Private Sector Qatar - May 2013 | English by Private Sector Qatar

MAY 2013 privatesectorqatar.com/en

LEAD STRATEGIC PARTNER

SUCCESS STORY

Our story highlights the journey of a very intersting Qatari

WORLD CHAMBER CONGRESS We bring you the best of the interesting discussions

BUILDING A LEGACY FAMILY BUSINESSES IN QATAR

PUBLICATION LICENSED BY IMPZ

MANAGEMENT

Get to know how to multi-task while managing various projects

LEGAL

Learn all about protecting your trade secrets

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CONTENTS May 2013

22 #ARABSTARTUP Private Sector Qatar was at the 6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition to share with you the best ideas of 170 young entrepreneurs from 20 Arab countries.

Legal 24 TOP SECRET! David Salt, Managing Partner, and Feras Alkasab, Associate, Clyde & Co’s Doha Office, analyse Qatar’s Law No. (5) of 2005 on the Protection of Secrets of Trade.

Business advice

IN THE INTEREST OF ALL! The 8th World Chambers Congress: “Opportunities for All” (ICC WCF) was held from 22nd to 25th April 2013 at Doha’s Qatar National Convention Center. Private Sector Qatar brings to you the coverage of the whole event.

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

About town 12 FACE THE CHALLENGES! Private Sector Qatar brings to you more details about the events and new programmes of the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development.

14 APPRECIATE YOUR ASSETS Private Sector Qatar brings to you the main highlights from the “Bloomberg Doha Conference”, which was held on 8th and 9th April 2013 at the St. Regis Hotel, Doha.

18 IN THE INTEREST OF ALL!: The 8th World Chambers Congress: “Opportunities for All” (ICC WCF) was held from 22nd to 25th April 2013 at Doha’s Qatar National Convention Center. Private Sector Qatar didn’t miss the opportunity to cover the first ever congress held in the Middle East region.

26 BRAND YOURSELF SUCCESSFULLY! Jeanine Bailey, Co-Founder and Director, Empower People, explains what your personal brand says about you as an entrepreneur.

28 SEEK VALUABLE ADVICE SMEs undoubtedly face initial challenges regarding planning, managing resources, internal control and regulatory compliance. Saimali Nath, Manager of Accounting Services, PwC Qatar, advises them how to overcome all these obstacles..

Entrepreneur 30 LIVE YOUR VALUES! In the second interview in a series, which is aimed at presenting the members of EO Qatar Chapter, Patrick Forbes, CEO, Forbes Associates, spoke to Aparna Shivpuri Arya about the importance of business and personal reputation in the Arab world.

32 ATM IN YOUR POCKET Within the series on SILA Angel Investment Network finalists, Yahya Al-Salqan, Ph.D., President and CEO, Qatar Mobile Banking (QBM), explains how he has developed QBM’s multiple mobile phone applications.

Management 40 REACH YOUR GOALS! Simon Trafford, Director, Quantex Qatar, Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers, advises how to control the costs of construction works within various projects lining up in Qatar.

Success story 42 MINDSET AS A DIFFERENTIATOR In a conversation with Tamara Pupic, Abdulla Ahmed Mannai, Chairman and Managing Director, Oryx Engineering Solutions Group (OES), looked back at his entrepreneurial journey so far and revealed the secrets of his success.

42 Technology 34 A VITAL ROLE Businesses leaders have acknowledged the benefits of IT investments. For this reason, Aparna Shivpuri Arya got talking to Soubhi Chebib, General Manager, GBM Qatar, about GBM’s activities in Qatar and what is there for SMEs.

Sector study 36 THE FAMILY MATTERS

TASDEER 47 WELL DONE!

Historically, there has been more to family businesses in Qatar and the whole region than just annual profit figures and ambitious business plans. Tamara Pupic takes a look at various aspects of this important pillar of Qatar’s economy.

TASDEER supported participation of eight leading food products’ exporters from Qatar in the Gulfood 2013. We bring you their feedbacks.

48 PROVIDING THE BEST Salim Pathan, General Manager, Qatar Flour Mills Co, explained to Jenny Kassis the steps their company is taking to provide exceptional food products to the Qatari market.

50 CONFIDENCE IN QUALITY At the Gulfood 2013, Tamara Pupic visited the Qatar Pavilion, which was organised by TASDEER, and got talking to Mubarak Rashid Al-Sahuti, Chairman, National Food Company (NAFCO), to hear more about Qatar’s food sector.

52 THE RIGHT FORMULA

Jenny Kassis spoke to Gianfrancesco Peretti, General Manger, Colosseum Doha, to learn more about their Italian products in the Qatari market.

MAY 2013

EDITORIAL Publisher Dominic De Sousa Group COO Nadeem Hood

Mind over matter….

Managing Director Richard Judd richard.judd@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9126

There is a quote we often hear- Age is an issue of mind over matter, if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter. And it seems to aptly apply to entrepreneurs all over the world. I was just reading some numbers the other day and according to research done by the Kaufman Foundation, 29% of the entrepreneurs are in the age group of 45-44, 34% in the age group of 35-44 and only 18% below the age of 24. Isn’t that reassuring and motivating?

EDITORIAL Senior Editor Aparna Shivpuri Arya aparna.arya@cpimediagroup.com +971 440 9133 Assistant Editor - English Tamara Pupic tamara.pupic@cpimediagroup.com +971 440 9130 Assistant Editor - Arabic Jenny Kassis jenny.kassis@cpimediagroup.com +971 440 9116 ADVERTISING Commercial Director Chris Stevenson chris.stevenson@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9138 CIRCULATION Database and Circulation Manager Rajeesh M rajeesh.nair@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9147 OPERATIONS AND DESIGN Production Manager James P Tharian james.tharian@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9146 Head of Design Fahed Sabbagh fahed.sabbagh@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9132

So take heart in the fact that it’s never too late. There is no age limit on being an entrepreneur and sometimes the experience that comes with age and doing some other jobs goes a long way in helping us become better entrepreneurs. On this happy note, please turn the pages of our May issue and read a very interesting piece by Tamara on family businesses, which are a very important part of Qatar’s private sector. We also extensively covered the ICC World Trade Agenda Summit and the 8th World Chambers Congress and it was an excellent opportunity to listen to the experts on the state of trade, women in business and entrepreneurs. I am sure you’ll enjoy our write up on these events. Jenny on the other hand got the chance to attend the 6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition and met some interesting people, whom we’ll be writing about in the coming months. We have also been working very hard on putting together our Private Sector Qatar Success Series events. I hope you’ll join us on the 10th of June for our forum on technology and business. Registrations are open and we promise you it is an event you wouldn’t want to miss, with the lineup of speakers we have! Look forward to seeing you all soon…

Till then..

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

Aparna Shivpuri Arya, Senior Editor, Private Sector Qatar Talk to us: E-mail: aparna.arya@cpimediagroup.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

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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.

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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.

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

The key export-related areas

Qatar Development Bank and the International Trade Centre (ITC), subsidiary organisation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations (UNCTAD), joined hands to organise a two-day workshop on export competitiveness at the Hilton Hotel in Doha. The workshop, stretching over 17th and 18th April 2013, included a series of intensive seminars on four key export-related areas – marketing and branding, export quality and standards, export packaging solutions and supply chain management. Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive Director, QDB’s Export Development Agency TASDEER, welcomed attendees and ITC officials, Ashish Shah, Head of Office for Arab Countries and Senior Coordinator for ITC

President Office, Lamia Thabet, International Advisor for Export Packaging, Hong Siew LIM, Senior Adviser of Enterprise Value Chain Competitiveness, Khemraj Ramful, Senior Adviser of Export Quality Management, Lilia Naas Hachem, Business Development Manager, Project Competitiveness, and James Hao, Senior Advisor in Export and Brand Marketing. Mansour Bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, CEO, QDB, said, “This is one of our key workshops this year and to that effect, we have ensured to partner with a global organisation such as the ITC owing to its unmatched pedigree and track record in trade and export. We firmly believe that non-oil Qatari exporters would highly appreciate the significance of the areas we are exploring during this workshop.”

Al Mansoori further added, “TASDEER aims at developing the Qatari non-oil exports and diversifying the exports of Qatar. One of our key objectives is to enhance the capacities and capabilities of the Qatari exporters for them to be aligned with global best practices. At TASDEER, we regularly champion initiatives and programmes with the aim of strongly developing a world-class export industry in the country. For example, we have previously organised workshops covering Trademap, GSP, Single Window System, and exporting to Morocco. We have also held a panel discussion on the Arab Free Trade Agreement in association with ITC again.” “Our workshop on export competitiveness helped attendees identify new market opportunities. Additionally, it showed Qatari exporters how to meet the international buyer’s requirements and the regulatory environment prevalent within the importing countries. Moreover, the workshop educated them on techniques to maximise performance and optimise the export value chain, all of which are keys to success to becoming global players,” concluded Al Mansoori. ITC officials explained the four key aspects of the workshop and demonstrated how Qatari exporters can implement each of these techniques to enhance their operations and better understand the various nuances of international trade.

QATAR’S FIRST 4G NETWORK On 16 th April 2013, Ooredoo announced the official launch of its 4G long term evolution (LTE) network, bringing the country’s fastest-ever mobile broadband experience to life. Ooredoo is launching the service on a phased basis, with 4G speeds initially available in Doha and the Sealine district, and plans in place to add to the total number of towers every month. With Ooredoo 4G, customers can experience connection speeds that are three-to-six times faster than the existing 3G network.

Waleed Al Sayed, CEO, Ooredoo Qatar, said, “This is an important day for Qatar and for Ooredoo, as we launch the fastest-ever mobile Internet. We are taking a bold step forward into the 4G era, with mobile devices seamlessly delivering online content at the fastest-ever speeds. We are focused upon offering mobile Internet “at the speed of life” with Ooredoo 4G, and we will be adding to the total number of towers supporting 4G throughout the year to deliver this.” Customers will need to use mobile devices that are

compatible with 80 0 MHz and 2,600 MHz frequencies to enjoy the benefits of 4G, which include less latency and faster speeds. By the end of 2014, all inhabited areas of Qatar will

be covered by Ooredoo’s 4G LTE network. Ooredoo is even making sure that highways and major road connections are on the network, so customers can experience 4G speeds even while on the move. Ooredoo is also working on plans to make 4G available on SmartPhones in Qatar.

Recovery for Asian economies Asian economies will likely grow faster in 2013 than in 2012, but the pace of expansion will remain subdued largely because of a weaker-than-expected recovery in China. While China, South Korea, India and Australia bore the brunt of the downgrades ranging from 0.1% point to 1%, estimates for Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan were upgraded in the poll. Still, those growth rates are much higher than what developed

economies are expected to clock in 2013. The US economy will likely average 2% growth in 2013, while the Eurozone is expected to go through another recession in 2013. “2013 is going to be a good growth year for Asia, particularly if we start to see global growth improving in the second half of the year,” said Rob Subbaraman, Chief Economist for Asia, Nomura, Hong Kong. But, risks to even modest growth projections are a plenty. Much depends on how China performs

in 2013, whether the US economy manages to grow at a stronger pace and whether the Eurozone can contain its three-year old debt crisis. China’s economic growth is forecast to pick up slightly to 8.0% in 2013, after an unexpected slowdown in the first quarter that forced economists to lower their earlier predictions. And, after a strong start to the year, the US economy is set to slow as some of the effects of government spending cuts take hold. Still, the labour market is expected to continue healing this year, even after last month’s disappointingly weak job gains.

The Indian economy is expected to remain subdued in 2013 and any recovery will be gradual as government spending and interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of India revive domestic demand. A separate poll of over 60 economists showed that the world economy is expected to grow 3.2% in 2013 from an expected 3.1% expansion in 2012. Analysts said the recent fall in commodity prices will help Asian economies, which are some of the biggest importers of oil, base and precious metals like iron and gold.

SAVE THE DATE!

MAY – JUNE 2013

Date

Event

Location

6 - 8 May

International Trade Exihibition for partners and franchise - ITE QATAR 2013

Doha

6 - 8 May

4th Middle East Bitumen – ASPHALT 2013

Doha

6 - 9 May

Energy Qatar

Doha Exhibition Centre

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 Doha

14 - 15 May

The GCC Infra Lighting Concepts Summit

14 - 16 May

Conference on Exhibition, Qatar Telecom and Information -QITCOM 2013

Doha

14 - 16 May

Made in Japan

Doha Exhibition Centre

17 - 19 May

Middle East Forum on Quality Improvement in Healthcare 2013

Qatar National Convention Center

26 - 30 May

Project Management Week

Doha

27 - 29 May

Cityscape Qatar

Doha Exhibition Centre

27 - 29 May

MEED Qatar Transport

Doha Exhibition Centre Doha

27- 29 May

Qatar Real Estate Summit

2 - 5 June

World Stadium Congress Series

Doha

4 - 6 June

CHRVI Qatar

Doha

4 - 9 June

International Conference and Exhibition for Industrial Cooling and Heating Systems and Insulation

Doha Exhibition Centre

10 June

PSQ Success Series – Innovation for business: The importance of ICT

Renaissance Hotel West Bay, Doha

13 - 14 June

34th Session of the Ministerial Council for OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)

Doha

16 - 19 June

Made in America

Doha Exhibition Centre

27 June - 6 July

Doha Trade Fair

Doha Exhibition Centre

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

MAY 2013

ABOUT TOWN

FACE THE CHALLENGES! During April 2013, the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development focused on important topics such as networking and social media. Furthermore, they are starting a new programme to help you enhance your business performance. Private Sector Qatar brings to you more details. C

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. Importance of social media On 13th April 2013, the Bedaya Center organised a workshop on social media for entrepreneurs. The workshop was run by Faisal Al Haithami, Social Media Specialist, who discussed the benefits of using social media to market businesses. He also presented the advanced ways of creating a social media campaign. Over 60 entrepreneurs attended this session and, due to their positive feedbacks, the Bedaya Center will be running a second addition to this workshop. Share your ideas! 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. Young entrepreneurs and businessmen gathered on Sunday, 14th April 2013 for the Bedaya Center’s

monthly Second Sunday Networking event which featured a talk on “Laser Sharp Networking” by Bijay Shah, National Director for Business Network International (BNI) in the UAE. BNI is the largest business networking organisation in the world, which provides a positive, supportive, and structured environment to exchange quality business referrals. They offer members the opportunity to share ideas, contacts and most importantly business referrals. Last year alone, the members of BNI passed thousands of referrals, which generated over USD three billion worth of business for each other. F3el Programme In partnership with US Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), the Bedaya Center is introducing the “F3el”, a one year programme. The programme aims at focusing on 12 established businesses that are currently facing growth challenges. The result should be in equipping them with better skills to succeed. The centre’s goal is to support businesses with educational programmes in finance, debt restructuring, leadership, operational management, sales, marketing, and other business related topics. In addition to mentorship programmes, these lectures should provide them with additional skills and information which will help them succeed in their business. To be part of this programme, please contact the Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development via info@bedaya.qa.

CMY

ABOUT TOWN

APPRECIATE

YOUR ASSETS The second edition of “Bloomberg Doha Conference”, hosted by Bloomberg Link in association with the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, was held on 8th and 9th April 2013 at the St. Regis Hotel in Doha. Private Sector Qatar was there and brings to you the main highlights.

he main goal of the two-day conference was to examine the biggest challenges faced by asset managers within the process of globalisation. For that reason, the event brought together over 300 CEOs, asset managers, investors and prominent regional decision makers to discuss the region’s fast-growing infrastructure and rising influence in investments around the world. Nearly 16 panel discussions and one-on-one interviews covered real estate development and investment activities, development of the post revolution economies of Libya, Tunisia and Egypt, the growing appetite for Islamic finance in Asia and Middle East, the emergence of women in prominent positions and the new private wealth clients. On 8th April 2013, the conference was opened by Abdulrahman Al Shaibi, Board Member and Managing Director, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), who addressed participants on behalf of H.E. Yousef

Hussain Kamal, Minister of Economy and Finance for the State of Qatar, and said, ”Economically, Qatar is one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Growth averaged 13% a year between 2008 and 2012. Our performance translates into Qatar having one of the world’s highest per capita incomes, highest proportions of high net worth individuals and highest percentages of millionaire households. Moreover, the country’s standard of living has risen to a level comparable to the leading industrial nations. And of particular relevance to investors, Qatar’s progress continues to win international recognition from a broad range of bodies. Among the main international credit rating agencies, Standard & Poor’s has given the country a stable sovereign rating of AA+ and Moody’s has given it a stable sovereign rating of AA2. Both ratings are among the best in the world. Qatar is also seeking to raise its credit rating by two levels to AAA, which our economic and financial strength justifies. The World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 ranked Qatar as the world’s 11th

most business-friendly country, which is the highest ranking in the Middle East and three places up from last year. In the most recent Doing Business Index 2013, published by the World Bank, Qatar was ranked 40th in the world. The same report also ranked Qatar as the second most tax-friendly country in the world.” Speaking about Qatar’s investment goals, Mr. Al Shaibi explained that Qatar is becoming a source of investment opportunities, which are supported by its strategic location between the mature markets of the West and the emerging economies of Asia and Africa. In line with that, he pointed out that Qatar intends to exploit this considerable potential while asset management is vital to the future development of Qatar’s economy and financial markets. Following up on this, Shashank Srivastava CEO and Board Member, QFC Authority, stated, “The role of the QFC Authority, the strategic and commercial arm of the QFC, is to help make the choice of a financial centre easier for asset managers.” Speaking about the asset management industry, he said, “The recent MENA Asset Management Survey 2012 from the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, of which the QFC Authority was a sponsor, noted that the number of asset managers in the MENA region had grown fourfold, and the volume of the assests under management (AUM) threefold, in the last decade. It identified 1,424 active funds at the end of June 2012 with AUM of USD 89.9 billion. Locally, domiciled funds made up the great bulk of these AUM.” Invest wisely! Later during the first day of the conference, QFC Authority published the first edition of its MENA Asset Management Barometer, which is based on 45 in-depth telephone interviews with senior personnel at banks, fund management firms, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds across eight MENA countries (the GCC region, Egypt and Morocco). The barometer provides a regional overview and a detailed country-by-country breakdown of views on the different asset classes and market participants.

Key findings from QFC Authority’s MENA Asset Management Barometer include: ■ 70% of managers are confident about the continued growth of the MENA financial markets ■ 38% believe political unrest to be the largest negative impact on local markets ■ 80% believe the increased spending of governments is the largest positive impact on local markets ■ 42% believe equities will be the best performing asset class of 2013 ■ 77% believe the largest operational expense will come from regulation and compliance During the “MENA Asset Management Barometer” press briefing, Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida, Chief Strategic Development Officer, QFC Authority, said that the stock and real estate markets in Qatar received a lot of investments which increased the 2012 prices to the pre-crisis levels. The reason for this recovery is in the fact that the majority of Qatari wealth has been invested within the country. Speaking about Sharia compliant finance, Yousuf explained that, in spite of the investors’ increased appetite for Sharia products, the regulatory framework is not as much in favour of Islamic finance as it is for conventional banks. However, the positive sign is within the recent QCA regulation which envisages that the commercial banks will no longer be allowed to offer Islamic finance products. This solution will provide for higher growth of Islamic financial institutions. In his opinion undergoing discussions for establishment of the MENA Islamic bank will further facilitate a major move towards these products. Interesting points were raised during the session “Post Revolution Economies: Libya, Egypt and Tunisia” which addressed the possibilities for economic reforms under the new leaderships in these countries. Hashem Montasser, Chief Executive and CIO, Aventicum Capital Management (Qatar), expressed concern that all fundamental economic indicators in these countries are worrisome. He added that solution is not just in obtaining adequate help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but in the political will to identify and implement economic drivers which will lead further growth. In order to increase investors’ confidence, these countries should ensure political stability and visibility of their future economic plans. He further added that regional transitional governments have a narrow political mandate which does not enable them to establish long-term strategies. Following up on that, Tarek M. Yousef, CEO, Silatech, stated that the IMF didn’t take conditions of change in these countries seriously enough and, thus, failed to support the long-term reform. In his opinion, the IMF and other international institutions should avoid imposing additional pressure on these countries. Furthermore, he stated that the rich Arab countries, with an exception of Qatar, will need to do more in helping these transitional economies. Speaking about

MAY 2013

ABOUT TOWN unemployment issues affecting the youth in the region, Mr. Yousef clarified that the youth unemployment issue is exactly the reason why the Arab spring happened in the first place. Therefore, Mr. Yousef explained that the political stability and economic and legal reforms should consequently open more employment opportunities for the regional youth. During the special session dedicated to Mohammed AlShroogi, President, Gulf Business, Investcorp, he shared some valuable advice on investing with the participants, “We scan 30 to 40 companies to find the best one. Once we decide which one will be our final choice, we screen all details of its business properly. The reason is that you are buying or investing in your future and, therefore, need to do deep due diligence to determine whether that company will bring proper ROI. In line with that, please note that we conclude only three to four deals a year since a lot of research has to be done for each of them.” Real eState of our future The next panel “Real Estate from Dubai to Baghdad”, addressed the growth of the regional real estate markets, about which Nicholas Maclean, Managing Director, Middle East Region, CBRE, said,“The arrival of investors from the US, Europe and South East Asia to the region has increased the demand within the commercial real estate sector for 30%. However, they face difficulties due to the lack of landing rights for those interested in building.” The discussion further pointed out that the real estate sector has several hidden risks since most of the investors base their decisions only on the current data. Consequently, they are willing to invest only when the market is reaching it peaks. Karim El Solh, Co-Founder and CEO, Gulf Capital, briefly described their experience in the regional real estate market, “We scan each of the regional markets to determine where are the niche opportunities which should provide for the highest return on investment (ROI). For example, in Abu Dhabi it is in the retail sector. The main feature of the region is that investors require higher returns to enter the deal since they fear of political instability. For that reason, we need to ensure 15% to 20% of ROI in order to attract global investors.” Regarding the real estate sector in Qatar, the panelists expressed concern that preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2022 will absorb a lot of resources and might put Qatar’s real estate market at risk if the country doesn’t find another driver of the economy after this event. Similar opinions were exchanged during the “Qatar 2022 World Cup Infrastructure” panel since Eng. Nabeel Mohammed A R Al Buenain, Project Executive Director, New Doha Port Project, pointed out, “The New Doha Port Project has various components which are important not only for FIFA World Cup 2022, but also for realisation of the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030. However, we don’t want to see development of the FIFA World Cup 2022 related projects without development of the involved Qatari businesses.”

The New Doha Port will enable linkage between regional ports and increase confidence among regional countries that their ports will be able to utilise transshipments. He further supported this expectation by conveying that meetings of heads of regional ports are being held regularly, “We help and complement each other through our ports. We meet on a regular basis to ensure that our ports are built in a manner which will ensure future cooperation. Therefore, I have already modified some aspects of our project in order to comply with our future business cooperation plans.” He concluded by saying that all the projects’ contractors have already committed to operate through the port since 2016. Stressing the importance of the New Doha Port, Dr. Tarek Coury, Chief Economist, Tanween, said, “Economic growth in Qatar will be driven by the non-hydrocarbon sector which is still heavily reliant on retained earnings from the oil and gas sector. So, the main question is how to economically diversify and not rely on the oil and gas sector? I believe that the infrastructure and transportation developments envisaged through the New Doha Port project, will bring more income from sources other than oil and gas.” Dr. Coury also pointed out that the vast investments in the infrastructure carry the risk of price escalation in Qatar. In more details, he said, “Currently, the prices of raw materials in Doha are the highest in the region. Going further, we assume that extensive infrastructure spending will increase prices even more. For that reason, development of the new port is crucial for control of prices. Basically, the port will provide for the opportunity to consolidate warehouse and logistic services and, thus, prevent price escalation.” The conference assured us that the regional asset managers have every reason to be confident about their future projects. Furthermore, the discussions confirmed their positive contribution to Qatar’s economy and regional financial markets. Therefore, we will make sure to follow the progress.

Innovation for business: THE IMPORTANCE OF ICT

10th JUNE 2013

RENAISSANCE HOTEL, DOHA

For any registration enquiries please contact bitevents@cpidubai.com or call +971 4 368 6900

QATAR SUCCESS SERIES INNOVATION FOR BUSINESS: THE IMPORTANCE OF ICT The role that technology plays for the private sector cannot be taken for granted since it affects growth of entrepreneurs, SMEs and large enterprises on three crucial levels â&#x20AC;&#x201C; business development, cross-border trade and investment opportunities. Technology also offers startups and SMEs the opportunity to do business in a cost and time effective manner. With the advent of social media and virtual ofďŹ ces, setting up a business and marketing has been given a completely different meaning. Therefore we decided to bring together experts to discuss these issues and bring forth the latest developments through our Forum on Innovation for Business: The importance of ICT Please join us to get to know how you can grow and sustain your business through technology!

ABOUT TOWN

IN THE INTEREST OF ALL! The 8th World Chambers Congress: “Opportunities for All” (ICC WCF) was held from 22nd to 25th April 2013 at Doha’s Qatar National Convention Center. The event provided for stimulating discussions of current international business and chamber issues featuring leading political and business �igures. It was the �irst ever congress to be held in the Middle East and Private Sector Qatar didn’t miss the opportunity to collect the most interesting discussion points.

ith the theme of “Beyond Doha” the ICC World Trade Summit Agenda, which was held on 22nd April 2013, brought together business leaders, government officials and trade experts to deliberate on what steps need to be taken to revive the Doha round. The summit was an opportunity for the delegates to give their stamp of approval to a final set of business priorities that would provide a debt-free stimulus to the global economy. The summit was opened by His Excellency, Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, Deputy Prime Minister, Qatar, who said that constructive dialogue between all parities is needed in a way that will put the interest of all before the interests of the individual. He also emphasised on the importance of the private sector and its involvement since it is

this sector that has the knowledge to identify key investment opportunities. He further added that the Doha Development Agenda was launched in 2001 with the aim to integrate the developing countries and LDCs into the global economy. However, the developed countries have stuck to their protectionist measures, and as a result the developing countries and LDCs have also not reciprocated. Therefore, the aim of the initiative taken by the ICC is that countries should reach new goals for trade and investment and create a balanced economy. The sentiment was also echoed by Remy Rowhany, CEO, Qatar Chamber of Commerce, who said that peace and prosperity are the core objectives of the ICC and one way of achieving that is through trade. “This is why the QCCI along with the ICC has come up with

the World Trade Agenda, which asks for involving the private sector to solve the trade stalemate,” he remarked.

employment gains of nine million jobs. All the panelists agreed that it was the lack of political will which was responsible for blocking the DDA.

Elaborating on the World Trade Agenda, Victor K. Fung, Honorary Chairman, World Trade Agenda (WTA), said that today the world faces two challenges – first, the DDA is stalled, even though all the members agree on 80% of the agenda. Second, WTO needs to evolve to have a trading system fit for the 21st century, as science, technology and commerce have evolved, and WTO needs to catch up.

The plenary on “What Power Shifts in the Global Economy Means for World Trade and Business”, the panelists discussed how the global economic integration and ICT revolution have altered the patterns of world trade. Speaking on this issue, world-renowned economist, Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor, Columbia University, said that Doha Round is in the ICU and no one seems to be talking about it. He also pointed out that countries need to lay off from criticising outsourcing – since outsourcing is a part of trade and what is export for one country, is import for another. He also remarked that the WTO is like a tripod with three legs – the multilateral trading system, rule making and dispute settlement. If the first leg is broken then the tripod won’t be stable. Success, when it comes to trade and investment is defined only through one word – growth.

The five business priorities identified under the WTA were: ■ Conclude a trade facilitation agreement ■ Implement duty-free and quota-free market access for exports from least developed countries ■ Phase out agricultural export subsidies ■ Renounce food export restrictions ■ Expand trade in IT products and encourage the growth of e-commerce worldwide Victor highlighted that by simplifying customs procedures, through trade facilitation measures alone, member countries would deliver global job gains of 21 million, with developing countries gaining more than 18 million jobs. Another issue that was discussed over and over again was the liberalisation of trade in services. It is estimated that the pay off for liberalising trade in services could generate trade gains of USD 1.1 trillion, which could translate into global

In the next session on “What Business Needs from Trade and the WTO,” discussions centered on finding alternate ways to get around the trade impasse. It was pointed out that the WTO has not been able to perform its legislative functions and RTAs have grown, thus hindering the multilateral trading system. According to David C. Chavern, COO, US Chamber of Commerce, business is the answer and not the problem. He also said that the US is excited about International Services Agreement (ISA) and that if it is signed then it’ll

MAY 2013

ABOUT TOWN by H.H. Sheikh Tamim. With the participation of a variety of sectors, the exhibition was the largest in the history of the World Chamber Congress, and aimed at providing opportunities to companies to showcase their products and services. In the exhibition hall, we got talking to Dilek Ayhan, Board Member, Oslo Chamber of Commerce, who said, “I am pleased to see that there are so many people attending this year’s conference in Qatar and that there are so many of them from countries which don’t usually attend these events. I believe that chambers have very important role as a bridge between cultures and in enhancing business growth.”

Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani

create more jobs, revenue and market access. David also stressed on the importance of protecting IP rights. Speaking on these issues from an Indian perspective, R.V Kanoria, Chairman, Kanoria Chemicals and Industries, and President of FICCI, remarked that in India the emphasis is on distribution of wealth rather than creation of wealth since the gap between the rich and the poor has grown. This makes it difficult to make a case for an open economy. “The Indian economy has grown, but 60% of the GDP comes from services, which means it’s a jobless growth,” stated Kanoria. The sessions ended, with one of the speakers making a very interesting statement - “Hope is not a strategy!” Therefore, while we can hope that the Doha Round will move forward, we definitely need to have another strategy in place to make this a reality. The profound lesson of harmony On 23rd April 2013, the 8th World Chambers Congress was officially opened in the presence of His Highness the Heir Apparent and Deputy Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Chairman, Qatar Chamber and ICC Qatar, said, “We can all be proud of the great success of this congress in Qatar. We ask delegates to take with them the profound lesson of harmony and understanding that has become the hallmark of this event and share the message of hope with the people of their countries, now and in the future.” The congress saw in attendance delegates from 143 countries whilst more than 135 exhibitors and over 250 media persons were also participating. The 8th WCC Exhibition, which spread over 10,000sqm and with nearly 140 exhibitors, was officially opened

Later on, we talked to Fatema Aleghfeli, Board Member of the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Board Member of the United Arab Emirates International Chamber of Commerce, who stated, “SMEs are important to every chamber of commerce because of their influence on the market. In the UAE and many other countries, we have programmes to help them start, get special rates, financing and training. Through these kinds of events, we help them to find partners.” When asked about the cooperation among chambers, Fatema continued, “I think we can capitalise a little bit more on mutually supporting our businesses. It can be done by connecting them and providing them with trainings on how to operate, position in the market, and so on. And, of course, by giving them more finance. The idea of having small businesses is good, but not enough. Why wouldn’t SMEs have factories? At the end of the day, it will benefit the whole country. Thus, I would push for giving them more finance. Because these are young people, full of energy, and they can do a lot – they can really impress you!” A highlight of the 8th World Chambers Congress was the World Chambers Competition, which is the only global awards programme to recognise the most innovative projects undertaken by chambers from all over the world. The 2013 World Chambers Competition included the following categories: ■ Best corporate social responsibility project ■ Best international project ■ Best small business project ■ Best unconventional project ■ Best youth entrepreneurship project In order to hear the experience of some of the participants, we talked to Mojca Osojnik, Project Manager, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia, who explained, ”Within the competition for the best unconventional project, I will present our “VIP Certificate – Excellent SME” project. The overall aim of the project, from our perspective, is to increase market transparency and promote good business practices among SMEs. For SMEs, it is to

get a better position within the market. We hope it will be adopted by other chambers as well.” When asked about her experience from attending the congress, Mojca said, “I am pleased to be here since cooperation between Qatar and Slovenia is starting slowly, especially regarding mutual construction projects.” The plenary sessions The congress included a series of plenary and workshop sessions offering practical solutions, case studies, new products and services in order to help and enable chambers of commerce to improve their performance. During the plenary session “Education and Business”, Prof.Dr. Hans-Jorg Schmidt-Tranz, CEO, Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, presented an interesting point, “The quality of products is a function of the workers’ qualifications. High qualification is not sufficient for business success. It needs to be the right education for that particular business. Only in that manner we can add value to the company’s performance in the market.” Following up on this, Ilker Baybars, Dean and CEO, Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, said, “The CMU’s mission is to create, disseminate and transfer knowledge to the society. Therefore, the most important feature of education is to find its use within a society.” We also attended the“Women mean business” plenary session which focused on the role that women play in creating prosperous societies. Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani, Founder and Chairman, Arab International Women’s Forum, led the session and started by saying that when women prosper, family and countries also flourish. She also added that progress made by women in the past few years shouldn’t be put on the margin – the number of women holding ministerial positions along with the number of women choosing entrepreneurship instead of traditional business have grown. Maelle Gavet, CEO, OZON Holdings, shared with the audience her experience of being a female CEO, “A woman is equal to any man. If we need more women in business, we need more men to help them grow their businesses.” Leena Linnainmaa, Deputy Chief Executive,Finland Chamber of Commerce, talked about how promoting women executives through self-regulation is a strategic goal of her chamber. She further added, “Women should be less self-critical.They should network more and engage in mentoring activities.The employers should facilitate career paths for women as they do for men.” During the same day, we attended “CEO Succession – Keeping your Organisation Strong” session, which was moderated by Verenetta Walker, Vice President of Consulting, Training and Assessments, BoardSource.

It emphasised the fact that leadership transition planning should be an integral part of a chamber’s strategic and operation plans. Succession planning is a process for ensuring that the most qualified person is always running the organisation. The attendants discussed the idea of choosing a board member to serve as the CEO in order to keep the organisation strong. Vernetta pointed it out that a board member should not serve as a CEO because of the conflict of interest, which should be avoided. Zlakto Kalenikov, President, Macedonian Chambers of Commerce, shared his experience since he is planning to leave the organisation soon. Thus, he has already prepared the succession steps in order to ensure that the next leader will sustainably enable the growth of the organisation.

Haifa Fahoum Al Kaylani

The session “Entrepreneurship Ecosystem for Inclusive Growth”, which was organised by the Center for International Private Enterprise, shared case studies of successful programmes and approaches of various chambers, which are used to advance business ecosystems The speakers agreed that new jobs are needed all over the world and that without entrepreneurs these jobs cannot be created. Majid Shabbir, Secretary General, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “We need to look at entrepreneurship as a career and bring the young generations to the chambers.” The 8th World Chambers Congress attracted high-calibre business and chamber of commerce executives. The event in Qatar was valued within the business and chamber community as an opportunity to network with fellow chamber leaders from around the world. The 9th World Chambers Congress is due to take place in Torino, Italy in 2015.

MAY 2013

ABOUT TOWN

#ARABSTARTUP The 6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition, which was organised by MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) and co-located with Al Fikra Competition, was held from 22nd to 25th April 2013 at Katara Cultural Village, Doha. Private Sector Qatar provides you with an insight into the major themes that were discussed among the regional entrepreneurs. view of becoming the most influential entrepreneurial network in the Arab world. Noora Al Mannai, CEO, Enterprise Qatar, remarked that the joint event represented an opportunity for Qatar-based entrepreneurs to test their ideas by collaborating and competing with the region’s leading entrepreneurs, and added, “We offered entrepreneurs a chance to win cash and non-cash prizes that will help them to be successful and competitive both in Qatar and abroad.”

he 6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition was one of the biggest and most comprehensive gathering of entrepreneurs, and entrepreneur support organisations, in the region this year. The four-day event brought together the best 170 young entrepreneurs from 20 Arab countries, who have qualified for the finals of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Enterprise Forum (MITEF) Arab Startup Competition (from 13,000 who entered the competition) with 20 of the best Qatar-based entrepreneurs who are finalists of the Al Fikra – Qatar National Business Plan Competition. Enterprise Qatar’s Al-Fikra – Qatar National Business Plan Competition is designed to encourage the establishment of new companies and foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Qatar. The Al-Fikra 2013 aims to leverage expertise in the most challenging aspects of building a successful innovation-based company. These challenges include accessing training, early stage-capital and mentors that can help turn ideas into tangible businesses. Four winning teams from the Al-Fikra 2013 got the opportunity to join the MITEF 2013 finalists and compete alongside ten shortlisted teams for a chance to win the grand prize. The MIT Enterprise Forum of the Pan Arab Region was launched in Beirut in 2006 as one of the eleven international chapters of the MIT Enterprise Forum. The Pan Arab Region chapter serves the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region with a vision to develop and nurture a culture of entrepreneurship across the Arab region, in

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Hala Fadel, Chair, MIT Enterprise Forum - Pan Arab, previously commented, “We are happy to collaborate with Enterprise Qatar and Silatech and are excited to discover local talents as well as to help them on their way to success through training, networking, mentorship, and exposure.” This year, the competition was delivered in partnership with Silatech, founding partner of the SILA Angel Investment Network, and with the support of ExxonMobil and Qatar National Bank as main sponsors.

Dr. Tarik M. Yousef, CEO, Silatech, stated, “In recent years we have seen a growing recognition of the role that entrepreneurship can play in revitalising Arab economies, generating employment, and unlocking the creative potential of the Arab world. Business plan competitions such as Al-Fikra and the MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition are an exciting way to boost awareness of and interest in entrepreneurship. Silatech is proud to join with Enterprise Qatar and the MIT Enterprise Forum Pan Arab Region in supporting these initiatives.” The 6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition addressed the following topics among others – the lack of a regional trading block, the role of government support programmes, comparative experiences across the region, post-Arab spring landscapes, and technology.

We got talking to Joelle Yazbek, Programme Manager, MIT Enterprise Forum - Pan Arab, to learn about the competition process, who explained, “The MITEF Arab Startup Competition this year was first launched in October 2012 in Jordan. We did another launch in Qatar with Al Fikra. We started with 3500 teams and came up with the best 50 semi-finalists.”

Hala further shared that a study done by the Kauffman Foundation, which is the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, presented that it typically takes ten years for an ecosystem to create its first batch of entrepreneurs. Regarding this she pointed out, “In the Arab region, we have been working actively with new entrepreneurs for the last six or seven years. We started working on the ecosystem from VCs to mentors, angels, incubators and so on. It’s all in place now and we will see their deliverables hopefully four or five years from now. It’s a long cycle, but it needs to start from somewhere.”

Hala Fadel

The semi-finalists were lectured about entrepreneurship, marketing strategies and many other topics which addressed the issue of business growth in more details. Joelle further added, “We had six judges on site and they were examining the teams and their ideas. The target was to drop their number to ten finalists based on the following criteria – innovation, scalability and positive social impact contained within their startup plans. We liked the ideas that bring positive contribution to the community, such as environment friendly programmes, job creation, women empowerment projects and similar.”

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In order to get the experience of some of the teams, we talked to Bassem Fayek, Co-Founder and CEO, eddudle.com, who first told us about their project, “There are more than 50 online education platforms and 20 million users of online courses. The problem is that users can’t realise which of the platforms is the best fit for their learning preferences. That is why we figured that the world needs a special programme for online courses - you search for a course, filter down the options based on your preferences like price, rating, and workload, read some reviews by other users and, consequently, sign up to the one you like the most. If it is a paid course, we will get a percentage of the course fee from the provider. In this manner, eddudle.com will capture the opportunity worth USD nine billion.”

Bassem continued by explaining why they decided to apply for this competition, “We heard about this competition few years ago and realised that it would be a great opportunity for us to participate and possibly win.” The same positive attitude towards this competition was expressed by Rafif Ismail, CoolCash, who said, “We learned about this competition through the Internet and decided to submit our idea. They informed us that we had been selected among 50 teams. So, we made it here! We got valuable feedback from judges and investors. It is not only about wining, but about learning more from the jury about our business and its market feasibility. We appreciate all these feedbacks and will implement them within our business.” The lectures that attracted the most attention were given by Hala Fadel, Chair, MIT Enterprise Forum - Pan Arab, who started our conversation by saying, “I think that, throughout these four days, we can see the young business talent that is available in this region. They need to be supported by the private sector as customers, but also as their funders and mentors. These are all mainly tech startups which can create a lot of jobs and bring innovation to the region.”

Speaking about the the 6th MIT Enterprise Forum Arab Startup Competition, Hala added, “We see more and more applicants. As the quantity is increasing, the quality is increasing as well. When we started six years ago, we were an idea competition, but now we are a startup competition. So, the competition progressed to the next level.” Continuing about the main challenges faced by the regional entrepreneurs, Hala said, “The main challenges are related to the management skills that are available in the region. In terms of technical skills, we have lots of Arabs that have these kinds of skills, but they are outside the region. So, we need to make an effort to bring them back. That’s a big bottleneck. Also, the Arab region has issues regarding customs, visas and many other things required when doing business between two or more countries. I think that a lot of effort needs to be invested for businesses to overcome these obstacles.” When asked to provide more details about what kind of support is needed from the private sector, Hala explained, “Specifically, it relates to internship opportunities for young entrepreneurs who are still at universities. Then, it is being the customer of these startups. For example, when we need a design or architect, or a media company, we look for a foreign one. Why? We need to promote the young local talent and think of them first. Lastly, it is also to invest in them. Today, the large companies in this region, for example telecommunication companies or banks, have some issues regarding their future growth paths. So, why not investing in these startups. That could be a future promise for their business.” The winners of the Al Fikra – Qatar Business Plan Competition were: 1.

QPay – Nebil Ben Aissa and Sheikh Mohammed bin Jabor al Thani 2. EduTechnoz – Diana al Dajane Diana also won the Special Award for the Best Female Idea. 3. RAWE – Abdulrahman al Ishaq, Dr Jassim al Abdullah and Ahmed al Farsi In the students’ category, the first prize winner was The Zone, a project by Adnan Sayed, while the project called Looms and Knots, by Haya al Kubaisi and Rafay Abbasi, scooped the second place. Mashael al Misnad and Fatima Fikree were placed third with their project named Al Malaf. The winners of the MITEF Pan Arab Business Plan Competition were: 1. Instabug, Egypt 2. Darebni TV, Jordan 3. Gallery Al Sharq, Jordan, and The Homepage, Egypt.

MAY 2013

LEGAL

What if the competitive advantage of your business is based on information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable? Would you try to protect it? David Salt, Managing Partner, and Feras Alkasab, Associate, Clyde & Co’s Doha Of�ice, advise us how to make sure that it remains a secret under Qatar’s Law No. (5) of 2005 on the Protection of Secrets of Trade.

he World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) defines trade secrets as any confidential business information that provides an enterprise a competitive edge. The subject of this definition covers a broad range of business information such as sales and distribution methods, consumer profiles, advertising strategies, lists of suppliers and clients, and manufacturing processes.

David Salt is the Managing Partner of Clyde & Co’s Doha Office. He is a corporate and commercial lawyer who has extensive experience in advising clients on projects in Qatar, as well as a broad range of corporate and corporate finance work. David can be contacted at david.salt@clydeco.com.qa

In Qatar, trade secrets are protected under Law No. (5) of 2005 on the Protection of Secrets of Trade (“Trade Secrets Law”). It is important to note, that no bylaws have been issued to give effect to the provisions of this law. Definition The Trade Secrets Law defines trade secret information in terms of three key requirements: a. The information in its totality, form or combined components, is usually unknown, or cannot be easily obtained by others who normally deal with such information b. The information derives its value from being a secret c. The information is confidential due to the measures taken by the legal holder of the information to maintain its confidentiality (Article 1). Protection under this law also covers trade secrets resulting from confidential experimentation or previously unknown data (Article 5).

Ownership of trade secrets The Trade Secrets Law provides that legal title to a trade secret belongs to the individual or legal entity having the right to disclose, use or preserve the confidential information underlying the trade secret (Article 1). Foreigners have the same rights as Qatari nationals under the law, provided that they are nationals or residents of a state that grants Qatari nationals or residents reciprocal treatment (Article 2). Owner’s rights The owner of a trade secret has a number of rights under the law, which include the right to: a. Prevent others from misusing the trade secrets (Article 3) b. Dispose of the trade secrets (for example, via assignment) in whole or in part, with or without consideration for such disposal (Article 4) c. Prevent others from disclosing, obtaining or using the trade secret without the owner’s previous consent or in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices (Article 4). In view of these rights, the Trade Secrets Law (Article 7) specifically prohibits the following actions by third parties: a. Breaching an agreement between the owner of a trade secret and an investor or user of the secret, b. Breaching or inducing another to breach the confidentiality of trade secret information, c. Acquiring trade secrets through fraudulent means

The Trade Secrets Law provides that legal title to a trade secret belongs to the individual or legal entity having the right to disclose, use or preserve the conﬁdential information underlying the trade secret (Article 1).

Feras Alkasab is the Associate within Clyde & Co’s Doha Office. He is US-qualified lawyer and has experience in advising clients on a wide range of intellectual property matters. Feras can be contacted at feras.alkasab@clydeco.com.qa

Government disclosure of trade secrets The rights of trade secret owners to prevent the disclosure of their trade secrets is subject to an exception whereby the government agencies can require the submission of certain trade secret information in the course of approving the marketing of certain pharmaceutical or agricultural products. In such a case, the government agencies are required to prevent the unauthorised commercial use of such trade secret information. Additionally, the government agencies may publicly disclose the trade secret information if such disclosure is necessary to protect the public (Article 5).

d. Acquiring trade secrets from third parties if the Acquiring person knows or should have known that the third party obtained the trade secrets through means that are contrary to honest commercial practices (for example, acquisition through independent development while scientific research is not contrary to honest commercial practices).

Penalties The penalties under the Trade Secrets Law for trade secret infringement include imprisonment for up to one year and/or a fine of QR 50,000. The penalties may be doubled for repeat offenders.

The owner of a trade secret may seek compensation for damages resulting from the breach or misuse of the trade secret. After posting the required bond under the provisions of the Trade Secrets Law (Article 8), a competent court has discretion to take any of the following injunctive actions:

It is important to note that, in addition to infringers, such penalties can also be imposed on trade secret owners who fail to meet their above-mentioned duty to exercise reasonable efforts to safeguard the trade secret. To this effect, Article 11 of the law states that the penalties described above are “applicable to anyone who is found in breach of any provision of Articles (6) [obligations of trade secret owners] or (7) [prohibited acts by third parties] of this law.”

a. Halt the trade secret infringement b. Order a provisional attachment of any materials or products embodying the infringed or misused trade secrets wherever found c. Retain any evidence related to the trade secret infringement.

Businesses operating in Qatar will need to take notice of the Trade Secrets Law in order to best utilise the protections and comply with the obligations provided under the law.

Owner’s obligations In addition to these rights, the owner of a trade secret has a number of obligations under the law. These obligations include:

As noted above, the exercise of reasonable measures to safeguard business information is a prerequisite to maintaining the information’s trade secret status and protection under this law.

a. Implementing the measures necessary to safeguard the trade secret information to prevent use by others b. Regulating access to the trade secret information within the business and restricting such access to those legally obligated to maintain confidentiality and prevent disclosure to others.

In addition, the Trade Secrets Law imposes an affirmative duty on trade secret owners to exercise such reasonable measures or otherwise risk being held responsible and subject to penalties if those trade secrets are infringed. The law also makes it clear that to avoid responsibility in the case of trade secret infringement by others, the owner has the burden of proving compliance with this duty.

It is important to note that the law imposes a duty on the legal owner of a trade secret to exercise reasonable efforts to safeguard the trade secret. The owner’s breach of this duty may subject the owner to financial penalties and/or imprisonment.

*Qatari laws (save for those issued the Qatar Financial Centre to regulate internal business) are issued in Arabic and without official translations. Therefore, for the purposes of drafting this advice we have used our own translations and interpreted the same in the context of Qatari regulation and current market practice.

MAY 2013

BUSINESS ADVICE

BRAND

yourself SUCCESSFULLY! Being consciously aware of what we say and do is highly important, if we intend to achieve business success and positively in�luence our team on that path. Advice of Jeanine Bailey, Co-Founder and Director, Empower People, explains what your personal brand says about you as an entrepreneur.

ersonal branding is how others perceive us in terms of our personality style, achievements, attitudes, behaviours, appearances, knowledge, energy levels, communication style and so on. It’s based on how people observe us and what they experience with us. Although we have the ability to influence how people see us to a large degree, there will be times when the impression we project will be beyond our control.

Jeanine Bailey is the Co-Founder and Director of Empower People. She is an ICF accredited coach, ILM accredited trainer, NLP Practitioner, and EDisc accredited. She has over 20 years of professional experience in working with multinational, blue chip and influential organisations in Qatar, UK and Australia. Jeanine can be contacted at jeanine@empowerppl.com.

This is when being consciously aware of, and being decisive about what we say and do is highly important if we intend to positively influence others. It is important in roles which are associated with leadership, running a business, sales, marketing, training, coaching or any other type of a role which requires the skills of influencing others. We can’t avoid people making judgments about us when we interact with them or if our reputation precedes us, which may or may not be in alignment with how we want to be perceived. As people communicate and connect with us and notice us, they will form judgments based on how they see and experience their own world. There are two important realities to note here:

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Firstly, every one of us will continuously make assessments about ourselves, other people, and situations in order to determine our pathway forward. Think about how we operate every day when we ask ourselves questions, many unconsciously, about our environment – how we feel, how others might feel, what results we want, will this person or organisation support me or not, and so on. Based on our response to these questions, we decide which actions to take or not to take. Secondly, everyone sees and experiences their world in a unique way – two people will never perceive things exactly the same. As humans, we all make meanings about everything we experience, based on what we have learned from our birth to the present day. Our view and assessment of the world around us then creates our emotions. In other words, our emotions are a product of what we are focusing on at the time, and quite often at an unconscious level because of our habitual way of living and perceiving our world day-to-day.

Consequently it’s impossible to avoid being labeled, just as we will assess others that come into our world. The evaluations, which are happening at both conscious

and unconscious levels, will again create our positive, neutral or negative emotions. The trick is to notice when our judgments are inaccurate or identify when they are excuses, which hold us back from being the best we can be or getting the results we want.

something or having some kind of fear. However, we might also appear incongruent when we are deliberately going through a change in order to create new habits based on new attitudes. All of that requires time to become ingrained.

It’s important to recognise we make judgments about people and situations at a deep unconscious level without realising it. This is based on early age conditioning from sources like the key influencers in our lives and our culture. Studies show, even though we might consciously say we are not biased against or towards a race, or gender, or age, it’s highly likely we will make unconscious decisions in alignment with our unconscious biased beliefs.

The real key to influencing how we want our image to be perceived is to identify who we truly are or who we truly want to be.

Whenever we interact with others, whether it’s with colleagues, stakeholders, sales prospects, clients, family members, acquaintances and similar, which can be both privately or publicly, we create and live our personal brand. Furthermore, everything we communicate both intentionally and unwittingly, in the form of words and body language will contribute to our brand. It might also relate to what we wear and eat, the actions we take and don’t take, the activities we participate in, our temperament, and so on. These things and more represent everything about us, and they are stored in other people’s memories. How do we protect our brand? The way we can influence how people perceive us is through our decisions with respect to what actions we decide to take and what messages we purposely portray, both verbally and non-verbally. This all contributes to how we brand and market ourselves. It maybe something we do automatically or it may be something we do deliberately – to create a specific, preferred image. In fact, some people do this to protect their inner self, which potentially can sometimes create inner conflict when they don’t feel authentic from the inside out. When people act out of alignment with their inner self, they may come across as a fake or be seen as hiding

The way we can inﬂuence how people perceive us is through our decisions with respect to what actions we decide to take and what messages we purposely portray, both verbally and non-verbally. This all contributes to how we brand and market ourselves.

Psychologists claim that we have many personalities within us, which are created as a type of coping strategy during times of stress or a way of experiencing consistent success or fulfillment during times of ecstasy. I also believe this on the basis of working with clients to support them to tap into their unlimited potential and create desired and significant change. I have found that there are different personalities within us, created in childhood, our teens and throughout the phases of adulthood. However, we possess two main personalities, which I call the higher, knowing, trusting self, and our masked self. Our higher self is the deeper, insightful part of us. It believes in our potential and knows who we want to be and what we want to do. The masked self is the part, which has been conditioned from birth by our culture, other people’s stories about us, and our own stories about ourselves to protect us from failure, rejection and danger. This part has a role to play in our lives, which it can do positively or negatively. To create constructive outcomes, we must understand when it’s appropriate to use the mask ensuring it’s utilised for only positive reasons and the good of everyone involved. Ideally, the best image to project is the one we believe reflects who we really are - the highest, courageous, deepest, knowing part of ourselves. Then we are truly authentic towards others and ourselves. If we don’t know who we really are and what we stand for, we can easily create false or incongruent impressions about ourselves. If this is so, it’s potentially time to create greater awareness about ourselves and understand our blind spots, which is how others perceive us including the things about ourselves we are not even aware of. Once we identify those shadow areas, we can start to make a change to reflect our higher self - who we truly want to be – the attitudes of a successful entrepreneur, a business person, a professional or whatever role it is you wish to take up. At the same time, we need to ensure that we behave in a way that is good for ourselves, others and the community we are targeting to serve. Then we can feel congruent with our internal beliefs and our external image. Importantly, we can feel authentic inside and out.

MAY 2013

BUSINESS ADVICE

SEEK VALUABLE ADVICE Globally, government institutions and other organisations are speeding up their efforts within the SME sector to provide a favourable business environment for these entities. Recent studies reveal that, in the current volatile economic climate, growth is more likely to come from SMEs. Saimali Nath, Manager of Accounting Services, PwC Qatar, advises SMEs how to overcome obstacles that may arise in the course of their business development.

n Qatar, the business environment is becoming lucrative in the wake of Qatar’s positioning as a key place on the global map. Consequently, the SME sector looks promising. There has been an influx of startup entities in the recent past, and the future looks conducive for the SME sector to improve performance and the overall growth.

Saimali Nath is a manager within the Accounting Services Team of PwC Qatar. She has over eight years of experience in accounting and auditing, and has served several SME clients of PwC in Qatar. She is a qualified Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Certified Analyst (ACCA, UK). Saimali can be contacted at saimali.nath@qa.pwc.com.

Today, understanding the key factors to cradle and nurture these businesses has become vital. SME owners and entrepreneurs, as well as government bodies, need to focus on relevant aspects that can fuel the development of the SME sector in Qatar. There have been several steps taken in this direction with Qatar investing heavily in promoting and providing operational assistance to create a supportive environment. This covers a number of groups in the SME market such as startup entities, private companies and small traders and retailers running their businesses for a number of years in Qatar. Qatar’s banking sector has also stepped up its efforts to provide SMEs with ways and means to overcome common financing barriers. In our view, there are several key areas on which SMEs should focus. These can be broadly grouped into: ■ ■ ■ ■

Effective planning before venturing into a business Managing scarce and limited resources Effective internal controls and operations Managing regulatory compliance needs

Plan effectively! One of the first challenges for an SME foraying into newer markets is evaluating whether the planned business activity and strategy is practical and makes good commercial sense. It is important to obtain an expert opinion on the initial plans. SMEs should be willing to hire external consultants to undertake feasibility studies or to review their business strategy if that is practical and needed. An initial outlay of funds for doing the right things will go a long way in supporting the future economics of the entity. An informed consultant can also advise on the most suitable legal structure for an SME to protect its rights, obligations and assets. Any SME looking to establish or expand in Qatar needs to understand and explore, at the outset, the various benefits being offered by the country, the banks or other institutions. Entities should ensure that they have evaluated the borrowing options provided by the banking institutions to avail themselves of the best financing deal. Manage your resources! Smaller businesses undoubtedly face numerous challenges around resources. While there have been several attempts by Qatar’s banking sector to support SME financing activities, our experience has been that SMEs sometimes lack the relevant skills for effective financial management and hurdle free reporting in-house.

An SME needs to compile and evaluate its financial results and cash flow projections on a regular basis for a useful measurement of its financial performance. Many SMEs have been outsourcing their accounting and finance tasks or have been relying on an outsourced talent to fill in the gaps in their finance function. External consultants have aided the transformation of the finance function for a number of SMEs in Qatar, starting with formulating policies adhering to the relevant accounting and reporting standards. Furthermore, it also includes applying best practice procedures, to establishing a routine reporting structure to aid management and period end financial statement preparation. Check internally! Another area where we have seen that SMEs are being challenged is that of internal controls, such as segregation of duties and effective performance monitoring. As smaller businesses move to the growth phase, inherent risks from possible weaknesses in internal controls can prove detrimental to business performance.These developing entities may not always be able to divert resources to monitor these risks and close gaps in controls. External consultants can also be helpful in such cases for performing internal audit reviews of operations and finance. For instance, a rising number of SMEs, which lack a complete HR function, have moved to obtaining external help for employee payroll processing and payments. In this manner, they mitigate any risks arising out of possible control limitations due to the shortage of staff performing these payroll processes. Outsourcing other HR activities, such as specific immigration and expatriate services or complying with Qatar’s labour law requirements, has also proved as an efficient mean of handling these tasks for SMEs. Comply on time! The tax structure in Qatar may often prove complex for small businesses and understanding the applicability of all provisions is a key challenge. One such instance, which has been experienced by many SMEs in the market, has been around withholding tax. Many SMEs also face challenges in managing their tax bill or their compliance needs effectively. An SME needs to be advised on its tax exposure and tax planning mechanisms to manage statutory obligations and benefit from the tax systems while being compliant in every way. Appointing an external tax consultant to handle an entity’s compliance responsibilities is a commonly established practice for SMEs and has proved effective in managing their tax regulatory obligations. SMEs should work with a tax advisor who has developed a good working relationship with the Qatar tax authorities. This will help to ensure that guidance on

There has been an inﬂux of startup entities in the recent past, and the future looks conducive for the SME sector to improve performance and the overall growth. tax is obtained where issues may be unclear or where specific approvals need to be sought. Growing businesses increasingly require audited financial statements, be it to comply with relevant regulations, statutes, policies or financing requirements. Selection of a good auditor may prove challenging. An SME requires a trusted auditor and business advisor who will provide meaningful communication made at appropriate times. An SME should look to appoint an auditor that is willing to work with the entity’s management and objectively assesses the financial statements while highlighting areas for improvement and recommended actions. This should be more than merely providing an opinion on the accounts since it should extend to providing meaningful business advice based on the trusted advisor relationship. Today, International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) is becoming the global financial reporting language for companies and is the preferred standard for Qatar’s regulators. With the recent introduction of IFRS for SMEs by the International Accounting Standards Board, the future of financial reporting looks less complex for SMEs. Initially, however, an SME may require some extra help in ensuring compliance with accounting standards. Many consulting firms, professional bodies and banking institutions in Qatar organise specific trainings or update programmes in IFRS and tax which can prove extremely beneficial to the finance staff of SMEs where they may lack updated or detailed knowledge of these matters. An SME should take advantage of such programmes, often provided for free. Effective and early planning designed to address tax, accounting and other regulatory issues will help SMEs focus on their core objectives. Formulating detailed business plans, building a productive relationship with consultants, taking advantage of freely available information and getting the maximum out of an external provider’s services are some of the solutions which help SMEs.

MAY 2013

ENTREPRENEUR

LIVE YOUR VALUES!

After ten years of working across the Middle East region, Patrick Forbes, CEO, Forbes Associates, decided to settle in Doha and add value by providing high-level support in communications and public relations to some of the region’s most prestigious �igures. In the second interview in a series, which is aimed at presenting the members of EO Qatar Chapter, he spoke to Aparna Shivpuri Arya about the importance of business and personal reputation in the Arab world.

After working for ten years in the region, you decided to set up Forbes Associate. What prompted you to do that? I left my previous employer because I thought there was a gap in the market in Qatar for an agency that delivered high quality consultancy, but without the inflated fees because it’s an international brand. I felt that too many agencies were staffed by expats who were coming to Qatar for three to four years and then leaving. Thus, I wanted to provide a service that is truly geared towards the needs of the local market.

trend is one of improving standards. Organisations are taking PR more seriously than before, and are investing more in their in-house teams and consultancies. If you look at the PR consultancies operating here today, there are many more than in 2007 when I first arrived. I see this as a positive change, as competition encourages everyone to improve. There are still many entities in Qatar that are not taking PR seriously, one of the reasons for this is generational.

I should add that the friendships I have with other founding members of the EO – Qatar Chapter spurred me on, and gave me the belief that launching a new company is possible should you be willing to put in the hard work and take your chances.

You provide services to some of the leading companies in various fields in Qatar- what was your strategy while approaching these clients? Any lessons we can learn from that? The key is to understand a client’s business, and the sector it is in.

Communication and PR is an extremely important component of any business. As an expert in this field, what is your opinion on how this has evolved? I think communications and PR are evolving in different ways depending on the country. If we are to take Qatar as an example, I think that the general

We don’t want to become a tactical agency that pumps out press releases. We want to advise our clients on strategy and their overall plan setting. If you can develop genuine expertise or know-how in a sector you will have a lot more to discuss when you first meet a potential client.

What is your opinion on the growth of startups and SMEs in Qatar? I think that there is a lot of support for SMEs and startups in Qatar, from EQ, QDB, Silatech and others. This is very positive, and entrepreneurs in Qatar will receive more support from their peers than in practically any other country.

In today’s world everyone is looking at making a quick gain and short term relationships, but you propagate just the opposite. How do you manage to build long term relationships? What is your modus operandi? Long term relationships are built on trust, and on taking difficult decisions that might not have a short term pay back, but fit with your values.

So, it is a great time to be looking at starting a business. The challenge is red tape, in the shape of government regulations, that makes doing business expensive. This will have to improve if Qatar is to attract entrepreneurs whose business ideas are not limited to just the Qatari market, but have regional or global potential.

We spend a lot of time building our corporate values internally, and ensuring that we don’t just talk about them, but actually live them. The Arab world puts a great deal of importance on personal reputation, so this matters.

You have SMEs as well as large corporations as your clients? What advice would you give on handling these two different types of organisations? All clients are different, but in general SMEs are less process led and less formal. There is a bigger emphasis on the one-to-one relationship with the key managers, and there is a greater sense of value - how our fees are having an impact on the bottom line. For many SMEs you are putting in procedures and creating content for the first time, so there is a greater opportunity to make a significant mark. The key to handling the differences is in understanding what is expected of you as an agency.

We spend a lot of time building our corporate values internally, and ensuring that we don't just talk about them, but actually live them. The Arab world puts a great deal of importance on personal reputation, so this matters.

Any quick tips on crisis communication for our readers? The first rule is to be prepared. If you do not have a plan in place, and have not practiced the plan, you will struggle to regain the front foot. What is the concept of reputation management? And how can SMEs do that? PR is talked about as “reputation management” by some academic schools of thought. SMEs can build their reputations through a range of different activities - inviting several PR companies in for an informal discussion is a good first step. I can speak from experience when I say that one of the challenges of being a startup is not having a track record, so reputation has to be built on other features if you are to compete against the incumbents. Were there any bottlenecks or challenges on setting up your business? If so, how did you deal with them? There are too many to mention! The trick is to adopt a “never say never” attitude and refuse to give in. It is also worth discussing them with other entrepreneurs - you’d be surprised how many problems are shared. This is the founding principle of EO, which provides a fantastic forum for peer to peer learning and growth.

MAY 2013

ENTREPRENEUR

ATM IN YOUR POCKET! Imagine that your mobile phone is your wallet. Can you? In the fourth article of a series on SILA Angel Investment Network �inalists, Yahya Al-Salqan, Ph.D., President and CEO, Qatar Mobile Banking, explains how his entrepreneurial initiative will make this dream a reality.

magine that your bank has more than one million branches and more than one million ATMs. Imagine that in order to send money to your family and friends, you only need a mobile phone number of the recipient. Imagine that you pay all your bills from your mobile phone at anytime and from anywhere. That’s what Qatar Mobile Banking is all about. Qatar Mobile Banking (QMB) puts your bank in your pocket! Twenty to thirty years ago, a bank was a huge real estate with expensive offices and machinery. With the invention of ATMs, the bank branches started to shrink. We believe that what ATMs did to the bank branches, mobiles and SmartPhones will do to ATMs. QMB is a step towards that future! The beginnings We have been working in the banking sector for the past eight years. First, we developed the cheque clearing system for many banks. Almost 80% of the cheques circulated in Palestine, for example, are using our software. That experience has given us a deeper understanding of the banking eco-system. Second, seven years ago, we developed a mobile cheque application to replace paper cheques. That mobile cheque, perhaps, was ahead of its time due to the lack of SmartPhones and 3G networks in that period. Starting a business in banking is not easy. Banks like to do business their way and their regulations are hard

to change and adapt to the future. Knowing that, we studied and took into considerations all the best practices and state-of-the-art banking and security requirements. Qatar Mobile Banking has multiple applications: ■ MobileATM It converts your mobile into a full ATM since almost everything you can do through an ATM, can be done on your mobile phone. ■ mCheque It is a mobile cheque application which replaces paper cheques ■ mPayment With this application, you can go to a shopping mall, buy what you want and, all that you need to do is to pay via mPay. Then you get a notification of the payment. Your mobile operator sends your bill with a payment request to you. If you approve the payment, the bill is settled. ■ mWallet It makes it impossible to lose your wallet with your cash. All your money is managed from your mobile phone which is protected, by a password (or PIN), to remain secure if you lose your phone. Needless to say that the recipient of the payment cannot deny (or repudiate) it as all these transactions are logged. All of

We believe that Qatar is an ideal country for our services due to the mixture of foreign workers, advanced telecom infrastructure and willingness of the Qatari businesses and banks to use new technological solutions.

these can also help if you do not have a bank account like, for example, many of the foreign workers. ■ mRemittance If you want to send money overseas, with mRemittance, all you need is the mobile number of the recipient. It is banking anytime, anywhere, from any device. We at QMB envision a fully mobile bank without any need for branches and even ATMs. Dr. Yahya Al-Salqan, an entrepreneur and inventor, has nine international patents registered in the USA and Europe. He is the founder of QMB, the President and CEO of Jaffa.Net, Co-Founder of IDM- Social Media, Internet Marketing Company and the Mobile Monday Palestine Chapter. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Illinois, M.Sc. in Computer Science from American University, Washington DC, and B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Birzeit University. Dr. Yahya can be contacted at alsalqan@i-jaffa.net.

Due to a large number of foreign workers across the GCC region, QMB flagship solution is mRemittance. It was first deployed in Qatar, and since then has been expanding to the whole GCC region. mRemittance is: ■ ■ ■

More affordable - it doesn’t impose any fees More convenient – it ensures that you don’t need to wait in lines for a few hours More secure – it sends you instant notifications

Today, there is one million foreign workers in Qatar and around 12 million in the GCC region. With the FIFA World Cup 2022 happening in Qatar, even more customers will come here. Foreign workers always look for cheaper ways to send money to their families. Today, they need to go to banks or currency exchange and wait in lines for hours just to send money. Furthermore, they need to call their families more than once in order to check and make sure that the spelling of the recipient is correct. Lastly, they need to check whether the money has been actually received. With mRemittance, one can send money at any time and from anywhere. All that is needed is a mobile phone number of the recipient. Once the money is sent, the recipient receives an SMS notification. QMB will install POC (a Point-of-Cash) machines at shops, currency exchange, pharmacies, restaurants, and similar. Those are exactly the same as the ones used by Visa and MasterCard, but provide for more security. mRemittance does not require a SmartPhone or the

Internet to work. It’s cheaper and without limitations on a due date for money to be cashed. The beauty of the QMB solution lies in the fact that it can be used regardless of whether you have a bank account or not. For example, to send or receive money through mRemittance, all you need is just a mobile phone. Thus, mRemittance is sending money from mobile to mobile. Qatari experience We have been working on mobile phone applications for the past three years, which resulted in us winning the Nokia Best Mobile Application 2012 award. We have built many other mobile applications, including mobile billing using both Nokia and Android phones. Our mobile application experience coupled with our banking software solution made the QMB a natural progression. In Qatar, we have been working with Silatech to identify investors and local partners to roll out our services. SILA Angel Investment Network has connected us with the business community in Qatar in order to establish and deploy our services here. It has also offered us to use their offices and participate in their trainings, coaching sessions and networking events. In this manner, SILA Angel Investment Network has been working proactively to help our business to find the needed establishment funds. Many believe that access to money and finance in Qatar is easy. That’s wrong. The due diligence and investigation are almost like in any other country. The good news, however, is that money is available for innovative ideas supported by a strong team. Without our strong team and technology, we would not have reached this advanced stage. We are looking to partner with currency exchange companies to extend their services through the mobile phone devices. We believe that Qatar is an ideal country for our services due to the mixture of foreign workers, advanced telecom infrastructure and willingness of the Qatari businesses and banks to use new technological solutions. QMB’s success in Qatar will open the doors for us in other GCC countries. Our plan is to establish in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Our business plan shows that we will make a profit in less than two years while, in the third year, it will amount to USD 14 million. Qatar Mobile Banking is the future and Qatar is the right place to be! That country shows leadership to adopt and embrace new technological advances. It goes beyond what others, including mobile operators, are doing today. In line with that, QMB starts in Qatar to create the future of mobile banking around the world!

MAY 2013

TECHNOLOGY

vital ROLE

Businesses leaders have acknowledged the bene�its of IT investments. Since then, they have been tracing the newest technological advancements in order to improve their businesses further. Aparna Shivpuri Arya got talking to Soubhi Chebib, General Manager, Gulf Business Machines (GBM), about GBM’s activities in Qatar and what is there for SMEs.

Soubhi Chebib is the General Manager of GBM Qatar. He has 30 years of experience in the IT industry – systems design and development, consultancies, sales and management. Soubhi holds BSc in Electronics and MBA from Canada. His working experience has spanned North America, Europe and the Gulf region serving major enterprise clients.

Please tell us a bit about GBM and its beginnings in Qatar. GBM is the leading IT solutions provider in the region. The company was founded in 1990. It fulfills the IT requirements of local, regional and international organisations in the GCC region. We employ 1000 professionals, have a strategic relationship with IBM and more than 20 internationally-recognised IT solution leaders.

We have focused on expanding in Qatar because it is an important country in the Gulf, in the Middle East and in the world. We are proud of our contribution to the development of Qatar and our deployment of major IT infrastructure for the country. Qatar is adopting many progressive development initiatives, and we are here to support and contribute to this development directly and in partnership with other companies.

In addition to offices in Qatar, GBM is also located in the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. GBM Qatar first started its operation in Doha on 1st January 1990 as a continuation of IBM’s business operations in Qatar.

How important, according to you, is technology in today’s business world? Technology is part of everyone’s lives, and it plays a vital role in business. Many industries greatly rely on IT to provide them with information to effectively run their business. In this day and age, IT is part of the fabric of business that enables them to run efficient operations and facilitate communication. Below are some of the many benefits of technology for a business: ■ Serving customers more efficiently ■ Reaching more potential customers and serving them as they expect ■ Streamlining operations, reducing costs and improving efficiency ■ Maximising profit in identifying new opportunities ■ Supporting better relationships with key partners ■ Aligning the business with customers’ expectations of how to acquire products and services and consume them

What solutions do you provide to companies? What exactly is Intelligent Network Solutions? Gulf Business Machines has seven business units: ■ GBM Systems and Technology Group ■ GBM Software Group ■ GBM Intelligent Network Solutions (INS) ■ GBM Technical Support Services ■ GBM Technology Services ■ GBM Business Solutions ■ GBM Learning Services These units provide organisations with the IBM portfolio of products and related services. We also offer additional vendor solutions to meet the business requirements of their clients. GBM INS provides design, supply, installation and integration of networking equipment, along with routing and switching, IP telephony, cyber security, physical security systems, structured cabling, audiovisual and public address systems, video conferencing and tele-conferencing. Why did you chose Qatar to begin with? GBM operations in each of the Gulf countries originally began as a continuation of IBM operations. Since our inception, we have expanded our operations from less than ten people to over 180 people in Qatar alone.

You provide IT solutions to a lot of different industries. Are there any industries that need it more than others? Today the Internet and IT are a part of everybody’s life. This is driving increased expectations from customers and end users. Certain industries are more IT intensive than others, such as telecommunication companies, but the demand for IT is healthy across all industries and for all companies. For example, no one can imagine how a small company could operate without email or a network infrastructure. IT is part of the operational fabric of each organisation, and the increase in demand and expectation are the only constants. Today, everything everywhere is becoming connected through technology, and it is a key driver in the

advancement of business. Technology allows companies to manage different offices around the globe, and with new trends, like Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), the workforce is more mobile than ever. Technology is indeed changing the way we do business, making it more efficient, productive and versatile. Companies can offer more services through the use of technology, and can, thus, become more profitable. Overall, technology is one of the most important aspects helping fuel the business world at the moment and most likely for the foreseeable future. What are the latest developments in the technology sector and which industries can avail of them? With the changing landscape of technology and the mass introduction of mobile devices, such as SmartPhones and Tablets, it is very important to engage employees, customers and everyone else within an organisation so they can perform their job promptly and efficiently. GBM and IBM’s mobility solutions provide a way for organisations to keep up with these trends. ■

■

Business Analytics – this solution allows an organisation to gain insight to its customer base promptly and to identify new revenue streams and opportunities for gaining new customers. Virtualisation - IBM recently launched PureSystems which combines the flexibility of a general purpose system, the elasticity of cloud and the simplicity of an appliance. They are integrated by design and come with built-in expertise to deliver faster and cheaper deployment of IT solutions as well as simplify system management and reduce complexity. These expert integrated systems have the ability to transform the IT lifecycle and are best suited for large and medium enterprises that are looking to consolidate, optimise and innovate for a cloud ready environment. Data Security - GBM has dedicated resources for security services that help in protecting data, people, network, processes and services. The services range from security assessment to gap analysis, vulnerability and penetration test, security policy preparation, advising and recommending proper remediation processes and solutions. GBM Security Portfolio – it is an end to end solution that contains network and host firewalls, IPS (Intrusion Prevention System), vulnerability management, load balancers, denial of service security, log and event management, malware and traffic analysis. It also contains in-depth security investigation and forensic analysis solutions.

What business solutions do you offer to SMEs? Below are some of the solutions that could address the SMEs market: ■ Enterprise Portal - allows companies to establish a bigger presence with better visibility, increase channels to customers, achieve a fast “go-to-market,” speeding up sales of new products and services, and increase sales revenue at a lower cost of sale, achieving enhanced profitability and customer service experience. ■ Enterprise Content Management - allows organisations to save costs by reducing operational overheads, reducing response times to customer requests, increasing revenue, having timely access to accurate information and saving physical storage with efficient archiving. ■ Financial Performance Management - allows companies to view the single version of the “truth”, significantly reducing budgeting and planning time from months to days

Other services offered by GBM for SMEs include, but are not limited to: ■ Network infrastructure ■ Physical and data security ■ Flex systems – The latest blade technology from IBM that includes storage and networking devices ■ Rack Servers - IBM System x86 stand-alone servers supporting Microsoft Windows, Linux and virtualisation. System x servers are intelligent systems designed to reduce costs and complexity ■ Low-end SMBs specific solutions ■ SMB software services – installation of a variety of software, such as VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix (data centre/desktop virtualisation) ■ Point-of-sale systems for retail chains ■ Relocation services – facilitating relocation of data centers ■ Installation and integration services for all the above Also for companies looking to export, are there any software packages for them to manage their supply chain or financial transaction? With the acquisition of Sterling Commerce, GBM has a number of solutions that offer customers true visibility of their business. The supply chain management solutions from IBM deliver supply chain planning and execution capabilities across the extended enterprise, enabling companies to anticipate, control and react to demand and supply volatility within the supply chain - managing how and where you fulfill orders, how much inventory you should store and where, and the planning and execution of your shipments to meet customer commitments. IBM provides the ability to understand, manage and direct the supply chain with security in focus, allowing secure data transfer for critical information both inside and outside of the export company’s organisation. What, according to you, are the challenges that companies face when it comes to technology? How can they overcome them? Both small and large companies face the same challenges: ■ IT security is becoming an increasingly important challenge for IT professionals. For example, there is an incredible race between IT security teams and hackers. Hackers are an extremely knowledgeable, patient, passionate and determined group. They use a combination of techniques to make their attacks coordinated and complex. Unfortunately, they have been largely successful in their attempts to get around existing security methods and disrupt systems. ■ Production solutions that fit the mold of their business strategy. GBM has consultants and architects that can design end-to-end solutions for business applications and enterprise networks that meet and exceed the customers’ needs. ■ Disaster Recover (DR) solutions that meet international standards in the customers facilities, or hosted by GBM in Qatar or internationally. These solutions can be utilised by companies for production and DR solutions. ■ Regulations from government and international entities. GBM has consultants that can help provide the framework for business continuity, ITIL, ISO 2000, service desk and many more certification and audit requirements needed to meet legislation imposed on their customers. ■ Companies face a shortage of skilled resources to support and deliver technology solutions. GBM provides skilled resources on a short and long term basis. GBM also provides a full and partial managed operations solution, whereby GBM takes the responsibility of the operation and commits to service level metrics. This frees up the customers’ own resources for other critical activities.

MAY 2013

SECTOR STUDY

The family matters Family businesses are thriving globally, and even more so locally. 23% of the Middle Eastern family businesses plan to grow quickly and aggressively in the next �ive years while 69% expect steady growth. However, there is more to family businesses in the region than just annual pro�it �igures and ambitious business plans. Tamara Pupic takes a look at various aspects of this important pillar of Qatar’s economy.

atar is resolved to diversify its economy away from oil and gas and lay a strong foundation for a knowledge-based economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that growth in Qatar’s non-hydrocarbon sector will range between 9% and 10% over the medium term. In its latest country report, the IMF said that Qatar’s economy is expected to grow by 5.2% this year with “strong economic outlook” in the medium term mainly on the back of robust non-hydrocarbon growth. According to the PwC Family Business Survey “The Family Firm: Central to the Success of the Middle East”, which was published in January 2013, most of the

region’s GDP outside the oil and gas sector, and over 80% of its businesses, are either family-run or family controlled, making family businesses crucial to both economic activity and employment. Due to proven importance of these businesses within Qatar’s non-hydrocarbon sector, our research aimed to examine current opinions on family businesses in Qatar. However, because of the similarities among regional businesses, the scope of the research was widened to include also experiences from other regional countries. The initial presumption was that family businesses will continue to be one of the strengths of Qatar’s economy. From that angle, we used questionnaire approach

to obtain data from various governmental and non-governmental organisations operating in Qatar and the whole of the Middle East region. In addition, our methodology included seeking opinions from the Chairs of Qatari family businesses on various issues pertaining to their business success. Ashraf Abu Issa, Chairman and CEO, ABUISSA Holding, was the right person to talk to regarding this subject, since he has not only successfully led his family business over few decades, but also reinvented it to achieve success in other business areas. When asked about the main features of family businesses in Qatar, Abu Issa explained, “The culture of family businesses

is deeply rooted in the region. The most diversified groups, we count today in the GCC, started as a small family business. They grew based on hard work while supporting the local, regional, and now even the global economy. Compared to other countries, family businesses in Qatar are still at an early stage. The second generation is now taking over businesses while we can already see the third generation leading companies in the region. The new generation of leaders in Qatar are undoubtedly more armed to face 2013 challenges benefiting from the fact that most of them have gained the best education in the world and can rely on the experience of their families and the support of Qatar’s government.”

equivalent private shareholding structures. Large family-owned corporations are often composed of entities showing a variety of legal structures, such as holding companies, trusts and foundations, as well as LLCs and LLPs. We have also seen the impact of family business IPOs on the legal frameworks in recent years.” Al Tamimi & Co. – Qatar Office, stated that there is no real family business law in Qatar which would allow special registration for these businesses. As such, the norm of registration that is followed is the general norm applicable under the Commercial Companies Law of Qatar.

The foundations The PwC Family Business Survey further stated that the regional family firms are unusual, compared to the rest of the world, as they are very often highly-diversified conglomerates. According to Tharawat Family Business Forum, which is an independent network of family-owned enterprises in the Arab world, in most of the Gulf countries family businesses started their economic activities with trading in the first half of the 20th century. They further stated, “The trend over the past decades has been to diversify their activities and enter various

other fields, such as oil and gas, tourism, real estate, manufacturing of semi-finished products, and food amongst others.” Focusing on Qatar in more details, Shareefa Fadhel, Managing Director and Co-Founder, Roudha Centre, explained, “Their focus changed 10-15 years ago from trading to the construction industry as the country started to develop. Today, these firms are mostly engaged in the service based businesses or franchising.” Regarding the legal structure of these companies in the region, Tharawat Family Business Forum stated, “Speaking of small and medium-sized businesses, the typical legal framework seems to be the LLC or

Further, PwC Family Business Survey pointed out that the top issue for family firms in the Middle East is access to finance, and 57% would like governments to help more with this. According to Al Tamimi & Co. – Qatar Office, the key step to increase the level of financing and legal support a family business receives, in many instances, relies on the decision by the patriarch to convert the family business into more of an institutional form of business. Many families have been adopting this approach as they recognise the importance for sustainability of their wealth to their future generations. As such there is a greater need for family business practice in the legal sector as well as other finance and accounting support. In a highly interesting conversation with the representative of the Qatar Chamber, we learned that in the Gulf countries, unofficial statistics confirm that the rate of transformation of family businesses to public joint stock companies did not exceed 1%.

There are multiple causes of the deceleration of family businesses turning into public joint stock companies. The main reason is that family businesses do not want other partners to enter their companies since those firms are used to self-management, and there is no will or tendency to share the decision with others. Plus, they have no will to undergo a public and collective accounting system. Due to the hesitation to undertake these kinds of changes, family businesses might face significant challenges in obtaining adequate sources of funding to become competitive with the multinational companies and cope with the changes taking place in the global economic system.

MAY 2013

SECTOR STUDY The characteristics The PwC Family Business Survey further distinguished few characteristics of the regional family businesses: ■ Longer-term thinking and a broader perspective Family businesses take a long-term approach to business,

and when they invest, they do so with the needs of future generations in mind. 65% of Middle Eastern firms believe that family businesses play an important role in ensuring economic stability. Abu Issa confirmed the statistics, “Long term vision has nurtured our approach to business from the very beginning. My father always taught me how important it is to have high standards.” ■

Quicker and more flexible decision-making and an entrepreneurial mindset In the survey, 58% of respondents consider family businesses to be more entrepreneurial than other sectors of the economy. 45% of those in the region believe that family businesses are able to reinvent themselves with each new generation. The success of ABUISSA Holding testifies to this data, about which Abu Issa said, “What started with small retail operations, counts today 3000 employees and more than 120 stores in Qatar and the region. I put efforts to develop the group on a global scale, the world is our market. I never stopped looking for new opportunities to grow and reinvent the company.” ■ A greater commitment to jobs and the community The region is characterised with the belief that family businesses tend to generate greater loyalty from their staff. Abu Issa agreed with this point and shared his experience with us, “I took over the business at 19 years old after my father passed away. Being a leader of 36 employees at such a young age was very challenging. I got inspired from my father and laid the foundation for a relationship with my employees based on mutual trust and respect, characteristics that are still strong in the company culture today. Because it is a family affair, all new employees are more than just another number or employee code, they are part of the family.” ■

A more personal approach to business based on trust 74% of respondents in the Middle East agree that culture and values are stronger in the family firm. Family firms consider these special characteristics to be a source of real competitive advantage, which are at the heart of their distinctive approach to business.

“Our biggest asset is without a doubt our reputation,” Abu Issa was decisive, and added, “Everything we do aims to protect our reputation and exceed people’s expectations leading the group with the highest values. Together with my brother Nabil Abu Issa, we focused on innovation and customer service since the beginning.

They are the key factors behind the phenomenal success of the group. I believe these achievements need to and will be carried over by the next generation.” The challenges The PwC Family Business Survey stated that the family firms in the Middle East were significantly less concerned about the state of the global economy in 2012 than they were in 2010, with the number dropping from 71% to 45% this year. However, their main concerns are: ■ Market conditions (45%) Price competition is a slightly more important issue in the region (48%), but it is lower than the global figure (59%). 34% of Middle Eastern family firms believe regulation will continue to be an issue, and 20% anticipate supply chain issues becoming more important. Competition (32%) Globalisation will emerge more strongly as an issue in five years’ time. Taking the survey as a whole, the respondents are concerned that family firms may struggle to compete with major multinationals. However, many businesses are still confident that they have distinct advantages such as local knowledge, and the ability to move quickly, which will help them compete. The issue of market consolidation is more prominent with the Middle Eastern firms than elsewhere. Some firms find the prospect of possible acquisition by a larger listed business as a threat, others see a merger with such a firm as an opportunity. Export It is notable that the average proportion of sales that family firms make internationally is significantly lower in the Middle East than it is elsewhere in the world – 15% as against 25% globally. In the Middle East, the top issues that cause these figures are the political situation in overseas markets (18%), local regulations (13%), and understanding customers overseas (13%). The challenges of obtaining investment funding may explain why there is a marked tendency for family firms in general to focus their export efforts only on neighbouring countries, or those with historical ties to their home markets. In the survey, the Middle Eastern firms, which are planning to increase their exports, are focusing mainly on other countries within their region (32%), rather than on regions further afield such as the Americas (16%), or Europe (8%).

■ Recruitment of skilled staff The Middle East findings suggest that the recruitment of

The youth Saleh Al Khulaifi, Manager, Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Guidance, assumed that the percentage of youth employment within family businesses in Qatar is remarkably low and does not exceed 5%. However, he further stated that this

skilled staff has become a greater challenge in 2012 than it was in 2010 – the number of the Middle East respondents citing this has risen from 34% to 45%. Businesses can struggle to attract the most talented employees because the career path at a listed multinational is often clearer. There are also specific issues in the Middle East, which center on problems with hiring skilled workers from overseas, and difficulties with the visa system.

percentage might be higher within medium to large family businesses. The reason for this, in his opinion, varies in each particular case, but Saleh concluded by sharing his personal experience, “I decided not to join my family business for now, but that decision might change in some later stage of my life.”

The challenges family businesses face in the process of recruiting the skilled staff guided us to explore the state of youth and women employment within family businesses. The women “In large and mid-sized family businesses we can see a trend of more women joining as employees. Whilst in the past women were more active in the social spheres, and in philanthropy, the young generation of women now often join the family business in an active role as well,” reported Tharawat Family Business Forum. Looking specifically at Qatar, Shareefa explained, “I assume that the number of women involved in the family business is less than 3%. Culture plays a big role in these situations. The women that join their family businesses are usually in honorary roles, or it happens because there is no male in the family to continue the business. The other option for women is to create a new entity within the existing family business that is more in line with their interests. A couple of years ago it used to be establishing beauty salons and home catering services while today they mostly focus on designing abayas and clothes as well as franchising women related brands.” After consulting with the Qatar Statistical Authority, we learned the numbers which indicate the overall lower percentage of female employment in Qatar. In 2011, out of 1,270,245 of totally employed population, only 152,934 were female. In 2012, the number of employed men is again considerably higher (1,173,186) when compared to women (167,396).

According to Tharawat Family Business Forum, “The challenges of young family members vary and depend on the size of the business, the size of the family, the industry the family is active in and the generation the young family member is part of. However, in general, some of the main challenges facing the young generation in the regional family businesses concern the question of how to strike a balance between their own dreams and wishes and the family’s expectations.” It should be noted that one of the main challenges facing the regional family businesses is related to succession issues. The PwC Family Business Survey stated that 40% of Middle Eastern respondents are concerned that the transfer of their businesses to the next generation might cause problems, compared to 32% globally. However, Tharawat Family Business Forum suggested a possible solution, “In many regional family businesses, with a large number of family members, we can see the development of “youth councils” or “3G assemblies”, where members of the younger generation gather to formulate their thoughts and bring them forward to the senior generation. Many families are acutely aware of the importance of talent development amongst the next generation in order to ensure smooth succession and business s u s t a i n a b i l i t y. Overall, there is strong awareness in the region’s family businesses that the young generation’s integration and development is one of the key issues for sustainability and longevity of their organisations.”

MAY 2013MAY 2013

MANAGEMENT

REACH YOUR GOALS! As Qatar ramps up for the implementation of its National Vision 2030, including a ground breaking stop-off at the FIFA World Cup 2022, the question of controlling the cost of construction works is fast taking center stage. Simon Trafford, Director, Quantex Qatar, Quantity Surveyors and Project Managers, takes a look at how to handle the increased volume of work and successfully manage various projects, which Qatar will witness.

atar will release over USD 150 billion of contracts over the next three to four years with USD 27 billion being released in 2013, almost twenty times higher than that awarded in 2012. Many are concerned that as contracts flood the market, which has been struggling to maintain momentum over the last couple of years, construction costs will spiral out of control as they did in 2006.

Simon Trafford is the Co-Founding Director of Quantex Qatar, which offers innovative, client-focused quantity surveying, cost and project management services to clients and designers in the Qatar’s construction market. He was leading a diverse range of projects such as airports, hospitals, retail malls and multipurpose master plans. Simon can be contacted at simon.trafford@quantexqatar.com

It is now well documented that the days of zero inflation in Qatar’s building costs is fast fading into dim and distant memories. Indeed many analyst document significant increases in some material and labour costs already. However, it is also believed that these have generally been suppressed by a prolonged and highly competitive tendering environment born from a suppressed market. Concerns are now, though, turning to understand how to prevent a repetition of the phenomenal inflation that took a grip between 2006 to 2008 when Qatar hosted the 2006 Asian Games. At that time, the price rises of some 35% were experienced in some sectors of the construction industry. Whilst Qatar today is well placed to have learned from the causes surrounding the “Asian Games Affect”,the goals and objectives Qatar has set itself to realise the Qatar National Vision 2030, are much bigger than the targets set in 2006. It also makes the implementation of effective strategic mitigation measures almost impossible due the fundamental logistics of the country. Qatar will need to import everything it needs for its huge construction programme, from skilled and unskilled labour to glass and fabricated steelwork, and from heavy plant and lifting equipment to aggregate and sand. Yes, even sand! As a result, all plants, materials and labour are expected to be in short supply, driving up costs. Concrete, for example, is already well documented to be running at a deficit of three million tonnes per year by

2015 with acute shortages being experienced as early as the third quarter of 2013. Furthermore, the increase in imports will place huge pressures on Qatar’s entry points for imported goods — namely the border with Saudi Arabia. In 2006, at that points, haulage trucks were laid up for two weeks as they went through the customs process. It should be noted that at the Doha Port dwell times for container turn around are already three to four times the international average. Prevention as a solution Whilst it is true that we can do little about the country’s logistics, and we can do nothing about Qatar’s reliance on imports. But, what we can do is to manage our projects intelligently and proactively to ensure that these issues are not needlessly exacerbated which would lead to even higher price rises and cause delays. The implementation of a number of simple, but essential, strategies will help alleviate the situation. The strategies are logical, if not obvious to many, and demand little in the way of technical expertise. What they do require, however, is foresight, patience, organisation and a genuine desire to see the projects succeed over anything else. Many will observe that although a quantity surveyor by training, the strategies I recommend are management related. Quantity surveyors understand and acknowledge that the success of any project and its ability to be brought within the cost efficient parameters and realistic timescales is more down to the project’s management over any other attribute — get the right management, and everything else will follow. Sound project governance is the key, and by this I mean really committed and driven governance with a very clearly defined objective. Projects will succeed at minimising increased costs with a comprehensive and signed off brief that is meticulously

planned and laid out in simple, easy to understand language and strategies. In addition, the right people driving the project forward and embracing the contributions of the project team, will collectively reach a common goal. Implementing a rigorous approach to the five strategies, which are discussed below, will control the impact of increased costs as the volume of work increases to previously unseen levels in the forthcoming years. Briefing Briefing must not be vague if the team are to understand the project and what is required of them. Action! The brief should be conceived through stake-holder management by the Project Manager (PM) as he is trained to elucidate the end-user requirements. He should then turn this briefing into a comprehensive statement, in simple, but specific terms, avoiding the pitfall of unnecessary details, which confuse, rather than clarify. The PM must then communicate this to the stakeholders and secure sign-off before sending the brief to the market. Why? The clarity of the brief is the key to efficiency. Expressing what is required at the outset in a clear and concise manner allows a proper understanding of what is required — lack of scope clarity is the number one reason for variations and delays. Planning Knowing what should happen, why it needs to happen and when it should happen is fundamental to keeping costs under control. Action! All projects need to establish realistic and achievable programmes at the outset. These programmes should deal with every aspect from stakeholder management, engagement and design, team management, to main contractors’ activities, including the procurement schedules for the supply of materials. This becomes the project’s road-map — follow it rigorously and you and your suppliers will meet costs, programme and quality targets. Why? Proper planning prevents poor performance — programmes with unrealistic and unachievable deadlines set projects up to fail, encourage panic procurement, and lead to cost increases and poor quality. Keep it simple Making things overly complicated is proven to cause confusion resulting in wasted time and money.

Action! All aspects of the construction process need to be simplified and more streamlined. In Qatar where most people are communicating in a second language — issues such as over-complicated forms of contract, unnecessarily onerous documentation and the imposition of misplaced project risk has caused confusion and conflict in the past and must be addressed going forward. Why? It is essential that all aspects of the contract, the associated obligations and project drivers are clearly understood with no room for misinterpretation or misunderstanding. It is aimed to control the cost of your development effectively, as people will know what is required at the outset. The right people at the right time Employing people with the right skills at the early stages of the project will result in improved design and cost efficiencies. Action! Developers need to get the right advice at the early stages of the project to ensure that the proposed concept is properly thought through, efficiently driven through the design, fully coordinated and that it eliminates unnecessary costs in the design and specifications. Why? Getting the project right, at the start, enables strategic design and specification decision to be made and implemented before it becomes too difficult, too costly and too time consuming to make the change. Team work Two heads are better than one, and ten are better than two when it comes to brainstorming for more cost effective solutions. Action! Teamwork is well known to be an effective way of achieving better results in less time. All parties must acknowledge the contributions others can make and understand and encourage participation by breaking down imposed formalities and sensitivities that create barriers to creativity, efficiency and the expertise and experience of the team members. Why? The power of team engagement is underestimated in construction — rather than retreating to battle trenches, acting as a unified and cohesive team and working together will pay dividends in cost and programme efficiencies.

MAY 2013

SUCCESS STORY

MINDSET AS

a differentiator

Abdulla Ahmed Mannai, Chairman and Managing Director, Oryx Engineering Solutions Group (OES), symbolises the change among entrepreneurs in Qatar who have had to evolve in tandem with the ever-changing global economy. In a conversation with Tamara Pupic, he looked back at his entrepreneurial journey so far and revealed the secrets of his success.

rofessionalism and accomplishment ooze from the offices of Abdulla Ahmed Mannai, Chairman and Managing Director, Oryx Engineering Solutions Group (OES), in which the biggest place is reserved for the model of their biggest investment – Oryx Engineering Solutions Centre in the Ras Laffan Industrial City. “The government in Qatar has always been very supportive to all the businesses here. But, the people here also used to expect that it was the government’s obligation to support the private sector,” Abdulla said at the beginning of our conversation, and added, “I always wondered how long the government alone could continue to share the burden, and when would the Qatari nationals and SMEs enter the game. In 2002 Qatar acceded to the WTO. That was one of the signs that the future will bring changes and, thus, the private sector had to step up.” In 2003, Abdulla withdrew from the highest positions within his family business, the Mannai Corporation, which is one of the leading and largest private sector companies in Qatar, to establish OES. He continued by highlighting the importance of an entrepreneur’s ability to respond rapidly to change,“Our family business was, for sure, one of the businesses that had received a lot from its motherland and I had this genuine sense to give back. When it became a publicly listed company, I decided to start on my own. At the same time, I tried to establish a window of opportunity

before others also started catching up. OES was conceived within my, so to say, comfort zone, since I was responsible for the industrial side of our family business as well.” From strength to strength One of the main initial challenges was to set up a strong base for future business development, about which Abdulla said, “A startup’s business plan is 80% gut feel and determination and 20% actual plan. Anyone who tells you any different is exaggerating. Originally, I started with two partners. We determined a two-point strategy - focusing on the services sector and creating value addition. We started by providing engineering services. I studied it and saw that there was a gap in the market. That was my gut feeling.” He further revealed that OES’s strength is also in the constant process of revalidation of their ideas, “However, I believe that the real catch is, as the business moves forward, to be able to recalibrate and fine-tune this balance and to provide the same weight to both wings of structure and creativity. OES has been benefiting from the presence and support of a couple of peers and mentors that have been instrumental in our journey. Hence, the business model has been going through continuous scrutiny and guidance. It has not happened in a vacuum and only in my mind.”

Before our conversation tackled their various services in more details, Abdulla opened up on the energy sector in Qatar, “Qatar will continue to play a dominant role in the world’s energy market. The reverberations of oil in North America and, in specific, the latest developments in the gas industries will pose credible challenges. I believe that the real shift in the energy policy for Qatar will be a gradual and yet continuous shift towards Asia. In the meantime, Qatar will build on deriving more home-based value from its resources, such as empowering the SMEs, diversifying the economy and enhancing the downstream capacities of the industry.” Since inception, OES has diversified into few sectors of Qatar’s economy, but Abdulla started by presenting their engineering services, which are still the main segment of his business, “We are very much a bespoke engineering service and solutions provider. We monitor the white spots and challenges that the energy, power and engineering industries face and then posture accordingly. The ultimate aim is to offer what is not available on the beaten track. Our scope of work is not without surprises since we work with various materials that have to face some of the harshest climates and pass the tests of nature and hydraulic or heat demands. For that reason, I guess the crucial element is to always under-promise, over-deliver and along the way clearly, honestly and transparently communicate with clients and customers any setbacks that may arise.” The core of the group’s current strength is the Oryx Engineering Solutions Centre in the Ras Laffan Industrial City. About this more than USD 50 million worth of investment Abdulla proudly stated, “It took us a lot of effort, but finally it was declared operational in May 2012. It is now progressing from strength to strength. From there, we service the industrial segment of the market, predominantly IOCs and NOCs. We do wish to engage in the manufacturing sector because we expect that opportunity to come along once the petrochemical projects start running. Then there will be derivative products, which can be used as feed stock into the manufacturing activities we plan to start.” Highlighting the importance of an entrepreneur’s constant efforts to adapt to changing business environment, Abdulla explained how they widened OES’s business portfolio, ”In the beginning, we became the local partner of Clarendon Parker and, thus, started providing HR services, which then focused on consulting and local recruitment. That is how we developed that segment of our business. Now we consider that vocational training is the key to the growth of SMEs. Currently, we heavily invest in the training and support of our team, but we believe that, with this, we can create value for the industry. I personally believe that we ought to integrate the same level of vigor applied to the development of the underground resources, and equally develop the human capital of Qataris and expats to provide a balanced mix

in our workforce. In the facility in Ras Laffan, we have training facilities and capabilities for 45 people and also for smaller work sessions. So, we think of providing training sessions which will focus not just on theory, but on practical exercises as well. Currently, most of the offered training sessions are theoretical or with models, so we aim to fulfill that gap in the market.” Another important aspect of the group’s offering are the business and industrial services, through which he gained a deeper insight into the conditions for doing business in Qatar, “The good thing is that the government is willing to reduce the red tape. I would say that the biggest issues are incomplete transparency and the lack of communication. Transparency does require explaining some of the reasons behind certain decisions. The communication needs to be pro-active which involves consulting the industry before taking a decision and not after. If nothing else, the businesses will have more time to get prepared. If you ask me specifically about SMEs, I would say that

“Competition is wide spread across all our business segments. It is getting very competitive, but what is not competitive is the mindset. Our mindset is our key differentiator – how we look at our customers, our clients and ourselves internally,” explained Abdulla.

they are always the underdogs and mostly eclipsed by the presence of public sector behemoths. It is crucial to stop relying solely on subsidising the sector, but to create a more balanced playing field for SMEs.” Although the SMEs in Qatar are gaining momentum, Abdulla suggested how to really ensure their fruitful participation in the planned projects, “I believe that a new Qatari SME will have difficulties in seizing the opportunities in the industrial services sector unless the energy sector and the various government-related organisations create equalisation of these opportunities for such businesses. Today, the work is awarded purely on the basis of price which is a very single dimension analysis and a different priority than supporting the local industry.” “Another example of the need to establish effective communication between the government and the private sector relates to the conditions for doing business within the manufacturing industry,”Abdulla further exemplified how the government could facilitate the growth of

MAY 2013

SUCCESS STORY for you. In order to create value, I must be progressive. But, exactly there lies a challenge – how do you create the value? It means that you need to go out and earn your business. For me, our main competitive advantage is the mindset of providing a value-added service to our customers. In that manner, OES has been building sustainable relationships. The way we categorise ourselves is the Western outlook with the Arab culture. We know that we have to do well at every job.” On the challenge of the day-to-day management of their 130 employees, Abdulla said that he has high expectations, but adheres to a strict policy of leading by example, ”My advice for successful management includes the following – arrive early, listen carefully, empower and motivate, invest in soft infrastructure and human capital and share the credit. Basically, my duty is to serve my clients, customers, employees and my country. That sums it up.”

Abdulla Ahmed Mannai

the SME sector, “If I am interested in developing my business within the manufacturing industry, the main obstacle is that there is no publicly declared policy about what is reserved for the governmental projects and what is available for the private sector. Thus, if I have an idea and apply for it, I might not get it. That is the sign of the lack of communication and transparency. At the end of the day, I don’t want any favoritism, but I also don’t want an unachievable path as a strategy. If you want to encourage the private sector, then you need to give them a clear framework, so that they can work on that basis. Otherwise, they can succeed only in the grey area of uncertainty.” The Western outlook with the Arab culture Once we started talking about the competition they face, it became clear to me that it is the resilience of their unique business values which sets the group apart from their counterparts. On this Abdulla said, “Competition is wide spread across all our business segments. It is getting very competitive, but what is not competitive is the mindset. Our mindset is our key differentiator – how we look at our customers, our clients and ourselves internally.” When asked to explain this in more details, Abdulla patiently continued, “There is the mindset here that you have to work with me because I’m a local. I don’t look at it that way. If you want to work with me, I must create value

“Any entrepreneur would admit that, as he was going through his journey, he wondered, “Why am I doing this to myself, let me just open a food shop. Take a franchise and do nothing.” So, being an entrepreneur is harder, but your competition will find it extremely difficult to follow you. On the other side, as the owner of a food shop, you will have more than a hundred other people doing the same,”Abdulla was honest in advising the youth on entrepreneurship, and shared, “My personality is that I always want to do something that is challenging and different. On that basis, I would advise them to be as stubborn and solid as cast iron in listening to their gut feel, yet as soft and flexible so to handle the headwinds. Otherwise, they will break very fast. Last but not least, they should surround themselves with a wise and strong advisory board.” For this entrepreneur, the approach to growth is based on the group’s values as much as market dynamics, “OES is an evolving organisation. All our progress is driven by our customers. But, it cannot be just a customer’s wish list since we check whether there is a significant demand which would justify the investment. In other words, we are influenced by customers’ demand, but we don’t service “the cheapest is the best” market. For that reason, we are going through the constant evaluation process.” Regarding the group’s ambitions, Abdulla is clear in focus, “While we are making our presence strongly felt in Qatar, we have our eyes on the GCC markets and Iraq and Libya. The region has to create jobs, and the energy sector has to finance many of these initiatives. OES is well positioned to contribute to the seamless operation and success of the energy sector and the engineering services. So, the growth is inevitable!” If you have wondered why the group has been named after the Arabian Oryx, which is known for its strength, agility and resilience as for its unique ability to adapt and flourish in` the demanding native environment, Abdulla Ahmed Mannai has unintentionally explained to all of us. Thus, it is true that personality traits distinguish a successful entrepreneur from others, regardless of which business he or she is currently leading.

QATAR’S EXPORT DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

TASDEER TASDEER, Qatar’s export development agency, was launched by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in 2011 with the objective to develop, support, and globally promote exports from Qatar through export �inancing and export development and promotion support to Qatar-based SME exporters. It provides access to �inance, credit insurance and advisory services for exporters and supports businesses to develop their export capabilities through export development and promotion. As part of its offering, TASDEER offers two different sets of services: ■ Export �inancial services ■ Export development and promotion services.

TASDEER’s export development services focus on products and services offered to the exporters in the area of capability and capacity building, market and business-related intelligence and market advisory services. As part of its export promotion services, TASDEER is focusing on facilitating the participation of exporters in identi�ied exhibitions in the target markets

TASDEER

EXPORT DEVELOPMENT SERVICES Product Offering

Key Objective

Product Description

Training Workshops

Capacity building through workshops which educate exporters on key policy initiatives

Workshops on aspects like Single Window System, GSP, free trade agreements, and similar

Trade Map and Market Access

Enabling the exporting community to gain market and business intelligence through public domain sources

Training workshops on the use of Trade Map and Market Access Map through ITC

Trade Secrets

Capability building among small and new exporters through a primer on exports and international trade

Preparing a Trade Secrets Document through interactions with the exporting community. Publishing and holding oneto-one workshops to educate and train small and new exporters

Country Market Surveys

Helping the exporting community penetrate identiﬁed new markets which offer opportunities

Conduct market studies on the identiﬁed set of products, target new markets and share the insights with the relevant exporters

Newsletter Programme

Enabling market and business intelligence and relationship building with the exporting community

Initiating a quarterly newsletter with information on appropriate topics and showcasing a key country and exporters

Importer Database

Enabling market and business intelligence in speciﬁc target markets and building relationships with exporting community

Provide information on importers in key target markets to the relevant exporting community through a database

Product Certiﬁcation Programme

Capacity building among domestic focused companies to enable them to compete internationally

Programmes to facilitate SMEs to obtain relevant product certifications, like ISO and other industry-specific certificates, which will enable their access to international markets

Market Certiﬁcation Programme

Capacity building among exporting community to enable penetration of speciﬁc targeted markets which require certain local standards to be met and help diversify exports

Programmes to facilitate exporters to gain knowledge about the speciﬁc market certiﬁcations and help in the approval process through training and invitations to the approving authorities

EXPORT PROMOTION SERVICES

Product Offering

Key Objective

Product Description

Exhibition Programme

Export promotion through facilitating the participation of exporters in identiﬁed international exhibitions in targeted markets

Programmes to facilitate exporters to participate as a group under the TASDEER umbrella in speciﬁc, targeted exhibitions aligned with the strategy

Matchmaking Programme

Export promotion through matchmaking events in targeted countries and in Qatar to showcase capabilities

Programme inviting trade facilitators and importers from speciﬁc countries either in Qatar or in that particular country and exposing them to the capability of Qatari exporters

Exporter Awards Programme

Raising the public proﬁle of exports by showcasing the exporting community and facilitate data gathering on exports for TASDEER

Programme to award the best performing exporters in various categories through appropriately designed criteria by an independent organisation

Exporters Directory and Export Brochure

Export promotion by showcasing Qatar exporters in appropriate international forums

Publishing the proﬁle and capabilities of the exporters in Qatar as a directory for marketing purposes

Exporter Publicity Programme

Export promotion by facilitating creation of appropriate publicity material for speciﬁc exporters

Programme to enable the design and production of suitable publicity material for exporters targeting speciﬁc markets

EVENTS

Established over 25 years ago, the Gulfood has a well-deserved reputation amongst exporters for providing spectacular business opportunities. For that reason, TASDEER supported participation of eight leading food products’ exporters from Qatar in the Gulfood Exhibition and Conferences 2013.

■ ■ ■ ■

Qatar Tunisian Food Company (Q-T Food) National Food Company (NAFCO) Qatar Food Factory (Pafki Qatar) Chocolate Graphics

As a result, the total order value of QR two million was reached. This conclusion is derived from TASDEER’s measurement of their export enquires and analysis of how many of these enquires were converted into real prospects. The exporters greatly appreciated TASDEER’s support.

n line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, TASDEER, QDB’s export development agency, has initiated the “Export Strategy for Non-Oil Qatari Origin Products” programme, which is focused on SMEs based in Qatar to help them identify export potential of their products and target markets. These exporters are encouraged to enter new markets using TASDEER’s assistance programmes, one of which is participation in various exhibitions.

All eight 8 companies were able to generate over 50 leads

How many export enquiries did you generate and record at your stand?

Co.

In line with this,TASDEER promoted the eight companies by sponsoring their participation in the Gulfood Exhibition and Conferences 2013. The preparation of the Qatar Pavilion included the following activities on behalf of TASDEER:

Flour Mills

■ ■

Food Factory

■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Booking 60 sq. m, at a prominent place Appointing a stand construction company to design and build the Qatar Pavilion stand Sending email invitations to potential importers to visit the Qatar Pavilion Developing the exhibitors’ brochure and distributing it during the exhibition Booking the registration stand to advertise the Qatari Pavilion Distributing flash memories with the directory of Qatari exporters Arranging badge readers

According to TASDEER’s estimations, the pavilion was attended by more than 2000 visitors. The following eight exporters met a lot of interested buyers from all around the region: ■ ■ ■ ■

Qatar Flour Mills (QFM) National Food Company Dandy Company Limited Colosseum Doha

Food

Most of the companies are expecting orders order from 10-20 prospects

How many ofthe en quiri es were you able tc onvert into pprospects pectsattat hethe exhi bit ion?on? How many of the enquiries were you able to o convert into realros exhibiti

Co.

Food Flour Mills

Food Factory

MAY 2013

COMPANY FOCUS

Providing the best As the population is increases in Qatar, the demand for nutritional products is also growing in parallel. Salim Pathan, General Manager, Qatar Flour Mills Co, explained to Jenny Kassis the steps their company is taking to provide exceptional food products for the Qatari market.

Please give us a brief background about your company and your products Qatar Flour Mills (QFM) was established in 1969, as a part of ZAD Holding. Ranked as one of the most reputable food companies in the Middle East region over the past years, QFM has been serving clients on the basis of its modern manufacturing facility and technology.

M. Salim Pathan is the General Manager of Qatar Flour Mills (QFM). Previously, he held several important positions within Arzak Marketing Co., Gulf Franchise Co.(KSA), IFFCO Group, UAE, ETA Zenath Group, and Federal Foods. He holds a MBA in Marketing from Newport University, California, USA. For more information, visit www.qfm.com.qa.

The company is dedicated to providing premium food products that enhance the lives and well-being of people. QFM produces various types of wheat flours and its derivatives such as biscuit flour, whole wheat flour and other related products such as coarse and fine bran, along with pasta. We import raw material from Australia, Canada and various parts of the world depending on where we can get the best products.

What is your view about Qatar’s nutrition sector and its exporting abilities? Qatar’s health and nutrition’s sector is trying to project a very international image of Qatar. The indstry of health and nutrition sector aims to guide people and encourage them to start eating healthy food. We also contribute, in our own way, to this sector by producing new healthy and superior quality products that suit diabetic people.

What kind of competition do you face in the Qatari market? A lot of products are imported to the Qatari market from various countries. Thus, we face a lot of competition from foreign companies from Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and Oman. However, we try to do our best to maintain our position. We have a very good market share. What challenges do you face and how do you resolve them? The main challenge that we face is that we have to deal with the low quality products which are being imported from other markets at very low prices. We are under strict vigilance from the Qatari government which wants us to keep the highest standards. In addition to that, obtaining necessary documents and attestations is a very long process. We think that the government is going in the right direction. For now, we can see that they try to understand our needs since they accept all our suggestions.

What export opportunities do you foresee for your products? Knowing that people across the country count on our products to make their baking the best it can be has helped us in gaining an exceptional market share. The Qatari market is our main market, but we also export to some countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and other GCC countries. In line with that, Saudi Arabia is one of the most important markets for our products, since it is geographically close to Qatar and has a very big population. However, we face a lot of challenges there. The government has decreased the price of local flour and it is now being sold for 1/3 of our price. Nevertheless, the products we sell are of a very high quality and people are asking for it. We are currently looking to export to Canada and USA. We have already started the discussions and, apparently, we are on the right track. The government should make our exports activities easier and ensure that there is one place where we can get all the required documents to operate abroad. This would help us to move forward with our export activities.

How has TASDEER helped you improve your business opportunities? TASDEER has helped us a lot. They made our export activities simpler by assisting us in doing our

own studies and introducing us to new customers. They are currently trying to introduce us to the MENA region markets, especially in North Africa. We haven’t started to export our products there yet, but they are trying to help us by financing some of our projects. In addition to that, we got full support from TASDEER to participate in the Qatari pavilion at the Gulfood 2013. It was a great experience for us and people appreciated our efforts. We got a lot of inquiries from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Oman.

SMEs must have a goal and try to do all what it takes to achieve it. There will always be difﬁculties and challenges, but the government will deﬁnitely help them to make things easier just as they are facilitating our path.

What advice would you give to other SMEs looking at exporting? SMEs must have a goal and try to do all what it takes to achieve it. There will always be difficulties and challenges, but the government will definitely help them to make things easier just as they are facilitating our path.

How do you see your company in the next two years? QFM is a leading company in Qatar. We hope that in the next few years QFM will be a leading name in the GCC region as well and we want to prove that whatever Qatar produces is the best! We are trying to introduce our new product “Chakki Atta”, which is a 100% whole wheat stoned milled and is very important for a healthy digestive system. In line with that, we will continue to focus on high-demand major food commodities relevant to the Qatari market.

MAY 2013

COMPANY FOCUS

CONFIDENCE IN

QUALITY The Gulfood 2013 was a perfect place to promote exporters of food products from Qatar. Tamara Pupic visited the Qatar Pavilion, which was organised by TASDEER, and got talking to Mubarak Rashid Al-Sahuti, Chairman, National Food Company (NAFCO), to hear more about Qatar’s food sector.

Please give us a brief background about your company and your products National Food Company (NAFCO) is a joint venture, which is promoted by Qatar Industrial Manufacturing Company (QIMC) and Hassad Food. NAFCO is focused on processing, packaging and marketing various food products, especially dates. With the National Office of Olive Oil (Tunisia) and other Tunisian investors, NAFCO has set up a joint venture to promote Qatar-Tunisian Food Company (Q-T FOOD). The main activity of this company is to process and bottle olive oil. NAFCO has been existing for 15 years already. We have around 65 employees for both companies.

What kind of competition do you face in the Qatari market? Regarding the market share of our dates, I can say that we are the number one in the market.

Competition comes from some of the UAE brands. They enter our market with low prices due to the subsidies they receive from the UAE government. However, I don’t think that they can compete with us on the basis of quality. With our different brands of olive oil, our market share is around 30%. Our main competition comes from Spain since that country is famous for this product. Thus, we face strong competition, but we have managed to maintain our market share.

What is your view about Qatar’s food sector and its exporting abilities? The government supports this sector a lot and in the future we can expect a lot of new companies to engage within it. For example, our government invests around the world and, at the same time, they also acquire land for food production. All of that is in line with the country’s intention to ensure food security.

As an SME, what challenges do you face to export? We are confident in the quality of our products, so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t face any challenge in that sense. But, when we compare prices with our competitors, we realise that we have a problem. Even though the quality of our olive oil is the best in the market, it is not positioned in the market that well. The reason is that customers cannot understand properly the quality of our products. Therefore, market awareness is an issue. Mubarak Rashid Al-Sahuti was appointed as the Managing Director of National Food Company in 2010. His main aim is to improve the existing operations of processing dates, olive oil and vegetables through expanding the distribution network in both domestic and export markets. He has also taken initiative to finalise new products, which enable NAFCO to strengthen its distribution network in Qatar. For more information, please visit www.qimc.com.qa

Furthermore, our market lacks proper monitoring of the quality of the offered products. The competent authorities perform only the basic tests. That is our main problem.

How has TASDEER helped you improve your business opportunities? Through the participation in this exhibition, we cooperated with TASDEER for the first time. We would be happy to expand our cooperation with them, since that would help us improve our products. For now we export olive oil to KSA, Oman, Kuwait and the UAE. However, in a few months time, we plan to distribute our products across the whole GCC. Our first targets are the markets of Kuwait and Bahrain. In those countries, we are also open to produce olive oil under the brand name of our potential clients who would be interested in such a partnership.

The most important thing is to study that foreign market well. Also, within that market, the exporters should check conditions in various areas, since it can vary quite a lot. How did you prepare for the Gulfood 2013? The Gulfood is the biggest food exhibition in the Middle East region and we have been planning to participate in it for quite some time. Since I

visited this exhibition few times before, I chose to present our companies here. Now, I can say that I find the Gulfood 2013 bigger than all the previous exhibitions. I would like to thank TASDEER for this invitation. We immediately accepted it since we wanted to present our products to other companies and new customers. Our aim was to present our offer to them and explain that we can distribute our products through our agents or directly to an interested customer.

What advice would you give to other SMEs looking at exporting? The most important thing is to study that foreign market well. Also, within that market, the exporters should check conditions in various areas, since it can vary quite a lot. Furthermore, they should know with whom they are benchmarking. They need to benchmark with a proper product. Also, the placing within the market has to be proper. Lastly, the marketing has to be reasonable. They should avoid spending a lot of money without equal results. At the same time, the GCC markets have many other issues, like delays in payments and similar. All of that can negatively influence the effects of marketing strategies. Nevertheless, marketing is essential for distributors to market the products properly. It could help a lot if they prepare a good business plan with their distributors in advance.

How do you see your company in the next two years? We aim to improve our sales of olive oil. At the same time, I want to educate the customers about this product and its benefits for health. Also, I want to educate them on how to distinguish between good and bad quality of olive oil. For example, our company has labs and we do the tests for each shipment. We havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t received any shipment without a proper certificate. We are very strict in this sense. Furthermore, we are currently researching to develop new brands of dates with new packaging. Thus, we also want to improve our sales of dates.

MAY 2013

COMPANY FOCUS

THE RIGHT FORMULA With an aim to present their high standards of quality as a leader within the nutrition industry in Qatar, Colosseum Doha participated in the Gulfood 2013 in Dubai. Jenny Kassis spoke to Gianfrancesco Peretti, General Manger, Colosseum Doha to learn more about their Italian products in the Qatari market. Please give us a brief background about your company and your products Colosseum Doha started its activities in 1999 as a restaurant and was converted into a factory in 2003. It is the only company producing real Italian ice cream in Qatar and in the entire GCC region. We have been doing various activities in the last few years in order to concentrate on our key customers. We have three lines of products: ■ Gelato: Ice Cream ■ Fresh pasta ■ Tirami su Our Italian quality products are not made in Italy, but follow the traditional Italian cuisine. The materials and preparation processes are in line with our heritage. Our range of products is quite wide in order to match the customer’s requirements. We are the artisan of food production and there is no limit to the variety of our items. Our gelato line lists more than 80 flavours while the production capacity reaches over 4,500 liters per day. We produce more than 38 types of fresh pasta within the quantity of 300kg per day. Furthermore, it is made daily in order to be fresh and achieve the best quality in the market at a competitive price. The factory follows the hygiene control HACCP system as per international standards. We are audited by the US authorities, Qatar Airways, Carrefour, and, of course, the municipality’s health department. They come to our factory and check the whole process to make sure that high standards of hygiene are maintained. This is another challenge for us since we need to reach the level of growth in order to please all these parties. We serve the largest supermarket in Doha with our retail lines and also the Ho.Re.Ca sector with various packages suitable for food service.

What kind of competition do you face in the Qatari market? We don’t compete with factories, but mainly with distributors of international brands. For the ice cream, our competition is from the US, but we can’t compete with them since they are the masters of commercialisation. This is why the consumers need to become more educated in order to become selective and aware of the quality of the food they eat. We have adopted an Italian concept of “0 kilometer distribution”, which means you can only buy products from the region you live in. The public must recognise that ice cream is a delicate item. If it is produced far away, it will suffer various temperature schocks, like freezers defrosting cycles, which affects the quality of the food significantly.

What is your view about Qatar’s nutrition industry and its exporting abilities? In the recent years, the government has been focusing on the food sector. However, it still requires a lot of improvements to allow professionals, distributors, producers, restaurants’ owners and the public, to operate in the right direction of having good and healthy food. Food is a part of our life. “Good food” is a sign of status, and this part is still lacking. We need to give more importance to the quality food.

As an SME, what challenges do you face? Our main challenge is to grow continually and reach a level that will allow us to save costs, grow stronger, and, thus, facilitate lower prices for our consumers. Our prices are not more competitive or higher than the average, but the total quality of our products is.

COMPANY FOCUS

What export opportunity do you foresee for your products? We will export to some of the countries across the Gulf. But, we couldn’t export all of our products to Australia and America, even if they asked us, because the quality of our food will not remain the same when exported there.

Gianfrancesco Peretti is the General Manager of Colosseum Doha. He holds a degree in Business Administration. After moving to Qatar in the late nineties to start his own company in interior decoration, he joined the food sector. For more information, visit www.colosseumgelato.com

We will develop this plan further to reach the neighbouring countries like India, Pakistan or Iran by the end of 2013. This will be a great challenge for us since we will have a lot to organise in terms of having a good distribution deal. We are long-sighted since we are looking for continuity and consistency. In addition, we seek to export more than one container per year. However, we can export frozen pasta. We will go further with this plan and reach big countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Jordan. For this, the logistics constitue an issue for us. Land transportation is not easy and we constantly face difficulties on the borders.

How have QDB and TASDEER helped you improve your business opportunities? We need to invest, and this is why, in Qatar, QDB provides a great support to us. If you want to grow your business, you will need, for example, to buy some freezers to display the ice cream or invest in public relations services and reach the public in order to get your name everywhere. This investment is absolutely required since nowadays no progress can be made without support. This support will come partially from the distributors. The manufacturers are obliged to make all the possible efforts to find the right distributor and provide all the needed support for people to recognise their product within the country. This support requires a lot of efforts. We hope to get some financial support from QDB in the future, especially for our export activities.

What advice would you give to other SMEs looking at exporting? SMEs have to align their products with the market needs. They shouldn’t be afraid of comparing their products from any perspective and at any cost to ensure that they meet the market standards. They have to be a little bit daring since I am sure that there are a lot of opportunities for all the people who provide services. I come from a country where the “Made in Italy” concept has been overrated. It was known that “Made in Italy” can open a door anywhere, but that is not the case anymore. Everybody has to make an effort today - this comes from the need to improve our services and our willingness to grow in the market.

Does the FIFA World Cup 2022 offer opportunities in the nutrition to SMEs? The country is taking advantage from this opportunity that will bring hundreds of new customers per day. In addition, we think it will bring a lot of professional traders, supermarkets and hypermarkets which will potentially become our clients. It is the growth of the country that makes the big difference, not the event itself. How do you see your company in the next two years? We are now importing some of our products from Italy and distributing them within the Qatari market. These products are chocolate, olive oil, breakfast snacks, coffee, pickles and cheese. We are working to expand our import activities to add more items like dry pasta, tomatoes, water, nuts, dried fruits and other items in order to complete our food range which would include a whole variety of Italian food. In addition, we plan to expand our services within the next three years. Therefore, we are developing three new plans that are a big challenge for us: ■

Furthermore, TASDEER is helping us to search and locate new distributors and supporting us to get a certain level of commitment from them. In line with that, they facilitated our participation in the Gulfood 2013 which was a great opportunity for us. It allowed us to meet distributors and clients from all over the world.

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Opening of the gourmet shop by December 2013 Starting the home delivery services during 2013 Opening a new factory - Colosseum Doha will buy land to construct its own factory in order to expand the production. This project is set to be completed in 2015.