Private Sector Qatar - April 2013 | English

APRIL 2013 privatesectorqatar.com/en

LEAD STRATEGIC PARTNER

Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Shell sign a MoU to promote SMEs PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en

CONTENTS April 2013

12

18 LISTEN AND LEARN Private Sector Qatar shares with you new ideas presented to the Qatari youth during the events of Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development, which were held in March 2013.

SMEs 20 JOINT COMMITMENT TO QATARI SMEs

DISCUSSING THE OPPORTUNITIES

Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Shell join forces to provide new business opportunities to local companies and manufacturers. Private Sector Qatar brings to you more details of this milestone agreement for Qatar’s SME sector.

Private Sector Qatar brings to you the full coverage of the Qatar Rail Workshop which was organised on 12th March 2013 by Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Rail.

22 ESCAPE THE HEAT

News

Tamara Pupic got talking to Ali Ali, Founder, Aroma Garden, about the many opportunities and challenges faced by a startup within Doha’s fine dining sector.

10 UPDATES A quick look at news and events in this region.

About town 12 DISCUSSING THE OPPORTUNITIES Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Rail organised the Qatar Rail Workshop to motivate businesses in Qatar to support the Qatar Rail project. Private Sector Qatar brings to you the main highlights.

14 UP IN THE AIR!: The World Cargo Symposium was held in Doha from 12th to 14th March 2013. Private Sector Qatar was there and brings to you updates from the air cargo industry.

16 A STRONG RELATIONSHIP Private Sector Qatar participated in the “Exporting Opportunities to Qatar” seminar, which was held in Dubai on 26th March 2013.

We highlight the discussions that took place.

4

18

24 GETTING READY Jenny Kassis spoke to Abdullah Salem Al Sulaiteen, Chairman, Qatar German Pipes, to learn about their plans within Qatar’s numerous infrastructural projects.

Entrepreneur 26 BEAT THE ODDS! In the first interview of a series of interviews with members of EO Qatar, Mohamed Jaidah, Co-Owner and CEO, and Abdul Salam Abu-Issa, Co-Owner and COO, Firefly Communications, told Tamara Pupic how they created one of the most innovative media companies in Qatar.

30 FOLLOW YOUR HEART In the third article of a series on SILA Angel Investment Network finalists, Ziad Sankari and Najwa Sahmarani, CoFounders, CardioDiagnostics, present their entrepreneurial path to us.

Finance 42 MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION Mahmoud El Amrawi, Marketing and Public Relations Director, Al Jazeera Finance - Qatar, presents the main features of Islamic finance and points out all the details a client needs to know before deciding which type of bank to choose.

Business advice

20

46 CHANGING RITUAL Jenny Kassis talked to Mohamad Bitar, Founder and Managing Director, and Fadi Malas, CEO, Just Falafel, to learn more about the fast business growth of this well-known vegetarian fast food chain.

Sector study 32 THE MAIN MOTIVATOR! In the second article on the QRail project, we provide you with an overview of the main business opportunities for Qatar’s SMEs within the country’s infrastructure and services sectors.

Management 50 FOLLOW THE TREND There are more SMEs using various online platforms today than ever before.

Sangeetha Thomas, Management Consultant, presents few of the smart technology options which can help SMEs advance their business performance.

36 THE IMPORTANT PILLAR OF GROWTH In the first article of a two-part series, Dr. Tarek Coury, Chief Economist, Tanween, focuses on the residential and commercial sectors in Qatar.

38 FIND YOUR PLACE IN DOHA Engel & Völkers counts 2012 as a good year for both commercial and residential parts of the real estate market in Qatar. Mirco Alexander Maurer, Managing Director, Engel & Völkers, takes a look at the future developments of Qatar’s real estate market.

Technology 52 BE PATIENT!

46

Aparna Shivpuri Arya caught up with Luth-fi Ahmed, Founder, Login4IT.com, to find out what it takes to launch an information technology (IT) startup in Qatar.

52

26 APRIL 2013

5

EDITORIAL The land of opportunities...

Publisher Dominic De Sousa Group COO Nadeem Hood

That is what Qatar is and will be for the coming decade. Last month, we attended quite a few events and this reinforced our belief that Qatar is the country to be if you are looking at growing your business or starting afresh.

Managing Director Richard Judd richard@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9126 EDITORIAL Senior Editor Aparna Shivpuri Arya aparna@cpidubai.com +971 440 9133 Assistant Editor - English Tamara Pupic tamara@cpidubai.com +971 440 9130 Assistant Editor - Arabic Jenny Kassis jenny@cpidubai.com +971 440 9116 ADVERTISING Commercial Director Chris Stevenson chris@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9138 CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9147 OPERATIONS AND DESIGN Production Manager James P Tharian james@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9146 Head of Design Fahed Sabbagh fahed@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9148

Qatar is also gradually becoming the hub of many international events across a number of verticals. For instance, last month, we covered the World Cargo Summit and got the opportunity to speak to Boeing and get their expert opinion on how the GCC countries are faring when it comes to trade. The same day we also attended the Qatar Rail Workshop, which was organised by QDB and Qatar Rail to highlight the opportunities in the Q-Rail project. You’ll read all about these two events and other in our About Town section.

Tamara and Jenny also got talking last month to some very interesting people and you’ll quite enjoy their stories. It is fascinating to know the journey that these individuals have done to realise their dreams. As a famous author once said, “We dream to give ourselves hope. To stop dreaming - well, that’s like saying you can never change your fate.” And that’s a thought we all need to remember every once in a while. Am I right?

So go ahead, turn the pages and enjoy our April issue, as we gear to put together our next event in June highlighting the importance of technology for business. We are quite excited about the topics and hope you’ll be a part of this event. Watch this space for more details in the coming month...

Enjoy the read and do get in touch with us to let us know your thoughts!

Till then..

Photographer Jay Colina jay@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9137 DIGITAL SERVICES www.smeadvisor.com Digital Services Manager Tristan Troy Maagma Web Developers Erik Briones Jefferson de Joya Louie Alma online@cpidubai.com +971 4 440 9100 Published by

Aparna Shivpuri Arya, Senior Editor, Private Sector Qatar Talk to us: E-mail: aparna@cpidubai.com Twitter: @PrivateSectorQA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PrivateSectorQatar LinkedIn group: Private Sector Qatar

Head Office PO Box 13700 Dubai, UAE Tel: +971 4 440 9100 Fax: +971 4 447 2409

Printed by

Al Wraq Printing Press, Qatar

Distributed by

Dar Al Sharq Distribution © Copyright 2013 CPI All rights reserved While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en

Ms. Amal Al-Mannai

ADVISORY BOARD Gail Gosse Gail Gosse, is the Dean of the School of Business at College of North Atlantic-Qatar.

Hamad Mohammed Al-Kuwari Mr. Hamad AL-Kuwari is the Managing Director of Qatar Science & Technology Park.

Professor Nitham M. Hindi

George M. White, Ph.D.

Professor Nitham M. Hindi, is the Dean of College of Business and Economics at the Qatar University.

Dr. White is Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar.

Abdulaziz N. Al-Khalifa

Nasser Al Muhannadi

Mr. Al-Khalifa is the Executive Director, Strategy and Business Development at Qatar Development Bank (QDB).

Mr. Al Muhannadi is the Chief Operating Officer at Enterprise Qatar.

Raed Al-Emadi

Rashid Nasser Sraiya Al Kaabi

Mr. Al-Emadi is the Deputy CEO, Silatech.

24

Ms. Al-Mannai is the Executive Director of the Social Development Center (SDC).

Mr. Al Kaabi is the Chairman of the Board of Energy City Qatar Holding (ECQH).

For more information, please visit www.privatesectorqatar.com/en

NEWS

Get familiar with Islamic finance According to estimates by Ernst & Young’s Global Islamic Banking Center, Islamic banking assets with commercial banks in the GCC region reached USD 445 billion at the end of 2012, up from USD 390 billion in 2011, with the outlook for the industry remaining relatively positive in 2013. This represents a 14% year-on-year growth, which is considerably lower than the five year average of 19%.

Qatar was the fastest growing market where Islamic banking assets are expected to have grown by more than 23% during 2012. While Islamic banking assets with commercial banks

in the GCC region grew by 14% in 2012, conventional banking assets grew by only 8.1% indicating the relative resilience and potential of the industry.

Ashar Nazim, Partner, Global Islamic Banking Center, Ernst & Young, said, “We expect a relatively positive outlook for the Islamic banking industry in the GCC region. Quality of growth remains under pressure and we expect more Islamic banks initiating an honest introspection of their operating model, especially with regards to the weak data management infrastructure.

Inability of most Islamic banks to generate accurate data and on time, remains a serious concern for the management, the board as well as the regulators. Where such information is available, the analysis remains very rudimentary and has not really translated to a true competitive advantage.”

In comparison to their conventional banking peers, Islamic banks remain technologically disadvantaged as software systems are primarily designed for financial institutions based on conventional banking frameworks.

While the industry regulators are looking to tackle this issue, it remains a concern for the industry leading to significantly higher operational and commercial risk.

“Major investments in transforming the operating model are underway. Discussions with management reveal that a common theme across most banks is – to get to know their customers,” said Nazim.

Global Islamic banking assets with commercial banks are now at USD 1.55 trillion at the end of 2012 and projected to exceed USD 2 trillion by 2015. Ernst & Young’s Islamic Banking Universe in its estimates represents banks across 22 major Islamic finance markets.

QATAR AND AUSTRALIA TO BOOST INVESTMENT

Investment between Australia and Qatar is set to increase following an agreement signed between the Qatar Chamber and Qatar International Center for Conciliation and Arbitration (QICCA) and the Australian C e n t re fo r I n t e r n a t i o n a l Commercial Arbitration (ACICA).

T h e AC I CA a n d Q a t a r Chamber partnership has been welcomed by multinationals that operate in Qatar at a time when this country is experiencing

10

rapid development and expansion in preparation for FIFA World Cup 2022.

Professor Doug Jones, President, ACICA, and Clayton Utz, Head of Major Projects and International Arbitration, AO, said, “The agreement recognises the demand in the Gulf region to opt for cost effective legally binding resolution of disputes which may arise in cross border transactions. Many of the world’s leading international companies from industries

such as insurance, building and construction, mining, oil and gas, shipping, banking and financial services are increasingly referring matters to arbitration to resolve commercial disputes. Underlying the arbitration process is the agreement allowing parties to negotiate aspects of the nominated process to resolve their dispute.

Experience tells us this flexibility is an attractive component for parties who operate in the GCC region.”

His Excellency Abdulrahman Abduljaleel Abdulghani, President of the Committee for Conciliation and Arbitration and Board Member of the Qatar Chamber, said, “The agreement will provide Australian and Qatari trade entities a risk minimisation strategy to ensure major projects are completed in a timely fashion, thus protecting and growing investments in both countries.”

The agreement, facilitated and supported by the New South Wales Government, comes just weeks ahead of the 8th World Congress of Chambers which will be hosted in Qatar. A global community of more than 12,000 chambers of commerce will be congregating in Doha providing a unique opportunity for leaders from over 100 countries.

His Excellency Pablo Kang, Australian Ambassador to the UAE and Qatar, said, “This is a timely opportunity for Australia.

As corporations within this region seek increasingly to invest in Asia, international companies prefer to have their disputes heard in a neutral location.

Australia, through ACICA and its premier hearing facility, the Australian International Disputes Centre, is well placed to meet the growing demand for first rate, cost effective arbitration services.”

QATAR CAREER FAIR 2013 The Qatar Career Fair (QCF), which is organised by Qatar Foundation, Qatar Petroleum, Amiri Diwan, Qatar University and the Ministry of Labour, returned in its sixth edition from 1st to 6th 2013 at the Qatar National Convention Center.

Aimed at empowering Qatari youth to take charge of their own future, QCF provides nationals with the ideal environment to understand their prospects in the Qatar job market in terms of career orientation, key areas of employment, skill requirements, and training and development opportunities.

Over 125 exhibitors, which are Qatar’s leading influencers, corporations and academia from all major economic sectors, have participated in the event. They play a pivotal role in providing young Qataris, especially students and fresh graduates, professional guidance and advice on career opportunities and alternatives available to Qataris.

“QCF is aimed at creating a dynamic future workforce of Qatari nationals, which supports the human development pillar of Qatar Vision 2030. This year, QCF has introduced new outreach programmes such as a series of lectures aimed at educating young Qataris of their employment prospects in major sectors of the nation’s economy. Our purpose is to instill a career culture amongst youth and get them thinking about how they can contribute to the future of their country”, said Abdullah Al Mansoori, Executive Director, QCF.

SAVE THE DATE!

APRIL – MAY 2013

Date

Event

Location

31 March - 2 April

World Luxury Expo Doha

Doha

1 - 6 April

Qatar Career Fair 2013

Qatar National Convention Center

2 - 4 April

Doha Carbon and Energy Forum 2013

Doha

4 - 7 April

Global Innovators 2013: Leading and Learning in Technical and Vocational Education and Training

Qatar National Convention Center

8 - 9 April

Bloomberg Doha Conference

St. Regis Doha

22 April

ICC World Trade Agenda Summit

Qatar National Convention Center

22 - 23 April

Arab Future Cities Summit

Doha

22 - 25 April

ICC WCF 8th World Chambers Congress

Qatar National Convention Center

29 April - 1 May

3 Annual Global Refining Technology Forum

Doha

6 - 8 May

International Trade Exihibition for partners and franchise - ITE QATAR 2013

Doha

6 - 9 May

Energy Qatar

Doha Exhibition Centre

rd

6 - 9 May

Project Qatar

Doha Exhibition Centre

6 - 9 May

Heavy Max 2013

Doha Exhibition Centre

6 - 9 May

Qatar Stonetech

Doha Exhibition Centre

7 - 8 May

Workshop Customer Services

Doha

7 - 8 May

Optimising Enhanced Oil Recovery 2013

Doha

12 - 13 May

GCC Infra Facilities Management Summit

Doha

14 - 16 May

Conference and Exhibition, Qatar Telecom and Information Technology Qitcom 2013

Doha

17 - 19 May

Middle East Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare 2013

Qatar National Convention Center

27 - 29 May

Cityscape Qatar

Doha Exhibition Centre

27 - 29 May

MEED Qatar Transport

Doha Exhibition Centre

27 - 29 May

Qatar Real Estate Summit

Doha

To know about the events happening in Qatar in the next six months, please visit our Website.

APRIL 2013

11

ABOUT TOWN

DISCUSSING THE OPPORTUNITIES With an aim to motivate entrepreneurs and businesses in Qatar to become a part of the supply chain network supporting the Qatar Rail project, Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Rail organised the Qatar Rail Workshop on 12th March, 2013 at Ritz Carlton Hotel, Doha. Private Sector Qatar brings to you our coverage of this workshop.

Q

atar Rail Workshop presented the analytical study of opportunities for the private sector related funding programmes, which will play an essential role in this vital new rail project running to nearly USD 40 billion.

H.E. Hamad Bin Ahmed Al-Kuwari, Deputy Chairman, Qatar Chamber of Commerce, opened the event with a speech in which he stated that the overall development strategy adopted by the country aims to put Qatar at the same level with all other developed countries in the world.

This requires developing the infrastructure and setting up new projects. In line with that, he invited the private sector to take advantage of the project and contribute by providing useful information and other kind of support to the implementation of these infrastructure projects.

In his address, Mansoor Bin Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO, Qatar Development Bank, expressed his contentment regarding this collaboration between Qatar Rail and QDB. He pointed out that Qatar will invest USD 40 billion in the opportunities associated with the Qatar Railway projects, which are offered to the private sector in the coming years, and explained, “USD 20 billion is dedicated to the implementation phase while the other USD 20 billion is planned for the operational phase. We hope that national companies will take advantage of these investments.”

12

In addition, he stated that QDB will provide two types of services to motivate the private sector to consider engagement within these projects. It will provide financing solutions and consultative services along with the necessary information that the private sector needs to develop these projects further.

Qatar Rail will manage, operate, and maintain the local railway network and the relevant administrative and industrial corporate, in addition to coordinating with regional and global railways.

Moving on, Eng. Saad Al Muhannadi, CEO, Qatar Rail, explained that the policy of Qatar Rail is to conduct workshops in order to introduce the projects to Qatari and foreign investors before granting any big projects through bids, and added, “This policy is successful and there are Qatari companies in most of the ventures which have been qualified for civil works”.

After the opening remarks, Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Executive Director - Strategy & Business Development, QDB, gave a presentation on the high level impact of the Qatar Rail project, and said, “In 2011, QDB did an analytical study to determine the economic impact of hosting FIFA World Cup 2022, and the role that the private sector could play. One of the outcomes of this

study was to choose the Qatar Rail project as a main motivator for the private sector and encourage it to play its role in the national economy. From this point, came the partnership between QDB and Qatar Rail company.”

Abdulaziz Al Khalifa highlighted that the Qatar Rail project is the biggest non-hydrocarbon project in the country, and will be considered as a fundamental pillar of Qatar’s development and economic diversification, by stating, ”This project will last for two decades. It is an opportunity for us to encourage the private sector to play a greater role and grab these opportunities. The GCC countries will take a similar step as the one Qatar is taking now, in order to create a new railway network or to expand it. There is an opportunity to develop this sector in Qatar and serve the neighbouring countries as well. In QDB, we are very keen on diversifying the economy. In this term, this is a good opportunity for us, since the Qatar Rail project provides an important platform for Qatar to diversify its economy and promote the private sector development process.”

He also stated that 104 jobs opportunities were selected out of 182. These opportunities are connected to the railway network, but not limited to it, and Qatari entrepreneurs and business owners can invest in these projects and acquire it. The other opportunities have been eliminated due to their low economic revenues or short time period for completion.

Elaborating further, Abdulaziz Al Khalifa said that the opportunities are divided into many sectors including railway infrastructure, transport and rail cars, services, maintenance, and similar. Furthermore, 60% of the revenues connected to these opportunities is related to activities allied to the industries and services. In addition to that, this project will provide of a yearly increase of 0.3% to Qatar’s GDP while the annual contribution of the private sector to GDP will increase by 0.7% of GDP. He continued by pointing out the best 40 opportunities which are equivalent to about USD 20 billion. He also presented the feasibility studies that QDB has prepared for these projects.

Highlighting the importance of this project further, Saad Al Muhannadi, CEO, Qatar Rail, made a presentation on procurement strategy. He explained that Qatar Rail is in charge of three projects – the integrated Qatar Railway project including the metro, long-distance trains and cargo trains. The second is the automatic carrier project in the West Bay while the third is the light transportation train project in Lusail.

Moreover, he talked about the strategy used in the procurement process and stated that in two months tenders will be opened for the underground and above ground projects.

He also briefly presented the long-distance train and freight train project, which consists of seven stations linking Qatar with all the GCC countries. It extends over 400 kilometers and the first project will be implemented by 150 km long linkage between Saudi Arabia and port of Umm Said in Qatar.

The first part of the workshop was followed by presentations on existing and new business opportunities by the international consultancy firm Mckinsey & Co. The experts explained that the top 30 business opportunities account for almost half of the opportunities represented within the rail network development project.

Their session discussed the main opportunities for manufactures of cables, construction of bridges and elevators structures, manufacture of protecting walls and other potential opportunities. It also illustrated the potential revenue for each of the opportunities starting from the initial sales to Qatar Rail up to the project’s conclusion in 2032. Some of these opportunities will generate figures above USD 1 billion, such as provision of frameworks for stations at USD 1.2 billion, the supply of liquid concrete at USD1.1 billion, project management services at USD 3.6 billion, the provision of elevated structures at USD 3.3 billion or the supply of steel bars and billets at USD 2.1 billion.

The workshop succeeded in presenting the opportunities within the Qatar Rail project. It also educated the Qatari companies and entrepreneurs about how to envision their investment initiatives and participation in this project.

Since it was highlighted during this workshop that additional discussions will be dedicated to the Qatar Rail project, stay connected to Private Sector Qatar to learn more about the coming events.

APRIL 2013

13

ABOUT TOWN

UP IN THE AIR!

Modernise processes: Transitioning to a paperless operating environment is critical to improving air cargo’s competitiveness. IATA is committed to implementing the e-Air Waybill (e-AWB)—targeting 20% implementation by the end of 2013 and 100% by the end of 2015.

Secure the supply chain: IATA called on governments to implement mutually-recognised secure supply chain regimes. The secure freight initiative championed by IATA is an example of a supply chain framework which is being piloted in eight locations worldwide.

Ensure that dangerous goods regulations are followed: Safety is the industry’s top priority. Recent concerns over lithium batteries transported as air cargo have reinforced the need for greater education and communication over the rules for shipping these items.

Focus on environmental sustainability: The ability to manage carbon emissions is the license to grow. That is why the air cargo industry is committed to improving fuel efficiency by 1.5% annually to 2020, capping CO2 emissions from 2020 with carbon-neutral growth (CNG2020) and cutting net emissions in half by 2050 compared to 2005. No other global industry has made such commitments. And the strategy to achieve these is agreed and clear—focusing on technology, operations, infrastructure and positive economic measures.

The World Cargo Symposium was held in Qatar from 12th to 14th March 2013. It provided a platform to discuss the important issues concerning the air cargo industry. We bring to you the highlights from this event as well as our discussion with Boeing.

T

he International Air Transport Association (IATA) called on airlines and their partners in the air cargo supply chain to work together to make air cargo more competitive and address the challenges of safety, security and sustainability.

Bradley Hart, Regional Director, Airline Marketing Analysis Cargo, Boeing

Air cargo is vital to the global economy, transporting more than USD 5 trillion worth of goods annually, or more than a third of world trade by value.And for airlines, it accounts for about 12% of industry revenues. But, like the rest of the airline industry, air cargo is a tough business. The last two years have been particularly difficult. Last year saw a 2% decline in both air cargo demand and yields.

Speaking at the World Cargo Symposium in Doha, Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO, IATA, outlined key industry priorities:

14

The World Cargo Symposium also gave us the opportunity to meet up with the Regional Director, Airline Marketing Analysis - Cargo, Boeing, Bradley Hart. We asked him about the cargo industry in the Middle East, to which he said, “The industry in the Middle East has been growing over 14% in a global market that has been declining. It has been driven by Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar and Saudi operators, as they continue to expand their freighter and passenger fleet. They continue to use the Middle East as a transit point to transfer cargo to Asia and Europe.”

In the Middle East, there has been a significant demand from KSA, Qatar and the UAE. There is a strong interest in aviation and using aviation to provide economic growth.

Boeing is a leader in air freight and over 90% of the freight carried globally is carried on Boeing so it has a strong partnership. Going back in time he said, “The 747 family of airplanes – those are the airplanes that brought the air cargo industry to the current environment. While everyone knows 747 is a passenger airplane, it was originally designed as a cargo plane.” This was sure news for us.

Speaking about the impact of the global financial situation on the air cargo industry, Bradler said, “I don’t think there has been a change in the demand pattern. There is still robust demand for Boeing planes, especially 777 and 747-8 freighter in the market”

When we asked him about his opinion on the changes that are coming in the industry, he highlighted the importance of technology in this industry, “We are looking at moving to paperless systems and also ensuring security, which is a challenge. Besides technology, you need to look at how the global economy is impacting air cargo as a whole - with the fuel prices rising. That makes it a challenge for all the carriers. Fuel prices are becoming more and more important as they become a higher percentage of the operating costs. So, it’s imperative to consider these factors.”

Elaborating further on the technology bit, he said that moving forward technology will help the industry to grow. They are seeing examples of carriers investing in new technologies to promote their business and help them better connect with customers.

Bradley also told us how these events are an important platform to discuss the changes, the challenges and the way forward, “ Events like this give us an opportunity to interact with a number of customers at the same time, which wouldn’t happen normally. It helps us keep a pulse on the industry and the challenges they are facing. There is a lot of the push for fuel-efficient aircrafts and we are doing a good job of providing that,” he pointed out with a smile.

Air cargo accounts on average for about 12% of industry revenues—much more in some airlines.

That’s not far off the 14% that is generated by business class sales. Improving the competitiveness of air cargo has the potential to impact positively our very thin margin. Therefore, there is no doubt that air cargo is an imperative part of international trade and is here to stay!

90%

Boeing’s share of the globally carried frieght

14%

Annual growth of the regional cargo industry APRIL 2013

15

ABOUT TOWN

A STRONG RELATIONSHIP Dubai Exports organised the “Exporting Opportunities to Qatar” seminar on 26th March 2013 in Dubai, which was aimed at sharing technical inputs and practical experience among the UAE companies that have been successful exporters to the Qatari market. Private Sector Qatar participated in this interactive seminar to share with you their conclusions.

D

ubai Exports, the export promotion agency of the Department of Economic Development – Government of Dubai, organised the “Exporting Opportunities to Qatar” seminar on 26th March 2013 at the Ritz Carlton DIFC Hotel in Dubai. The seminar brought together entrepreneurs, representatives of SMEs and large corporations, banks and government institutions, to exchange their views and experiences from exporting to the Qatari market as well as about the main opportunities this market offers.

Dr. Ashraf Ali Mahati, Export Market Intelligence Senior Manager, Dubai Exports, opened the seminar by saying, “The Qatar market offers the UAE companies a huge potential to extend their exports. Also, the geographical proximity implies that firms, which are not currently exporting, can learn to do so in this market since it shares the same culture, language, standards, and similar. We hope to see a larger number of firms exporting to this country in the next few years.”

MohammedAl Kamali, Director of Export Market Development, Dubai Exports, started his presentation by saying, “A key element of Dubai Export’s strategy is to support the increasing trade between the UAE and Qatar during the next few years, taking advantage of Qatar’s intentions to expand cooperation with the UAE companies in infrastructure projects.”

He further stated that the UAE and Qatar have a long and strong relationship which is evident from the positive trade balance statistics. Namely, the UAE’s export to Qatar

16

in 2011 amounted to USD 5.9 billion, while in 2012 it reached USD 6.8 billion.

The geographical proximity and cultural similarities between the UAE and Qatar enable local firms to be a key partner in ongoing developments in Qatar. Mohammed opined that the 10 th International Trade Construction, Building, Environmental Technology & Materials Exhibition – Project Qatar, which will be held from 6th to 9th May 2013, will provide a unique platform for UAE companies to extend their already successful reach into the construction and building sectors in Qatar.

At the beginning of his presentation, David McGee, Global Trade Manager, HSBC Large Corporates, stated that Qatar’s main import partners are the USA, China, Japan, Germany and the UAE. On the basis of HSBC’s strong presence in the Qatari market, David further added, “Qatar, KSA and Oman are three regional countries that are powering ahead. In addition to various development projects, Qatar is a huge importer which offers a lot of niche market opportunities for foreign companies.”

David highlighted three streams of opportunities within the Qatari market: • Domestic consumption led The opportunities arise within the regular flow of business in Qatar, and focus on the following products – machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, chemicals and related products, food and live animals, pharmaceuticals, beverages and tobacco, and dairy products.

• Investment led The opportunities arise from various infrastructure projects planned in Qatar such as the metro project, Doha International Airport, Doha Port 2016, FIFA World Cup 2022, and projects related to roads, railways and utilities.

• Sustainability led The opportunities arise for service providers in line with Qatar’s initiatives to ensure food security as well as initiatives to ensure sustainable and environment-friendly buildings – green building constructions.

The presentation of Omer Ghani, High Performance League, focused on finding the best solution for the main challenge faced by SMEs looking at exporting – how to enter the market? He presented the High Performance League (HPL), which is the first business accelerator in the world that is focused on SMEs and emerging corporates.

HPL is a platform where companies collaborate and compete to catalyse and accelerate their business performance in a foreign market. A team is composed of 11 SMEs with complementary businesses, which collaborate in order to gain the following possibilities within the process of entering a foreign market: ■ To share resources and optimise the costs and capital outlays ■ To share information and relationships to fast-track growth ■ To spread the risk among team members ■ To impress clients with a broader service or product offering ■ To compete as a team with large enterprises which are always at the forefront of big opportunities Following up on this, Basel Amaneddine, General Manager, IFP Emirates, presented the opportunities which the Project Qatar Exhibition 2013 will offer to exporters by saying, “Project Qatar 2013 is a major gateway to the construction market in Qatar and an annual forum that anyone interested in construction materials, techniques and solutions cannot afford to miss. ” Ahmed Jaafir, Senior Associate, Al Tamimi & Co. – Qatar Office, pointed out that when doing business in Qatar, a foreign company needs to consider the Foreign Investment Law. According to this law, in order to establish a business in Qatar, a foreign company will need to partner with a Qatari national, who will own 51% of the company. In certain sectors, such as insurance or transportation, an exception is granted to the GCC nationals allowing them to establish a business without a local partner. In addition, Ahmed highlighted that Art 2. of the Foreign Investment Law envisages that a foreign company may establish a temporary branch if it has been awarded a contract with one of the governmental departments. This possibility exists in the manufacturing, tourism, health, technical consultancy and distribution sectors of the Qatari economy. The

branch operations are limited in time and with the completion date of the contract unless the project was extended or if the company was granted a new contract with one of the government entities.

Concluding on the topic, Arif Al Marzooqi, Head of Research and Standardisation Management Office, Acting Head of Inspection and Certification Section, Dubai Municipality, explained to the participants the importance of possessing all relevant conformity assessment certificates before exporting to a new market.

Be ready!

In the second part of the seminar, all speakers were part of a panel discussion and answered various questions from the audience. The first question related to the difference between a commercial agent, which is envisaged by the Commercial Agency Law, and a distributor, which is governed by the Commercial Law. Ahmed Jaafir, Senior Associate, Al Tamimi & Co. – Qatar Office, pointed out that distribution agreements, which are regulated by the Commercial Law, are a better solution since the Commercial Agency Law envisages a lot of limitations for commercial agents.

Using the example of Apple and Microsoft, which are the biggest collaborators behind the scene, Omer Ghani, High Performance League, explained, “Collaboration is a strategic entry route that SMEs looking to export can use whereby instead of penetrating a market individually they are working as a team with complementary services and goods.” Also, Mohammed Al Kamali, Director of Export Market Development, Dubai Exports, added that trade missions of the UAE government were more successful when the multi-sectoral approach was followed.

An interesting discussion developed at the very end of the seminar and focused around the question when the large infrastructure projects in Qatar will start.

Mohammed Al Kamali, Director of Export Market Development, Dubai Exports, assured that even if the government in Qatar decides to reschedule 10% of projects, the remaining 90% will be delivered as initially planned. He supported this statement by the fact that all projects planned for the Asian Games 2006 were delivered by the Qatari government on time.

Furthermore, Ahmed Jaafir, Senior Associate, Al Tamimi & Co. – Qatar Office, said, “It is more about considering all relevant aspects than delaying the projects. If you look from a legal perspective, you will notice a lot of new regulations and by-laws adopted by the Qatari government. In this manner, the government is trying to ensure that various issues are resolved before the projects kick off.” Concluding on this positive note, Mohammed Al Kamali, Director of Export Market Development, Dubai Exports, stated, “Since 2010, when Qatar won the bid to host FIFA World Cup 2022, it has been clear that the projects will happen, so be ready!”

APRIL 2013

17

ABOUT TOWN

LISTEN AND LEARN The Bedaya Center’s events and activities come in line with their vision to provide the youth in Qatar with access to relevant activities and training programmes for development of their skills and acceleration of their entrepreneurial spirit. Private Sector Qatar shares with you the most interesting details from two of their events, which were held in March 2013.

T

he Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development, a partnership between Qatar Development Bank and Silatech, is located in Doha’s Katara Cultural Center. The Bedaya Center provides young people in Qatar with access to a range of services covering both career development and entrepreneurship. It also conducts workshops and training programmes covering specific needs of the youth in Qatar.

The GIST TechConnect Talk On 5th March 2013, the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development in collaboration with College of the North Atlantic Qatar (CNA-Q) hosted a viewing site for the GIST TechConnect Talk. GIST TechConnect is a series of interactive video conferences that brings together great entrepreneurial minds to spark the creation of new technology ventures that address specific societal problems and market opportunities.

On Sunday, 10th March 2013, young entrepreneurs and businessmen gathered at Katara to attend the “Second Sunday Networking” event, which featured a presentation on QDB’s Export Development Agency, TASDEER, by Ayman Hassan Anbusaidi, Head of Export Development, QDB. The National Development Strategy (NDS) 2011-2016 highlights export development as a key initiative for achieving the overall objective of Qatar’s economic diversification and the growth of its private sector. In accordance with this, TASDEER has developed its export strategy with a focus on SMEs in the manufacturing sector.

Growth of non-oil exports by non-QP companies (2006 - 2010) QR billion

The GIST TechConnect Talk focused on “Ideation”, which is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas and turning them into profitable and impactful ventures.

The talk was delivered by Jeff Hoffman, Founder of Priceline.com & ColorJar, Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari, Inc., Chuck E. Cheese, Founder of Brainrush, and Magid Abraham, Founder and CEO of Comscore, The guests shared their experiences gained through establishing multiple companies in their careers as serial entrepreneurs.

The Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) initiative builds entrepreneurial ecosystems in 44 countries across the Middle East, Turkey, Asia and Africa by identifying, coaching, and funding the most promising technology entrepreneurs through its flagship competitions, startup acceleration services, online social media platforms and interactive mentorship programmes.

GIST forges partnerships, locally and globally, among technology entrepreneurs, angel investors, mentors and experts, to foster human progress and prosperity.

Ayman further explained that TASDEER provides financial solutions, credit insurance and advisory services for exporters.

Furthermore, it supports businesses in developing their export capabilities regarding the non-oil products, since it has a special focus on the manufacturing sector. The growth of the non-oil exports by non-oil companies has been significant over the recent years. There are several key product categories which are being manufactured by SMEs and exported from Qatar.

The next talk will be held in May with the topic “Bootstrapping for Your Venture”.

Ayman assured that all Qatari exporters are eligible for TASDEER’s support, regardless of the size of their export contracts, the sector they represent and their turnover.

Second Sunday Networking event Held on the second Sunday of every month, the Bedaya Center’s “Second Sunday Networking” series aims to provide young entrepreneurs with the opportunity to meet, network and exchange ideas with their peers, mentors and advisors from the industry. Attendees can also learn from the various speakers who share their entrepreneurial experiences with the audience.

Saleh Al Khulaifi, Manager, Bedaya Center, said, “There are many services offered by organisations in Qatar which support the growth of the SME sector. Through our sessions we try to raise awareness among people about these services and how they can benefit from them.” Saleh also sent an open invitation to the center’s next session, which will be held on 14th April 2013 in Katara, encouraging all young and aspiring entrepreneurs to attend.

18

We are the new AIG

Bring on tomorrow www.aig.com AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at www.aig.com. Products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Not all products and services are available in every jurisdiction, and insurance coverage is governed by actual policy language. Certain products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Insurance products may be distributed through affiliated or unaffiliated entities. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.

SMEs

JOINT COMMITMENT TO QATARI SMEs The agreement between Qatar Shell and Qatar Development Bank will improve chances for local suppliers to compete for Qatar Shell business opportunities. Private Sector Qatar brings to you more details about this milestone agreement for Qatar’s SME sector.

Q

atar Shell has partnered with Qatar Development Bank to open the doors for local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to supply contracts for Shell businesses in Qatar. This new partnership will provide local companies and manufacturers access to new business opportunities as well as help them raise their operating standards in order to fulfill global requirements.

“Wherever Shell operates in the world, we are passionately committed to the SMEs and local content development – not merely as an aspect of corporate social responsibility, but because it makes good business sense for us to do so. Supporting Qatar’s SME sector is an essential component of our contribution to the economic and social pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Wael Sawan, Managing Director and Chairman, Qatar Shell Companies.

20

“We are proud to partner with QDB to promote ever greater local content in our procurement spend and have confidence in the quality of local suppliers and in their ability to add value to our operations,” added Sawan.

“We admire Shell’s commitment to the private sector and their awareness of the important role that SMEs play in the development of a stable economy. QDB will not only provide access to funding, but also access to business advisory support, links to potential strategic partners as well as facilitate access to local regulatory and support institutions,” said Mansour Bin Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO, Qatar Development Bank.

“We are very pleased to cooperate with Qatar Shell to provide exciting opportunities for local businesses. We believe this to be an essential partnership for SMEs in Qatar to be on par with global

competitors and suppliers. This is in line with our mandate and strategy to develop a world-class private sector with the necessary skills, knowledge and best practices to attract multinational organisations the caliber of Shell,” concluded Al-Mahmoud.

SMEs listed with QDB and other institutions and/or incubators will have access through the agreement to Shell’s tenders to supply various materials and services required by the company.

A recent example of Shell awarding a contract to a local company was the signing late last year of an agreement between Qatar Shell and Venture Gulf Engineering (VGE) to include Qatar Vinyl Company Ltd. (QVC) as an approved local manufacturer of hydrochloric acid (HCL). This paved the way for QVC to supply HCL to the world-scale Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) plant, the largest energy project ever built in Qatar and one of the highest consumers of HCL in the country.

Mansour Bin Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO, Qatar Development Bank, and Wael Sawan, Managing Director and Chairman, Qatar Shell Companies.

Qatar Development Bank

Qatar Shell ■

■

■

■

Shell is the largest foreign investor in Qatar investing up to USD 21 billion in the last six years. Qatar Petroleum and Shell delivered two of the largest energy projects in the world in Ras Laffan Industrial City. Pearl Gas to Liquids (GTL) is the world’s largest GTL plant and cements Qatar’s position as the GTL capital of the world. At an investment of USD 18 – 19 billion, it is the largest single investment in the Shell Group’s global portfolio.

The Qatargas 4 Liquefied Natural Gas project (QP (70%) and Shell (30%)) combines Shell’s global leadership in LNG with Qatar’s position as the world’s largest LNG supplier.

Shell has established a world-class research and development facility and a learning centre, the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre, at the Qatar Science & Technology Park. Shell has a financial commitment to invest up to USD 100 million on programmes at the centre over a ten year period.

In 2010, Shell and Petro China signed an agreement with QP to explore in the pre-Khuff interval in Block D. In December 2011 Shell and QP signed a HOA to jointly develop a world-class petrochemicals complex in Ras Laffan Industrial City.

■

■

■

■

Founded in 1997, Qatar Development Bank has been mandated to accelerate the economic diversity of Qatar through building a knowledge-based economy, with a focus on the private sector.

QDB aims to encourage entrepreneurship and to help the private sector take advantage of Qatar’s economic growth by providing end-to-end financial and non-financial services including access to capital, guarantees, advisory services and more.

Initiatives from Qatar Development Bank include Al Dhameen, an indirect lending programme run in partnership with local commercial banks, and the Qatar Export Development Agency (TASDEER), which is designed to take Qatari exports to world markets by insuring the commercial and political risk of their buyers.

Qatar Development Bank is committed to carving a dynamic and productive private sector in Qatar.

QDB is mindful of its responsibilities and has made bold strategic changes to align its performance to the Qatar National Vision 2030. At the same time, it remains committed to meeting the everyday demands of its customers and supporting the evolution of a thriving, diversified and sustainable Qatari economy.

APRIL 2013

21

SMEs

ESCAPE THE HEAT With an enjoyable atmosphere and delicious food, Aroma Garden restaurant has managed to convince a lot of Doha’s visitors to come to it again. Tamara Pupic got talking to Ali Ali, Founder, Aroma Garden, about the many opportunities and challenges faced by a startup within Qatar’s �ine dining sector.

A

roma Garden restaurant serves Lebanese, Indian and French cuisine and offers a cozy and relaxing dining atmosphere in a garden, although we were sitting in the centre of Doha. Ali Ali, Founder, Aroma Garden, started our conversation by explaining the idea behind his entrepreneurial endeavour, “The whole theme is developed around the idea of a garden, and that is what attracts people.

I had this idea for a long time since I saw that Doha lacked restaurants with enjoyable indoor gardens which would allow people to escape from the heat. A lot of people in Doha, including myself, have lovely gardens, but they are too busy to spend some relaxing time there. For that reason, our whole decoration is aimed at attracting people. It is all about giving them a relaxing experience – an aromatic surrounding in which they can enjoy a nice meal. So, we created this indoor garden in the centre of the city.”

Ali Ali, who holds two bachelor degrees in engineering and business administration, and is permanently employed as the Assistant Director at Ooredoo, further explained his reasons to open Aroma Garden, “I’m running quite a big business for Ooredoo where I have gained the know-how for this endeavour. So, besides my permanent job, I have started this business since I’m truly passionate about it. I spend minimum six hours a day at the restaurant. That is enough to efficiently manage it.”

22

The beginnings In 2000, Ali opened two small restaurants in the city centre and Al Sad area. After running these businesses for nine years, he left Doha to pursue his second bachelor degree abroad. Upon return, he decided to do something different, “Since I was in the hospitality business already, I knew it very well. Nevertheless, I did market research and a feasibility study again. From that point, my silent partner and I decided to open this restaurant since the idea certainly was quite different from what was offered in the market at that time,” he highlighted.

The preparatory activities started in January 2012. After more than few months of dedicated work, the restaurant was opened in October 2012.

When speaking about access to finance in the beginning, Ali was honest to share, “Although I had experience in this business, Aroma Garden was a separate project and, thus, access to finance was challenging, like for any other startup. We got some support from the bank and also invested ourselves, but it was still quite difficult. The amount that we had planned, when we did the initial budget, was doubled in the end. That was the main challenge.”

For that reason, Ali appreciated support from Qatar Development Bank by

saying,”For a Qatari, QDB’s Al Dhameen programme is the best. Even though we had to go through the usual and burdensome formalities, QDB offered us the best option.”

Ali Ali

Among the few possibilities for financial support offered by QDB, Ali chose the option of 85% of financing by the bank while the remaining 15% was covered with the founders’ contributions. With an obvious relief, Ali remarked, “Even though, the project’s final costs were higher than expected, we managed to do it.”

Since the conversation tackled the challenges faced by all startups in the beginning, I continued by asking about their marketing strategy, “The effects of our marketing strategy will take time. It will certainly take us a year to position ourselves in the market. Besides the advertising that I have already started, we will still need to do more since the competition is so high in our line of business.

For that reason, I have sent a lot of invitations since word

Ali appreciated support from Qatar Development Bank by saying, ”For a Qatari, QDB’s Al Dhameen programme is the best. Even though we had to go through the usual and burdensome formalities, QDB offered us the best option.” of mouth is the most appropriate advertisement for this industry. If we invite people and offer them proper service, relaxing atmosphere, and good food, they will want to come back. Furthermore, they will bring their friends next time. We have already invited more than 300 people.”

The restaurant industry in Qatar is set to register a remarkable growth in the coming years as it will benefit from Qatar’s ongoing economic boom. Keeping in mind that a lot of the world-renowned restaurants have opened their branches in Doha, I was curious to hear Ali’s opinion about the current status of this sector in Qatar,

“The restaurant industry in Qatar is picking up. I think that it is also influenced with the fact that habits of people have changed in the sense that they have started eating out more frequently. Those guests are not only expats, but Qataris as well. So, the business of fine dining is now developing as a consequence of their increased interest. For all these reasons, our competition is fierce since a lot of famous chefs are coming here. Thus, it will take us a lot of time to penetrate properly in the market. But, my evaluation is that already within the first few months we have been doing well. We are slowly becoming famous.”

He further described what kinds of challenges in terms of management exist within the restaurant industry, “I delegate to entrusted people around me. In this business trust is extremely important since it’s a tricky business. I do believe it is the most difficult business to run because there are so many things people judge when they evaluate their experience here. So, it’s quite difficult to control all of that – from the food quality to the smallest details like design of the tables and more.”

Regardless of the obstacles, Ali is quite confident about their growth plans, “First, we need to set up this restaurant properly. Later on, we plan to open one more restaurant which will be different from this one and all other restaurants in Doha. We plan to continuously grow in Doha since I think that the city will attract a lot of attention in the coming years.

Once we succeed here, we might develop our business abroad. I had a chance to meet a Chinese businessman who wants to open a branch of our restaurant in China.

They want to take the whole concept and even want us to manage it there.”

In conclusion of the story about this successful startup which promises to be a welcome addition to Doha’s dining sector, Ali Ali advised young entrepreneurs in Qatar, “The newcomers should do something they are passionate about – they should love what they are doing and they should have the time to manage it. If you don’t have the time to manage your business, better don’t do it at all. I do believe that if you manage your business yourself, you will reduce your chances to fail up to 80%. Every business has problems, and day-to-day challenges need to be solved immediately. Therefore, a businessman should avoid delaying decisions or doing business without the passion.

That is what I have learnt from this and all other businesses I used to run.”

APRIL 2013

23

SMEs

GETTING READY Infrastructure projects are booming in Qatar in order to prepare the country for hosting the FIFA World Cup 2022. Jenny Kassis got talking to Abdullah Salem Al Sulaiteen, Chairman, Qatar German Pipes, to learn about their plans within Qatar’s numerous infrastructural projects.

Please give us a brief background about your company and your products Qatar German Pipes Company (QGPC) was established in 2008 by virtue of ministerial decree obtained from the Ministry of Industry and Energy. Al Sulaiteen Group, which is a Qatari company, owns 95% of this company, while 5% is owned by our German partner. When we started, an agreement was signed with Meyer Rohr+Schacht to use their technology and their supplies of equipment and machinery required for the factory’s establishment.

How did you develop your idea and business plan?

Due to the tremendous growth opportunities arriving to Qatar in the next few years, which are set to reach all sectors and, in particular, the infrastructure sector, we have come to notice that a solution for pipe requirements needs to be considered.

The production of pipes commenced in 2011 for testing purposes and compliance with Ashghal requirements. Our product is eco-friendly since we don’t use harmful chemicals. In addition, no waste is left after it is manufactured.

The great leap in Qatar’s development as well as in other GCC countries, along with the country’s honest directions to support and expand the SME sector, are the factors that have helped us to establish our company. Our main aim is to satisfy the demand for this product locally rather than through imports from foreign countries.

All of our pipe green products are certified and meet the requirements of German standard DIN 54815, European standard EN 19636 as well as US standard ASTM D 6783-05.

In this order, polymer resin concrete pipes are specifically designed as “jacking pipes” for micro-tunneling operations. Water and cement are not used within the manufacturing process of these pipes. This doesn’t demonstrate only the environment awareness, but also takes into account the expectation of a longer life of such pipes in the robust and demanding conditions. The polymer resin concrete material is completely devoid of any possible chemical attack or corrosion, which could be encountered in chemical plants, and large diameter sewer and wastewater pipelines.

24

This solution should take into account the environmental and commercial challenges.

How did you obtain finance?

Finance was secured through Qatar Development Bank, which helped us by strongly supporting the idea of establishing our enterprise, which is the first of its kind in Qatar. The business plan was a healthy, and a realistic, prediction of the expected market opportunities in Qatar.

As an SME, what challenges do you face?

Any SME faces challenges in such a demanding market. However, we are confident that we have a good product. On that basis, we are now building important relationships with the key stakeholders in Qatar.

In the future, we aim to be one of the local producers which is able to fulfill the requirements of the market.

The sewer network will require a lot of attention over the coming years and the Ashghal ‘IDRIS’ initiative is gearing up to tackle this challenge.

Qatar is a small market, which means that resources can be limited. Does it affect the price of your goods and put you at a disadvantage vis-a-vis other countries?

In our opinion, this correct observation is going to affect almost every company in the following years. Availability, or rather scarcity, of raw materials clearly will have an effect on the price, but it’s the same for everyone in Qatar.

After our modest experience, we advise all SMEs, which aim to export their products to any market in the world, to take this challenge and develop the mindset that asks “Why not?” instead of “Why?”

Yes, exporting to Saudi Arabia, for example, will become tougher, but it simply means that the overall quality of the offer has to be carefully crafted – we will try our best to encourage our clients to focus on value, rather than just the price.

What export opportunities do you foresee for your products?

As a result of attending the Big 5 Exhibition, which was held in Dubai in November 2012, we generated a number of enquiries, even from markets such as Australia and Singapore.

What, according to you, is the support that local businesses need to flourish in Qatar?

It would not hurt if the government encouraged owners and developers of major projects to support local skills, services and products. At QGPC, we understand that this is not always possible. In that case, perhaps certain incentives could be provided to international players to cooperate with local Qatari enterprises in order to enable them to have their part in any future joint venture or consortium.

In addition to that, Iran and Saudi Arabia are also firmly on our radar since we aim to export our products there.

Does the FIFA World Cup 2022 offer an opportunity in the pipeline sector to SMEs or do you face tough competition from large foreign corporations?

FIFA World Cup 2022 will offer opportunities to all companies in the construction industry which are willing to come here and compete for the planned projects. Since this will be one of the highest profile sporting events in the world and the companies, which will play their part in contributing to the tournament’s success, will enjoy enormous gains with regards to their reputation and status. We hope to be a part of that.

How do you see your company in the next two years?

QGPC is simply a pipe producer. We are not a contractor.

Therefore, as an SME we have an equal opportunity to compete with any other pipe producer, whether it is from Qatar or from other parts of the GCC region.

According to you, which countries have the potential for your product?

For the meantime, it is better for us to focus on our business in the Qatari market. However, as the market develops we will explore new opportunities in many countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait.

Abdullah Salem Al Sulaiteen

Saudi Arabia, in particular, has a huge development programme, which will be implemented in the next 10-15 years. We can collaborate with them in the future by exporting our products since they are in line with the requirements of these projects.

How has TASDEER helped you improve your business opportunities?

TASDEER has demonstrated tremendous foresight and generosity to companies in Qatar, which have expressed their willingness to explore export opportunities.

TASDEER has helped us to participate at the Big 5 Exhibition in Dubai and we appreciate all their support. It is unlikely that QGPC would have received any export enquiries had it not been for TASDEER’s assistance.

We have a strict market orientation and try to offer innovative solutions for the challenges of sewage management before our competitors. In addition, we continuously develop our products further to create a solid basis for our future business development.

What advice would you give to other SMEs looking at exporting?

After our modest experience, we advise all SMEs, which aim to export their products to any market in the world, to take this challenge and develop the mindset that asks “Why not?” instead of “Why?”

We believe that during the next two years, we will establish our credentials as a viable player in the market and earn a solid reputation based on our quality.

Export opportunities exist and companies have the responsibility to make something happen, rather than simply watch what is happening around them.

APRIL 2013

25

ENTREPRENEUR

BEAT THE ODDS! Their entrepreneurial path is already de�ined by a few turning points, which, by chance or wisdom, Mohamed Jaidah, Co-Owner and CEO, and Abdul Salam Abu-Issa, Co-Owner and COO, Fire�ly Communications, managed to turn to their advantage. In the �irst interview of a series, these two members of EO Qatar told Tamara Pupic how they confronted hurdles to create opportunities for themselves.

I

n just five years, Firefly Communications has grown into one of the most innovative media companies in Qatar, and now extends beyond magazines and screens, offering clients a full array of digital and advertising solutions.

If you imagine a checklist of differences from the usual business stories in Qatar, the beginning of their Firefly adventure constitutes the first mark since both Mohamed and Abdul Salam decided not to be “only” deeply involved in the businesses of their prominent Qatari families. In addition to that, these two graduates of prestigious universities from France and the UK started an independent entrepreneurial path in order to make a difference within Qatar’s media industry.

When asked about this decision, Mohamed was honest to state, “None of us had a choice in just following our own adventure and giving up the rest. So, in parallel to the work within our respective family businesses, we started our independent entrepreneurial path.” Abdul Salam quickly explained the prejudices they faced in the beginning, “For both of us it was also a challenge because people assume that being a well-paid employee is enough for a Qatari. So, when you decide to establish your own venture people just sit back and watch whether you will succeed or not.”

Mohamed continued by explaining that realising a real lack of media outlets in the market, which was focused only on the traditional media at that time, gave them the idea to start, “In 2006, we saw an opportunity in the market since there was no local platform for advertising, except through newspaper. It actually started when a Swiss company offered us to bring their Sur La Terre magazine to the Middle East region. As childhood friends, we always thought of starting a business together. So, in 2007 we finally did it.”

Having guided the day-to-day activities of Firefly Communications since day one, Abdul Salam described their path, “In the beginning, it was almost like a two-man show, but we increased the number of employees very quickly. Today we have around 45 people. We started with publishing and expanded our portfolio to include branding, advertising, digital singage and event concepts. Everyone knows that the economic boom that Qatar will witness is an enormous opportunity, but also a big threat from the international players. We are now expanding further because we want to be prepared to take a piece of that cake.”

26

Mohamed Jaidah

A few turning points They started in a period when many media firms around the world were forced to retrench and downsize their operations amid declining advertising revenues or to simply shut down their operations, which Abdul Salam confirmed, “To be honest, we were put in an unfair situation since we didn’t start on the right foot with the economy. When the business is not doing well the first thing that people do is to cut advertising, but you need marketing to sell your business. So, that affected us.” Although many would have placed the odds on their success near zero, Mohamed revealed how they managed to take advantage of that situation, “Starting with the crises was a curse, but also a blessing.

A curse because it made our first years very difficult, but a blessing since we went through our learning curve during the difficult economic period. It turned out to be good for us since you don’t want to make mistakes when everything goes up – you want to be ready for that.”

At this moment, I gave up and put our usual interview questions aside, to ask what else is unique about Firefly Communications, about which Mohammed said, ”We are different because we are not a typical agency since we have a publication arm and a branding and advertising arm. An ordinary advertising agency has to bill hours in order to be profitable and justify its existence. For us, it’s not just a question of billing hours since we have our other products which sustain themselves naturally. That allows our team to commit completely to providing the best quality to our clients.”

It isn’t just what they are doing at Firefly Communications, but also how they are doing it. About their “thinking outside the box” approach, Mohamed continued, “It’s our whole culture. Most of the companies within the region are run by expats while we are locals who have started this company for this country and for this region.

For that reason, we don’t want just to bill hours or sell a product, but to add value and make our clients proud

Abdul Salam Abu-Issa

of our creations. On top of that, we actually need to compete with all international and regional brands. So, to differentiate ourselves we need to think outside the box.”

When the conversation turned to the topic of conditions for doing business within the Qatari market, Abdul Salam elaborated, “Challenges for a startup are never related to the business, but to everything else – the burdensome administration, unclear legal framework, lengthy licensing procedures, restricting visa requirements, and similar. In my daily work, I have to deal with issues which should not be a problem, but they are. From the business side, the main challenge is that the advertisers don’t appreciate our quality as much as the readers do, since they compare us with the magazines which don’t invest equally in it. Therefore, the challenge is to educate the market and attract more international advertising that will support our product. In time, it will happen, but it’s frustrating for us that our local market is not appreciating us as much as we believe they should.”

To support this statement, Mohamed conveyed an anecdote which illustrated their success in terms of international recognition, “I got a call from Gucci’s Head Office in Milano and for ten minutes I thought they only wanted to offer me their new collection. But, actually they were asking for a meeting with us in Doha to discuss advertising opportunities within Sur La Terre.

So, when an international brand approaches you, you definitely know that you are on the right path.”

Mohamed attributed the company’s ongoing success to their partnership, “Entrepreneurship is just like an adventure which can be quite boring if you are alone.

It’s better to do it with the people you appreciate. On the other hand, we are very lucky to be together in this partnership because we look at issues from different angles, but in a complementary way.”

APRIL 2013

27

ENTREPRENEUR When speaking about their management style, Mohamed said, “We entered this sector three years after graduating. We passionately built our experience in time which allowed us to see things in a different way since we were not modeled into some specific mindset. Because of that, we were recruiting people without experience, but with passion and energy. Now, five years later, I think differently because recruiting more experienced people costs less in terms of mistakes and the business can grow more on the basis of that experience. We nurture entrepreneurial spirit and expect our employees to come up with ideas. We have an open door policy which means that we will support their good ideas. But, the most interesting for me is to challenge my people to work on each project as if it is the first one. In that way, we actually keep the creativity alive. Otherwise, it just gets stuck in a routine.”

They stated that the current level of business development came more per opportunity than per strategy, but now they are taking a more planned approach. Speaking about many ventures they had, Abdul Salam exemplified how, once again, they managed to extract benefits from an unfortunate situation, which he explained as a simple twist of faith, “We ventured into a product that did not help us financially and which was a struggle for many reasons, but it became the biggest contributor to our brand name. So, today everybody knows us because of our name although it wasn’t that successful as we hoped it would be.”

Since both of them are among the founding members of EO Qatar, Mohamed clarified the underlining reasons of EO Qatar’s work on raising awareness and growing the SME sector in Qatar, “Obviously there is a fear of entrepreneurship around the world, but here we need to create the culture of entrepreneurship.

Even though we have some initiatives in that sense, there is still a long way to go in explaining to people the benefits of entrepreneurship. At the local level, EO creates a platform for entrepreneurs to interact among themselves. But, it also creates visibility and a single voice for entrepreneurs to share their ideas with different organisations.”

Continuing about their more strategic approach, Abdul Salam added, “We are at the five year mark now which made us think about our future steps. For that reason, we are working with consultants on a ten year strategy which should lead us to a specific target. We will increase the number of publications and add services to our branding and advertising portfolio, but we will also remain open to new opportunities that might come along.” Mohamed further defined their long-term goals, “We started this company with an idea of becoming the first homegrown, Qatari agency in terms of publications and advertising. To a certain extent people do recognise us, but we are still not where we want to be. We currently are one of the players, but we want to become THE main player. We don’t see why a Qatari company could not create something locally and expand it internationally. In five years time, we want to grow on an international basis.”

He continued by sharing personal insights from this engagement, “Basically, when you are an entrepreneur you usually feel like you are alone out there while, in reality, we are all in the same boat. In business, most of the issues are neither personal nor particular since I see 15 different people facing the same problems.” Abdul Salam agreed and added, “I became interested in EO through learning events, but when I joined I realised that it was a network of great people. We do similar jobs and, thus, sharing our experiences speeds up the learning process. For example, when I was considering some of QDB’s support programmes, I raised that issue at one of our meetings. So, the whole group was evaluating whether applying for the Al Dhameen programme was good for my business or not. It applies to all other issues that we might have.”

You are not alone Before our conversation turned to their activities within EO Qatar, I was curious to learn what being an entrepreneur meant to them, about which Mohamed pointed out, “Becoming an entrepreneur is in your guts – you need to have an idea you believe in. Since you are putting money in your own business, your actions need to justify whether you did the right investment. I am not shy to say that not all our investments were good ideas. So, failure is not an obstacle in that sense. On the contrary, you learn only when you fail.”

Mohamed concluded by advising the youth in Qatar to not to look at obstacles as mountains and added, ”We don’t see ourselves as role models, but as people who are willing to take risks. We try to mitigate this risk by sharing our experiences and knowledge. At the same time, there is a benefit for us to increase the number of entrepreneurs in Qatar because we will learn more if there are 200 of us and not just 18. It is our mission to promote entrepreneurship to the people who feel ready to accept entrepreneurial spirit and start their own company.”

28

ENTREPRENEUR

FOLLOW YOUR HEART “Many people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now.

Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today! A true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer,” has always been the mantra of CardioDiagnostics’s team. In the third article of a series on SILA Angel Investment Network �inalists, Ziad Sankari and Najwa Sahmarani, Co-Founders, CardioDiagnostics, present their entrepreneurial path to us.

T

he story started with Ziad Sankari who teamed up with an ambitious entrepreneur, Najwa Sahmarani, to form the core team of CardioDiagnostics.

“A desire to become entrepreneurs and make a change flows in our blood”, said Ziad and explained that their team was determined to spark a chain reaction of innovative tech-based ventures in a technologically arid region. Therefore, they decided to act upon their idea and do whatever it takes to make it happen.

The idea Ziad was only 17 when he lost his father due to a heart attack. Doctors explained to him that if his father had reached the hospital on time, his life could have been saved. This event shaped his life afterwards.

He spent his college years researching solutions for detecting early signs of heart attacks. The result was Heartbeat Monitoring System (HMS), which was his graduation project. HMS is the first prototype of a device that constantly monitors the heartbeat of a patient via a real-time microprocessor. The device is preconfigured to detect several cardiac problems. When a danger is detected, the device sends a text message to a predefined number, which is usually a medical supervisor’s number, informing about the patient’s condition and location. This was the early version of the CardioDiagnostics’s current solution.

The latest vision of this startup took shape later when Ziad won the Fulbright Scholarship to pursue two master’s degrees at Ohio State University in the USA. During those years, he worked thoroughly on developing the algorithm to detect cardiac problems and early signs of heart attacks.

Upon his return to Lebanon, Ziad formed a team with Najwa to work together on bringing this technology from the laboratory to the market.

Knowing that cardiac diseases are the number one cause of death in the world, the team was determined to make an impact in this area. For that reason, building this venture became their passion.

A turning point for the project was their participation in the third season of the Stars of Science, which is the first Pan-Arab reality TV programme dedicated to innovation. The programme is initiated

by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) in its efforts to endorse the next generation of young Arab innovators and present their technology-development work to the audience in a documentary-reality fashion.

30

The finalists were selected on the basis of public voting and recommendations of the scientific jury, which included Dr. Farouk El Baz, NASA scientist, and Dr. Fouad Mrad, Executive Director, ESCWA Technology Center. The show selected 16 candidates – a group of bright men and women from eight countries (Egypt, KSA, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Qatar, Tunisia and Kuwait) and with different academic and professional backgrounds.

Ziad was one of them representing CardioDiagnostics with the invention Wireless Cardiac Monitoring for Early Detection of Heart Attacks. It was later on branded as LifeSense. The show provided participants with access to manufacturing technology, science experts, design and business consulting. LifeSense was a runner-up with a cash prize of USD 150,000. After the victory, the team was determined to develop a company which would take the product to the market. The planning stage started.

In the aftermath of the Stars of Science programme, Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) offered Ziad a fellowship to participate in its Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme (TIEP) and study the feasibility of setting up a technology company in Qatar.

The team soon faced a set of unexpected challenges which derived from the fact that: ■ The entrepreneurship ecosystem is not well developed in the Middle East region.

■ Most investors do not know how to do their due diligence on investment in the high-tech field, which is a consequence of the region’s heavy dependence on services, real-estate and oil and gas.

■ Institutions put forth by the governments to support entrepreneurship are not operating effectively.

■ Fragmented markets pose a challenge.

■ Presence of a poor infrastructure and the lack of regulations to stimulate technology innovations.

CardioDiagnostics team was determined to overcome all these challenges which summed up to be a fatal combination to any technology startup trying to survive with limited resources.

Our value proposition CardioDiagnostics offered a creative solution – a provision of 24/7/365 cardiac monitoring to patients. A monitor conveniently and efficiently monitors a patient’s ECG. When an irregular cardiac event is detected, the ECG is automatically and wirelessly transmitted along with location

and other vital information to a dedicated monitoring center owned and operated by CardioDiagnostics.

A certified medical professional reads the ECG and other information and determines whether to dispatch emergency personnel in critical cases, to report the condition to the patient’s cardiologist or to store and log the event for later examination.

Over a year, the team spent passionate sleepless nights evolving the business strategy, preparing presentations and documentation, and developing various aspects of the technology and market feasibility studies.

They started by finding answers to the many questions that were raised: ■ Which is the best business model?

■ What are the barriers to enter the market?

■ How do we choose our market entry?

■ How do we size the market?

■ How do we estimate the financials?

Answering these questions was the blueprint of their business plan which would later on become their entry ticket to a series of regional and international competitions, among which the most important one was the MIT Business Plan Competition for the Pan Arab Region.

Furthermore, the team became the proud winner of the Qatar Business Plan Competition – Al Fikra 2012. Their successes transcended beyond the regional scene to reach international stages. The example would be their participation in the Global Innovation through Science in Technology (GIST) Tech-I 2011 Competition, which was held in Istanbul during the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. CardioDiagnostics won the first place after competing with brilliant ideas and entrepreneurs from Malaysia, Indonesia, Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, and many other nations.

The quest for financing With a proof of concept prototype up and running, a state-of-the-art business plan, and secured intellectual property from the US Patent and Trademark Office, it was time for the next step - finding an investor!

In the quest for financing, the team had an eye on more than just the money. CardioDiagnostics aimed at attracting investors who would share the company’s vision to support high-tech economic development in the Middle East region.

It was a coincidence that brought CardioDiagnostics path to intersect with that of Silatech’s initiative, SILA

Angel Investment Network. SILA has put every effort to help CardioDiagnostics acquire the funding they were looking for from Qatari and regional investors.

Furthermore, SILA initiative has been pressing its resources to help development of the regional technology investment scene.

Eventually, the award-winning feasibility study detailing the benefits of setting up such a company in Qatar was presented to QSTP for possible investment.

Unfortunately, QSTP chose to refrain from funding the project. The team decided to look for funding elsewhere while continuing to be true to their passion in developing a unique technology company in the whole region.

Don’t give up The team relocated to Lebanon and started talks with a couple of investors from Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan.

Within four months, they were able to raise the whole amount they needed from a Lebanese venture capitalist.

The company is now fully operational for developing cutting-edge technology and training and recruiting talents across the region.

Najwa Sahmarani pursued a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Lebanese American University. Najwa co-founded several startups including a Modest Fashion Line and a theme-based travel company.

She is actively working on community projects especially in the areas of education for impoverished people, logistics and moral support of orphanages, as well as building capacity and leadership among young women. Najwa can be contacted at n.sahmarani@gmail.com

For the team, the competitions were the shortcuts towards better connections and visibility, and provided them with some finance to keep moving forward and reach unmatchable opportunities. One such opportunity, a trip across the USA including a visit to the Silicon Valley in order to interact with US investors and entrepreneurs, was offered by GIST. During the trip, the team received overwhelming interest from US investors who were keen to grab the next best deal in technology and, particularly, in the healthcare technology. The team visited innovation hubs such as Stanford University, MIT and Harvard Innovation Lab. Ziad even had the chance to reflect on aspects of technology entrepreneurship in the Middle East through a talk he gave at the White House.

‘We’d love to witness a paradigm shift in the definition of a social achievement in our societies, whereby being a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer, would not be the best and the only way to mark social achievement,” says Najwa.

CardioDiagnostics’s team is keen on creating a success story out of their high-tech health startup in order to possibly serve as an inspiration for young people across the region. “Change will not happen until the young people start seeing the many challenges that our region is facing as opportunities for improvement rather than obstacles,” they stated.

Ziad Sankari has M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering degrees from the Ohio State University for which he received the Fulbright Scholarship. Ziad worked with the top US and Middle Eastern hospitals including Ohio State Medical Center, American University of Beirut Medical Center and Heart Hospital in Qatar. He has a number of quality research articles, which were published in international peer-reviewed journals. Ziad can be contacted at sankari.1@buckeyemail.osu.edu

APRIL 2013

31

SECTOR STUDY

THE MAIN MOTIVATOR! Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Rail cooperate on the QRail project which includes numerous investment and business opportunities for the country’s ambitious new rail network. In the second article of a two-part series, Private Sector Qatar focuses on the main business opportunities within the infrastructure and services sector in Qatar.

Q

atar Development Bank (QDB) will provide financing solutions for investors to support various projects related to the QRail project that impact the growth and profitability of the Qatari economy. In terms of sectors, QDB currently has preference to fund manufacturing, industrial or service projects which will contribute to the rail development. These potential opportunities range from research and development, manufacturing, operations and maintenance, training centers, to design and development.

Qatar Rail (QRail) is a private company overseeing the construction of Qatar’s multi-billion dollar integrated rail network. The firm will manage, operate, and maintain the local railway network and the relevant administrative and industrial corporates, in addition to coordinating with regional and global railways. QRail is fully responsible for three projects – the integrated Qatar railway project including the metro, long-distance trains and cargo trains.

The second is the automatic carrier project in the West Bay, and the third one is the light transportation train project in the Lusail area.

In order to assist all Qatari companies in envisioning their investment opportunities and participation in this project, we present its main opportunities within Qatar’s infrastructure and services sector:

32

Project management services The opportunity includes management of specific construction projects for a part of the rail network, including the planning, organising, directing, and controlling of resources to ensure project delivery. It envisages possible JV partnership between local companies in metro phase 1, with increased ownership or leading contractor in phase 2.

Key success factors are maintaining the overall schedule, budget, and quality of all project elements while the main customers will be building and infrastructure developers. The regional demand for project management services is expected to grow in the near future due to the growth in new constructions.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue potential from initial sales to QRail is approx. USD 3.6 billion: • 2012 – 2020: USD 2 billion • 2021 – 2032: USD 1.6 billion

Ease of capturing:

Initially high capabilities as existing projects of similar size have been already carried out in Qatar. However, a JV with an established partner may be needed on projects requiring previous rail experience and expertise.

Installation of drainage and sewerage systems This opportunity includes on-site construction of drainage and sewerage systems for buildings, including: ■ Coordinating the supply of necessary equipment, machinery, and materials, construction of drainage channels ■ Assembling and installing the sewerage system Business opportunity focuses on capturing value from the construction phase, although the service is also applicable in other new regional constructions which are expected to grow in the near future.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue potential from initial sales to QRail is approx. USD 20 million: • 2012 – 2020: USD 10 million • 2020 – 2032: USD 10 million

Ease of capturing:

High feasibility as installation of drainage and sewerage systems is already done in Qatar and there are low technical requirements.

Supply of pre-fabricated concrete for slab tracks The opportunity includes manufacture of pre-fabricated concrete for slab track rail infrastructure, potentially including delivery to construction sites. Since high quality and high precision precast elements are required, a JV may be the most suitable option.

Construction of track infrastructure is typically done by established construction companies – the opportunity focuses on supplying the pre-fabricated concrete to main contractor and capturing value during the construction.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue potential from initial sales to QRail is approx. USD 950 million: • 2012 – 2020: USD 200 million • 2020 – 2032: USD 750 million

Ease of capturing:

Initially medium feasibility due to the high-precision requirement. A strategic JV with established multinational may be required in order to capture the opportunity.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 77 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 49 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 28 million

Ease of capturing:

Medium ease of capturing since there are currently no skills in elevator assembly.

JV partnering with leading OEM increases feasibility as knowledge and experience are leveraged Main challenges include managing the supply chain locally in Qatar as well as having cost efficient parts assembly

Supply and maintenance of electrical system The opportunity includes installation and maintenance of electrical systems for stations and buildings. Business opportunity focuses on capturing value from the construction phase, although service is applicable also in other new regional constructions which are expected to grow in the near future.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue potential from initial sales to QRail is approx. USD 150 million: • 2012 – 2020: USD 60 million • 2020 – 2032: USD 90 million

Ease of capturing:

High feasibility as services have already been carried out in Qatar.

Supply and maintenance of HVAC The opportunity includes supply and maintenance of HVAC units including ducting. HVAC is needed in stations for Qatar rail and in many other buildings like shopping malls, residential buildings, hotels, airports, bus stations and similar.

The opportunity is huge given climate and growing population while customers comprise mainly of construction companies.

Supply and maintenance of lifts The opportunity includes formation of a JV partnership with the OEM: ■ Setup of local assembly capability for parts of low complexity while advanced parts, are sourced from abroad ■ Local installation and maintenance in Qatar ■ To be determined how “Qatar Rail Consortia Contract for Systems” impacts setup of joint venture, especially if and when company supplies customers outside of QR Main revenue streams from: ■ New equipment sales and installation ■ Service and maintenance contracts

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 50 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 10 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 40 million

Ease of capturing:

High ease of capturing since many companies are already providing these services.

In addition, there is a low risk for hampering development of metro/rail network and no commercial risk for current businesses.

MARCH 2013

33

SECTOR STUDY Supply and maintenance of escalators and travelators This opportunity includes formation of a JV partnership with the OEM: ■ JV to do local assembly and source parts of low complexity from Qatar (like consoles, steps) while advanced parts (like motors and electrics) are to be sourced from abroad ■ Maintenance and installation ■ To be determined how Qatar Rail Consortia Contract for Systems impacts the setup of a joint venture, especially if and when company supplies customers outside Qatar.

Main revenue streams are from: ■ New equipment sales and installation ■ Service and maintenance contracts Size of the opportunity:

Ease of capturing:

High revenue opportunity from sales to QRail project • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 350 million • 2021-2032: approx. USD 270 million QR demand is significant in relation to demand from other Qatari sources.

Medium ease of capturing since obtaining a JV partner is critical: - High end escalators are technically complex, and a JV partner is needed to train staff and develop skills - Technical skills and know-how for repair and maintenance are already done in Qatar, but not for assembly - Independent Qatari player is not competitive against global OEMs - Low risk since stations are still useable without functioning escalators

Interior design services This opportunity includes provision of interior design services for stations and other buildings and also the responsibility for interior space composition and design, including selection of all customerfacing materials and objects, including wall claddings, floor tiles/ carpets, ceiling elements, furnishings.

In addition, it includes the responsibility for selection and lay-out of acoustics and lighting technologies.

Value proposition is driven by the ability to foster right “customer experience” within the budget.

34

Supply of wall and floor tiles This opportunity includes supply of wall and floor tiles for station interiors as well as other buildings within guidelines specified by the interior design and architectural blueprint. Materials will also need to comply with safety standards set by Qatar Rail and Qatar government regulators.

The opportunity may involve procuring and assembling or integrating different materials. Value proposition is driven by the ability to identify and source right material from suppliers within the specified delivery deadlines for final installation.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 70 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 40 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 30 million

Ease of capturing:

Several Qatari businesses are already active in this space. The final quality will not put the QRail project at risk, but will impact customers’ experience.

Design and landscaping services for parks and green areas This opportunity includes design and landscaping of parks and green areas around the stations, including design of lay-out and pathways, selection of plants/trees and incorporation of special features.

Opportunity for planning and designing may also include waterefficient components, including efficient irrigation techniques to decrease the need of water. Key success driver is to design attractive external areas which are water efficient.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 5 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 3 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 2 million

Ease of capturing:

Several Qatari businesses are already active in this space.

Infrastructural facility management services This opportunity includes provision of infrastructural facility management services, including ancillary services such as cleaning and security across all stations and non-rail infrastructure.

Value proposition is in the single point of contact and the in-depth knowledge of property and equipment. Key success drivers include customer service, quick deployment of relevant personnel, technical expertise/capability and cost management.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 42 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 32 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 10 million

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 12 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 1 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 11 million

Ease of capturing:

Several Qatari businesses are already active in this space. The final quality will not put the QRail project at risk, but will impact customers’ experience.

Ease of capturing:

Several Qatari businesses are already active in this space. The final quality will not put the QRail project at risk, but will impact customers’ experience.

Training academy for railway professionals This opportunity includes management of the training academy for rail professionals, including operators, maintenance engineers and technicians, signalling and telecom professionals and electricians.

The academy would primarily serve QRail employees, but over time would also focus on employees from other operators due to: ■ Growing demand from the regional rail operators for trained professionals ■ Opportunity to partner with globally recognised railway players, such as DBI or Bombardier The academy should also offer certification for new train operators, drivers, and technical staff.

Supply of wall sheathing elements This opportunity includes supply of wall sheathing for station exteriors as well as other buildings within guidelines specified in the architectural blueprint. Wall sheathing is the first layer of covering on an exterior wall, fastened to the wall studs, and is primarily used within exterior walls as insulation and weather/water-proofing.

Materials will also need to comply with safety standards set by QRail and Qatar government regulators. The opportunity may involve procuring and assembling or integrating different materials. Value proposition is driven by the ability to identify and source right material from suppliers within the specified delivery deadlines for final installation.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue potential from initial sales to QRail is approx. USD 75 - 77 million: • 2012 - 2020: 20 - 22 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. 55 million

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 25 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 15 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 10 million

Ease of capturing:

Qatar’s track record in education would allow it to develop state-of-the-art training facilities.

Potential synergies with Qatar-based universities, including Texas A&M and Carnegie Mellon, for sharing classroom facilities, dorms, R&D labs and libraries. Challenge will be in ensuring international credibility, hence, importance of JV with OEM or global training provider.

Ease of capturing:

Several Qatari businesses are already active in this space.

Provision of district cooling service using the metro infrastructure This opportunity provides a possibility to leverage metro infrastructure (like tunnels and elevated structures) to provide district cooling from a cooling plant outside Doha or from the current plant to other parts of Doha.

The contractor should add value by being able to cost effectively supply new customers in residential, commercial and industrial facilities outside the West Bay and the Pearl, including the following: ■ Reduced need for arranging the infrastructure (permits, digging) ■ Reduced need for cooling facilities/plant in other regions ■ Lower costs due to cheaper infrastructure, initial investments should include purchase and installation of insulated pipe system ■ Increased revenue due to accessibility of more customers

Size of the opportunity:

Ease of capturing:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail project: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 14 million • 2021 - 2032: approx. USD 74 million Total projected cooling market in 2013 of approx. USD 95 million in Qatar Total projected cooling market in 2013 of approx. USD 1,200 million in the GCC region.

Low ease of capturing since suppliers of the required pipe infrastructure are currently available in the Middle East region.

Design, installation and maintenance of solar energy generation solutions The opportunity is to provide solar energy generation solutions for stations and elevated structures including design, installation and maintenance. Furthermore, there is a potentially enormous opportunity in providing solar energy generation solutions in the desert.

Several technologies are available, but the most promising are standard crystalline, thin film (Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) The contractor should add value with lowered environmental impact from using renewable energy sources and by enabling own energy production.

Size of the opportunity:

Total revenue opportunity from sales to QRail sums up to approx. USD 75 million: • 2012 - 2020: approx. USD 56 million • 2020 - 2032: approx. USD 19 million Total market in 2011 of USD 28 million in Qatar, and USD 559 million in the GCC region, excluding QRail project.

Ease of capturing:

Medium to high ease of capturing as it includes high technical complexity, but current skill set in PV area is medium to high.

For more information about all business opportunities envisaged by the QRail project, please contact QDB’s Business Development Team at busdev@qdb.qa, and visit QDB’s Website for a full overview of all of the business opportunities.

MARCH 2013

35

SECTOR STUDY

THE IMPORTANT PILLAR OF GROWTH In a two-part series, Dr. Tarek Coury, Chief Economist, Tanween, presents the main trends in Qatar’s growing property market. The �irst article focuses on the residential and commercial sectors while the next article will feature coverage of the hospitality and retails sectors.

W

ith a major government push to transform Qatar into a modern, knowledge-driven economy, Doha has witnessed both massive infrastructure investment and one of the fastest population growth rates in the world.

Dr. Tarek Coury is Chief Economist at Tanween, a Qatari real estate developer and development consultancy providing turn-key solutions to investors, developers, land owners and occupiers. Tanween’s unique approach covers all services within the real estate investment value chain from idea creation to market research, feasibility studies, project delivery and asset management.

For further information, Tarek can contacted at tcoury@tanween.com.

36

Residential sector In the past few years, the number of residential units have increased dramatically with only limited impact on rental rates. Qatar is set to experience about 4% per annum population growth for the period 2011-2014.

2011 witnessed 3,000 units added to the residential stock while 18,000 units were added in 2012. Despite this massive increase in residential stock, population growth has ensured a resilient rental market. With only 10,000 units being added to the residential stock in 2013 and a steady 4% population growth, the rental market will continue to show resilience in 2013.

however, capture non-rental expenditures associated with housing services in these markets. Dubai residents face considerably higher water and electricity costs, a 5% municipality fee and district cooling charges in some areas. In addition, Dubai residents will typically also incur expenditure for furniture and home appliances while a typical apartment in Doha is more likely to be fully furnished.

When compared to a regional benchmark such as Dubai, prime apartment rentals in Doha are typically priced at a premium.

Prime apartment hotspots in Doha are predominately located at The Pearl Qatar, the ZigZag Towers across from the Grand Hyatt, and at the West Bay central business district (CBD). These areas were developed over the past six to seven years and cater to the high-end income segment. A majority of these units are offered on a fully furnished basis and form a major part of mixed use developments found in Doha.The average monthly rent for a fully furnished apartment in a prime area, such as the Pearl Qatar and the West Bay CBD, is approximately QR 15,000. Sales prices for new apartments are between QR 14,000 to QR 22,000 per square meter. Overall sales prices have remained stable since 2010, suggesting limited sales transactions.

The average rental for an apartment in a prime area in Doha ranges from QR 8,000 per month to QR 19,000 per month. In contrast, prime apartments in Dubai typically range from QR 6,000 to QR 15,000. This indicates that the lower band of quality apartments in Doha is typically priced 15% to 25% higher than comparable apartments in Dubai.This is in part due to the oversupply of residential stock in Dubai, but also suggests either a lack of sufficient supply in Doha for one bedroom (1BR) and two bedroom (2BR) apartments in this price range or a potential mispricing. This comparison does not,

Central Doha hosts the city’s secondary business districts (SBDs) which cater to all income segments. The older developments are being occupied by low to middle income-earning expatriates while newer developments, which offer superior facilities, are occupied by the mid to high income segment. However, the supply in this last category is rather limited. Among the secondary business districts, the average monthly rent for a fully furnished apartment (Al Sadd, Najma, Bin Mahmoud, Airport Road, Muntaza and Mansoura) is QR 5,200 for a 1BR, QR 7,200 for a 2BR and QR 8,500 for a 3BR. The

Average monthly rental for fully furnished apartments – Q4 2012

Average monthly rental for semi furnished villas – Q4 2012

Average monthly office rents per square meter – Q4 2012

that will likely be skewed toward the low to middle income bracket, reflecting the hiring needs of the construction sector and downstream sectors. This indicates opportunities in affordable housing and labour accommodation.

Commercial sector Qatar’s skyline was transformed by a government push to create a modern central business district in the West Bay, a multipurpose, mixed use development that now hosts the city’s most iconic buildings, prominent among them the Burj Qatar, the Tornado Tower, and The Gate buildings. While primarily a place to do business, the area also hosts some of the city’s most prominent hospitality and residential venues and continues to expand with ongoing construction projects such as the Qatar World Trade Center and the Barwa Financial District, now called Qatar Petroleum District. Government also drives office demand in Doha with government-related entities accounting for an estimated 50% to 60% market share of total office space, mostly in the West Bay CBD. Qatar’s total office supply currently stands at about 3.6 million per square meter with the West Bay CBD accounting for 1.4 million per square meter. An estimated 300,000 m2 of office space came online in 2012, but additional supply is set to more than double in 2013, with an estimated 700,000 m2 of additional office space. Supply growth is set to taper off in 2014 with only 100,000 m2 of additional office space.

Monthly office rents experienced a slight increase in 2012 averaged QR 158 per square meter.

Source: Tanween Research, 2012

addition of new residential supply and occupancy rates peaking at 90% indicates a strong demand from new expatriates as Qatar is gearing up toward FIFA World Cup 2022. This is likely to result in moderate rental increase in the coming years.

Doha also boasts a rental market for villas, both as standalone villas for large families, and shared villas for couples and bachelors. Corporate tenants predominantly occupy villa compounds in Qatar. Monthly rents for 3BR, 4BR and 5BR villa units range from QR 11,000 to QR 18,000 with prime villas compounds ranging between QR 18,000, for a 3BR, to QR 23,000, for a 5BR unit. The average rents for villa compounds have marginally increased over 2012 and are likely to experience a further uptick over 2013 with occupancy levels to remain high at 90%.

Government investment in infrastructure is frontloaded in the coming two years, implying a population profile

The small rise in average rents is attributable to additional supply of high-end stock that came to the market. The West Bay CBD recorded average monthly rents of about QR 230 per square meter during the same period. Monthly rents in some office buildings peaked at QR 260 per square meter. Office rents are lower in secondary business districts (SBD) such as the C Ring Road, the D Ring Road, Al Sadd, Airport Road and Al Salata, and average about QR 145 per square meter.

Government spending on infrastructure projects is likely to stimulate growth in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the construction sector and downstream sectors.

The trend of higher occupancy and absorption of office space in SBDs relative to the CBD is set to continue in 2013 with startups and SMEs typically favouring small and cheaper commercial property.

This also likely implies opportunities for office redevelopment in these areas.

With economic growth now being driven by the nonhydrocarbon sector, private sector growth will be an important pillar driving the performance of the office sector in Qatar.

APRIL 2013

37

REAL ESTATE

FIND YOUR PLACE IN DOHA

Engel & Völkers counts 2012 as a good year for both commercial and residential parts of the real estate market in Qatar. The increase in requests for of�ice spaces and the reasonably stable residential market throughout 2012, also announced the expectation of an even higher demand in 2013.

Mirco Alexander Maurer, Managing Director, Engel & Völkers, takes a look at the future developments of Qatar’s real estate market.

Mirco is the Managing Director of ENGEL & VÖLKERS. He holds a Master Degree (German Diploma) in Business Administration from the University of Applied Sciences in Nürtingen, Germany. Mirco is an expert for residential, retail and office properties, and is specialised in sales, letting, valuation and consulting. Mirco can be contacted at Mirco.Maurer@engelvoelkers.com

38

I

f we look upon the commercial real estate market, a research done by Engel & Völkers shows that the main requests exist for commercial land in order to build new offices and mixed-use towers.

Furthermore, the requests also relate to the plans for new hospitals, shopping malls, logistic centers and other commercial properties.

Since the announcement of the successful bid for FIFA World Cup 2022 in December 2010, the construction has been going ahead much faster. The number of new commercial office buildings rises continuously. A lot of prime offices with some retail spaces on the ground levels, like within the Jaidah Square or Doha Tower, were recently completed.

The demand for office space in Qatar is currently on a satisfactory level. In addition, plans related to the huge projects, especially in the infrastructure sector, will bring more engineering and construction professionals to Doha and they will also require office areas.

Currently, the total office supply in Doha is approximately 3.6 million square meters. In addition, more than 30 new office towers, which are currently under construction, will be offered in the market during 2013 and 2014. The most known are The World

Trade Center and Albaker Towers in Westbay as well as the Shoumoukh Towers in Al Sadd.

Many of the office buildings are being offered for rent to only one client or at least on a floor-by-floor basis, while the demand for smaller areas still remains high. Since we have seen that the government, semi-government entities and main oil and gas companies have already taken the huge spaces, we are not sure which other industry will need such a huge space of 10,000sqm upwards. Of course, the banks also have a huge demand, but some of them, like Doha Bank and Qatar International Islamic Bank, build their own towers.

Currently, the rental prices are stable while the rents on Grade-A buildings are even slightly increasing (please see Chart 1). It is due to the increasing demand for office spaces in the recent months, which mainly comes from the mentioned sectors as well from clients which couldn’t renew their company registration in commercial villas because of the changes of the related laws.

Due to the development of the New Doha International Airport and the Port in Wakra, the demand for office spaces on the C Ring Road, the D Ring Road, and Airport Road has been higher than in Westbay. In addition, Salata seems to be more interesting for companies nowadays since new buildings are being rented for QR 130 per square meter with the potential to go higher in the coming months.

However, the highest rates are still reached in Westbay.

We counted the top spaces with QR 225 per square meter. There are also units available in the market with even higher rates, but besides on some penthouse-floors we haven’t seen companies accepting these prices.

Overall, we see that the price ranges are getting higher in all areas and that tenants appreciate a good quality and, especially, good service. In addition to the main points like size, layout and quality, buildings which are known for client-oriented service, immediate solutions for various issues, and high standards of the facility management, keep a high rental rate wherever they are located. Currently, those are the buildings on C Ring Road, Airport Road and in Al Sadd. These buildings are priced at QR 180 or 190 per square meter, which is the same rate you will pay for a space in most of the towers in Westbay.

According to Engel & Völkers, offices priced below QR 100 per sq.m. are still rare, but seem to become more

Chart 1 Office rents Doha Office Rentsinin Doha

240

(PriceRange rangeininQAR QR -- per persq.m./Month) sq.m./month) (Price

220 200 180 160 140 120 100 West Bay

Airport Road

C-Ring

D-Ring

Al Sadd

Grand Hamad St.

Salata

The sales market was relatively quiet over 2011 and 2012. There was sufficient supply of properties for sale, yet the required price did not match with the buyers’ expectations, therefore, creating a wide gap between supply and demand.

common in areas like the Industrial Area and its close surroundings.

We notice a strong demand in the residential leasing market, since the population is growing. That will continue to be one of the main drivers in this sector.

In the following 24 months, the assumed arrival of 100-thousands of new people to Qatar will have a huge impact on the residential rental market. It is expected on the basis of the construction projects which are progressing all over Doha and in Lusail and Wakra/ Wukair as well as on the basis of major infrastructure projects like the railway, metro, and the airport.

The sales market was relatively quiet over 2011 and 2012. There was sufficient supply of properties for sale, yet the required price did not match with the buyers’

APRIL 2013

39

initiatives are based on the clear and straight-forward plan of H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani and H.E. Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned to follow Qatar National Vision 2030 and keep developing Qatar for its future far beyond 2022.

Chart 2

Apartment Rents in Doha Apartment rents in Doha

(Price (PriceRange rangeininQAR QR -- per per sq.m./Month) sq.m./month)

16000 14000 12000 1-Bed

10000

2-Bed

8000

3-Bed

6000 4000 2000 0 Al Sadd

West Bay

Airport Road

The Pearl

Al Bin Omran Muntazah

Sales activity is expected to significantly increase as investors’ confidence has been boosted by the successful bid to host FIFA World Cup 2022 as well as by Qatar’s growing population which will lead to the development of new schools, hospitals, science and technology parks, and well-known international universities. expectations, therefore, creating a wide gap between supply and demand. The asking price per square meter for an apartment on The Pearl Qatar varies between QR 11,000 to QR 14,000 in Porto Arabia, and between QR 15,000 to QR 18,000 in Viva Bahariya.

Sales prices of townhouses with exclusive views are above QR 16,000 per square meter, while prices in Qanat Quartier seem to remain high above QR 17,000 per square meter.

Sales activity is expected to significantly increase as investors’ confidence has been boosted by the successful bid to host FIFA World Cup 2022 as well as by Qatar’s growing population which will lead to the development of new schools, hospitals, science and technology parks, and well-known international universities. All these

40

In line with the banks’ plans to ease mortgages and the expected change of regulations for owning freehold property as an expatriate, we will see much more activity in the real estate sales market.

In the rental market, we have observed a decrease of rental levels from the market peak reached in 2008 which was mainly caused by the increased level of supply in the residential stocks. However, the market seems to be undergoing a change in the present months. Apartments in the prime areas, such as West Bay or The Pearl, continue to be highly sought after, especially among expatriates who are seeking high quality dwellings with recreational amenities. Starting rents for semi-furnished apartments in these areas are at QR 9,000 for one-bedroom, QR 11,500 for two-bedroom, and QR 15,000 for three-bedroom apartments. Rental prices were stable during 2012 and we expect the prices for West Bay and The Pearl to remain at the same level during 2013. A slight increase might be expected in more popular West Bay Towers towards the end of the year. The Chart 2 shows the average apartment rents in Doha in 2012.

The number of offered villa accommodation was continuously increasing during 2011 and 2012 which was in balance with the market’s demand. Compound villas with diverse facilities have remained to be popular among expatriates. Rates for a semifurnished compound villa start at QR 12,000 or QR 13,000 in main areas like Hilal, Duhail or al Waab. Those are the main competitors to the apartments in prime areas like West Bay and The Pearl, as they are offered at the same rates. Standalone villas are available for around QR 2,000 more than the compound-villas in the same areas.

Mirco Alexander Maurer, Managing Director, Engel & Völkers, foresees a very positive development of Qatar’s real estate market. Government investment plans, which are caused by the successful bid for FIFA World Cup 2022 along with Qatar National Vision 2030, will lead to more economic activity and, thus, attract more potential employees to Qatar. In addition, upcoming infrastructural plans like the metro-system, Qatar Bahrain Causeway, railway-network, new deep-water port and the completion of the New Doha International Airport will further contribute to the stabilisation of the country’s real estate market.

FINANCE

MAKE THE RIGHT DECISION The �inancial institutions in Qatar seek to cater to the needs of their clients in every possible way. However, the clients have a wider choice since both Islamic and conventional banks try do their best in this context. Mahmoud El Amrawi, Marketing and Public Relations Director, Al Jazeera Finance, Qatar, points out all the details a client needs to know before deciding which type of bank to choose.

A

Mahmoud El Amrawi is the Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Al Jazeera Finance, Qatar. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Tourism and Business Administration from the University of Alexandria.

He has over 14 years of experience in marketing and sales in a variety of sectors and has been mostly focused on services.

Mahmoud can be contacted at Amrawi@aljazeera.com.qa.

42

lot of conventional and Islamic banks provide financial services to both individuals and businesses. Even though the Islamic culture is dominant in the Qatari market, Qatar Central Bank’s report from the first quarter of 2012 pointed out that the proportion of Islamic finance in the total share of clients’ finance did not exceed the average of 29% while the average of 71% was in favour of traditional banks. In the case of mortgage lending, 40% of clients took a mortgage from Islamic financial institutions while the share of traditional banks was 60%.

For that reason, plans of marketing departments within Islamic banks and financial companies need to consider these figures in order to determine why the Qatari market prefers conventional banks over Islamic banks, despite of the high Islamic culture among members of the Qatari society.

In Islamic countries, Islamic banks are supposed to be dominant due to the awareness among customers of the advantages and procedures of Islamic finance. These advantages are derived from the Islamic economy which is based on the community development goal.

Islamic finance is based on the principle of providing

financing solutions and appropriate funding for various situations in which their clients might be.

However, the main feature of Islamic finance is that these solutions should meet the customers’ needs instead of burdening them with debts and allowing them to take loans for non-essential consuming needs.

Reasons that obstruct success of Islamic finance The number of Islamic financial institutions affiliated to the Qatar Central Bank has increased and now includes four Islamic banks and three Islamic financial companies. In spite of the clarity and credibility of Islamic finance procedures and the fact that it is structured to avoid negative consequences for clients, the volume of granted credits by Islamic financial institutions has not yet reached the desired level.

The following reasons might be the cause: Lack of spreading and clarifying the Islamic financial culture and its importance, especially among Muslims.

There are a significant number of people who do not know the difference between Islamic and conventional financing. They are assured that transactions are being done in the same manner, with only a simple change in terminology.

Today, a client studies the market and all the available opportunities in order to choose a bank or a financial institution, before taking any decision for obtaining finance. Moreover, he studies the prices and percentage of profits, to learn what is in his favour. Most often, the negotiations on the proportion of profits are about the payment period. However, the client is usually not being explained about the benefits of Islamic finance which are mostly in his favour. In order to increase sales opportunities of Islamic financial institutions, these advantages need to be clarified and pointed out.

Absence or lack of advertising addressed to foreigners (non-Arabs, who represent a large percentage of the total population).

Most of the non-Arabs do not realise that they are eligible to receive funding from Islamic financial bodies.

We can notice that most of the media campaigns representing Islamic banks are broadcasted via the Arab mass media. It is true that we are in an Arab country and that Arabic is the official language, but it is also the right of foreign clients to know about these conditions in a language they can understand.

In 2011, Al Jazeera Finance introduced a displaying promotion which attracted 2,000 non-Arab clients only in one month. We were able to achieve that since most of the used ads were in English and addressed this category of citizens.

A prevalent impression that the profit of Islamic financial institutions is higher than the profit of traditional banks.

Although Qatar Central Bank has set a maximum profit limit, the marketing practices of Islamic banks rarely present it or inform the clients about it.

On the other side, marketing practices of traditional banks always present offers of low interest rate loans. However, when a client applies for the loan, he is surprised to hear that the existing conditions allow only a small percentage of customers to take advantage of these low interest rates.

The reason for this can also be found in an error within the process of delivering the information. In their advertisements, conventional banks mention fixed interest rate on an annual level while the Islamic financial institutions often point out the declining rate of profit on the same level. The annual flat rate, which reaches 3.2% in traditional banks, is equivalent to a percentage of 6% of decreasing rate of Islamic

financial institutions. In conclusion, most of the clients do not recognise the difference between the flat rate and the decreasing profit.

Lack of diversity and innovation in the offered financial solutions for both individuals and businesses.

Islamic financial institutions do not offer a variety of financial solutions to their clients since the solutions need to be Sharia’ compliant and approved by the supervisory board of the institution. In addition, these institutions do not try to facilitate the terminology of financial products in an easy way for clients to understand.

Reliance of Islamic financial institutions on traditional designs, colours and logos in an attempt to introduce the Islamic spirit.

This trend may lead clients to believe that these institutions are old-fashioned and follow only traditional methods to facilitate their transactions.

This may lead to further complications since the clients may also consider that the transactions will be tedious and time-consuming.

Prior establishment of conventional banks than Islamic financial institutions.

This allows conventional banks to attract a large group of customers since the Islamic funding is relatively new and does not exceed 40 years of work. On the other side, conventional banks have been established long time ago and now already have many branches.

In addition, conventional banks try to win customers by using all of the available media advertisements.

Differences between Islamic finance and conventional finance Most certainly there are a lot of people who deal only with the Islamic financial institutions. This may be either due to the religious reasons, or because they have discovered the advantages and transparency of Islamic finance.

For that reason, this article presents the major points of differentiation between Islamic and conventional financing with an overview of the main advantages of Islamic finance. The aim is to provide a clear understanding of these differences to non-Muslims and non-Arab nationalities which represent an important part of the population in Qatar and other GCC countries.

The idea of Islamic finance is to meet the clients’ needs irrespective of whether they are companies or individuals. For example, if a client does not

APRIL 2013

43

FINANCE

have enough money to buy a car, team of Al Jazeera Finance, like in any other Islamic financial institution, will study the status of the client and buy a car that suits his potentials in order to sell it back to him. The client will repay the debt in line with the agreed profit of the bank and within the specified time period.

If we take the same example involving a conventional bank, its customer service agent will offer to lend to the client a high amount of money and will try several ways to convince him to buy an expensive car that he doesn’t even need. Upon the client’s approval, the bank will pay the car value to the dealer.

The previous example illustrates the main differences between Islamic and conventional financing which represent the following:

In spite of the clarity and credibility of Islamic finance procedures and the fact that it is structured to avoid negative consequences for clients, the volume of granted credits by Islamic financial institutions has not yet reached the desired level.

■

Islamic finance is a formulated contract for buying and selling. All fees, profit rates and duration of funding are stated in the contract which is binding. Islamic financial institution cannot add any fees or costs to the client after he signs the contract.

In the case of a loan from a conventional bank, a client only signs the loan application. One of the most important conditions of this contract is that the interest rate may change at any time without prior notice. This means that the client does not know the total amount he has to pay to the bank in return for the loan. Thus, the bank may raise interest rates at any time and the client does not have the right of any objection.

If duration of the purchase contract with an Islamic financial institution is fixed, a client will be entitled to pay the contract’s value before the end of the funding period. Therefore, if the client would like to pay his debts two years before the contract ends, the Islamic financial institutions will appreciate this step and return him a part of the earnings process.

This is called bonus for early payment. The purpose is to solve the client’s problem and not to extend the duration of the loan in order to earn the highest possible profit.

■

If a client finds some difficulties in paying the installments while dealing with conventional banks, he will be financially fined, and the loan will be extended for an additional month with new benefits for the bank. The client might end up in an endless circle of loans in order to repay the initial debts.

But, in the case of Islamic financial institutions, the client will not have to pay any other amount and duration of the funding will not get extended since

44

it is a contract of sale and purchase with a specified amount and duration.

■

The aim of Islamic finance is not to invest the deposit funds in a client’s account or to grant funds, unless the client is facing very difficult financial situation.

This goal is directed to the purchase of what the client needs to obtain in terms of goods and services, revitalise the economic movement in the country and encourage investments which include funding of only the client’s needs.

To the opposite, loans granted by conventional banks are funds granted only for the purpose of obtaining interests in return.

The differences between the Islamic and conventional financial institutions go beyond the terminology since they affect the interests of the client himself.

Islamic financial institutions can strongly compete in the Qatari market on the basis of available human and material potentials for that. For that reason, all clients need to know which advantages are in their favour.

Excellence. At Carnegie Mellon.

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has been inspiring innovations that change the world. Consistently top ranked, Carnegie Mellon has more than 11,000 students, 90,000 alumni and 5,000 faculty and staff globally.

In 2004, Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon to join Education City, a groundbreaking center for scholarship and research. Students from 39 different countries enroll at our world-class facilities in Education City.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. Carnegie Mellon is firmly committed to Qatar’s National Vision 2030 by developing people, society, the economy and the environment.

Learn more at www.qatar.cmu.edu

BUSINESS ADVICE

CHANGING RITUAL Just Falafel is a vegetarian fast food chain of restaurants, which started to operate in the UAE and witnessed an enormous growth in just a short period of time reaching several corners of the world. Jenny Kassis talked to Mohamad Bitar, Founder and Managing Director, and Fadi Malas, CEO, Just Falafel, to learn more about their fast business growth and future plans across the world.

T

he company was established in 2007 at a location in Abu Dhabi by Mohammed Bitar, the Founding Partner. Since the falafel sandwich is one of the oldest known types of food of our time, Mohammed has been wondering why anyone hasn’t adapted this food category into a 21st century lifestyle. This is how the idea evolved. Since he decided to develop the falafel concept, he realised that it should include a few different options in order to appeal to a wider audience.

“When we opened our first outlet in Abu Dhabi, we were providing the traditional, Greek and Indian falafel sandwiches since a great number of Greeks and

46

Indians lived there. So, we wanted to attract them as clients”, Fadi said.

In the early stage of establishment, Mohammed didn’t have a business plan, but only a great idea to develop this food category as well as the passion to innovate it. From this point, he took the next step by developing the menu.

Within a year, he opened the second outlet in Abu Dhabi.

“A year later, we managed to set up two branches in Dubai.

When we opened our fifth store, we decided to move forward and check if there was a demand for franchising our business. We got a lot of visibility, since nobody offered the falafel in the same way as we did”, added Fadi.

Finance When asked about finance, they stated that the company was self-financed by the partners, “It is not a very capital intensive business for us. It is to a certain extent, but not as much as it would have been if we had grown the company organically and not through the franchises.”

Elaborating further, they pointed out, “The fact that we have sold so many outlets has helped us in raising more money. As soon as we started the franchising drive in 2011, we sold up in the UAE so quickly that we decided to look at other markets in order to grow our company regionally and globally. By adopting this strategy, we were able to sell around 260 franchises in 15 countries so far.”

They also added, “Regarding the franchising, if you check various food categories you will notice that they have already gone through the whole consolidation since most of them are now offered by five main brands, such as Burger King, Mc Donald’s, and similar.

However, the falafel is extremely fragmented in this regard. You don’t have a single global operator that has taken this food category seriously and elevated it into a 21st century lifestyle by franchising it. With 30 operation stores in the world, we are the leader in this food category since we are the biggest falafel retailer in the world.”

Competition Talking about competition, they assured us, “There are thousands of falafel stores in all the Middle Eastern countries, and maybe hundreds more around the world. However, we don’t look at them as competitors.

When we first decided to set up this business and elevate this food category to the next level, we started trading alongside the biggest food retailers in the world. Thus, these retailers became our competitors.

Since we are now leaders in this food category, we compare ourselves only with the leaders of other food categories across the globe. A unique advantage for us is that there isn’t any other global vegetarian fast food retailer. Nowadays, people seem to be turning their focus more towards vegetables than other food categories.”

When we asked them to give us their opinion about the business environment in the GCC region, they confirmed that the business ecosystem across the Gulf region has reached the international standards in all sectors. Particularly in the retail sector, Dubai takes the second spot globally in the penetration of international brands, immediately after the UK. “The business ecosystem is advanced across the region. Whether we are operating in Riyadh, Kuwait or Bahrain, we need to adapt to a certain level and

understand the local legal framework. With that approach we are able to operate anywhere in the world,” they added.

Challenges Talking about the challenges, they were honest to share, “The day you take anything for granted is the day you stop performing and competing. We are at the forefront in this food category since we compete against conglomerates of the food and beverages sector. We have to continue with our marketing strategy in order to reach as many people as possible.

The aim is to present this food category since it is still new to many.”

Since challenges they face are numerous, they continued, “As an SME, we face our challenges every day and look for a way to overcome them. That is the only way for us to improve our position. For example, in the UK it is extremely difficult to reserve a location,

"Entrepreneurs in Qatar only need to focus on what they would like to excel in. When compared with other GCC countries, the infrastructure in Qatar has been improved more than in any other country and, thus, facilitated the platform of success for many entrepreneurs," said Fadi Malas.

but since we have been persistent we have reserved a phenomenal first location. The outlet is in Covent Garden, which is one of the most prominent retail and tourist destinations in London. Our objective there is to roll out hundreds of stores. We have already secured other locations in Leicester Square and Hammersmith. These aren’t easy locations to get, and it took us more time than we expected. But, since we want to operate in the best locations, that’s the usual challenge for us.”

Fadi also added, “Whether we are operating in the GCC region or in the UK, or anywhere else where there is a large expatriate community, we have noticed that our stores are places in which thousands of people taste the falafel for the first time. It is a big challenge for us to grow the company and at the same time educate the market about this food category and its benefits. In my opinion, this will never stop because our objective is to continuously grow, in spite of all the challenges. Our aim is to preserve advantage in this food category and remain the number one”.

APRIL 2013

47

BUSINESS ADVICE

the whole world’s population. Food is definitely a great industry to look at. Besides very few food categories, like burgers or pizzas, all other food categories are extremely fragmented. The easiest thing that travels across borders is food. Therefore, there are many chances for consolidators to come up with innovative solutions across certain cuisines.”

In 2012, the company’s goal was to open one store a week while during 2013 they aim to open stores in up to seven new markets in total. Their strategy for new markets is to reach quickly the captive number of stores which should allow them to compete with other main food categories.

Speaking about their customers in more details, they further stated, “Our biggest challenge is to attract people to try our sandwiches. I think that a lot of people have tried the falafel burger, quesadillas or Japanese sandwich, but have never tried the traditional falafel. For us, this has been a huge success. We have been able to position our brand in the most prominent retail environments. If we didn’t put this food category alongside with the others, a lot of people would have never tasted this kind of food.

This was another challenge and, thus, we changed the whole experience regarding the falafel. Thus, the main reason why we are gaining a lot of ground because it is a new concept.”

On the basis of their fruitful entrepreneurial path, they advised all other entrepreneurs to not to be afraid to start their entrepreneurial endeavour and, especially, of competition composed of conglomerates and big companies, “If you are small, you are more flexible and you can change your mind ten times a day. In this manner, you can implement new decisions much faster than conglomerates can. You have much more room for mistakes since the only way to build a proper business is by trial and efforts. You have to know how to take a punch as an entrepreneur and learn how to get out of it every single day.”

When asked about the advice they would give to other SMEs looking to establish a business within this sector, they said that the food and beverages sector is the most fragmented sector when compared to all other industries. They further elaborated about the opportunities this fragmentation offers, “The biggest consolidator of burgers is feeding only 70 million people a day which is 1% of the global population. If you think about other industries and their products, like Microsoft or Apple, you can notice that they cover

48

“Some people think that we have an aggressive growth strategy. However, if you check the number of stores of the big companies within the food and beverages sector, you will notice that Subway has 38,000 stores while Mc Donald’s has 33,000. These figures are the reason why we want to grow faster in order to compete with all of them. We have to implement a strategy that will allow us to position our food category alongside with the others. Thus, our future plan is to grow as fast as we can,” concluded Fadi.

Just Falafel in Qatar About their operations in Qatar, they explained, “We are very proud to be in Qatar, especially with the amount of relationships we have been able to establish here. Our partner in Doha has been in the food retail business for years, which has made it easier for us. In 2012, we opened two outlets in Doha – in Musheireb and Al Nasser Street. We are currently working on our third store in Qatar. We are willing to open more stores and grow more in the Qatari market over the next few years, since we are doing more than great in this country.”

While explaining their marketing strategy, they said, “We do a lot of brand marketing for our stores through social media. In this context, what makes Qatar special is that there is an internet savvy young population that is always up to date about our latest news.”

In addition to that, they were quick to add that the infrastructure in Qatar provides all necessary facilities for entrepreneurs – the logistics, road networks, airports, or participation in trade and exports events.

Fadi concluded on their expansion plans in Qatar, by stating, “Entrepreneurs in Qatar only need to focus on what they would like to excel in. When compared with other GCC countries, the infrastructure in Qatar has been improved more than in any other country and, thus, facilitated the platform of success for many entrepreneurs.”

MANAGEMENT

FOLLOW

THE TREND

There are more SMEs using various online platforms today than ever before. A significant number of their customers can find them online while the brand loyalty is also being built online.

Sangeetha Thomas, Management Consultant, presents few the smart technology options which can help SMEs advance their business performance.

S

MEs are eagerly learning the trick of leveraging technology to their advantage.

The growth is inevitable through the use of technology, but it also brings new challenges for SMEs. Decisions have to be made with the long term view since the economies of scale are challenged by the changes that occur. The challenge to respond to the market at the speed of information makes investing in information infrastructure indispensable for SMEs.

Sangeetha Thomas is the Management Consultant with extensive experience in working with clients from private and government sector across the GCC region. She uses her expertise in project and process management areas to advise clients and foster expert teams within the clients’ organisations. She can be contacted at sangeetha.thomas@iccke.org

50

However, the challenge remains unchanged – get the best out of technology with minimum capital outlay, significantly low operational cost and negligible maintenance.

There has never been more exciting time than now for SMEs to cherry-pick technology options. Let’s look at some of the smart technology options that SMEs can adopt in present times in their quest for excellence.

■ Virtualisation Initially considering it as complicated and expensive, SMEs have warmed up to virtualisation fondly in the recent times. Drivers for increased adoption of virtualisation, apart from decreasing prices, have been the need to provide end-users with an uninterrupted

access to information, increased user mobility and enhanced security needs that are partly driven by compliance requirements.

If you decide to adopt virtualisation, it is wise to evaluate which real business aspirations that will help you achieve in order to benefit from technology to a greater extent.

Business reasons can include consolidation of servers and applications, capacity building for future expansion, reducing hardware costs or enhancing disaster recovery.

■ Unified communication Increasingly high mobility among users and the need to collaborate remotely are both propelling more SMEs to adopt unified communications. The ability to be readily accessible across multiple communication channels including video, instant messengers and VOIP makes unified communication technology attractive for SMEs. It facilitates more effective management of time and costs in the face of challenging economic periods.

Unified communication solutions will make collaboration smarter, quicker and more efficient. This will bring a marked increase in productivity. Furthermore, effective collaboration can result in greater quality assurance as communication becomes simpler and easier. Microsoft’s Lync is a good example of integrated communication channels that are not available over the cloud.

■

Cloud Though this technology has been around only recently, SMEs are accepting it rapidly as a mean to expand their IT infrastructure. Initial concerns over security of data and its ownership have given way to increased awareness of benefits from the usage of this technology. These include ready accessibility, lighter application access and lowered cost of ownership.

The most recent example of cloud based solution for SMEs has been the Office365 deployment by Microsoft. This solution represents a consistent trend as shown by initiatives of other providers who are packaging leaner and lighter versions, targeting the SME as well. This includes the customer relationship management software SalesForce, enterprise resource planning software SAP, and similar.

The Symantec’s SMB Survey 2012 found out that more than 40% of SMEs deployed public cloud in their operation while 43% used private clouds. In addition, about 34% of SMEs have already implemented or are currently deploying server virtualisation.

If you are evaluating going for a hosted solution, it will do you well to evaluate the security and disaster management approaches adopted by your provider. The market is witnessing competitive pricing, value added packaging and an aggressive push towards adoption of green IT. SMEs can benefit from this thrust greatly.

■ Devices One significant cost driver for an SME is hardware. Due to the increased acceptance by the clients, who use their own devices, SMEs are undergoing a transformation.

According to the SME Market Sentiment Survey, a majority of business owners (about 55%) use or plan to use mobile, tablet or other similar devices in the near future. One third of business owners use tablets for business applications while 45% of owners favour buying tablets over laptops as part of their next technology purchase.

If you are considering adopting the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend at your business or if you are noticing a perceptible shift in the use of devices by

your users, you could turn this around in your favour.

Most businesses are factoring these as part of their customer touch point and team collaboration tools.

■ Mobile apps Time is of the essence in the market and businesses are making themselves accessible over fingertips.

Just think about mobile payments, online purchases, electronic invoices and even virtual storage of goods purchased. For example, a number of online bookstores have sprung up offering customers electronic versions of books that can be accessed across devices, mobile or a simple browser anytime and anywhere.

The ability to provide concise information and generate faster responses from the market makes this technology an essential one to pick. Increased market visibility, ready client accessibility along with device independence makes mobile apps a choice technology component. Restaurants have used this widely to their benefit and so have mobile payment firms.

If you are considering a mobile app for your SME, pick one that will give you more integrated features. Good examples are e-wallet or technology through which customers can directly pay from their smart phones.

These apps can push alerts to your customers as well as collect data that can help you respond intuitively to the needs of your customers. A responsive business builds loyalty and this can result in significant revenues for the SME. This month, we have taken a brief look at some of the smart technology choices through which SMEs can make the most out of technology investments.

Needless to say, it must be the SME’s business that drives these technology choices. Unless business drives these decisions, technology will not become a true business enabler.

SMEs are often faced with the question of whether they need to wade into the technology stream, and at what complexity? The trend seen today is towards keeping the automation outside the organisation through hosted solutions, data storage and protection external to the organisation through network associated storage and higher degree of accessibility through mobile solutions. The advantage to be gained is more than cost savings. Chosen well, technology can click to be of strategic benefit and growth to the SME.

APRIL 2013

51

TECHNOLOGY

BE PATIENT! Qatar is famous for supporting projects that lead to the creation and growth of technology-based companies. For that reason, Aparna Shivpuri Arya caught up with Luth-�i Ahmed, Founder, Login4IT.com, to �ind out what it takes to launch an information technology (IT) startup in Qatar.

Can you explain what Login4IT.com is and what services it offers?

Login4IT.com is a new concept in website content since it represents a one-stop shop for all important IT information. It aims to be the first place which IT professionals check when they need to source skilled IT employees, buy equipment, find a job or have any other IT related query.

Let me give you an example – a Head of IT Department in an organisation might need a new server which could be a HP or IBM system or any other. He might have a business card of one or two IT dealers who could help him. However, I thought that a portal which would allow him to search through all available HP systems and get the list of all providers in Qatar would be more useful.

What was your inspiration to set up this business?

Since I have been a senior sales consultant for Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions for many years, I understand how such IT systems benefit businesses.

ERP systems integrate information across an entire organisation and automate it. These systems can cover and connect various departments of an organisation – HR, finance and accounting, manufacturing, sales and services, customer relationship management, and more.

This facilitates the flow of information throughout the organisation as well as to its customers and stakeholders.

Naturally, these organisations become more efficient and, therefore, profitable.

Also, I am aware that people in the industry want to keep abreast of all events and IT conventions in the country. But, I have been noticing the lack of proper and timely advertising of these events. For example, you might have heard that Microsoft planned to organise an event to launch a product, but you could not find all necessary details about it and, thus, could not attend it.

But, what I noticed, while dealing with ERP solutions, was that once I provided such a system to an organisation, they would need an additional help – either personnel to manage it or advice on how to obtain servers and networking equipment. I used to utilise my business contacts to offer them the best solutions or find skilled professionals to help them out.

That’s how, I got the idea of creating a platform which would serve as: ■ A directory for all IT products available in Qatar, which would list the best offers, including the exact locations where various systems could be sourced from ■ A job portal for skilled IT professionals to upload their resumes in order to be found by potential employers. That service was not available in Qatar.

52

In addition, I realised that we needed news digest which would streamline all interesting and relevant IT news from various websites and group them together in one place for convenience of a reader. Therefore, I added that service to login4IT.com.

Basically, Login4IT.com serves as a comprehensive guide for all IT professionals to cater to all their needs – from personnel or software enquires to information about the latest news and events in Qatar.

Why did you choose to establish this business in Qatar?

I come from Hyderabad, a part of India which the Indian government intends to make a world leader in IT. Thus, the importance and usefulness of it is very well understood there.

When I came to Qatar, I found quite successful businesses which didn’t even have a decent website or a streamlined computer system to help them run their businesses. People would have huge business operations without having a secure IT system to support it. Therefore, I decided to help.

TECHNOLOGY In Qatar, we are fortunate to have ictQATAR’s Incubation Centre, Potential, Bedaya and Enterprise Qatar. Although I didn’t get financial help from them, I was really motivated and inspired after attending their programmes and events.

How did you set up your business?

First, I established a portal development company called Zainsheen Website Developers. Then I employed the best designers and programmers I could find at that time. In order to comply with the legal requirements for setting up a business in Qatar, I found a Qatari partner and, lastly, I rented an office which I could afford.

Luth-fi Ahmed is the Founder of Login4IT.com and Zainsheen Website Developers. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) degree, with a specialisation in marketing.

He has more than ten years of professional experience. Luthfi can be contacted at luthfe@zainsheen.com

To generate revenue until Login4IT.com could become selffunded, I started taking orders for website development through Zainsheen. Since I have been in this market for a long time and have met a lot of people who needed these kinds of services, I have been able to target them.

When I finally structured my business plan, I realised that there were many other commercial aspects of the website.

In the initial phase, all services on the portal are free. To generate revenue through Login4IT.com at a later stage, we plan to charge a subscription fee for all organisations seeking to get access to thousands of resumes uploaded to the website. Secondly, we plan to promote shops that offer special promotions on IT products.

How did you fund your business?

In Qatar, we are fortunate to have ictQATAR’s Incubation Centre, Potential, Bedaya and Enterprise Qatar. Although I didn’t get financial help from them, I was really motivated and inspired after attending their programmes and events.

I managed to fund the business through my personal savings. I think it would be very helpful for new businesses in Qatar to get a free sponsorship until they become profitable. If the free sponsorship existed at least during a startup’s first year, many more entrepreneurs could succeed here. The reason is that covering these costs becomes easier as soon as the startup begins to make some profit. Also, affordable office space could also help, since it represents an enormous expense for most of the new businesses in Qatar. Lastly, discounted stalls for startups at the big events, like QITCOM, during their first year would also benefit them a lot.

What is your marketing strategy for login4IT.com?

I combine online and offline marketing. I use natural search, SEO, and utilise email marketing strategies. I combine this with social media, but I have also found word of mouth to be a potent marketing tool. If you are knowledgeable and offer good service, people will hear about you.

54

I intend to exhibit at trade shows and fairs as well as promote my business in schools, companies and road shows. Last year, we had a stall at GITEX 2012, and we were the only Qatar-based company to be present there. We got a very good response and garnered a lot of interest, so I am highly optimistic about the future.

What were some of your main challenges?

My main challenge was to find the right personnel to create the portal. I always need highly qualified IT professionals since my portal combines complicated programming with a user-friendly concept which is complex to design.

Other challenges related to sourcing the right personnel for sales and design and setting up the office structure. I also needed to revaluate the idea because, at first, I thought I could make a global concept out of it, but now I realise I need to focus mainly on Qatar and the Gulf region.

What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurs in the IT sector?

Be patient. Particularly in Qatar, things take time, but if you have the skills and a good idea, then you can succeed here.

In addition, I would advise them not to depend only on the revenue from Google Adsense or any other banner advert as it is not cost-effective enough during the first few years. Also, it is necessary to think in terms of what the industry needs as opposed to what you would like to do for the industry. Make sure to identify a need first.

What does the future hold for login4IT.com?

Login4IT.com aims to be the go-to place for all IT professionals and to cater to all their needs.

We will be focusing heavily on the jobs section of the website since there is a growing demand for skilled IT professionals in Qatar. Furthermore, there is a wealth of skilled professionals to be found around the world.

I aim to bridge this gap and bring this skilled set of professionals to the industries and organisations in Qatar.

Plans are also underway for an e-commerce section of the website. It will allow consumers to safely source stateof-the-art technology equipment from iPhones to highend enterprise solutions.

We are also developing a glossary of IT terms since some people don’t necessarily know all of the terms used and their correct meanings. With this option they will be able just to enter the word and receive the definition.

I have gathered all the best IT-related blogs and forums on the website. So far, the service that we provide has been well received. There really is a wide gap in the market with respect to where this kind of various information should be. So, we are delighted to be plugging that gap.