to be changed to something dynamic and scalable across other countries. We worked on a new website for a year and another year later launched our iOS app. In fact we were the first to launch an app in the worldwide online food delivery space. “But now it was a constant to stay on top of quality control and user experience. “Talabat is just a mediator between people and the restaurants. We constantly get complaints about delays, quality of food, etc., that we have no control over and we have to handle these situations as they arise. And we concentrated on that a lot; spending a lot of time and money to create a consistency in user experience and quality. There is one thing that everyone who visit Talabat have in common. They are all hungry and hence quick to anger easily,” he laughs. “We had to make sure the whole process was easy and friendly, with minimal frustrations.” “So we instituted penalties for restaurants to maintain quality and make sure the deliveries go out on time. We’d even advise them on how to make things right with an annoyed customer. When we bought Talabat , it had 60 restaurants listed. Now we have close to 2,000. So we have a big team to make sure menus are consistent. And we also give the restaurant the tools to control their menus online – make sure the prices are right, new promotions are listed and the items are available (our team approves all the changes eventually). I was lucky to have found the right people with a nose for product experience,” he says. Beyond Kuwait When Jaffar bought Talabat it was growing at an amazing 30% per annum. But it was still small and he knew it could be doing much better. “I have great respect for the founders. They created something from nothing. And this was in 2004 when people used to laugh at the idea of ordering food online. One of the first restaurants the founders spoke to laughed them out of the premises. But they never gave up and worked day and night to launch Talabat. I just made it better. They also knew their limitations – they had to spend a lot more money to take it to the next level and it was taking too much of their time. One of them thanked me for taking Talabat off his hands because he never slept and never saw his family.” Jaffar faced some real obstacles when the time came to expand across the GCC.

“There were a lot of invisible walls with these countries. I’d be the first to admit that Kuwait is the most bureaucratic of them all. Bahrain and the UAE had a much more advanced business environment when compared with countries like Saudi Arabia. Not only do these countries have easy and friendly regulations for businessmen, but the people themselves are eager to do business. But the situation is improving across the GCC and I anticipate that things will be better in the next few years. Why do you think American and European tech companies are so successful? Because it’s easy to do business between the states. We need to do the same to catch up or else we are going to be stagnant. We have to be competitive. The reduction in oil prices has led us to rethink these models and encourage the youth towards starting businesses. The better the business environment, the better the products will be for the consumers.” But he also allays the fears a lot of local entrepreneurs have about scaling up from

“I had a loss-making restaurant on my hands and after I listed it on Talabat in 2009 as a last-ditch effort to save it, I started seeing a big turn-around. Over 90% of our revenue was being generated through the website.”

small markets like Qatar. Isn’t it better to set up in countries like the UAE? “Qatar is a good market,” he says. “There is a lot of purchasing power. Kuwait and Qatar might be small but they are very lucrative markets. So the size of the market shouldn’t stop you at all.” And he also lets us in on a secret. “The fact that we were a local company made us kind of heroes. We had a lot of support from all quarters as we expanded across the region. This helped us overtake our competitors in a lot of the markets we entered. For example, we were competing against Rocket Internet (the company that eventually acquired Talabat) in several of the markets we entered. But we were able to reach No. 1 in less than two years. Eventually, we reached a point where they didn’t want to compete anymore and approached us about QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 43

business > listening post an acquisition.” Once Jaffar learnt to navigate these barriers and set up in all six Gulf countries, he went about linking together the financial, HR and operational systems across the borders. “We concentrated on reducing paperwork and gearing up towards automation. We were a young business, after all, and had to be quick and straightforward. By the time we were acquired, we were growing a lot faster than 30% per annum,” he smiles.

ABOUT TALABAT MORE THAN

I,900

RESTAURANTS ACROSS VARIOUS CUISINES EXCEEDED

MILLION ORDERS TILL DATE OVER

800,000 REGISTERED USERS MORE THAN

MILLION APPLICATION DOWNLOADS IN iOS, ANDROID AND WINDOWS MORE THAN

9I,000

UNIQUE VISITS PER DAY

44 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Lessons from the big exit Back in the day when Jaffar was convincing his father about investing in the company, he knew the end game was going to be one of the two options – they make back the money either through an IPO or they exit. “We identified which markets would be best for an IPO and we also kept a close eye on the big players worldwide in the online food delivery space – Grubhub in the US, Justeat in the UK, Delivery Hero in Germany, Takeaway in Holland ... back in 2009-10, everyone was content in their own territories. But then we started seeing consolidation. They started to expand into other markets and the most effective way to do this was the purchase of companies that were already market leaders in those countries. Rocket Internet was buying almost all the players in the region.” “When you build a company, people will come knocking at your door sooner or later. It wasn’t the first time someone had approached us about buying us out. But the time was never right. Until we realised that the market in the region was consolidating. Rocket Internet was buying up our competitors and I realised it wasn’t advisable to go up against a consortium. It’d be silly for both of us; we’d be spending millions just to keep our market positions.” Jaffar says it was hard to let the company go but it was the right thing to do. “The circumstances were right and I couldn’t just think of myself. I had to think of my family’s investment. They were my shareholders. Also, Rocket Internet talked to us about their strategy for the company in the future and I felt they were the right people to take it forward. Eventually, it was less about the money and more about continuing the success. And just like we created Talabat, we’ll create something else, Inshallah!” Jaffar is suddenly the new poster child. But his advice is simple. “A lot of young entrepreneurs now come and ask me whether I am doing the right thing. I don’t have answers for a lot of their questions; I am not aware of the workings of every single industry. But I do know this – Never underestimate the success you’ll get as a result of people wishing you well. And when

do people wish you well? When you treat them right and with equal respect.” He learnt that important lesson from his inspirations – Prophet Mohammed. And his own grandfather. “I was raised by a religious family and my first inspiration is the Prophet. He was a businessman before he got the revelations. He used to trade between Mecca, Medina and other regions and they used to call him the trustworthy one. His good character and ethical treatment of people made sure that people rallied around him.” Jaffar’s other inspiration is his grandfather. “My grandfather started off as a poor man in the 1920s in Kuwait. He never changed over the years despite the successes in his business. You could never tell by looking at him that he was a rich man. He was always humble and that was the secret of his success. People always wished him well because he always treated them well. He knew everyone by their name even though he had thousands of people working for him. He was gifted like that and growing up in his shadow, it was easy for me to follow in his footsteps. I didn’t have to reinvent the wheel.” And these lessons stood him in good stead when it came to keeping his employees happy. “They were the pillars of the company. When you run a company, it’s not about the individual, it’s about the team. And my role was to keep the team happy and motivated. This helped us attract some of the best talent in the country. A lot people came to me and asked to work for Talabat because they want to be part of it. It’s never about money. Even though we paid competitive salaries, the people who were with us weren’t those that were always looking for the extra dollar. They were happy to be there. Just like I was happy to come to Talabat every day. Together we enjoyed working the crazy hours. We created a wonderful environment – we had a gaming room, we played football together and went to the cinema. We were like a family. And they gave their best towards building the company. Though the employees didn’t have any equity, they received a big bonus after the exit, as a thank you from us.” And Jaffar’s commitment to ethics didn’t stop within the walls of his company. Talabat is deeply involved in charity work across all the markets they operate in and beyond. “Every time anyone places an order on Talabat, a certain amount of money comes out of our revenue towards feeding a hungry person. Not only that, we complete a mosque and a hospital and are funding an orphanage, all from revenues generated through the company. Everyone who is using Talabat is contributing to charity without really paying; it’s a beautiful threeway model. And I believe that if you help people, God will help you,” he says simply

46 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 47

THE RUSSIAN BEAR LUMBERS INTO SYRIA

Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber taking off from the Hmeimim airbase in the Syrian province of Latakia. AFP PHOTO / KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA / ALEXANDER KOTS

s the Syrian Civil War ground to a stalemate this year, one major player who had hitherto been pulling strings from the background, took centre stage in a sudden and dramatic fashion. At the request of the Assad regime, Russian warplanes started bombing “terrorist targets” since September 30, primarily in Northwestern Syria. Critics have accused Russia of targeting opposition fighters and helping strengthen President Bashar Al Assad’s hand in the war under the pretext of fighting the Islamic State.

A video grab taken from footage made available on the Russian Defence Ministry’s official website purportedly shows an explosion after airstrikes carried out by Russian Air Force on what Russia says was an Islamic State facility in the Syrian province of Idlib. AFP PHOTO / RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY

48 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

eanwhile, Russia found itself in the Islamic State’s crosshairs after the Russian airline Kogalymavia’s flight KGL9268 disintegrated mid-air and crashed en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on October 31, an act for which the terrorist organisation claimed responsibility. Almost entirely all of the 224 people on board were Russian tourists and, while several countries and authorities very quickly concluded that a technical fault was an unlikely cause, Russian officials refused to acknowledge the possibility of a terrorist strike till the very end, after a very slow and thorough analysis of the two black box recorders. Russia announced a $50 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. It’s been a particularly violent year with ISIS-inspired attacks carried out at various locations and scales. For a run-down of terrorist attacks this year, check pages 52-55.

A handout picture released by Russia’s Emergency Ministry shows a Russian rescuer checking passports collected from the wreckage of an A321 Russian airliner in Wadi al-Zolomat, a mountainous area of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. AFP PHOTO / RUSSIA'S EMERGENCY MINISTRY

Protesters hold placards and shout slogans as they take part in an antiTurkey picket outside the Turkish embassy in Moscow. AFP PHOTO / KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV

A Syrian vendor sells mugs bearing images of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in the popular Hamidiyeh market in the old part of the capital Damascus. AFP PHOTO / JOSEPH EID

he high volume of operations has upset Turkey, which accuses Russia of bombing Syrian Turkmens (descended from Turkey) and also making repeated incursions into Turkish airspace. In a shocking turn of events, Turkish military jets shot down a Russian warplane during a routine mission in Syria on November 24. It is not clear whether the warplane was indeed in Turkish airspace and whether sufficient warning was given prior to this act of aggression, the first strike by a NATO member against Russia in more than 50 years. One of the pilots was killed, as was a Russian Marine during rescue operations. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of “serious consequences” and has already imposed several economic sanctions on Turkey.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 49

MORE MILESTONES IN SPACE

lmost a decade after it was launched on a mission to gather more information about the Pluto system and the Kuiper belt, the interplanetary space probe New Horizons beamed back the first images of the dwarf planet on July 14. The mission’s primary objectives were to characterise the global geology and morphology of Pluto and its moon Charon, map chemical compositions of the two bodies and also characterize the neutral atmosphere of Pluto and its escape rate. The probe is now on its way to make a flyby over the Kuiper belt target selected for study – 2014MU69 – which is expected to take place on January 1, 2019.

NASA and project staff react with others as telemetry is received from the New Horizons probe at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. AFP PHOTO/BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI

ew findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars. Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times. Pic courtesy: NASA

50 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

THE SYRIAN CONFLICT REACHES EUROPE’S DOORSTEP

he slow trickle of migrants drowning in the Mediterranean as they made their way across to Europe, soon snowballed into news that neither the continent nor the rest of the world could ignore, especially after images of a toddler’s dead body was found on a Turkish beach. More than 750,000 migrants are estimated to have arrived by sea so far this year, according to the International Organization for A supporter of the right-wing populist Migration, but exact numbers are unclear as some may Alternative for have passed through borders undetected. Germany Germany (AfD) party continues to be the most popular destination for displays a placard showing German migrants and has received the highest number of new Chancellor Angela asylum applications. The conflict in Syria continues Merkel dressed in a burqa during to be by far the biggest driver of the migration. But the a demonstration ongoing violence in Afghanistan, abuses in Eritrea, as against the German well as poverty in Kosovo are also leading people to look government’s asylum policy organized for new lives elsewhere. by the AfD party in Tensions in the EU have been rising because of the Berlin. disproportionate burden faced by some countries, AFP PHOTO / JOHN particularly Greece, Italy and Hungary where migrants MACDOUGALL have been arriving by boat and overland. In September, EU ministers voted by a majority to relocate 120,000 refugees EU-wide. Many countries like Hungary, and factions within many other states, opposed the move, reluctant to take in refugees in light of the growing threat from violent Islamists. After several years of border-free travel, several countries erected walls in order to prevent migrants from crossing state lines illegally and to ensure that they follow procedure and protocol. The chaotic scenes of people lined up against the fences and begging/demanding to be let in have been replaced by images of migrants huddled around fires and each other against the winter cold. Towards the end of the year, Turkey and European leaders struck a deal to try to control the flow of migrants to Europe. Turkey will receive €3 billion and political concessions in return for clamping down on its borders and keeping refugees in the country. Talks on Turkey’s accession to the European Union will also be revived. Under the deal, Turkish citizens may be able to travel without visas in Europe’s Schengen zone by October 2016. A picture provided by the Spanish Ministry of Defence on November 5 shows a boat with migrants off the coast of Libya viewed from an helicopter. AFP PHOTO/ HO/ SPANISH MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

Slovenian soldiers set barbed wire fences on the Slovenian-Croatian border. The country found itself on the Balkans route taken by thousands of migrants heading to northern Europe after Hungary sealed its borders with Croatia and Serbia. AFP PHOTO / STRINGER QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 51

DEMOCRACY IN MOTION

Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) count ballots during gubernatorial and local assembly elections in Lagos, Nigeria on April 11.

everal countries witnessed a change in leadership this year as they went to the polls. Some were mature democracies that were being realigned while others took their first tentative steps away from military regimes. Here are some at a glance.

AFP PHOTO / PIUS UTOMI EKPEI

Copies of ballot papers and campaign posters for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party lie on the ground in the aftermath of the country’s parliamentary elections, early on March 18 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II during a private audience at Buckingham Palace in central London on November 25. Trudeau touched down in London on his first visit to Britain since his election, for meetings with his British counterpart and the Queen.

AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ

AFP PHOTO / YUI MOK / POOL

A Turkish woman makes a rabia sign as supporters wait for the Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at the Istanbul Atatürk airport on November 3 in Istanbul. Turkey’s long-dominant Justice and Development Party (AKP) scored a stunning election success at the weekend with a vote that returned it to single-party rule after months of political uncertainty. The result is likely to bolster strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he seeks to expand his powers, but analysts warn it could further exacerbate deep rifts in Turkish society. 52 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE

A bookmaker displays the latest odds on the result of the upcoming UK general election outside the Houses of Parliament in central London on May 6. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL

A man walks past a graffiti depiction of Myanmar’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi outside the headquarters of the National League for Democracy party (NLD) in Yangon. Aung San Suu Kyi’s opposition on November 13 secured a parliamentary majority in last weekend’s polls that will allow it to elect a president and form a government in a historic shift in power from the army. AFP PHOTO / Nicolas ASFOURI

Supporters of Burkina Faso’s new president Roch Marc Christian Kabore celebrate at party headquarters in Ouagadougou on December 1, after he won Burkina Faso’s presidential election, official results showed, after a year of turmoil that saw the West African country’s former leader deposed and the military try to seize power in a coup.

Photo released by Cambiemos press office of the Head of Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and candidate for the Cambiemos (Let’s Change) party, Mauricio Macri celebrating at the party headquarters in Buenos Aires on November 22, after getting early results of the presidential run-off election in Argentina. AFP PHOTO/ Cambiemos

AFP PHOTO / ISSOUF SANOGO

Newly elected Nepalese president Bidhya Bhandari leaves parliament after her election win was announced in Kathmandu on October 28. Nepal’s parliament elected Bhandari as the country’s first female president after the adoption of a landmark constitution last month. AFP PHOTO / Prakash MATHEMA

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 53

A picture taken in Paris shows a mural of a French flag made of the words “Not afraid”. Paris was rocked by a series of attacks, claimed by Islamic State, on November 13 that killed 130 people. AFP PHOTO/JOEL SAGET

THE LONG NIGHT OF TERROR

n atmosphere of fear and violence blanketed the world this year after several high-profile attacks – both organised and lone wolf – were launched in different cities across the world. While safety seemed elusive and the scourge of terrorism omnipresent, it is during times like these that we find new courage and strength. In the next few pages, we pay our respects to the victims and honour the resilience of the survivors.

Emergency personnel remove a body from the site of a twin suicide bombing in Burj alBarajneh, in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut on November 12. At least 37 people were killed and more than 180 wounded. AFP PHOTO / ANWAR AMRO

A Malian police officer stands guard as municipal workers clean outside the Radisson Blu hotel in Bamako after a deadly attack on November 20 that left 19 people dead. AFP PHOTO / ISSOUF SANOGO 54 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

A woman attends a musical concert in downtown Nairobi on April 14 in honour of the victims of the attack on Garissa University College. The massacre, claimed by Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-linked Shebab insurgents on a university campus in Kenya’s northeastern town of Garissa, claimed the lives of 142 students, three police officers and three soldiers. AFP PHOTO / SIMON MAINA

A man holds a red carnation next to a placard with pictures of the victims of the October 10 bombings during a commemoration ceremony in Ankara. The double suicide bombing blamed on IS militants against a pro-Kurdish peace rally killed 102 people and injured hundreds outside the city’s main train station.

A handout picture released by the Nigerian Army shows a soldier inspecting seized weapons from the Islamist Boko Haram fighters killed by soldiers following clashes to take control of the town of Dikwa in the Borno State in northeastern Nigeria. Meanwhile, a “mentally handicapped” female suicide bomber killed at least 14 people and injured 47 more at a crowded market in the northeastern Nigerian town of Damaturu on July 24. AFP PHOTO / NIGERIAN ARMY

AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 55

Kuwaiti men react over a body at the site of a suicide bombing that targeted the Shiite AlImam Al Sadeq mosque during Friday prayers on June 26 in Kuwait City. AFP PHOTO / STR

Tourists walk past flower bouquets at the site of a shooting attack on the beach in front of the Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in Port el Kantaoui, on the outskirts of Sousse south of the capital Tunis. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the June 26 massacre in the seaside resort that killed nearly 40 people, most of them British tourists, in the worst attack in the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent history. AFP PHOTO / KENZO TRIBOUILLARD

Saudi security forces and forensic personnel inspect the site of a suicide bombing that targeted the Shiite Al Anoud mosque in the coastal city of Dammam on May 29. The Islamic State jihadist group claimed the suicide bombing that killed four people, the second attack on Shiite worshippers in the kingdom in a week. AFP PHOTO / STR

56 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Well-wishers bring flowers and light candles to honour the shooting victims outside the main Synagogue in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 15. Two fatal attacks in the Danish capital, at a cultural centre during a debate on Islam and free speech and a second outside the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main synagogue, led many to consider that the attackers were seeking to replicate the January 7 assault by jihadists in Paris on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 dead. AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN

A Buddhist monk prays in front of the coffin of Chinese tourist Gao Yu Zhu, killed with her mother in the August 17 bombing at the downtown Erawan shrine, during a cremation ceremony at the Theplila Buddhist temple in Bangkok. The bombing killed 20 people including 14 foreigners and was Thailandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s worst single mass-casualty attack. AFP PHOTO / Nicolas ASFOURI

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 57

A last plenary session at the United Nations building in Vienna, Austria where Iran and six major world powers reached a nuclear deal, capping more than a decade of onoff negotiations. AFP PHOTO / POOL / JOE KLAMAR

IRAN’S REBIRTHING PANGS

he Iran Nuclear Framework Deal, several months in the making, was agreed upon by the Islamic Republic of Iran and the P5+1 plus the European Union on April 2 this year. According to this framework, Iran would redesign, convert, and reduce its nuclear facilities, with causes covering the country’s enrichment, reprocessing, monitoring and sanctions programmes. The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, is committed under the deal to release a report by year-end about the status of Iran’s alleged weaponization work. On July 14, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, based on the earlier agreed upon framework, was announced.

Iranian women wave the national flag during celebration in northern Tehran after Iran’s nuclear negotiating team struck a deal with world powers in Vienna. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE

ut there was plenty of opposition to the deal, within the United States and outside. However, President Barack Obama succeeded in securing enough votes in the Senate to uphold his veto of a Republican-backed resolution to reject the agreement. Meanwhile, in the international space Israel continued its rhetoric against the deal, saying the “current plan of action threatens the survival of Israel”. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even courted unpopularity by accepting an invitation to address a joint session of the US Congress in an effort to scuttle the deal and undermine the negotiation efforts. The Obama Administration and many Congressional Democrats were opposed to the speech even before it happened, because it was seen as a breach of protocol by the House Speaker who hadn’t given the government advance notice of the invitation.

58 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves following his address to a joint session of the US Congress on March 3 at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN

THE YEAR IN SCANDALS

s far as political scandals go, the Argentine intrigue involving a 20-year-old bombing, the President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and a mysteriously murdered prosecutor was one for the historians. Special prosecutor Alberto Nisman implicated Iran in a 1994 car bombing of a Jewish centre in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and, in his nearly 300-page investigation report, accused President Fernandez of covering up Tehran’s involvement to sweeten a trade deal. Shortly after filing his report and one day before he was to testify before lawmakers about his allegations, Nisman was found dead in his apartment with a gunshot wound to the head.In Nisman's trash can, investigators found a draft warrant for Fernandez’s arrest.

A woman with tape on her mouth demonstrates in Mar del Plata, Argentina on February 18, during a march simultaneous with the “Marcha del silencio” (March of Silence) called by Argentine prosecutors in memory of their late colleague Alberto Nisman in Buenos Aires. AFP PHOTO / Telam

Matthias Müeller, CEO of German car maker Volkswagen, addresses journalists after visiting an assembly line of the VW plant in Wolfsburg, central Germany. Volkswagen shook Germany’s powerful automobile industry with revelations in September 2015 that it had fitted 11 million of its diesel vehicles with software designed to cheat official pollution tests. AFP PHOTO / ODD ANDERSEN

olkswagen’s audacious attempt to dupe emission tests and push highly polluting diesel cars onto the public was exposed by the US’s Environmental Protection Agency, which found that many VW cars being sold in America had a “defeat device” - or software - in diesel engines that could detect when they were being tested, changing the performance accordingly to improve results. It was found that these diesel engines sometimes produced as much as 40 times more pollution than allowed by law. The German car giant has since admitted to cheating emissions tests in the US. “We’ve totally screwed up,” said VW America boss Michael Horn. VW has had to recall millions of cars worldwide, pay hefty fines and launch apology campaigns, all resulting in tumbling share prices and the company's first quarterly loss in over 15 years.

British artist Frank Shepherd (top) of the Edenbridge Bonfire Society put the finishing touches to a giant effigy of the suspended president of FIFA Sepp Blatter in Edenbridge, Kent, southeast England, on November 4, 2015 that will be exploded and burned at this year’s Bonfire Night celebrations. AFP PHOTO / JACK TAYLOR

IFA was hit this year by the biggest scandal it has ever faced, with the indictment of fourteen officials by the the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation in connection with an investigation involving wire fraud, racketeering, and money laundering. In total, seven current FIFA officials were arrested in Zürich on May 27 as they were preparing to attend the 65th FIFA Congress, which was scheduled to include the election of the president of FIFA. Shockingly, Sepp Blatter stood and won the election despite rumours that he and those close to him were involved in the corruption or at least had knowledge of it. Amidst growing opposition, Blatter announced his resignation as FIFA President. He will continue to serve until a new election is conducted at a 2016 FIFA Extraordinary Congress.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 59

QATAR CLOUD

HANDBALL CHEER FOR QATAR

osts Qatar drummed up support and drew massive crowds to the Handball Championships due to their stunning progress into the finals. It was a compelling achievement for the home team which qualified for the world championships for the very first time this year. In addition, Qatar put together what has largely been considered a successful games, from the opening ceremony, star performers, worldclass venues, and perfect organisation.

EMIR ISSUES LAW ON RESIDENCY

HH THE EMIR SHEIKH TAMIM BIN HAMAD AL THANI ISSUED LAW NUMBER 21 OF 2015 REGULATING THE ENTRY AND EXIT OF EXPATRIATES AND THEIR RESIDENCY.

WORLD CUP 2022 FINALS ON QATAR NATIONAL DAY FIFA confirmed that the football tournament in Qatar will be a shorter, 28-day affair (instead of the usual 32 days), with the finals falling on Sunday, December 18, coinciding with Qatar National Day. AFP PHOTO / MICHAEL BUHOLZER 60 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

NEW MOSQUE AND QFIS FACILITY OPENS The first mosque at Education City, which will also serve as the campus of the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies, was inaugurated in the presence of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.

DOHA WEATHERS SEVERE SANDSTORM AND UNPRECEDENTED RAINS

POLLING DAY

high-intensity sandstorm enveloped large parts of Qatar earlier this year, cutting visibility to nearly zero and bringing life in Doha to a halt. The sudden onset of the storm surprised meteorologists who had predicted its coming but underestimated the severity. The high pressure built over large parts of the Arabian Peninsula caused high winds, to move in from the northwest at around 65-70 km/h, kicking up sand from the Arabian Desert. Last month, the city also witnessed intense flooding after severe rains that lasted the whole day. A few weeks ago, a climate change report claimed that extreme climates will render Gulf cities like Doha and Dubai unlivable in another hundred years.

A new set of officials were elected onto the 29-member Central Municipal Council after a brisk few days of campaigning and polling.

TRADE SUFFERS THE LOW OIL PRICES HAVE LEFT A SIZABLE DENT IN QATARâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TRADE FIGURES, LEADING TO THE CANCELLATION OF SEVERAL KEY PROJECTS AND A SERIOUS RECONSIDERATION OF SUBSIDIES OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.

FIFTH STADIUM UNVEILED The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy revealed the design for the Al Rayyan Stadium, the fifth proposed host venue for the FIFA 2022 World Cup tournament. AFP PHOTO / HO / SUPREME COMMITTEE FOR DELIVERY AND LEGACY

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 61

ANOTHER YEAR OF UNREST IN THE MIDDLE EAST

emen, which had been simmering on the edge of civil war for a while, exploded in conflict when Houthi separatists, along with forces supporting former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, drove democratically elected president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi out of the capital city of Sanaa and took over Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city. Had fled to Aden, declaring it the temporary capital of Yemen, and sought support from Saudi Arabia. The Gulf states, namely Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, etc., immediately mounted air strikes, and later sent in ground troops, to defeat Houthi rebels, who are seen as Iran’s proxy. As the war stretches on, Yemen slides deeper into a humanitarian crisis, with no easy end in sight.

Tribal gunmen loyal to the Houthi movement walk holding their weapons during a gathering against the Saudiled intervention in the country in the Bani Al Harith district, north of the capital Sanaa. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED HUWAIS A Palestinian protester hurls a stone towards Israeli troops (unseen) during clashes along the border with Israel near Al Bureij, in the central Gaza Strip, on November 20. Violence since the start of October 2015 has killed at least 86 Palestinian as well as one Arab Israeli, 15 Israelis, an American and an Eritrean. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABED

An image grab taken from a video made available by Jihadist media outlet Welayat Homs on July 4 allegedly shows 25 Syrian government soldiers kneeling in front of what appears to be children or teenagers wearing desert camouflage, in the ancient amphitheatre in the city of Palmyra, ahead of being executed.

AFP PHOTO / HO / WELAYAT HOMS

slamic State was on the defensive for most of the year, with its explosive expansion of 2014 winding down as it met heavy resistance from Kurdish fighters both in Syria and Iraq. It has barely managed to hold on to Mosul, the largest territory under its control, even as the Iraqi army prepares for a major offensive with the help of coalition forces. Much of ISIS’s fight this year may have been primarily psychological (with its inspiring of lone wolf attacks at various global locations and also several important islamist groups like the Boko Haram pledging allegiance to it). ISIS was prominently in the news this year for its capture and the wanton destruction of antiquities in the ancient city of Palmyra. While the sporadic airstrikes against ISIS continue, there is yet to be a global consensus in the fight against the terrorist group, with several players working towards their own agenda.

62 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

arely a year after the war in Gaza, Israel was once against embroiled in a conflict with the Palestinians, this time closer to home. Triggered by the controversy over who is allowed to pray at the Temple Mount, holy to the Jewish faith and also home to Islam’s third holiest site - the Al Aqsa Mosque – the recent spate of violence had led to a brief lockdown in Jerusalem. Israeli police enforce exclusively Muslim prayer at the site, a ban some Jewish activists have campaigned to overturn with visits. This has angered Muslim worshippers and since October, Israelis have been on the receiving end of several knife attacks by Palestinians against security forces and settlers. Known as “Knife Intifada”, daily stabbing assaults by lone wolf attackers and violent demonstrations have sparked fears of a Third Intifada.

GRIEF BY THE HANDS OF MAN AND GOD

Saudi emergency personnel stand near bodies of Hajj pilgrims at the site of a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, at the annual Hajj. AFP PHOTO / STR

t was a tragic year in Mecca with two terrible incidents claiming the lives of hundreds of pilgrims. On September 11, a few days before the annual Hajj rush, a crawler crane toppled over onto the Grand Mosque killing 111 people and injuring 400 others. Barely a few days later, with the pilgrimage in full swing, a stampede on September 24 caused several hundred deaths (with various sources giving conflicting reports on the death toll). The worshippers were suffocated or crushed on the road towards the Stoning of the Devil ritual in Mina, making it the worst Hajj stampede in history. The cause of the stampede remains unclear and the Saudi government has reportedly launched an investigation into the incident while not being completely transparent about the death toll, which it has maintained is about 769 killed and 934 injured.

A Nepalese woman looks at photographs of earthquake victims before the start of a memorial rally in Bhaktapur, on the outskirts of Kathmandu. AFP PHOTO / Prakash MATHEMA

A handout photo released by the French Interior Ministry shows gendarmes and rescuers from the Gendarmerie High-Mountain Rescue Group working at the crash site of the Germanwings Airbus A320 near Le Vernet, French Alps. AFP PHOTO / YVES MALENFER / DICOM / MINISTERE DE L'INTERIEUR

n one of the worst natural disasters to strike Nepal in several decades, a powerful earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale on April 25, caused major loss of life and property. The earthquake triggered an avalanche on Mount Everest, killing at least 19, making it the deadliest day on the mountain in history. The earthquake triggered huge avalanches, landslides and aftershocks for several days after, notably on May 12, when a magnitude 7.3 quake killed a further 200 people. Together, the twin incidents killed over 9,000 people, totalled entire villages, destroyed nearly half a million houses and damaged another 280,000, leaving thousands in need of food, clean water and shelter.

Germanwings flight, operated by German carrier Lufthansa, was deliberately brought down on March 24 by a suicidal co-pilot, killing all 144 passengers and crew aboard. The flight, which was enroute from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, crashed into the side of a mountain in the Alps after a constant descent that began one minute after the last routine contact with air traffic control and shortly after it had reached its assigned cruising altitude. Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies and been declared “unfit to work” by a doctor. Lubitz kept this information from his employer and reported for duty. During the flight, he locked the pilot out of the aircraft’s cockpit before initiating the fateful descent. In response to the incident, aviation authorities globally implemented new regulations that require the presence of two authorized personnel in the cockpit at all times.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 63

SOCIETIES AND ECONOMICS

fter seven years of negotiations, largely held in secret, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement among twelve Pacific Rim countries was signed on October 5 and is expected to have far-reaching impact on a variety of matters of economic policy. Among other things, the agreement contains measures to lower trade barriers such as tariffs, and establish an investorstate dispute settlement mechanism. Participating nations aimed at completing negotiations in 2012, but contentious issues such as agriculture, intellectual property, and services and investments caused negotiations to continue. A number of global internet freedom activists, environmentalists, organised labour, advocacy groups, and elected officials have criticized and protested against the treaty, because of the agreement’s expansive scope and controversial clauses in drafts leaked to the public.

A protester strings toilet paper bearing words against the TransPacific Partnership (TPP) during a demonstration in front of the US Commerce Department in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON

ollowing several years of harsh implementations of the One Child Policy, China announced on October 29 that all married couples would be allowed to have two children. The aging populations and the skewed sex ratio due to the cultural preference for a male child, led the Communist Party to step away from one of the important policies imposed in the late 1970s to ensure that “the fruits of economic growth are not devoured by population growth”.

64 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

People queue at a bank ATM in Athens on July 6. Eurogroup ministers expect fresh reform proposals from the Greek government in talks on July 7, a statement said, a day after Greeks overwhelmingly rejected terms demanded by creditors. AFP PHOTO / IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU

A young boy is held by his grandfather on a path in Beijing. China announced the end of its hugely controversial one-child policy. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

he Eurozone came close to a point of no return this June. Greece became the first developed country to fail to make an IMF loan repayment and its European creditors were unable to come to a consensus about a bailout package for the debt-ridden country. Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who came into power earlier this year on a strong anti-austerity ticket, was for a long time unable to convince Eurozone ministers and his own people that the country was willing and able to implement strict austerity measures that Greece’s creditors demanded. After several contentious months of negotiations between the country and its creditors, Greece received its third bailout in five years, worth €86 billion . Terms of the bailout included commitments by the country to implement austerity measures and economic reforms, after parliamentarians in Athens backed the deal, and Germany backed down on its opposition to the rescue of the bankrupt country. To solidify his mandate, Tsipras resigned immediately after and called for a snap election, leading to another victory for the Syriza party. Despite this, the reinstated Prime Minister has struggled to implement the promised austerity reforms and creditors are threatening to delay further payments.

business > bottomline

INNOVATION IN THE MENA WORKPLACE JANUARY 2014

of respondents claim their organisations have long-term innovation strategies

7 out of 10 claim that their companies are up to date with other establishments in their domain

82.9% said that their companies instill longterm innovation plans rather than shortterms ones, which has put them ahead in the industry

81.1% of respondents claiming that pitching ideas and reaching out to other divisions is highly encouraged 66 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

HOW INNOVATIVE ARE ORGANISATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND HOW CAN THEY CREATE A CULTURE OF INNOVATION IN 2016?

here was a time when the concepts of creativity and innovation were only associated with artists and scientists. But with the everincreasing necessity of cultivating a unique brand and value proposition, the need for innovation and creativity has transitioned from science and arts into everyday business. Innovation needs to be carried out by everyone and on all fronts. In fact, focusing on innovation has been identified as a way to encourage learning and growth in an organisation. Unfortunately, many managers don’t innovate because they don’t think it is their job to do so. We say that innovation is everyone’s job. Great organisations don’t depend on a small number of exclusive people to come up with innovations. Instead, they create a culture in which every employee is encouraged and empowered to innovate. A thriving innovation culture leads not only to new customer offerings but also to better margins, stickier customer relationships, and stronger partnerships with other firms. There are many pieces to the innovation puzzle, and they will come together differently for each organisation. How one goes about building an innovative organisation ought to be unique. For every organisation, innovation starts with the following steps: 1 Give employees a reason to care. The fact is, if people aren’t feeling

connected to your company, there’s little incentive for them to be innovative. Make sure your employees are in the loop on your firm’s strategies and challenges, and invite their input. Employees who are involved early on in processes and plans will be motivated to see them through to completion. 2 Stress the importance of innovation. Ensure all your employees know that you want to hear their ideas. Unless they understand how innovating your business processes can keep your firm competitive, your efforts at encouraging creative thinking risk falling flat. 3 Schedule time for brainstorming. Allocate time for new ideas to emerge. For example, set aside time for daily or weekly brainstorming, hold regular group workshops and arrange team days out. A team involved in a brainstorming session is likely to be more effective than the sum of its parts. You can also place suggestion boxes around the workplace, ask for solutions to solve particular problems, and always keep your door open to new ideas. 4 Train staff in innovation techniques. Your staff may be able to bounce an idea around, but be unfamiliar with the skills involved in creative problem-solving. You may find training sessions in formal techniques such as lateral thinking and

EDUCATION AND INNOVATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA FEBRUARY 2015

agree that creative thinking is important for driving social and economic growth

According to

5I.5%

of respondents, the UAE is perceived to be the most creative country

88.5%

agree that creative thinking and related skill sets are important for getting a job in today’s market

72.I%

claim that their office has creative spaces in which they can relax, unwind and innovate

86.9%

say people are increasingly being asked to think creatively at work

THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE TO CREATIVITY IS

42% MONEY

mind-mapping extremely worthwhile. 5 Encourage change. Broadening people’s experiences can be a great way to spark ideas. Shortterm job swaps can introduce a fresh perspective to job roles. Encourage people to look at how other businesses do things, even those in other sectors, and consider how they can be adapted or improved. 6 Challenge the way staff work. Encourage employees to keep looking anew at the way they approach their work. Ask people whether they have considered alternative ways of working and what might be achieved by doing things differently. 7 Be supportive. Respond enthusiastically to all ideas and never make someone offering an idea feel foolish. Give even the most apparently eccentric of ideas a chance to be aired. You can’t force creativity, but the right support system will put your team in the right frame of mind to find imaginative solutions. 8 Tolerate mistakes. A certain amount of risk-taking is inevitable with innovation. Allow people to learn from their mistakes. Never put off the creative flow by penalizing those whose ideas don’t work out. 9 Reward creativity. Motivate individuals or teams who

I5.8% I0.I%

LACK OF KNOWLEDGE AND TOOLS

AGE

NOT ENOUGH TIME

come up with winning ideas by actively recognizing innovation, for example, through an awards scheme. You could even demonstrate your recognition that not all ideas work out by rewarding those who just have a rich flow of suggestions, regardless of whether or not they are put into action at work. 10 Act on ideas. Remember, innovation is only worthwhile if it results in action. Provide the time and resources to develop and implement those ideas worth acting upon. Failure to do so not only means your firm will fail to benefit from innovation, but flow of ideas may well dry up if employees feel the process is pointless. Innovation never ends There’s no shortage of books and resources with varying methodologies that can help you get started if you’re looking to adopt more formal innovation processes. If you’re not quite there, encouraging employees to become more curious thinkers could be a first step toward a culture that seeks new solutions for everyday challenges. In fact, it is human curiosity that leads people to pioneer new cures for diseases, more efficient forms of energy and new ways to see the world. You don’t need to hire a team of geniuses to achieve innovation, but you do need to give your workforce the confidence, support and incentive to solve the problems around them, until problemsolving becomes just another part of the company culture

ABOUT BAYT.COM Bayt.com is the #1 job site in the Middle East with more than 40,000 employers and over 22,500,000 registered job seekers from across the Middle East, North Africa and the globe, representing all industries, nationalities and career levels. Post a job or find jobs on www.bayt.com today and access the leading resource for job seekers and employers in the region. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 67

business > bottomline

THE FIRST DAY

AT WORK

The employee induction process should serve as the springboard for the employee’s performance, engagement and progress within the organisation.

68 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

nduction programmes generally prepare new employees on operational aspects of their role and organisational policies, along with a dose of values, ethics or cultural preparation. Our research suggests 77% of GCC organisations claim to have a formal induction programme; however, in our experience few new employees experience the ‘wow’ factor during induction while many employers would like to see a renewed experience for their new hires. Common problems that plague induction programmes include: administrative overload, induction activities set aside in favour of day-to-day business by managers, ‘HR induction’ disconnected from ‘business induction’ and irrelevant or uninteresting induction activities. So how can employers leverage

a new hire’s enthusiasm and energy to make induction a memorable and valuable experience? Managing admin overload In the first few days, would you rather new hires spend their time chasing certificates and filling in forms? Clearly not, but that is what many new hires experience. Admin requirements may be especially onerous for expats and may delay their settling in or even their start date. Technology and a bit of planning go a long way to preventing administrative overload. IT applications can help employers ‘onboard’ new hires in advance of the first day – compiling data and documentation that enable preparation of the employee’s access card, email address and other IT, work equipment and signing

up to benefits. Mobility service providers can also assist with ensuring that an expat employee prepares all the necessary documentation before making their move abroad. Providing a simple briefing and administrative checklist in advance goes a long way to making an employee’s first days enjoyable and productive. Nurturing a sense of belonging In the first days, colleagues help new employees practically (by alerting them to organizational practices) and intangibly (particularly, by being role models). Our research indicates that on average, 12% of nationals leave in the first three months, but by nurturing a strong and supportive community for new employees, the organization reduces the risk of premature attrition, an expensive and demoralizing outcome for both employer and employee. In the Middle East, the challenges for belonging can be different for expat and local employees. Local employees may already have acquaintances in their new company. The risk is that they feel comfortable with their current network and fail to make new connections. Expats are less likely to have a network and without some support it may take longer to develop a good pool of contacts. The most important relationships of the new hire are those with their manager and their team. Some managers conduct a thorough introduction for their team, provide opportunities for socialisation and spend time coaching the new hire. However, often HR ‘hand over’ the new hire, whilst busy managers make little time for coaching, offering few guidelines and resources to create a positive experience. Leaders are key to nurturing a new employee’s sense of belonging. It’s common for induction to be spent going through rules and procedures, but how much more engaging would it be if leaders spent time with new employees, explaining the choices they make and the values that guide them?

Value from day one Induction is the right time for a new employee to understand the company’s strategy, policies and processes – and for the employer to start tapping into the employee’s value. Learning through experience trumps countless presentations, piles of documents and hours of online training. However, induction is more likely to be a bombardment of the latter. Companies that want to tap value from day one provide the settings for effective learning and performance through a variety of planned activities. For example, instead of just organizing a process walk-through, a new employee may be presented with a challenge to improve it. They are given access to co-workers, customers, leaders and managers right from the start. And most importantly, the new employee is given a platform to showcase their skills and establish themselves. While many companies say they value ‘learning on the job’, new employees often find that they are thrown in at the deep end with little structure or idea of what they’re meant to achieve. Instead of tapping into value, companies risk losing all the enthusiasm and energy that a new employee brings in those first few weeks. A word of caution about performance objectives during induction: objectives should only be put in place once the employee is familiar with the role and the company, usually around two to three months into their employment. Once an employee understands their role, they can engage properly with the objective-setting process and performance is more likely to follow. The start The induction period soon gives way to everyday working life, and this is where the ideals presented at induction need to dovetail with the reality. No vision and values training will sustain your new hires’ energy and performance if there is no match between what’s said and what’s done

BY DR MARKUS WIESNER Chief Executive Officer Aon Hewitt Middle East and Africa

ABOUT AON HEWITT Aon Hewitt is a global leader in human resource solutions. For more information, please visit www.aon.com/middle-east

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 69

education > tag this

KEEPING THE SPIRIT OF WISE ALIVE

IN ITS 2015 EDITION, WISE, THE CONFERENCE THAT SHOWCASES GROUNDBREAKING EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES AND DISCUSSES AND DEBATES SOLUTIONS TO SOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST PRESSING EDUCATION PROBLEMS, WAS CENTRED AROUND THE THEME "INVESTING FOR IMPACT", ADDRESSING QUESTIONS SUCH AS: WHAT INNOVATIVE WAYS CAN WE USE TO FINANCE OUR SCHOOLS, HOW CAN WE MAKE STUDENTS READY FOR THE JOB MARKET? BY KEERTANA KODURU 70 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

his year’s edition got the maximum exposure due to the presence of Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, whose impassioned and bold speech stressed girls’ education. “We cannot separate the issue of how we educate girls from the issue of how we treat women more broadly in our societies,” she said as she addressed the packed Qatar National Convention Centre. At the opening ceremony, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of Qatar Foundation, stressed the importance of primary schooling and the lack of movement from primary to secondary

DR SAKEENA YACOOBI Founder Afghan Institute of Learning

schooling. She raised concerns and showed disappointment at the current state of education, especially in conflict areas where help is required the most. But even with such distinguished presence, the scene stealer was the WISE winner. Introducing the winner, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser said, “The WISE Prize for education embodies the spirit of WISE. They are tireless advocates for the right to education. This year’s laureate, Dr Sakeena Yacoobi, is distinguished by her determination to bring education to her fellow citizens in the most adverse conditions of war and occupation. From refugee camps to secret night schools, and often at great personal risk, she

HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al Thani and Michelle Obama with this year's WISE Laureate Dr Sakeena Yacoobi.

established a network of organisations that provide general education as well as public health education. Millions have benefited from her optimism.” Dr Yacoobi, fondly known as the ‘Mother of Education’ in Afghanistan, started her road trip into this field 25 years ago with a strong belief that if education could transform her, she could do the same for Afghani women refugees who seek only a way out of their misery. “My vision for Afghanistan is a free country. Every single girl must be educated in Afghanistan - that is my dream. I don’t have a small dream. My vision is big, has been big and is going to be big, constantly. And I think that there is going to be a day when this country will rise

up, and I am looking forward to that day,” said Dr. Yacoobi accepting her award. As inspiring as she is in real life, so passionate does she sound even over the static of the telephone lines. Over a telephone conversation with Qatar Today, she shared her relentless journey along the path of education of Afghan women. Her journey started more than three decades ago after her graduation from the University of the Pacific in 1977, returning to Pakistan in 1990 to help the refugees of war. She was looking to pursue higher studies in the field of medicine so as to help women in her region who had no means to protect themselves during pregnancy. Her own mother had survived 16 pregnancies out of which only five survived. “My father was a smart and intelligent man who suffered in his childhood without education. He encouraged me to get my education from the beginning. He could foresee that the conditions in Afghanistan, were deteriorating by the day, and he grabbed the opportunity to send me away. His first choice was Kabul, but as there was no dormitory there for girls he said go to America and we will move to Kabul while you finish your higher studies. I always wanted to help women and children by being a doctor. My parents wrote to me during the Russian invasion that I couldn’t come back and that it wasn’t the right time. My parents got into trouble because of me studying in the States,” says Dr Yacoobi. The family eventually became refugees in their own country. “It was a hard time for me as I was struggling to make ends meet. With my

THE SUMMIT INCLUDED REPRESENTATIVES FROM MORE THAN

120 COUNTRIES AND 2,000 REGISTERED

INDIVIDUALS OVERALL, MAKING THIS YEAR THE BEST IN TERMS OF PARTICIPATION.

SINCE 1996, OVER

7,700,000 AFGHANS HAVE

BENEFITED FROM AFGHAN INSTITUTE OF LEARNING’S EDUCATION AND HEALTH PROGRAMMES. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 71

education > tag this THE MOST IMPORTANT TAKE-BACK FROM THE SUMMIT WERE THE RESULTS FROM THE SURVEY CONDUCTED SINCE AUGUST 2015 AND THE OBSERVATION IN THE PUBLISHED REPORTS WHICH URGES NATIONS AS STAKEHOLDERS TO REALISE THAT AGGRESSION IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION IS ALL THAT WE NEED FOR A WORLD FREE OF CONFLICT. HH SHEIKHA MOZA in coversation with MICHELLE OBAMA, who gave the keynote address at WISE this year.

partial scholarship, I did all kinds of part -time and odd jobs and kept reminding myself of the purpose, for my education to continue. As soon as I finished my education, I became a professor at the D’Etre College but my parents were still in the refugee camp. It wasn’t an easy task to bring my parents to America. I didn’t have a lawyer or a lot of money for the logistics to work. I fought for myself and for my family. When my family finally arrived in the States, my brother started school and my sister got a job as well; it was time for me to go back and help my country.” Dr Yacoobi then went on to the refugee camp and had the opportunity to impart 72 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

education that came with critical thinking. “It changed my entire life. It helped me grow as a person emotionally, physically and mentally; to be able to think for myself and ask questions; Education gave me the sense of dignity and confidence to ask myself: who am I?” She prepared teacher training modules and curricula that students would adapt to, which was the right thing to do at the time. Her thoughts kept revolving around imparting education to other women around her who needed it the most. “Designing a curriculum that was innovative and would teach them critical thinking was important,” she says.

“Every student was a refugee from diverse backgrounds of physical and emotional instability, and the classroom was the only place they could develop themselves.” The Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) grew from 300 to 15,000 students in a year. The programme was an instant success as it had the support of the community and the people around. Dr Yacoobi says, “We were trying to preserve our culture by establishing equality between men and women which is what our religion also promotes.” “Word of mouth and the impact the programme had on students were the two most important ways to get the community to accept us and for us to grow. We couldn’t venture into publicity as we were tight with money, our budget could not be compromised on marketing,” says Dr Yacoobi. She says that hundreds of people are still waiting to be a part of their education process. With just pamphlets that gave out basic information about the programmes, AIL’s sole form of news sharing and publicity, the programme still caught the attention of the community for its strong content and intent. But Dr Yaccobi is still not satisified. She says, “My goal is that every child should be in school and educated. There are areas that still don’t have schools, or a simple roof with supplies. Currently, there are 2.2 million girls in school. There are still 60 million girls who need to be educated. We have a long way to go.”

Recipients of the Young Innovators Program scholarships address the media. The programme supports young, exceptional Arabs by offering them educational opportunities in Qatar.

In the patriarchal society of Afghanistan, she urges families to enrol their girls in school in a way that amuses many around the world. “If you have a boy in the family to be enrolled, give me your girl as well. Girls are given the first priority at our learning centres across the country’s refugee camps and are enrolled with either partial or full scholarship.” The AIL has never received funding from any government sources and has always been funded by individual foundations and she prides herself in the many awards she received and this grant money goes towards the progress of the institute. She says “I’ve never kept anything for myself and always think of my goal for girls to be educated in my country.” Speaking about her own family, “My siblings lead a middle class life here in the United States. I didn’t have the time to think of myself, of getting married and settling down. I had to concentrate on my education and I went on to help the refugee situation and conflicted areas. My children are in thousands and when I see their happy faces, it fills my heart with joy and satisfaction. My plan is to continuously do what I do until I die; to spread education into the world and hopefully I live another 20 years to do the job that I was intended to do.” “My religion has been my guideline all along. Holding conferences on culture and literature is my thing. I learnt to be kind, organized, to ask questions and to speak my

mind about the culture here in the states.” She believes winning the WISE award of half a million dollars couldn’t come at a better time. “This is a crucial time for Afghanistan as my country is steeped in poverty and conflict. The money cannot solve all my problems at once but will definitely help the situation. The award will help me feed students before their classes and also to provide supplies and materials." “Interacting with HH Sheikha Moza gave me an instant feeling of connection because of our common interest in education. She recognizes the value of education and awards people who are worthy and other rulers should follow in her footsteps. So much money is going to war and the cause that demolishes basic amenities such as schools and hospitals. If you demolish ignorance and educate children, you will not have poverty and war. Her Highness is trying to bring creativity and innovation into the system of education that will transform people and their thought process.” At 65, Dr Yacoobi is at young at heart and is very active with youngsters she meets every day. “Meeting the young cohorts and students at WISE has been a wonderful experience. One of the reasons I like meeting young people is because I live life amongst the many youngsters today. We have to take advantage of their efforts today and not wait for tomorrow. To give them opportunities and encourage them to continuously do their work,” says Dr Yacoobi. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States, also stressed the element of early childhood education and the wonders it could do to change the lives of girls. Her Highness and the First Lady discussed ways to help more children – particularly adolescent girls – in communities across the globe, make that critical transition from primary to secondary education. They also explored potential areas of collaboration between the Education Above All foundation, established by Her Highness in 2012, and the First Lady’s Let Girls Learn initative. “My education opened up opportunities that I never could have dreamed of as a young black girl from a working-class family in a big American city. My university degrees transported me to places I never could have imagined – to boardrooms and courtrooms, to the White House – where my mother now lives with our family – and we’re raising our daughters just steps from the Oval Office,” said Michelle Obama

SURVEY KEY POINTS FROM WISE RESPONDENTS CONDUCTED BY GALLUP

69%

BELIEVE THAT IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE UNIVERSITIES, NOT THE EMPLOYERS, TO PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE WORLD OF WORK.

39%

BELIEVE THAT UNIVERSITIES IN THEIR COUNTRIES ARE PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE WORKPLACE.

62%

IDENTIFIED LACK OF WORK OR INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES IN POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION STAGES.

59%

BELIEVE TEACHERS ARE NOT TREATED WITH THE RESPECT AND DIGNITY THEY DESERVE.

78%

WISE EXPERTS BELIEVE SCHOOL SYSTEMS WOULD BE BETTER IF GIVEN ADEQUATE FUNDING TO BE SPENT ON RECRUITING AND RETRAINING HIGH-QUALITY TEACHERS THAN ON TECHNOLOGY.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 73

society > tag this

Our Meeting Space

The female Majlis is a congregation of ideas no less important than those discussed at the male Majlis. These conversations pave the way to wrestle complex issues of women joining the knowledge economy while also maintaining social and cultural traditions. By Sindhu Nair

74 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

t all started with a research grant and ideas about how to utilise it to link students of Northwestern University in Qatar. Then over a birthday brunch discussion, collaborations and sharing of expertise commenced. Soon it became a project that pulled in all the participants, making it much more than research and more of a revelation; a personal journey for some and an insightful experience for others. Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) launched “Her Majlis” in August, an exhibition exploring Qatari women’s opinions and gathering spaces. The project was a journey to understand the drivers and obstacles of Qatari women’s engagement in society by exploring how they participate in civil society, including in traditional gatherings. “Her Majlis”, as the project is now known, was also an exhibition opened to

the public until October 8, 2015 at the Art Gallery of Hamad bin Khalifa University Student Center. The museum exhibition was created by a team of faculty and student researchers, funded by a Qatar National Research Fund UREP grant and was the result of a research project entitled “Qatari Women: Engagement and Empowerment.” Its results aim at informing the government and society of ways to personally and professionally support women, as part of the wider national goal of transitioning Qatar to an economy built upon knowledge and human capital. The project was undertaken by undergraduate students, most of whom are Qatari women. Dr Jocelyn Sage Mitchell, assistant professor of political science in the Liberal Arts department was the primary investigator on the Qatari women grant and also the one who got everyone together and

then brought in students from NU-Q to work on the grant. Super-efficient, always a step ahead in thought and action, Mitchell reached out to Professor Christina Paschyn, Lecturer in Residence in the Journalism Program at NU-Q, the “resident feminist” who was the right person to bounce out ideas to work on. “It was the Fall of 2013 when all of this started to make sense,” says Dr Mitchell. But where did the idea of a female majlis spring from? “Dr Mitchell already had her research done and we all wanted to explore the meeting space of Qatari women. We all had this interest in Qatari women’s issues and the inherent feminism in all of us made us interested about real women’s issues. For me, this was a natural extension of what I worked as, being a journalist and already exposed and writing on issues pertaining to Qatari women,” says Paschyn. “Majlis has always been portrayed as a place of male domain, and women’s majlis has been downplayed and dismissed by academics and members of society and hence it was always an interest to explore this female Majlis, the significance of it and to find out what is being discussed there and in the end also,” says Paschyn. “All of the stereotypes decided that nothing important was ever discussed in the female domain. it was time to shatter some of them.” Professor Sadia Mir, assistant professor of English at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, was interested in using documentary media to disseminate and start conversations on research. “I really wanted to work in this group to see how we could share this academic knowledge with the masses and I wanted to see how to work with all my creative tools in creating an exhibition and also curate the works we displayed,” says Mir. Mir was the faculty mentor for the multimedia production phases of the project, which included mentoring students in the documentary film course and the museum installation seminar. Dr Tanya Kane, adjunct lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar where she teaches anthropology, sociology and communication courses, she mentored the students in writing the survey, conducting ethnographic research, and creating the museum installation. “I thought it would be an opportunity to break many stereotypes and we have had such a learning experience,” she says.

The Investigators From left: Dr Jocelyn, Dr Kirsten Pike, Sage Mitchell, Professor Sadia Mir, Professor Christina Paschyn and Dr Tanya Kane.

Dr Kirsten Pike is an assistant professor in the Communication Program at NU-Q who conducts research on gender representations in the media, and she mentored students on their documentary films about women’s gatherings in Qatar. “For me, it was a fabulous opportunity to work with these teachers and also work in a space often unknown to us,” adds Dr Pike. While this project with the research grant has extensively covered Qatari women, questions put to Qatari men are in the process of being disseminated and analysed in the second survey, according to Dr Mitchell. Interestingly, the research cites numerous problems, arising from the study of the intersection of two pressing concerns in Qatari society: increasing female participation in education and the workforce while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the family and ensuring that women’s personal needs are

SOME INTERESTING CONVERSATIONS FROM THE RESEARCH GATHERING

“I have my own home-based business and it all started when a lot of friends and families at these gathering, always told me, “Buthayna, why don’t you put your own designs, print them on phone covers and print them on T-shirts?”. Because they loved them, they told me that the merchandise would actually look nice. So throughout the gatherings, I got my ideas for the business.” BUTHAYNA AL ZAMAN Qatari female entrepreneur QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 75

society > tag this

How we meet The exhibition space of Her Majlis

76 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

met through quantitative and qualitative methods. This research reveals the conflicts between Qatari women’s ability and the traditional norms that they must adhere to prioritising domestic life, a conflict that necessitates complex personal and professional choices for Qatari women today. “Our research challenges this perception of elitism by exploring how the daily majlis provides a space for ordinary women to interact and respond to societal pressures, cultural traditions and the public sphere,” says Dr Mitchell. While the method of collecting data might seem primitive in involving a gathering space, the policy recommendations have

been formed, looking at the demographics and the QNV 2030. One of the recommendations is to amend Law No. 38 of 2005, which allows Qatari women the right to pass their citizenship to their children automatically, regardless of the nationality of the father. By doing so, the government would allow a greater number of Qatari women to marry and raise families in Qatar, thereby increasing the population of Qataris in the county. But who is listening? Is this matter presented to the Qatar Foundation or to members of the Board who formulate polices? “While we are grateful that QNRF who gave us the opportunity to do this research, we are not sure how this will reach the right places, whether the recommendations are being looked into by anyone and whether any amendments are in the process,” says Dr Mitchell. “We encourage QNRF and QF to reach out to us and we are ready to discuss all the recommendations that we have formulated on the basis of the survey we worked on. We are intent on giving back to the society that has made this research possible and we are waiting for the doors to open for discussion.” We have to wait to see whether this research, with its excellent recommendations to empower Qatari women to engage in the wider society, economy and polity by supporting both the personal and professional needs of Qatari women, will get brushed under the carpet or be taken up by civil societies and pushed for form by some governmental policy changes

green scene > tag this

AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD

NOT A WASTED EFFORT THE WASTE MANAGEMENT SCENE IN QATAR TAKES LESSONS FROM EXAMPLES AROUND THE WORLD. AFP PHOTO/JOEL SAGET

New York: Environmental activists and supporters take part in a rally calling for action on climate change on November 29, a day before the start of the COP21 conference in Paris.

Paris: A man dressed as Yoda stands among shoes on the Place de la Republique which is covered in pairs of shoes on November 29, as part of a symbolic and peaceful rally called by the NGO Avaaz, in an attempt to get round the French authoritiesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ban on public gatherings.

n the eve of the Paris Climate Summit, COP21, over 570,000 people around the world took to the streets over the weekend for the recordbreaking Global Climate March to urge leaders to scale up action on climate change to achieve 100% renewable energy, eliminate poverty and protect people from worsening climate impacts. People joined in more than 2,300 events across 175 countries. Coming from all walks of life, people from affected communities, development organisations, climate movements, the young and old, people of faith, indigenous people, trade unionists and many more marched together. With the Climate Conference in Paris (COP21) close, it is pertinent that we

78 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

look at the many evils that plague the environmental scenario in this part of the world, as environmentalist have famously proclaimed that the air we breathe is universal. A few months earlier, World Wildlife Federation spread the word for a call to action, trying to convey the challenges faced by clean-tech firms across the world and spreading the message to all global leaders converging at the COP21. Over 100 firms signed the entrepreneursâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; call and

spread a strong message. “We are some of the thousands of cleantech businesses and entrepreneurs from all corners of the world that already have the solutions ready to help our customers to better performance and lives without the need of harmful fossil fuel emissions. We are forerunners in all areas of daily life, providing solutions that address human needs for shelter, mobility, food, water, heating and materials – powered by renewable energy,” they said. Never before has the intent for renewables been so strong, and as awareness grows, moving away from the lure of black gold is becoming easier with falling oil prices. The time for action is indeed upon us. Looking at the issue of renewables from the Qatari perspective, one vice that still confronts the officials is the growing waste accumulation in this country of plenty. Qatar is moving fast towards its urban future and so is the increase in municipal

solid waste (MSW) generated in the country making sustainable waste management one of the major challenges for the government. According to the World Bank, the MSW generated by urban residents will be 1.42 kg/capita/day by 2025 but Qatar’s per capita waste generation has already touched 1.8 kg/capita/per day. MSW is one of the most important by-products of a fastchanging urban lifestyle and, in fact, is said to be growing even faster than the rate of

urbanisation. Government statistics say that as much as 28,000 tons per day of solid waste is generated in the country, of which over 75% is construction rubble and the remaining 8,000 tons is domestic waste, which is predicted to reach 19,000 tons by 2032, with an annual growth rate of about 4.2%. One of the targets of Qatar National Development Strategy (NDS) is to raise the recycle share to 38% of solid waste, reducing landfill to 53% and converting waste to energy. The other targets of NDS are to reduce domestic waste generation to 1.6 kg/capita/day by creating awareness among the residents and also increase recycling to sustain and preserve high quality of life. The current recycling portion of household waste and commercial waste is 3% and 1%, respectively, whereas only 4% of construction waste is recycled. The unsustainable growth of the GDP and population of Qatar since 2000 is one of the reasons for the growth in the MSW in the country. With the government undertaking huge infrastructure projects costing around QR1.09 trillion ($300 billion), this trend is expected to continue up to the FIFA World Cup in 2022, which will be held in Qatar, and beyond till the goals of Qatar National Vision are achieved by 2030. The first step taken by the government to achieve the NDS targets was to establish the QR3.9 billion Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC) to deal with waste in a sustainable manner (separation, recycle, bioenergy products). The Centre has six main components for waste management: waste to energy, anaerobic digestion and composting plant, energy recovery, engineered solid waste landfill and incinerated bottom ash treatment, and plant facilities. The facility can treat up to 2,300 tons of domestic waste per day whereas the domestic waste generated is much higher than the capacity. The remainder is sent to the landfills at three sites – Umm Al Afai, Rawda Rashed and Al Krana. Besides treating the municipal solid waste, DSWMC also produces 50 MW of clean energy from the waste. Of this, it supplies 42 MW to the state electricity network and uses the remaining eight MW to run the Centre. While the facility does look into the issue of waste management, the numbers managed are still miniscule. One of the 100 firms that has signed the entrepreneurs’

THERMAL ENERGY CURRENT POTENTIAL

I00 330

MILLION KG LPG EQUIVALENT GWH

POTENTIAL IN 2032

2I5 700

MILLION KG LPG EQUIVALENT GWH

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 79

green scene > tag this

Energy everyday Above: Electricity is generated through waste from chicken litter at a hatchery in Hyderabad, India; below: At a university in Jaipur, India, food waste is utilised to provided energy for cooking.

80 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

call at COP21 is GPS Renewables, a young company founded by India’s NIT and IIM Bangalore graduates. Pioneers in decentralized waste-to-energy solutions for urban establishments, the technology used in GPS has been recognized and awarded by forums like MIT Technology Review, Sankalp Forum and recently an award for the Climate Solver 2014 by World Wildlife Federation-India at a function held in New Delhi. Mainak Chakraborty, the Director and co-CEO of GPS Renewables, named as one of the top Indian innovators under the age of 35 by the MIT Technology, tells us how waste can be reimagined in developed countries like Qatar. “Going by the typical waste profile for developed nations, we expect the organic fraction of waste in the domestic segment to be around 50%. Going by that assumption, we can expect the organic fraction to be around 4,000 TPD (tons/day) currently, and it to go up to 8,500 TPD by 2032,” says Chakraborty. “If all this waste could be effectively converted to methane via biomethanation, the clean energy potential would be quite high.”

Already making waves in developing countries, GPS Renewables is currently present in nine states of India and in Bangladesh. “We have secured our first set of orders in Malaysia and in the US too,” says Chakraborty. “In fact, for co-promoting our solution in Qatar, we are collaborating with Al Sulaiman Group as a strategic partner. We hope to increase our commercialisation efforts in the region with further support from players with interest and synergy in this field.” So, while the solution is spreading, Chakraborty agrees that there is much more to do, “and the challenges of spearing bioenergy solutions are common throughout the world, and which is around finance and policy”. But if finance is the issue in other countries, it should not be a limiting factor in Qatar where technology and environment are always given their due as per the QNV 2030. Going into the cost factor, Chakraborty elaborates the biogas set-up evaluations. “Biogas plants, like BioUrja from GPS, give as much as 70 kg LPG equivalent per ton of food waste per day,” he says. “And setting up a 1TPD BioUrja which generates 70 kg of LPG equivalent or 225 kWh of electricity per day costs around $50,000 (QR182,000). The capex/ton goes down with scale. While a 1TPD plant costs $50,000, a 10TPD plant costs $215,000. So the per tonnage Capex comes down to $21.5k per ton. The current range is between 0.1 TPD and 5 TPD. We are currently working towards setting up larger facilities in the range of 30-50 TPD, in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.” According to him, cost of set-up can be recovered in less than two years through the generation of energy that replaces gas cylinders. Each unit, which is prefabricated, is remotely monitored “like a doctor diagnosing a patient” and that is really the USP of the project. “This is the first innovation in the internet of things in biogas,” says Chakraborty. GPS has other innovations in the works, including a mini bottling plant in Hyderabad, where gas generated from organic waste will be bottled. Most of the biogas plants are set for temperatures in the range of 39 to 41 degrees, which might pose an issue in Qatar. But Chakraborty says, “We run the digesters in two modes: One in the 39-41 degrees space (called mesophilic range) and the other in the 50-55 degrees space, called the thermophilic mode. So, for the Middle East region, we will be operating the plants in the thermohphilic range.”

WELCOME TO QATAR

FOR THE COUNTRY'S HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY, GROWTH IS A DELICATE BALANCING ACT; WHILE TOURISM AND MEGA-EVENTS PROMISE BRISK AND RISING DEMAND, RELENTLESS AND UNREALISTIC EXPANSION IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. THIS ISSUE WE FOCUS THE SPOTLIGHT ON COMPANIES THAT ARE TAKING A MATURE AND MEASURED APPROACH TO GROWTH, EVEN WHILE LOOKING OUTSIDE THE BORDERS. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 81

HOSPITALITY

SPOTLIGHT

Hospitality reinvented

THE DIPLOMATIC CLUB HAS ALWAYS BEEN A PLACE CONDUCIVE TO A MEETING OF MINDS AND DISCUSSING HIGHER THINGS. MARKETING DIRECTOR SOHA MOUSSA TALKS ABOUT HOW THIS IS BEING TAKEN ONE STEP FORWARD WITH THE NEWLY RENOVATED BANQUET SPACES.

pened 12 years ago, The Diplomatic Club was built with the purpose of giving diplomats present in Qatar a sense of Qatari hospitality. Therefore its core value is exclusivity within very elegant and Arabic settings. Those values reflect in its architectural structure, an Arabic palace decorated with Islamic patterns. The Diplomatic Club is Dohaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier private club. Located in West Bay, it provides members and guests alike with the perfect atmosphere for relaxation and entertainment, with such amenities as a gymnasium, sports club, pool,

82 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

spa, beauty salon, library and gourmet restaurants including Le Grill and Al Sayyad. Overall, the Club provides its guests with a wide range of high-quality facilities, from leisure and wellness to dining. The Diplomatic Club has a special emotional value for the local community and is now increasingly becoming the ideal gateway for expats as well with its unique combination of pure Arabic style, exclusive location, service excellence and great cuisine, making it the place of choice for major events. The type and size of functions held at the Club are a testament to how appreciated it is among both the local and expat business community and the government.

Dohaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s famous Diplomatic Club has announced the opening of its renovated banquet halls Roshana I, Roshana II and Al Safeer in an effort to improve its services and facilities. The Diplomatic Club, since its inception, has been and remains, a Qatari institution noted for its service, style and innovation. With Stateof-the-art design blended with traditional architecture, the new banquet halls have now become your first venue of choice for meetings, events, weddings and all your happy occasions. The Club offers a wide range of leisure facilities and activities, from a state-ofthe-art gym to an aerobic studio to fully relax or exercise after a hard working day. Our personal trainers and gym instructors are on hand for daily sport classes and personal training lessons. Relax after an intensive workout or a long day in our sauna and steam facilities, Jacuzzi, or plunge pool. Other amenities include a swimming pool, lagoon-shaped beach, tennis courts, squash court, ladiesonly gym, beach volley court and many

others. An array of water sports activities are available on request ranging from wakeboarding, waterskiing, kayaking, screamer rides and banana rides to fishing and leisure boat trips. The Spa offers many ways to relax and de-stress. Have your tensions eased away by one of our professional masseuses and choose from a menu of relaxing treatments (Reflexology, Hot Stone, Swedish, Thai, Aromatherapy and The Diplomatic Club Special). The spa area features changing rooms with lockers, a plunge pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and steam room facilities. Beauty lies in the hands of our experts at the Beauty Center. In warm settings, have one of our professional technicians take you on a journey of beauty, from rejuvenating your skin with our numerous facial treatments and variable make-up styles, to shaping your body with different beauty services and ending with a magical hairstyle that suits your personality! We also have a menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s salon with experienced barbers and hairstylists QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 83

HOSPITALITY

SPOTLIGHT

to give you the look you have always dreamt of. The Diplomatic Club also offers a range of outdoor catering options in addition to in-house banqueting facilities with the magnificent renovated banquet halls Roshana I, Roshana II and Safeer, ideal for your weddings, meetings and events, in addition to the Royal Tent. Not to forget the terrace and beach front as an outdoor dining option with stunning views over the Pearl-Qatar and Doha’s skyline. In addition to the above we have an exciting outlet, the “BBQ Donut”, which is a concept that we introduced a few years ago and which works perfectly for small dinner groups as well as incentives. The BBQ Donut is a fantastic floating food barge. Seating up to eight people and featuring a specially installed BBQ grill, with loads of storage under the seats and a fully adjustable sun shade, you can take to the gently undulating West Bay waters for hours. The BBQ unit is a lowsmoke charcoal kettle grill, specially set up to ensure maximum safety and ease of use. The molded table settings ensure your food won’t slide off! If you fancy a little light music for a complete enjoyable ambiance, each donut comes fitted with a state-of-the-art sound system. With the temperature dropping down, the BBQ donut is now your ideal place to unwind and relax. The Club's halls provide an ideal space for conventions, celebrations, parties and weddings and can accommodate up to 1,000 people. Nevertheless, for more private and smaller events, each hall can 84 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

be converted into three smaller separate halls. Blending modern and sophisticated technology with traditional artistic splendor and luxury are the futuristic sound and lighting systems that were newly installed. The gold-painted walls, also back lit with LED lights, are neatly done up in a manner befitting the décor giving a majestic look. Seamless Wi-Fi Internet access on demand makes it an ideal venue for business conferences. To make it more appealing we have designed attractive packages, the most interesting of which is the tailormade corporate package offering a personalized service with a dedicated sales person just to customize a special menu of your choice that suits your special request and your budget! Activity has indeed increased after renovation of the banquet halls as most of our members and loyal clients were waiting for the change and, based on their requests and feedback, we have taken this step as we care about customer satisfaction which is the core value of every successful organization. Our events range from corporate to social; we host big, medium and small events that suit every expectation. Apart from our banquet halls we have our Royal Tent which is ideally designed for local men’s weddings and huge crowds of over 2,000 people, and whenever our restaurants are being used for more private contained events and lunches. Not to forget our terrace and beach area which are famous venues for corporate family fun days

Hospitality that is quintessentially Qatari WITH A PORTFOLIO OF PEERLESS ICONIC HOTEL PROPERTIES AND EXTRAORDINARY RESORTS, DOHA-BASED KATARA HOSPITALITY HAS POSITIONED ITSELF AS A GLOBAL DEVELOPER, OWNER AND OPERATOR OF HOTELS IN QATAR, THE REGION AND BEYOND. IN PARTICULAR, THE COMPANY IS BOLSTERING QATAR’S HOSPITALITY LANDSCAPE THROUGH UNPRECEDENTED GROWTH.

he nation is witnessing a rapid increase in business travelers and expatriates in response to Qatar’s development needs. Katara Hospitality is pleased to be a part of the changing face of the tourism and hospitality sector in Qatar, as we pride ourselves on our keen commitment to legacy-building for our organization, the growth of our economy in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and continued contribution to Qatar’s hospitality sector. With 45 years’ experience in the industry, Katara Hospitality is the face of Qatar’s hospitality sector, a company that celebrates the heartwarming nature of Arabic hospitality and contemporary luxurious service provision synonymous

with global standards of hospitality excellence.

Working towards global recognition

Our global industry recognition as evidenced by a series of prestigious accolades we have been awarded in recent years bears testimony to our unmatched passion for seamless distinction in luxury service design. Highlighting our commitment to our overall growth strategy is the fact that Katara Hospitality has surpassed its previous goal of 30 properties by 2016, with a new set target of 60 properties by 2026. Through local and international strategic acquisitions, partnerships with globally renowned hospitality brands and investment in the upgrading of operational properties,

Katara Hospitality has experienced unprecedented growth. We aim at maintaining our global leading position as owner and operator of iconic hotels in Qatar and the world as we continue to look at opportunities for expansion in key destinations across the globe. Katara Hospitality recently co-exhibited with Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) at this year’s World Travel Market (WT M) in London where a new Qatar Destination Brand was unveiled to further enhance and promote Qatar and its tourism-based offering to the world. Sharing a stage with QTA at WT M was an occasion not only to highlight the future of Katara Hospitality and its recently launched hotel operator arm Murwab Hotel Group, but also to showcase our commitment to sustainable QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 85

HOSPITALITY

SPOTLIGHT

is emblematic of Qatar’s and our quest to enhance the country’s burgeoning tourism sector in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.

Expanding into key global destinations

tourism and the creation of authentic cultural and cosmopolitan experiences that attract leisure and business travellers to Qatar and Katara Hospitality hotels the world over.

Growing a hospitality legacy in Qatar

HAMAD AL MULLA Chief Executive Officer Katara Hospitality

86 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

To illustrate our strength in Qatar, our operational hotels include Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Hotel; Doha Marriott Hotel; The Ritz-Carlton, Doha; Sharq Village & Spa; Mövenpick Hotel Doha; Somerset West Bay Doha; Sealine, a Murwab Resort; and Saraya Corniche Hotel. Further enhancing Katara Hospitality’s local portfolio is the award-winning Katara Towers development, a highly ambitious project which epitomises the definition of infrastructural and architectural excellence. Poised to become a landmark to the city of Lusail and a recognized icon around the world, this signature hospitality and mixed-use destination is scheduled to open in 2018. Katara Towers, Lusail Marina District has design inspiration from the crossed swords of the country’s seal and will host a five-star luxury hotel, a five-star ultraluxury hotel and branded apartments, and a remarkable man-made satellite beachfront island which features the quintessential elements of leisure and lifestyle including food and beverage outlets, water sports facilities, worldclass water parks and sun-protected gardens for the ultimate outdoor leisure experience. Katara Hospitality is proud of the concept behind this project, as it

In line with our strategic drive to own, operate and preserve the iconic heritage of hospitality icons around the world, we have in recent months after a meticulous renovation exercise, celebrated numerous milestones including the re-opening of The Peninsula Paris, mere steps away from Parisian monumental landmarks the avenue des Champs Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. True to form, guests are able to experience authentic French hospitality in surroundings that exude style and historic charm. The award-winning Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Milan also opened its doors after a complete refurbishment and redesign by Milanese designer Marco Piva. The property is indeed a showstopper as it graciously marries contemporary Italian décor with the elegant architectural style of La Belle Époque. We also recently celebrated the reopening of the magnificent Royal Savoy Lausanne, a Murwab Hotel. The iconic Swiss landmark located in the heart of bustling Lausanne underwent a remarkable transformation to unveil a 5-star gem overlooking the Alps with 196 rooms and suites enhanced for the luxury traveler. These and all other Katara Hospitality properties are symbolic of our strategy focused on the investment of exquisite hotels in key destinations across the globe. Qatar continues to welcome a growing number of international arrivals comprising leisure and business travelers, with the expectation that the tourism sector will continue to experience a boom in light of current and ongoing developments in the sector. With an enviable collection of peerless hospitality properties in Qatar and in key travel destinations such as Switzerland, Italy, France, UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Singapore and Thailand, Katara Hospitality draws strength from its ability to combine unrivalled quality in iconic settings with functional convenience. Katara Hospitality is proud of its rich legacy and positive contributions to shaping the future of Qatar’s tourism

affairs > tech talk

YOUTUBE KIDS UNDER FIRE The dedicated video-streaming app for children has been accused of not doing enough to protect children from harmful marketing content.

hild advocacy groups claim that Google engages in “unfair and deceptive practices toward children” by not taking steps to ensure that food and beverage manufacturers don’t violate pledges made as part of the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative. “Far from being a safe place for kids to explore, YouTube Kids is awash with food and beverage marketing that you won’t

find on other media platforms for young children,” Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood’s Josh Golin said. “The Federal Trade Commission should investigate why Google’s algorithms aren’t configured to keep junk food marketing off of YouTube Kids, and hold food and beverage companies accountable for violating their pledges not to target their most unhealthy products to children.”

SAMSUNG PHONES READY FOR VR Samsung began taking pre-orders for the Oculuspowered Samsung Gear VR which works with the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Edge+, and Note 5.

he device uses the phone’s display to provide the actual virtual reality experience, but it’s 22% lighter than its predecessor, and includes new foam cushioning. It also boasts an improved touchpad for greater control over movies, games, and 360-degree video. The headset can play dozens of made-for-VR games and more than 25 new titles are expected by early next month. Users can also watch content from Samsung’s premium Milk VR service, Netflix, and Oculus Video, as well as Hulu, which recently confirmed plans to complete a VR app in time for the Gear’s release.

88 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Solar charge your mobile

The city’s municipality has installed solar charging devices along Doha Corniche, in collaboration with PR Launchers Qatar. The Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning is seeking to provide the public with free mobile and handheld charging service which uses solar energy and is in line with the ministry’s policy to protect the environment and encourage the use of clean energy. The first phase includes installation of 30 devices and many of them have been fixed in the Corniche area, while the remaining will be fixed soon in other areas. Eventually 200 solar devices for free mobile charging will be fixed in public areas in all municipalities, including parks, entertainment areas, areas for social activities and some markets, according to a ministry release. The stations will charge all types of smartphones, tablets and digital cameras and at 30-40% faster rates than the ordinary electricity charging systems. The service also has an electronic system which identifies the suitable voltage for the handset to be charged, according to the statement.

APPLE MUSIC FOR EVERYONE

The who’s who of supercomputers

For the sixth time in a row, China has the fastest supercomputer.

he Tianhe-2 from China’s National University of Defense Technology topped the TOP500 list of the globe’s most powerful supercomputers. The machine boasts a performance of 33.86 petaflops per second, which amounts to quadrillions of calculations every second. In second place came Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Titan Cray XK7, which clocked 17.59 petaflops per second. Rounding out the top 10 are the Sequoia (US), K computer (Japan), Mira (US), Piz Daint (Switzerland), Shaheen II (Saudi Arabia), Stampede (US), Trinity (US) and Hazel Hen (Germany).

FACEBOOK ACTIVATES SAFETY CHECK

n the aftermath of the Paris attacks, Facebook activated its Safety Check feature, which hitherto it had been using during natural disasters. Users must activate the function, which sends a notification to anyone in the area of an earthquake, tsunami, bombing, or other natural or human disaster. Then they choose from two options - ”I’m safe” or “I’m not in the area”- for friends and family to see. Those with friends living in an affected area will also receive a notification when they have marked themselves as safe.

Soon the social networking giant found itself defending its decision not to activate it a day earlier for the Beirut bombings. “Many people have rightfully asked why we turned on Safety Check for Paris but not for bombings in Beirut and other places,” Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg responded in a Facebook post. “Until [Friday], our policy was only to activate Safety Check for natural disasters,” Zuckerberg added. “We just changed this and now plan to activate Safety Check for more human disasters going forward as well.”

pple launched a beta version of its Music app for Android. New users can sign up for a three-month free trial, with access to the latest tunes, hand-picked recommendations, Beats 1 radio, and more. Beta mode means some features are missing from the new version, including music videos, which are expected to roll out soon. Also, family membership sign-ups and upgrades still require a Mac or iOS-based device. Apple Music for Android requires devices to run 4.3 Jelly Bean or higher, and marks Cupertino’s third application for Google’s mobile platform behind Beats Pill+ and “Move to iOS,” which helps users quit Android.

MOBILE MONEY FLIES HIGH QATAR AIRWAYS HAS ENTERED INTO A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH ONE OF THE WORLD’S LEADING MOBILE MONEY SERVICE PROVIDERS, VODACOM, TO LAUNCH A SERVICE THAT ENABLES CUSTOMERS TO PAY FOR THEIR AIRFARE WITH THE M-PESA SERVICE.

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 89

affairs > sports QSL UPDATE

QATAR TO HOST ATHLETICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2019

AL RAYYAN CLUB RANKS

NO. I ON THE QATAR STARS LEAGUE TABLE WINNING ALL

9 MATCHES PLAYED SO FAR.

The IAAF council voted in favour of Doha following final presentations from all three competing cities in Monaco.

oha was recently awarded the right to host the Athletics World Championship in 2019. Qatar Olympic Committee’s senior advisor Aphrodite Moschoudi, who explained the championships would be staged from September 28 to October 6 in 2019, said: ‘There are two great things about these dates. First the temperature in Doha at this time of year is no different to several recent World Championships. Second, it would allow us to in-

troduce the innovation of staging the championships as a fantastic grand finale to the season, which we know is something you often discuss." Moschoudi also highlighted that the refurbished Khalifa International Stadium, which is central to both the plans for 2019 and the 2022 World Cup, will give organisers the opportunity to use cooling technology if necessary, adding: "But we don’t think you will need it."

A TOUCH OF TENNIS Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer 6-3 6-4, at the 2015 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London. 90 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

OLYMPICS ONWARDS

THE QATARI NATIONAL HANDBALL TEAM ACHIEVED A HISTORIC 28-19 VICTORY OVER ITS IRANIAN COUNTERPART IN THE FINAL GAME OF THE ASIAN QUALIFIERS FOR THE 2016 OLYMPIC GAMES IN RIO DE JANEIRO. THIS MARKS THE FIRST TIME THE QATARI TEAM HAS QUALIFIED FOR THE OLYMPICS.

IT’S BASKETBALL SEASON IN DOHA FIBA AND THE QATAR BASKETBALL FEDERATION (QBF) HAVE EXTENDED THE CONTRACT TO ORGANISE THE FIBA 3X3 ALL STARS FOR AN ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS, UNTIL 2020. IT IS THE SEASON-ENDING EVENT OF 3X3 BASKETBALL AND THE MOST LUCRATIVE ONE FOR THE PLAYERS WITH $120,000 IN PRIZE MONEY. THE FIRST EDITION WAS STAGED IN DOHA ON 12 DECEMBER 2013 AND SAW TEAM BREZOVICA (SLO) WIN THE TITLE.

THE TRACKS SHALL DECIDE

BEST FOOT FORWARD

LUCIANA DINIZ WITH HER LONGINES GLOBAL CHAMPIONS TOUR TROPHY AT AL SHAQAB.

Nico Rosberg zoomed past Lewis Hamilton to win the 2015 Formula 1 World Championship season with a third consecutive victory in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “I am excited with how the end of the season went and next year can come at any moment – it could start tomorrow for me, no problem; I don’t need any holidays. It is great to end the season like this and go on holiday like this,” said Rosberg on his win. “I think being World Champion feels a lot better than winning races,” reflected Hamilton, after the F1 2015 season finale. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 91

business > auto news Alfardan Automobiles, the official BMW importer for Qatar, celebrated the BMW M range at an exclusive event held at Losail International Circuit in Doha.

The power of BMW M

he Qatar International Motor Show held on 13th -14th November, showcased the second generation BMW X6M and X5M. The two new models, set the benchmark in terms of driving dynamics and outstanding efficiency in the high-performance Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) and Sports Activity Coupé (SAC) segment. Both the BMW X6M and X5M are powered by the latest-generation 4.4-litre V8 engine, using innovative M Twin Power Turbo technology to push torque and output to even higher performance levels. Also present at the track day was the BMW M4 Coupe; it covers the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds (with the optional seven-speed M Double Clutch Transmission). Mr. Ihab Allam, General Manager of Alfardan Automobiles, commented: “I would also like to thank all the BMW customers that attended the event as well as our partners Mawater Group; their support has made this a truly successful two days.”

First look

Wald International has released the first pictures of their upcoming Black Bison styling package for the Mercedes-AMG GT.

he coupe, only released through pictures, has sportier side skirts, additional chrome trim and unique alloy wheels. Since this is just a styling package, the car’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 engine should carryover untouched. This means the entry-level variant should continue to produce 462 PS (339 kW) and 600 Nm (442 lb-ft) of torque. It enables the standard model to accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.0 seconds before hitting an electronically-limited top speed of 304 km/h (189 mph).

92 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

Zipping through the desert

VOLKSWAGEN WOES Volkswagen Group is dealing with a slowdown in new-car orders in the wake of admitting this month that it understated fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions. “There is caution in buying,” Bernd Osterloh, the company’s works council chief, told reporters. “The CO2 issue has triggered a greater crisis of confidence [in VW products] than the nitrogen [oxide emissions] issue.”

The BRABUS Rocket 900 “Desert Gold” Edition was unveiled at the 2015 Dubai International Auto Show.

RABUS added its carbon aerodynamic-enhancement components to the project, and a set of black BRABUS Monoblock F “Platinum Edition” 21inch alloys, with a gold pinstriping that goes extremely well with the car’s exterior. The custom “Desert Gold” paint job is special as it was specifically created for

this high-performance project. The bonnet hides the 900PS 6.3 V12 twin-turbo engine, which enables the luxury sedan to do 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 3.7 seconds, 0 to 200 km/h (124 mph) in just 9.1 seconds, and reach a top speed of over 350 km/h (217 mph).

INTRODUCING... Cadillac introduced the 2017 XT5, it's first-ever crossover at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The new light-weight model comes with fresh cabin space loaded with the latest in safety, entertainment and navigation equipment, including 4G connectivity, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for smartphone integration. The 3.6 litre V6 engine boasts of eight-speed automatic transmission. Front-drive is standard while the all-wheel drive is optional. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 93

business > market watch

BEYOND BRAVIA

At the first Sony Technology Event for Professionals (STEP) held in Doha, the electronics giant and its local partner, Darwish Technology, exhibited some cuttingedge audio-visual, broadcasting and security solutions.

94 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

s we walked away from the exhibition floor after the tour, Robert Sherman, Managing Director for Middle East and Africa, Sony Professional Solutions, said, “We just hope that at STEP people can learn something different about Sony and its capabilities and go - ‘Wow! I didn’t know Sony did that!’” That was the easy part. At the ballroom at St. Regis Doha, each of the exhibition’s life-size demos – be it a boardroom, a classroom or a home theatre – was a stunning testament to why Sony is a world leader when it comes to the art of light and sound. “Up until now, we have had a very wellknown presence in the broadcast and television markets and have provided a number of leading solutions and projects to customers like Al Jazeera. But there are other products within our professional portfolio which we wanted to talk more about – display, security and lower cost broadcast solutions which are perfectly suited for several other market segments. And to our existing customers, we wanted to show how they can get more value out of their Sony products by integrating them with our custom solutions,” says Sherman. “Through this event, we want to show people that there is more to Sony than Bravia TVs and Alpha cameras.” Over the two days of the event, several stakeholders were invited to be part of the

Sony experience and see how the solutions presented there could be incorporated into their daily lives. Representatives from many government agencies, corporations, educational establishments, etc., were part of the event in addition to professionals and consultants in the physical security space, and of course, media and broadcasters. With all that was going on, Sherman was hard-pressed to talk about the product that he thought would be most successful in blowing people’s minds. “Each product has its own fantastic features,” he said. “I am very excited about showing our high-resolution 4K capabilities and the possibilities they open up. For example, the ultra short throw projectors we have here are placed just 40 cm from the screen but can project large, 4K images. So you can have very good quality AV without the traditional problems of a projector, like disruptions when people walk across. And the high resolution means that you have more pictures in a single screen, all of equally top quality. So one can monitor the output from several different cameras simultaneously with just one projector. I am very excited about showcasing these innovations.” But he had barely scratched the surface. Another interesting product was their IR security camera with sensor-activated lights that can capture high-quality images when movement is detected. The company had brought their A game to STEP Doha

At STEP, professionals from various sectors get a demonstration on how Sony's AV solutions can positively impact their businesses.

and it was clear to everyone present why no one does 4K better than Sony. Perhaps most dramatic was their home theatre set up – cozy, inviting and screening ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’. Sony upped the ante with the dual 4K projectors which ensure high-quality 3D image stablilisation without traditional problems like flicker. The price tag wasn’t for everyone, naturally; the dual projectors are exclusively for those who won’t compromise on quality. Sherman had words of consolation of those worried about future-proofing their tech purchases. “When investments are so much higher, it is imperative that we make it last longer despite the fact that technology moves so quickly. Our products incorporate a lot of features that many are not even aware of and are not using. So huge benefits can be had even on the simplest devices and as you learn more about these features you’ll learn that you can get a lot more for your money without necessarily upgrading the equipment. Which is why the team from Dubai, along with our partners at Darwish, put together training sessions to help our customers get the most of the piece of technology that they own. Sometimes we even bring in experts from Japan,” he says. While Sony Professional Solutions doesn’t do much in the way of R&D in the region, Sherman cautions that this is a very restrictive way of looking at things. “We gather a lot customer feedback and our marketing team is very hands-on about what is needed and how the products and solutions are being used. We are very careful about adapting our products for this region; for example, more automation to ensure that even those with limited training can use many of the fantastic features and be able to get as a good picture out of it as

possible. And those who’d like to go beyond the automated features and functions are encouraged to push the tech to its max by tinkering with the manual settings. There is a constant dialogue between us and our customers which benefits us and the local organisations for whom we custom-create these solutions. So while the products might not be manufactured or designed locally, the solutions can be, and are, developed locally with local expertise. In the process, we actually help manage and build skills,” he says. “In fact, more than anything, through STEP I’d like to see the sparking of ideas among our customers, who look at our products and figure out how they can be adapted to help them overcome their unique challenges. And we are more than happy to help with that effort.”

ROBERT SHERMAN Managing Director Sony Professional Solutions, Middle East and Africa

QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 95

business > market watch Turkish Airlines recorded $8.054 billion sales revenue and $877 million of net profit in the first nine months of 2015.

TURKISH AIRLINES FLY HIGH WITH THIRD-QUARTER PROFITS

ointing to the operational cash generation ability, Turkish Airlines EBITDA margin for the nine months of 2015 increased by 5.5 percentage points and stood at 26.2%. The airline reports 4.6% growth in passengers carried from Qatar during 2015. With these financial results the company strengthened its place among the most profitable airlines in the world. In the first nine months of 2015 Turkish Airlines realized a capacity increase of 12.6% (available seat km) and carried 46.5 million passengers on

its 341,000 flights with a load factor of 79%. Istanbul, the main hub of Turkish Airlines, is now part of a visual delight for travelers. To promote the city of Istanbul,” Turkish Airlines has collaborated with Rob Whitworth, a famous British director and an expert urban filmmaker, who has made a video which highlights the historical, cultural and social aspects of Istanbul’s unique fabric. Officials also announced that the airline has become the official partner of the European Rugby Champions Cup and Challenge Cup.

Centrepoint celebrates Movember

I With the spotlight on men’s health issues last month, Centrepoint launched a campaign to increase consumers' knowledge of health-related topics. 96 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

n support of the Movember initiative activated globally, Centrepoint chose to dig deeper on its regional consumers’ understanding of good health. The regionally present retailer conducted a recent survey to gauge consumers’ consciousness of their personal and general health in comparison to their savviness when it came to fashion. Of the men surveyed, 80% answered each of the fashion-related questions correctly, while a mere 20% were able to answer questions on basic health measures. “Responses to survey questions such as ‘How often do you shop?’ and ‘How often do you see your physician for a medical check-up?’

were extremely insightful in getting an understanding of our customers’ priorities when it came to personal health,” commented Shyam Sunder, Marketing Head of Centrepoint. Over 30% of respondents surveyed said updating their wardrobe every month was a must. As part of the campaign, the brand has launched a special video on social media to showcase the lack of health awareness in the region. Through the month of November, Centrepoint will be sharing health questions and tips on its digital platforms through the month using #GetToKnowMo to drive curiosity and engagement on health-related topics.

Second time win for Fifty One East Fifty One East awarded ‘Enterprise Agility Achiever in the Retail Sector for 2015’

ifty One East, the first retail store in Qatar and the premium luxury retail chain with more than 65 years of experience was recently awarded ‘Enterprise Agility Achiever in the retail sector for 2015’ for the second time in a row. Commenting on the award, Mr. Bader Abdullah Al-Darwish, Chairman and Managing Director of Darwish Holding said, “We are honoured to be recognized with this award for the second year in a row. Fifty One East has consistently positioned itself as the premium destination for quality products and services, underlining the organization’s commitment to provide an unparalleled experience and loyalty to its patrons.”

LUXURY YACHTS BY ART MARINE

Art Marine participated in the Qatar International Boat Show in Mourjan Marinas in Lusail City, Doha for the third time.

he region’s largest and best-known 360-degree leisure marine enterprise, Art Marine, brought Ferretti Group brands to Qatar for the first time: Ferretti Yachts known for flybridge planning yachts, and the coupé fiberglass yachts from Pershing. New models unveiled were the Ferretti Yachts 550, Ferretti Yachts 700, and Riva 88’ Florida, Riva 88’ Domino Super, Riva 76’ Perseo and Custom Line 108. Greg Stinner, CEO of Art Marine commented: “Our attendance at every Qatar International Boat Show is testament to our commitment and loyalty to the Qatari yachting sector. Since the first boat show, yachting has made vast strides with improved infrastructure, new sailing destinations and increased numbers of berths, for example Banana Island. Art Marine is in closed talks with a local company to open an office in Doha to deliver 100% satisfaction, reliability, availability and peace of mind to our Qatari clientele and partners.” QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 97

affairs > local

FOR THE QATARIS, BY THE QATARIS

The second Launch conference held from December 1-3, 2015 at the Marriott Renaissance Doha gave the participants a learning experience from a range of local and international speakers at the peak of their respective professions.

ELIZABETH FLEMING Managing Director Qatar Development and Consultancy Centre

98 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

ith a series of workshops designed to explore critical thinking practices and motivational techniques, along with invitations to attend ongoing networking events to exchange knowledge with peers, meet industry leaders and take part in dynamic learning activities, Launch is said to have opened a new era of motivational tutelage in the country. Qatar Today finds out more from the creators of the experience. Launch was founded by Elizabeth Fleming, Managing Director of the Qatar Development and Consultancy Centre. It was the founder’s passion to establish an effective platform for Qatari nationals to network, explore and benefit from the expertise of local and international industry leaders. She says, “Launch fosters a growing community of leaders who are equipped for local and international business dealings, as well as supports and strengthens the community from which the talent of Qatar is part of.” Launch is unique in that it provides a platform which sits outside of all industries yet brings together delegates from a widespanning industry base and complements existing nationalisation programmes within organisations. Fleming further explains, “Launch provides learning events in which all Qatari nationals can come together and support one another. We strengthen and enhance the learning of individuals; we are supporting sustained leadership within organisations and, at the same time, we are directly assisting in the delivery of the 2030 vision of Qatar.”

What is the reasoning behind Launch? Why is it different from other such motivational programames or content? Launch facilitates the professional development of Qatari nationals by equipping them with professional knowledge and skills, as well as cultivating responsibility, ambition and ownership for their personal development. Launchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overarching objective is to support the Human Development pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030, through innovative educational events tailored to Qatari nationals. Launch is not a one-off event but rather it comprises a number of ongoing learning workshops and think tanks throughout the year that culminate in bi-annual events and it believes in ongoing development and networking to support sustained professional growth. Apart from a series of annual conferences, Launch provides a highly interactive series of learning events after the conference including: workshops, coaching and mentoring services, interactive social media advice, as well as networking opportunities, which offer forums for discussion on issues and opportunities related to development along with an introduction to industry leaders and experts. According to you, what is the one gap that the Qatari workforce needs to plug? There remains a knowledge gap within the Qatari workforce to support sustained leadership that does not require the current levels of expatriate workforce. This is due to a range of factors, including the maturity of Qatari businesses within the international markets, the population of Qatari nationals and the changing requirements and ambition of the country. I wish to contribute my expertise to overcome these challenges and that is why Launch was formed. Over the eight years I have lived in Qatar, I have worked within industry as an employee and I have supported many organisations to develop and support Qatarisation as a key initiative, so I possess a depth of knowledge. Launch not only supports organisations that have existing well-structured nationalisation programmes, but we also support organisations that require assistance in developing a specific suite of Qatarispecific learning programmes for ongoing leadership and business development.

Learning from the leaders Qatari leadership team conducts classes at the last year's Launch.

How important is Qatarisation in the present-case scenario of oil price decline? Qatarisation is always an important topic of conversation, regardless of whether it is in the context of the recent oil price decline and resulting restructuring that has taken placed across the country. Qatarisation is an ongoing strategic drive to increase the number of competent nationals in employment through blended development programmes. Qatarisation success relies heavily upon individual ownership and mobilisation of resources, along with the support of employees and managers that are deeply invested in ensuring Qatarisation is effective. Organisations must focus on what, how and when employees need to learn the required skills in order to advance confidently and competently within an organisation. Tell us more about your journey through Launch? Launch was founded in 2012 with the overarching objective to facilitate the development of nationals through events that will launch the future and existing leaders of Qatar. A key milestone for Launch was the inaugural Launch conference over two days in late April 2015, which was a resounding success as we had more than 100 Qatari professionals from a range of leading companies, including Ooredoo, Commercial Bank, RasGas, Qatar University, QBIC, Qatari Diar, Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar (VCUQatar), beIN SPORTS and INJAZ Qatar, participate in this highly engaging event. We have extended our reach to include charities, where we allocate a proportion of our tickets to support our community of care QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 99

city life > doha diary

A SYRIAN STAR IS BORN

Yaman Abou Jieb wins the Stars of Science reality TV show.

oting from viewers around the Arab world combined with a jury deliberation garnered Yaman Abou Jieb a score of 37.2%, enough to win the first prize of $300,000 for his Solar Washing Machine, Glean. Yaman thrived on Stars of Science Season 7 due to his trademark resilience and determination. The young innovator from Syria emerged victorious in the breathtaking live finale of Stars of Science in Doha, Qatar, concluding the seventh season of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development’s

(QF) “edutainment reality” TV programme on MBC4. Launched in 2009, Stars of Science is dedicated to scientific innovation, and aims at shining a spotlight on the next generation of young Arab innovators. “By connecting young innovators like me with resources and expertise, Qatar Foundation generates interest in science, engineering, and design in the Arab world. Going forward, I will be driven not only to develop Glean, but to give youth across the region confidence in their abilities to improve lives through innovation,” says Abou Jieb.

A ROYAL DIRECTION

Countess of Wessex inaugurates the donations campaign launched by Orbis and Qatar Charity 100 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

ryx Rotana Hotel hosted the inauguration of Blindness Prevention Charity, organized by ORBIS UK, to mark World Sight Day for the fourth consecutive year. Heading the ORBIS delegation was Her Royal Highness Princess Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, A patron of the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), and also the global ambassador for Vision 2020. HRH Princess Sophie’s visit was aimed at raising funds to reduce childhood blindness in Bangladesh. ORBIS is a global non-profit development organization whose mission is to train local medical teams to provide vision care based on the latest scientific achievements in this specialty.

FOCUS ON TRANSFORMATION Minister of Economy and Commerce inaugurates CSR Qatar 2015 Forum and renews support for private sector.

he two-day forum, dubbed “Transforming CSR to Support a Socially Responsible and Sustainable Economy,” brought together CSR experts, corporate executives and government officials along with representatives of non-governmental organizations and universities from across Qatar. Qatar’s Minister of Economy and Commerce HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani inaugurated the annual corporate social responsibility forum ‘CSR Qatar,’ which was held in Doha for the third consecutive year. The incorporation of CSR strategies into the daily operations of companies and their activities in Qatar will lead to tangible positive results within Qatari society and will have a positive impact on the private sector practices, HE Al Thani said. HE Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani highlighted that the government is also working on the development of logistics areas south of Qatar. The logistics zones represent one of the largest economic projects currently under development in Qatar. The forum included several workshops on a number of CSR-related topics such as sustainable development, labour rights and social responsibility in the field of sports.

THE CURTAIN RISES The 2015 Ajyal Youth Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute, opened at Katara with the Middle East premiere of The Idol, from Academy Awardnominated Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad.

he competition line-up at Ajyal 2015 comprises feature films from 20 countries and a series of short film programmes. More than 500 young people from the ages of 8 to 21 who make up the Ajyal Competition Jury will watch and analyse a dynamic programme of films under three competitive sections – Mohaq, Hilal, and Bader – followed by discussions and events including panels, workshops and Q&A sessions with filmmakers.The Jury includes a delegation of 24 international jurors who will travel to Doha for the

event from 12 countries including Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Serbia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Seventeen films are being screened in the ‘Made in Qatar’ programme featuring home-grown series of films highlighting the talent of Qatari filmmakers and those who call Qatar home. The festival will come to a close with the world premiere of, Bilal, a new animated feature film by Directors Ayman Jamal and Khurram Alavi , involving creative talents from 22 countries. QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015 > 101

A day in the life of...

In an attempt to understand what goes on behind the curtains of running a school and gearing up for the festivities of the holiday season, we speak to the principal to get an insider’s opinion on what his day looks like.

Prasad Pogaru, Principal, Loyola International School

Qatar Today follows the daily routines of professionals from all walks of life around the country. By Keertana Koduru

He speaks to parents who wish to talk about their child’s progress and assists the teachers in bringing the student up to the mark. “Speaking to parents and addressing their concerns is my topmost priority here. It is simple logic – if children are safe and gaining knowledge, the parents are happy.”

We caught him on quite a busy day at the school. With the school’s first Annual Day coming up on December 10, Pogaru says they are all geared up and interacts with students on a daily basis to maintain a balance between studies and extra-curricular activities. “Since the school began in September 2014, it’s been a great journey discovering the cultures of different nationalities as opposed to only teaching Indian kids for the last 20 years,” says Pogaru.

Weekly meetings with 20 teachers in school for an hour tells him about the developments, issues and concerns regarding their work life and how students are progressing. He also approves the teaching plan for the upcoming week and discusses the various activities and supplies required for their classes. 102 > QATAR TODAY > DECEMBER 2015

"There isn’t enough breathing space when it comes to running an educational institution this size and setting up systems to complete work even though they start at 6:30 am. Every day is a new day when it comes to spending time with children!"