Private Sector Qatar English | September 2013

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September 2013 www.privatesectorqatar.com/en

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Trade Secrets Get to know about the new book by TASDEER

Business Guru Read about Aamal's modus operandi

Pin it! identifying business opportunities in qatar

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CONTENTS September 2013

22 ACT UPON YOUR IDEA!: Tamara Pupic got talking to the RAWE team to learn about their animation business.

Marketing 24 Become More VISIBLE:

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Johnny Huntington, Owner and Managing Director, Traffic, advised on how to be successful in social media marketing.

Technology 26 DIGITAL MOVEMENT: Fatma Al-Khater, Managing Director, Wakra Lab, explained to Tamara Pupic how her team created Qatar’s first solely digital design agency.

28 WHAT’S YOUR ADDRESS?: Laudy Lahdo, General Manager, Servcorp, presented to us the concept of a virtual office, which has been taking the center stage in the Middle East region.

SMEs

PROMOTING GROWTH THROUGH DIVERSITY In a conversation with Sheikh Mohamed Bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice Chairman, Aamal, Aparna Shivpuri Arya got to know the strategy behind their growth.

30 RIGHT ON TIME!: Tamara Pupic caught up with Pradeep Rajan, CEO, Jersey Group, to know how they managed to set up one of the most advanced glass factories in Doha in just two years.

32 A HEALTHY CHOICE: Nasser Al Kuwari and Ahmad Al Thani, Managing Partners, Salad Boutique Qatar, told Jenny Kassis about their motivation to take a franchise of this new healthy concept and bring it to Doha.

News 10 updates A quick look at news and events from Qatar and the region.

Women in business

Entrepreneur

34 ONE OF A KIND:

14 THE ACCIDENTAL ENTREPRENEUR:

Aparna Shivpuri Arya caught up with Raed Chehaib, CEO, IBN, to follow up on the preparations of the 4th QIBWF, which will be held in November this year.

In an interesting discussion with Aparna Shivpuri Arya, Omar Christidis, Founder, Arabnet, spoke about his experiences and the lessons learnt along the way.

18 KEEP ON GROWING: As part of our series of interviews with members of EO Qatar, Mansoor Al Ansari, the Managing Director of the National Teams Committee at the Qatar Football Association (QFA), and a serial entrepreneur, shared with Tamara Pupic his advice for entrepreneurs.

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18

Legal 36 know the law:

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36

48

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Khalifa Al-Misnad, Partner, Al-Misnad & Rifaat, analysed the Qatar Labour Law No. (14) of 2004, which has played a key role in Qatar’s development to date.

Business guru 38 PROMOTING GROWTH THROUGH DIVERSITY: In a conversation with Sheikh Mohamed Bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice Chairman, Aamal, Aparna Shivpuri Arya got to know the strategy behind their growth.

Finance

TASDEER

42 RESILIENT FINANCIAL SUPPORT:

48 MOROCCAN EXPERIENCES:

52 TRADE SECRETS REVEALED:

Jenny Kassis got talking to Bana A. Azhari, Head of Relationship Management, Treasury Services, MENA, BNY Mellon, to hear her opinion about Qatar’s economy and the latest trade trends in the Middle East region.

TASDEER supported participation of Qatari companies in the Plast Expo Exhibition, which was held from 19th till 22nd June 2013 at the Casablanca International Fairgrounds, Morocco. Private Sector Qatar brings to you the event’s coverage.

TASDEER proudly presents “Trade Secrets – The Export Answer Book for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,” which comprises answers to the most frequent questions an export-oriented SME in Qatar might want to ask.

september 2013

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EDITORIAL Publisher Dominic De Sousa

Editor’s Letter…

Group COO Nadeem Hood Managing Director Richard Judd richard.judd@cpimediagroup.com +971 4 440 9126

We have been talking about entrepreneurs for a long time, so I decided to Google the word to see what comes up and I wasn’t surprised at all with the number of definitions that showed up. Everyone has a different view on what defines an “entrepreneur”. However, the words that do stand out in all definitions are – risk, profit, leader, initiative. And that got me thinking that all the stories we have carried so far have covered these elements and one more important adjective – change!

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

All the entrepreneurs in Qatar and this region are risk takers who have taken the initiative to bring about a change and be leaders in their niche area (did I just create a new definition?). Over the months, every entrepreneur we have met has reiterated the fact that they saw a gap in a particular area and decided to do something about it.

Whether it is Omar Christidis who started Arabnet, Mansoor Al Ansari, Managing Director of the National Teams Committee, Qatar Football Association (QFA), and a serial entrepreneur, or Fatma AlKhater, Managing Director, Wakra Lab, they all have fought their battles and have not given up. And all those budding entrepreneurs out there can draw inspiration from them.

To draw more inspiration, we interviewed, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice Chairman of Aamal, to understand the phenomenal growth of his company and it was refreshing to know the simple philosophy behind their growth – clear vision, ambitious dreams, consistency and patience.

Isn’t that what all of us need? And we at Private Sector Qatar, will work on following this from now onwards and hope to beat the odds along the way…

I’ll stop at this positive note. Please do not forget to reach out to us through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or a simple e-mail. Hope to see some of you in Qatar in the coming months…

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

Printed by

Al Wraq Printing Press, Qatar

Distributed by

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

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advisory Board

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Amal Al-Mannai

Gail Gosse

Amal Al-Mannai, Executive Director, Social Development Center.

Gail Gosse, Dean, School of Business, College of North Atlantic-Qatar.

Professor Nitham M. Hindi

George M. White, Ph.D.

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

Dr. George M. White, Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship, Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar.

Abdulaziz N. Al-Khalifa

Ali Al Khulaifi

Abdulaziz N. Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Development Bank.

Ali Al Khulaifi, Executive Director, Business Support Services, Enterprise Qatar.

Wael Sawan

Hamad Mohammed Al-Kuwari

Wael Sawan, Managing Director and Chairman, Qatar Shell.

Hamad Mohammed AlKuwari, Managing Director, Qatar Science & Technology Park.

Raed Al-Emadi

Rashid Nasser Sraiya Al Kaabi

Raed Al-Emadi, Chief Operating Officer, Silatech.

Rashid Nasser Sraiya Al Kaabi, Chairman of the Board, Energy City Qatar Holding.

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

News

“At INJAZ Qatar, we believe it is our duty to invest in the youth of Qatar. We are delighted to have had QDB by our side over the years, bringing the benefits to our students and supporting them at every step,” said Aysha Al Mudahka, Executive Director, INJAZ Qatar.

INJAZ Qatar receives funding from qdb INJAZ Qatar, a non-profit organisation and member of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, has received funding from Qatar Development Bank (QDB) to support the “ I-Camp ” and “ More than Money ” programmes, both of which are designed to equip young people with entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy skills.

as in various programmes and competitions,” said Amna Jassim Sultan, Business Counselor, QDB, who delivered two programmes for INJAZ Qatar – “Innovation Camp” (I-Camp) and “Company Programme”. The student company she mentored within the “Company Programme” participated in the Mubadara 2013 and won the Best Social Impact Award, sponsored by Siemens.

“I sincerely had a joyful and a rewarding experience volunteering with INJAZ. It was extremely fulfilling to see the students learn from the programme and implement the lessons in their daily lives and academics, as well

INAZ Qatar facilitates links between private businesses and schools allowing employees from different partner companies to teach the INJAZ’s curricula at various middle and secondary schools and universities in Qatar.

The FDI outflow from Qatar slipped by 8.5% in 2012 The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows from Qatar to other countries declined by 8.5% to USD 1.8 billion in 2012.

Meanwhile, the inward fund flow saw a marginal increase of 0.6% to USD 327 million, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its “ World Investment Report 2013 .”

UNCTAD’s country fact sheet on Qatar’s crossborder merger and acquisition showed Qatar’s net purchase reached USD 4.61 billion in 2012.

The report noted FDI flows from the GCC to other countries declined in 2012 by

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17.7% to USD 18.6 billion. Kuwait was once again the largest investor overseas, accounting for 41% of outflows with USD 7.6 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with USD 4.4 billion, and the UAE with USD 2.5 billion.

Overall, the FDI in the GCC in 2012 increased slightly, when compared with 2011, to reach USD 26.4 billion, bringing to an end to three consecutive years of declining FDI flow to the region since the pre-financial crisis peak was at USD 61.7 billion in 20 08, NBK’s economic update said.

“Focus on entrepreneurship is key to driving the private sector growth in Qatar, and INJAZ is doing a great job of encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit in young people,” said Mansoor Bin Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO, QDB. “Innovation Camp” (I-Camp) is a half-day programme where young people gather and work collaboratively to address a specific business challenge and identify business opportunities to solve that challenge. For the academic year 2012/2013, QDB funded the “I-Camp” programme that was delivered for Mosab Bin Omair School. QDB has provided funding for 150 students.

“More than Money” teaches students about earning, spending, sharing, and saving money, and businesses they can start or jobs they can perform to earn money. For the academic year 2012/2013, QDB funded “More Than Money” classes, which were delivered at three independent middle schools in Qatar. QDB provided funding for 150 students for this programme as well.

Gains for companies listed on QE Signaling the return of investors’ confidence, companies listed on the Qatar Exchange (QE) registered higher earnings with their total net profits expanding 13.86% in the period of January to June 2013, against 2.71% in 2012.

Robust earnings expansion, especially in the insurance, industrials, transport and telecom sectors, helped the 41 listed companies to report a cumulative net profit of QR 20.91 billion in the first six months of 2013, which is up from QR 18.37 billion in the comparable period of 2012, according to the bourse data.

Qatar leads in the regional A&M deals in H1 2013 Qatar leads the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with four out of the top ten (40%) acquisition and merger (A&M) deals by value, followed by the UAE with 20%, which were announced in the region during the first half (H1) of 2013, according to a statement issued by the Londonbased Ernst & Young (EY).

Ltd in India by Qatar Foundation QSC for USD 1.26 billion. The majority of SWF and private equity (PE) activities were in the telecommunications sector.

The value of disclosed inbound deals in the MENA increased from USD 5.1 billion in the first half of 2012 to 10.6 billion, which is a rise of 108%, according to EY’s MENA M&A Update. The outbound deal value dropped by 37% from USD 10.5 billion in H1 2012 to USD 6.6

The largest sovereign wealth fund (SWF) deal was the acquisition of 5% stake in the Bharti Airtel

billion in H1 2013 and domestic deal value decreased by 13%.

The top announced deal in H1 2013 was Baskindale Limited’s acquisition of Orascom Telecom Holding in Egypt for USD 6.4 billion, followed by the acquisition

by Sorouh Real Estate PJSC in the UAE of Aldar Properties PJSC for USD two billion, and Netherlands based OCI N V acquisition of Orascom Construction Industries in Egypt for USD 1.9 billion.

The largest volume of domestic deals was in the UAE, representing 25% of domestic deals in H1 2013, followed by Saudi Arabia representing 19% of domestic

Save the date!

deal volume in the MENA. In Q2 2013, the value of disclosed deals dropped by 43% from USD 14.3 billion in Q2 2012 to USD 8.1 billion. However, announced deal volume increased by 20% from 92 deals in Q2 2012 to 110 deals in Q2 2013, which has been the highest Q2 M&A activity since 2008.

September - October 2013

Date

Event

Location

2 - 4 September

Middle East Health, Safety, Environment & Sustainable Development Conference and Exhibition

Doha

3 - 6 September

E-Week Entertainment

Doha Exhibition Centre

10 - 13 September

Small and Medium Industries Exhibition

Doha

10 - 13 September

Tower Technology Exhibition

Doha

12 - 15 September

Made in China

Doha

15 - 18 September

Cyber Security for Energy and Utilities Qatar

Doha

16 - 17 September

ITS Road Safety Forum

St. Regis Hotel Doha

16 - 18 September

Global Refining Technology Forum

Al Sharq Village & Spa

22 - 25 September

Made in Finland

Doha Exhibition Centre

23 - 24 September

Construction Leaders Forum Qatar

Hilton Hotel Doha

23 - 24 September

Building Information Modeling Summit

Doha

25 September

Back to Business Event by AmCham Qatar

Four Seasons Hotel

28 September

Forum and Exhibition: The Gulf-European Partnership

Qatar Chamber

29 September – 1 October

Doha Transportation and Rails Road Exhibition

Doha

30 September – 2 October

9th Annual HSE Forum in Energy

Grand Hyatt Hotel

7 - 10 October

8 Doha International Oil and Gas Exhibition

Doha Exhibition Centre

15 - 17 October

Negotiation Skills for the Oil and Gas Industry

Doha

21 - 24 October

Ground Support MENA Congress 2013

La Cigale Hotel

21 - 23 October

Stenden Qatar Conference on the Future of Event Legacies

Stenden University Qatar

28 - 30 October

Eco-Q

Doha Exhibition Centre

29 - 31 October

World Innovation Summit for Education 2013 (WISE)

Qatar National Convention Centre

30 – 31 October

Food Chain

Doha

th

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

September 2013

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REGIONAL News

The most popular gadgets for travellers The need to stay connected at every corner of the globe has made technology both a trusty companion and an indispensable resource for leisure travellers. According to Visa’s Global Travel Intentions Study 2013, phones are the top choice as a holiday companion (84%), followed by computers (60%), cameras (55%), and entertainment devices (23%) for travellers from Africa and the Middle East (AMEA) region.

71% of travellers share their holiday experiences online after returning from their trips.

Gadgets are used to find essential information and easily share their travel experiences with friends and family, which is why 71% of travelers from Africa and the Middle East take a SmartPhone with them. The study revealed that 33% of travellers choose to use their devices to check-in online while abroad. This emerging trend is not just limited to the trip itself since

Online sources such as travel reviews, service providers and official tourism websites are used by 42% of AMEA travellers for trip planning, 37% for bookings of independent travel, and 33% for information while traveling. Travellers from Asia Pacific are the most tech-savvy, with these numbers increasing to 80%, 76% and 73% respectively.

The weight of the gadget (39%) and the Internet capability (34%) are important factors when deciding which gadgets to bring on holiday. Firsttime travellers, however, seem to prefer to travel light as they picked the weight of their gadget as being the most important factor (50%).

QNB Group analyses UAE’s growth QNB Group has published the UAE Economic Insight 2013 Report , which looks at recent macroeconomic developments and presents QNB Group’s revised forecast of key economic indicators for 2013-14. The following bullet points summarise the main insights: • We forecast real GDP growth to slow to 4.0% in 2013 and 3.8% in 2014 as the recovery in the non-oil sector is offset by a slowdown in the oil and gas industry.

• The growth of oil production is expected to slow because of delays in issuing contracts and uncertainty over the 2014 expiration of the 35yr concession on Abu Dhabi’s onshore oil fields.

• The non-oil sector will be buoyed by the continued private sector consumption growth and large construction projects more than offsetting a slowdown in government expenditure. Downside risks to this scenario include lower global economic activity and further declines in oil prices • Inflation is expected to remain moderate over the medium term

Towards renewable energy Two of the largest oil producers are readying the Middle East’s first big push into renewable energy by planning solar-power plants, which will need more than USD 1.5 billion in financing by the end of 2014.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), and the UAE, the fourthbiggest in the group, are seeking to add 1,000MW of solar capacity, which is enough to electrify 200,000 homes.

Governments across the Middle East and North Africa consider sun and wind energy

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as crucial for meeting the needs of growing populations and economies, with Saudi Arabia leading the way. Oil-producers want to develop renewables to conserve more crude for export while countries relying on imported fuel see local green power as a cheaper alternative.

Renewables investment in the Middle East and North Africa rose 40% last year to USD 2.9 billion, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Spending on more than 100 projects under development, including those for solar, wind and geothermal power, could surge to about USD 13 billion in few years.

• Lower oil revenues will also lead to a narrowing of the national fiscal surplus to 5.0% in 2013 and 3.5% of GDP in 2014 • The current account surplus is expected to narrow slightly in 2013-14, owing to lower oil prices and import growth, which is linked to rising domestic demand • The banking sector is expected to contribute to the real estate and construction recovery. Banks are likely to focus on higher net-worth depositors as they face some competition from shadow banking in the lower income segment.

Mismanagement of print costs businesses between 1-3% of revenue annually If companies printed in duplex, their paper costs could be reduced by 30%

Take control of your spiralling print costs.

Print is often the forgotten business cost, yet solutions are readily available to ensure businesses have maximum visibility and control of their print output. In its latest White Paper, SMB Buying Considerations for Smarter Business Printing, IDC sounds a note of caution that when printer usage is left unchecked there is potential for costs to spiral out of control. Print smart, print OKI. To download the IDC White Paper scan the QR code or visit www.okime.ae/corporate/thought-leadership

Entrepreneur

The accidental entrepreneur Omar Christidis is a bundle of energy, who seems to be buzzing with ideas and a go-get-it attitude. Therefore, it came as no surprise that he is founder of Arabnet, which is a hub for digital professionals and entrepreneurs in the region. In an interesting discussion with Aparna Shivpuri Arya, Omar spoke about his experiences and the lessons learnt along the way.

The beginning…

I met Omar a few months ago and we got talking about his entrepreneurial journey so far. But, not before he had ordered his lunch. So, there was a man, who had his priorities right.

Effusing energy, Omar started the conversation by saying that being an entrepreneur is like having a baby. “Someone explained how having a baby felt and I thought this is exactly like starting your own company. With kids, most of the time it’s about cleaning diapers, feeding them, making sure that they’re not crying. It’s an exhausting and challenging task. And then you have small moments, which are brilliant, such as when the kid smiles, and these moments are filled with ecstasy and joy. And you say ‘this is exactly why I’m doing this’ and it brings meaning to life and then you go back to changing diapers. So the day-to-day drudgery is a process. But, you live for those brilliant moments,” he opined. I couldn’t argue with that analogy, could I? To me there seems to be a mad rush to be an entrepreneur in this region. It comes across as a glorified profession. However, Omar was quick to burst my bubble. “I think it is a lot tougher than most people see it from the outside. Some people think that this is going to be an opportunity for them to come in, build a product and it’s going to go viral and they’re going to get rich quick. Everyone thinks that they’re going to build the next Instagram. I used to say that too. I was going to build a company within three to five years. And I looked around and the more people I talked to, the more I realised that it takes ten years to build a really good business. It takes ten years of blood, sweat and tears, of endlessly pitching to new clients.”

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He further added that he used to be a consultant for a while and being an entrepreneur is harder than being a consultant, with none of the perks. But, looking at my confused and dejected expression, he was quick to add that there are benefits as well. “I don’t want to underplay the benefits, there’s something rewarding about building something new - about seeing the value that you are creating for yourself and for others. It’s about making an impact that’s really powerful and having ownership. Those are all rewarding things, but most of the time you’re carrying a tremendous weight on your shoulders, which is making sure of the continuity of the entity that you’ve created.”

Moving on to more details about how he became an entrepreneur, Omar said, “I was an accidental entrepreneur like most of the people I know, who are entrepreneurs. Actually, when I started ArabNet I was looking for a job. I wanted to do a job in the digital sector and I really wanted to be involved in a startup. I started looking around and found very few resources, very few places where I could connect with people working in the digital sector or know about the opportunities. So, I thought, there’s definitely an opportunity for someone to bring these people together. That was the first reason.

And the other one was that I knew that there are limited platforms for entrepreneurs to connect with investors, present their ideas and products, get exposure and meet new clients.”

This was in 2009, so this was before all the entrepreneurial craze that we are all seeing today. In 2009 Twitter was a very ‘insider’ community, and not a household name. It was after the Arab spring in 2011 that Twitter and Facebook became a household name in

development in the digital sector, startups that are getting funding or launching. They have a startup database that has more than 600 startups who have listed themselves. Anyone can check it out and see information about interesting startups in the Middle East. A lot of that growth has come as well with the growth of the sector and the increasing interest of digital businesses and traditional businesses moving towards digital technology.

Since this was such a new concept I had to ask him how difficult it was to convince people and to start on this path. To this Omar said, “Actually my co-founder is my mother. She has been in the events business for 20 years. She is a conference manager expert, so it worked really well. I was kind of a content expert and she was the events management expert. But, was it tough? Sure it was. Aramex was the first client that I had. That was amazing. They were the first people who took a leap of faith and who were with us. I guess that’s something you remember when you’re an entrepreneur.”

Omar Christidis

According to Omar, the main challenge for a country like Qatar is the size of the market, which is very small. And the Internet is a mass media, so you need a mass to make a dent in the Internet.

the Middle East. In 2009, the Arabnet Summit was definitely an insider event. The event was full of bloggers, people who are in the industry, people who are on Twitter, a lot of whom today are consulting for brands and social media strategies.

“I saw the opportunity there and I went around and I evangelised it. I travelled to all the different markets and in each market I did two levels of meeting, I met with the CEOs to convince them to come on board, speak at the event, and sponsor it. And I also did ‘tweet-ups’ to meet with entrepreneurs, people who had ideas and got them excited about the event.

Our vision was to bring the CEOs and executives together with young people, who are innovators and have entrepreneurial ideas and new products for businesses,” opined Omar.

The rest as they say is history. The first one was a big success and has since driven the growth of their activities. Now, Arabnet is in three markets- Lebanon, the UAE and KSA. They organised a tournament for developers across four markets the UAE, Lebanon, KSA and Jordan. They also write about the latest

Omar continued on this line and remarked that he has built a lot of these relationships over Twitter. For instance they are getting AT Ventures involved, which is a digital company based in Egypt. “And I got them involved because I found one of the company heads in the senior management on Twitter. I called him, and one thing led to another. It was a painstaking process of building relationships and then pitching to people.

But people were ready for it, people were excited about having a digital conference,” remarked Omar.

So, how digitalised is this region?

My next question was to ask him about his take on the digital landscape in the GCC countries. In Omar’s perspective, the UAE is a business hub. This is where people come if they want to actually sell their products, connect with clients and media agencies here, marketing managers and the global brands are here. So, this is where people come to do business, if they want to expand. Everyone wants to have at least one or two people here in Dubai doing business, even if they have a big chunk of their team doing the actual production work and operations elsewhere. So, that’s one differentiation.

Well what about Qatar? According to Omar, the main challenge for a country like Qatar is the size of the market, which is very small. And the Internet is a mass media, so you need a mass to make a dent in the Internet. If you look at where the traffic is coming from? First, for most sites the number one would be Egypt. Also there are people who are really interested in the Saudi market as KSA has got a huge population, and big dispensable income so people wants to advertise towards the Saudi market so they see a lot

september 2013

15

Entrepreneur

of the content businesses focus on getting traffic from Saudi, getting engagements. Therefore, they can get advertisement from the KSA market. So, that’s where the digital business is.

With all this business, I assumed that there would be no dearth of Arabic content online. But, to my surprise, Omar proved me wrong. “Most of the content on the Internet is in English. Perhaps not enough of it is going onto the Internet. The question is, are enough publishers doing content online for magazines or newspapers? Are there enough websites where people are doing content online? Part of it is that the budget for advertising online is very small. Not more than a couple of percent compared to say in the US where they have more than 12% and in the UK where 20% of budgets are for digital advertising.

Here we have probably less than 5 % of digital ad spent in the Middle East,” Omar stated.

So, how do you see the trend in the coming years in the digital sector in this particular region, I asked.

“E-commerce is booming - it’s like a USD 15 billion opportunity in the region. But, problems include payment and delivery. The biggest problem that the region is facing today is cash-on-delivery, because returns are higher.”

Continuing on this thread, another trend he highlighted was online advertising. He gave an example of Coke Studio. “Coke Studio is an MBC project that had just been launched. Essentially, CocaCola is sponsoring this content so everything in it is branded by coke. Another is shahiya.com it’s a Website for food and recipes, it’s an Arabic Website targeting KSA and they have branded content as part of their Website. You can go through and get recipes from the Website, one part of their Website is a branded content portal for Puck. So, not only it is a branded take-over of that sub-part of the side but more importantly everyday they have new recipes using Puck. So, content is integrated with the brand.”

Omar further explained that more and more brands need to be aware of what content they need to create and they need to create more content as their brand engages on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook to keep their community engaged constantly. They have to create images, videos and texts constantly. They have to come up with interesting things to say to keep their audiences interested. The line is continuously blurring between advertising and content.

“I have also been talking about different digital media trends that are going on. Another one is called transmedia which is defined as telling a story across multiple

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Manage your expectations. This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. If you’re getting involved you need to be aware that you have to be in it for a long time. media. So, today 40% of people in the United States are using another device while watching TV on a daily basis.

It’s a two-screen experience- therefore as a broadcaster or a media company I have to leverage that two-screen experience,” remarked Omar. He elaborated this by giving an example of a new TV-series, which has its own mobile app. So when a new episode airs, you sync your app with the episode by recording, the app realises that you’re watching the episode, unlocks different features related to that episode. So, while watching you can also engage and check out scenes where different things happened in the show, and get more information. So, those are two interesting trends especially in the media space.

Pearls of wisdom We were coming to the end of our talk since Omar is a busy man. So, as a parting question I asked him the quintessential question we ask everyone we interview – dos and don’ts for aspiring entrepreneurs. And Omar did share some words of wisdom with us. “My advice would be, first, find a co-founder. Don’t do it alone, and find someone that complements you. The bigger the burden gets, the happier you’ll be that you have someone to share it with you. Second, get a job first. Being an entrepreneur is not just about building an app. You need to know all of the things that I discussed in the beginning. Especially in this market, doing business means having relationships and as a young person who has no work experience you haven’t built the necessary relationships that you need or might need to have a successful business. You also don’t have the operational and business experience, so go get some experience first. Third, manage your expectations.

This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. If you’re getting involved you need to be aware that you have to be in it for a long time. Plan for ten years, and if you’re not ready to plan for ten years then reconsider, it’s a long and hard road. But, don’t give up.”

He wrapped up by quoting Thomas Edison - “Most of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Well, all I know is that I interviewed someone who didn’t give up.

www.interactiveb.com The Fourth Qatar International Businesswomen Forum November 11-12, 2013 - St. Regis Doha Hotel, Qatar

Register Now >> www.qibwf.org

Main Topics

Women Counted: Challenges Become Opportunities The role of change-makers in theory and practice.

Developing and harnessing the leadership potential of businesswomen.

Makings of the confidence to lead in employment.

Transforming institutions to make them more accountable to gender equality and

women's rights.

Growing and funding entrepreneurship and innovation among women.

Women visionaries – The makings of forward-looking Arab and international

women leaders and individuals of action who were a driving force of innovation, entrepreneurship, and a new start-up culture and mindset.

Top Speakers

H.E Minister Dr. Mohammed Saleh Al Sada

Minister of Industry and Energy- Qatar

Organized by interactive business network

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev Founder, Isha Foundation - India

@ QIBWF

Tawakkol Karman

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate & Head of Women Journalist without Chains (WJWC) –Yemen

Dr. Saad Al Barrak

Chairman, ILA Group Kuwait

www.qibwf.org

H.E. Dr. Fatima Al Balooshi

Bahraini Minister of Social Development – Bahrain

For more informarion please contact us on: • Tel. +974 44877442 - 44881525 • Fax: +974 44873196 44880627 • Email us on: info@qibwf.org • www.interactiveb.com

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Entrepreneur

Keep on growing It’s been an important year for Mansoor Al Ansari, the Managing Director of the National Teams Committee at the Qatar Football Association (QFA), and a serial entrepreneur, although one might say that the story has just begun. In a conversation with Tamara Pupic, as part of our series of interviews with members of EO Qatar, he shared his vision and advice for entrepreneurs on how to stay at the top of their game.

“T

he word ‘entrepreneur’ has recently increased in popularity due to many opportunities this region now has on offer. However, I believe that being an entrepreneur requires an ambitious attitude needed for putting up a system to move forward. An entrepreneur keeps on striving to grow, and never ceases to stop. That’s the main intention - to keep on growing,” said Mansoor Al Ansari, who is a Board Member of EO Qatar, a serial entrepreneur, and the Head of the National Teams at the Qatar Football Association (QFA). Our conversation followed the experience captured from his roles in this order since details about many different business hats that he wears proved to be a demonstration of his beliefs as one of the founding members of EO Qatar. ”EO Qatar is a great incentive. Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle for me. For that reason, EO Qatar prefers an entrepreneur to be someone who is fully dedicated to his endeavours,” he remarked.

Being very good at articulating his vision, he started by advising the youth in Qatar to make their mark in life, “Due to the fact that we are Qataris, and our population is small, we need to be more productive to be able to drive things faster. That’s the message I’m trying to deliver.

You have to achieve the goals which you will feel proud of. So, the reason for many of my engagements is to be part of and contribute to our national vision of success in all areas. And, how can one do that if he or she lacks the ambition to lead towards it? That, in my opinion, is the winning mentality.”

Continuing with his advice, Mansoor expressed nothing short of praise and admiration for the Qatari leadership, “Qatar provides us with many opportunities and nobody actually has to work hard to live

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a comfortable life, but where’s your purpose if you are not going to work hard. I believe that our leadership and government have been providing everything for us to live that comfortable lifestyle. So, it is just a matter of who takes advantage of it to make the best out of it. My point is that when you approach something with a mindset of, ‘I can do it,’ then you will do it. Otherwise, you might not get it since it’s not in your hands yet. This applies to all aspects of life.”

In his opinion, business and management are similar to science, whose learning process can be quite “expensive” for an entrepreneur. Luckily for Mansoor, his career started differently, “By being an entrepreneur, you don’t give yourself the benefit of training and development because you are focused on the day-to-day operational matters. On the other hand, by being a corporate employee, you get to be on a development plan and gain experience from the work you put in.

Because I started in the banking sector, I had the benefit of gaining corporate experience and developing a professional mindset.”

Due to his father’s diplomatic career, Mansoor was born and raised abroad, but returned to Qatar in 2006 after graduating from Eastern Washington University, “I came back to Qatar and started my career in the banking sector. Although finance wasn’t my educational background, I wanted to understand the Qatari market better. I joined Masraf Al Rayan that was a new bank at that time, in which every Qatari was a shareholder. It was a good opportunity to understand the market, get to know the community, and build a network. So, I worked with them for five years and clambered up the ladder. Since I was the employee number 76, I saw the organisation grow and expand to around 600 employees.”

Lessons learnt In line with this, he stressed that the establishment of EO Qatar was about speeding up the learning process for entrepreneurs. “That is also what has attracted me,” he added and shared a story about his first business pursuit which was sparked out of his love for motorcycling. ”Qatar hosts the Motor GP, which is the top motorcycle event in the world. It also used to host a lot of other international motorcycle events and championships. Since I was a big motorcycle fan, I saw the opportunity that those motorcycle events offered. In 2005, I started Pit Stop, which was a retail outlet for motorcycle accessories and apparels. I also sponsored a racing team of four Qatari motorcycle riders, who competed under my shop’s name.

Later on, I realised that the market was not capable to handle this business anymore,” stated Mansoor.

Although making ends meet is a constant concern for all businesses, he opined that recognising the moment for an exit strategy is a crucial lesson for all entrepreneurs, “In 2007/2008, four factors affected my business and alarmed me to take the necessary steps. Firstly, inflation rose and my operational costs and costs of goods doubled.

Secondly, I was the first to enter the market and a 100% market shareholder, but I lost a big portion of the market share at once when few motorcycle accessories outlets entered the market without a proper feasibility study and created an over-supply of products. At the same time, motorcycle dealerships started bringing in accessories to

Mansoor Al Ansari

sell with their bikes that competed with us. Thirdly, due to the fast growth of the motorcycle market a lot of accidents were happening, which resulted in the Ministry of Interior launching an awareness campaign for motorcycle riders.

Although I considered it as a positive thing, it affected my business. Lastly, the Motorsports Federation changed the strategy and narrowed down the motorcycle events in Qatar.” Thus, it made business sense to shut down his retail outlet after four years of operating, “Now, I only distribute products to other motorcycle outlets. The profitability is not the same, but it’s less of an operational headache.”

By honestly sharing his part of lessons learnt the hard way, he pointed out the benefits that EO Qatar now offers to its members, “EO Qatar is an entrepreneurial machine that was made to develop entrepreneurs by establishing some kind of a platform for us to learn from each other. Also, it fast-tracks an entrepreneurial journey.

For example, if I’m facing problems in HR within my new venture, when it goes around the table someone will tell me, ‘Yes, I went through that before, you can do this.’ They give you solutions. But, if you are alone, as I was, it might take much longer to figure that out.”

Sustain the growth Highlighting the importance of being productive, he continued by explaining how his commitment to a healthy lifestyle added another string to his bow, “I am a food lover as well as a sports and fitness fanatic. Some time ago, I attended a forum on franchising and met the owner of a brand I’ve been a big fan of – Which Wich.

It is a sandwich concept from Texas. During our dinner that evening, we realised a lot of similarities between us since he was also part of EO, sport-oriented and focused on healthy food. I wasn’t thinking of taking a franchise, but he offered me to consider it. For me that was a much respected sign of appreciation. So, I carried out the required market research and decided that it could work in Qatar. In June 2012, we signed an agreement. Now, we are looking for locations for launching the agreed outlets.

The difficulty, which we face in the food and beverage sector or in the retail business generally, is the lack of retail commercial space in Qatar. Also, a lot of malls are being launched and it is difficult to enter as they all look for large established organisations.”

This new venture inspired him to put his managing skills to good use and restructure his family business, “Around five years ago, my sister opened an authentic Japanese restaurant named Oishi Sushi that is located in Royal Plaza Mall. We’ve been familiar with the Japanese culture because our father was Qatar’s Ambassador to Japan and we lived there for over nine years. I used to suggest to my family that we needed a restaurant management company that would operate all our other vendors under it as outlets. This was how the idea of Waleema Food Services came to light. It now owns full rights of Which Wich while Oishi Sushi is also under the umbrella on the basis of a management agreement with Waleema.

september 2013

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Entrepreneur

The company’s vision is to grow through concepts developed by us, franchises for which we own full rights, and a joint venture with a regional food and beverage company that we are currently negotiating. I’m trying to incorporate everything and make it more professional and competitive.”

When asked how he will manage all these activities, Mansoor reverted to EO Qatar to reveal the main thread which holds all the pieces together, “For two to three years, I was the Head of Membership. I used to screen new applicants, see whether they meet the requirements, and bring them on board. A lot of them joined for one reason only – the energy and positivity. The fact that people around you motivate you to do more, then why stop? The faster you grow, the harder you fall. But, the intention is to learn how to sustain that growth and secure yourself from falling by implementing systems.”

In that manner he planned Waleema’s growth strategy, “In five years, our vision is to have around ten operating outlets and a team to manage it and focus on the company’s growth. During the last year, I was dealing with it on a day-to-day basis. For the past few months, I’ve been only supervising it. The plan is that it should become a fully self-operating company within the next year, when I will just chair and meet with the team regarding important decisions.”

In his opinion, Qatar is a small market in which many people own different businesses, and to manage all of them properly, his advice is to ensure not to spread too thin, “The thinner you get, the more easily you can break.”

While he acknowledged the importance of good organisation, he was keen to assert that changing people’s perceptions towards their own goals is crucial, “I believe that the sky is the limit. I really want everyone to ask themselves where they see themselves in five years. Always keep your goals big! As long as you believe in Allah and yourself, you should follow your ideas by doing proper evaluation and understanding all the risks. So, don’t just jump into something without knowing enough about the market and your future competition. I turned down so many opportunities in order to make the right decision.

I looked only at opportunities that make sense and add value to me personally and to my country.”

A quiet achiever However, that kind of an opportunity actually chose him and allowed him to combine his business acumen with his passion for sports, “Winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 bid was a wakeup call for all of us to immediately start preparing for it. Two years ago, I got the opportunity to join the sports world as the Managing Director of the National Teams Committee. My biggest

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Always keep your goals big! As long as you believe in Allah and yourself, you should follow your ideas by doing proper evaluation and understanding of all the risks. So, don’t just jump into something without knowing enough about the market and your future competition. challenge was to develop a professional working culture with optimum organisation, and an efficient system that would allow our operational staff to support our teams, who have been competing in different tournaments and qualifications.”

Declaring his complete commitment to his recent appointment as the Acting Chief Operating Officer of the Qatar Stars League, he shied from talking too much and appeared as a quiet achiever preferring that his results speak louder than his words, ”The mission now is similar – to take over the operational side of the league and develop a working culture and a comfortable environment for our staff to make good results. My new challenge is to create a strong league of international standards that can support our clubs and our counterparts, which are the Qatar 2022 Supreme Committee, the Qatar Football Association, and Aspire Zone Foundation, in their own strive for success. Since 2013, the league went from 12 to 14 teams. Overall, it’s a little bit more difficult organisation to lead.”

When asked about his approach to leadership, he said, “Our role, as leaders, is to motivate, guide and support.

As long as you have good people working with you, all they need is proper support. However, managing people is just as difficult as managing your operational tasks. I’m a firm believer that if you delegate properly to the right people, you will be successful. So, you have to know how to manage and lead.”

Throughout the whole conversation Mansoor was appreciative of the support given by many family members, friends, colleagues and superiors, who have been contributing to his success till now, and, therefore, concluded on that note, “On a personal basis, the reason why I joined EO Qatar is that all other members have been going through the same things as I’ve been, but they remain positive. So, when you see people around you doing something that you think is difficult, you tell yourself, ‘If they are doing it, then I can do it too!’ So, we share that energy and support each other by being passionate, motivated and ambitious. That’s why all of us keep on moving forward.”

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Entrepreneur

Act upon your idea!

Since animation is a predominant visual form that we all engage with, it successfully serves as a cultural bridge among nations. With this intention, Abdulrahman Al Ishaq, Dr. Jassim Al Abdullah, Ahmed Al Farsi and Khalid Al Ishaq, RAWE, created their animation development studio to properly present values of the local content to the world. Tamara Pupic got talking to the RAWE team to learn how they developed their business out of this particular art form.

How was the idea of RAWE created?

After the 9/11 attacks, although we were still in high school, we realised how unknown our country was to the world because of the misrepresentations that ensued the events. We felt frustrated because our culture was hated and accused of things that were not true.

We were also fans of Anime and Manga, which are Japanese animated productions, and admired how these cartoons popularised the Japanese culture throughout the world.

We saw the potential that this form might have in providing the world with an insight into our culture and as a way to globalise the local content through popular arts. To ensure an accurate depiction of our culture, we turned RAWE into a collaboration studio where the community creates its own entertainment organically.

What kind of services does RAWE offer?

The core business of RAWE is to create intellectual property in a context native to our culture with a focus on comic books, animation and video games. Other services include advertising, training and concept development. RAWE is also a talent incubator, which is part of our social services.

How did you get your business plan in place?

The first step was to learn how to actually write a business plan.

That led us to explore a wide range of business concepts, which were to a degree foreign to us. We then had to hit the streets and

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learn about our competitors and potential barriers. Progressively, our options and opportunities became clearer to us, which made the rest increasingly easier.

Which options did you consider for financing your business?

One of RAWE’s strongest aspects is that it’s very scalable and can be started and maintained on a shoestring budget. Our options were to seek financing from a bank or from investors. The third option was to invest our own savings in our project. We preferred the last option because we didn’t want to waste time since the required budget was minimal. Thus, we chose to keep the other options for the later stages of the project.

How easy is it to start a business in Qatar?

Starting a business in Qatar is very easy and straightforward, if it’s a typical business. But, if your business is original and has a twist, it can become a bit difficult.

Qatar invests heavily in its people and supports their individual development and well-being. This is translated into many entities and initiatives created to support the interests of Qatar’s population in general.

Having said that, not all entities in the country have the same priorities. Though we got support and encouragement from one side, we had difficulties in obtaining some paperwork from another. At the end, one needs the support of others to overcome various difficulties that he or she might face.

that has creativity as a main asset, Qatar must invest in every crazy and silly idea that a Qatari kid might have since Qataris are considered a minority and a rare resource. Through RAWE, we aim to start this process by providing an example on how it could work and by effectively fueling the creativity of the population and future artists.

What would be your advice for new tech entrepreneurs in Qatar?

If you search your original idea on Google, you are likely to discover that it’s not as original as you thought.

So, be as innovative and original as possible.

Instead of improving what already exists, aim for a paradigm shift and don’t fall into the trap that it’s safer to be the same as others. It helps greatly if your goal is to fix a genuine problem instead of only making money.

And, only do it if you’re passionate about it.

In today’s world, if you’re not online, you virtually don’t exist, which is very ironic. Even if you sell cupcakes from your house, social media and the everimproving technology associated with it plays a vital role in the success of your business.

We are fortunate to have the support of our families and the support of Enterprise Qatar, which helped us overcome many hurdles. However, let us imagine that someone had a brilliant idea, but did not have the support of an entity, then their journey could be longer than needed.

Please tell us your opinion on the art and entertainment industry in Qatar?

Though there has been a substantial growth in the regional animation market, as an industry it’s still in the infancy stage.

Recognising the potential behind it, several neighbouring countries have invested heavily in their animation markets by opening institutes and colleges catering to the industry needs as well as by opening branches of major international studios to develop a regional market.

Qatar has taken similar steps. However, its efforts are concentrated on the Indie film market.

Qatar has the financial and intellectual means to become a game changer in the market. For an industry

Please tell us more about your ambitions.

Our goal, from the get go, has been to create an international market for our niche product. We aim to become a prototype for other RAWE studios in all other Middle Eastern countries.

Our ambition is also to open a production studio in a North African country to reduce our outsourcing costs and help combat unemployment in that region.

We also anticipate that others will follow in our footsteps and become our competitors. We hope that will happen, because it will mean that we are successful and that others are working towards the same goal.

RAWE won the third place at the Al Fikra – Qatar Business Plan Competition, please tell us more about your experience gained through this competition.

We started with an idea and a small amount of knowledge on how to implement it. After the competition, we ended up with a clear vision, a business plan, and newly acquired knowledge that enabled us to start our business with confidence. Most importantly, we have learnt that if you don’t act upon your ideas, those ideas will never be worth anything while they remain trapped in your head.

In your opinion, how has technology changed the business world and what do you expect in the future?

In today’s world, if you’re not online, you virtually don’t exist, which is very ironic. Even if you sell cupcakes from your house, social media and the ever-improving technology associated with it plays a vital role in the success of your business.

Personally, I believe that a new trend will emerge in the future that will render all the technology trends used today useless. Also, the way we interact with each other will change again.

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Marketing

If you’re spending a lot of time on social media marketing, but are not satisfied with the results, the tips of Johnny Huntington, Owner and Managing Director, Traffic, can help you turn the tables.

O

ne of the most common concerns of people, who have second thoughts on using social media marketing, is that it may require a huge amount of time to undertake.

However, the thing is that all kind of marketing needs time and effort to execute. In fact, if done correctly, marketing in social media does not require as much time as other methods of marketing. In addition, it is very cost-effective.

Here are some tips to follow: Johnny Huntington is the Owner and Managing Director of Traffic. After more than 15 years in the online industry, Johnny recognised the need for a high quality digital media agency in the Middle East, which would be capable of offering extremely high quality work at affordable prices with a fast turnaround. For more information, please visit www.wewanttraffic.com

• Focus on popular platforms Instead of maintaining several accounts on various social media platforms, focus on increasing your exposure on the popular platforms. That will work for you better than marketing on other sites. Some social platforms have more users, so there is a bigger chance that you will attract more of your target audience. Once you have built your presence on these major platforms, only then it’s time for you to start building your brand on other sites.

• Use social applications With the fast-paced advancement of online technology and the popularity of social media, a lot of applications have been developed to make social media campaign management more effective and easier to undertake. One of the many programmes is HootSuite that allows prescheduling of your posts, which is a huge time saver.

• Manage your posts It is important to keep your social media accounts active to keep the interest of your customers. However,

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make sure that what you post is engaging and useful.

Furthermore, schedule your posts every other day to avoid spamming your followers.

• Monitor stats Monitoring and measuring the success of your online marketing strategy is important to determine if you are doing the right thing or if you need to make some changes. There are tools that you can use to easily do this such as HootSuite, Social Flow, Facebook Insights and Google Analytics.

• Follow a schedule You don’t have to spend all your time doing social media marketing since, after all, that is what we do. Set a specific time for each of the things that you need to do. For example, spend 15 minutes for answering queries from clients, 15 minutes for monitoring your stats, and half an hour for researching or scheduling posts. With this, you can still do other important things that matter to your business.

• If you have a blog, update it Share information that you have on your blog by inviting people to access it through your social media accounts.

This is an easy way to keep the content of all your social media pages updated without spending too much time and efforts.

Hopefully, following some of these simple methods will help you to get above the basics with regards to developing a social media communication programme for your business.

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TECHNOLOGY

Digital movement

“We use human insight to create digital design,” is the moto of Qatar’s first solely digital design agency. Tamara Pupic got talking to Fatma Al-Khater, Managing Director, Wakra Lab, about how her team could make our lives easier.

Please tell us more about the idea behind Wakra Lab? The idea of Wakra Lab came to us while we were debating the future of digital space in Qatar.

We all wanted to be part of it since we understood where the existing gaps in digital services were. Thus, we decided to collaborate and create something, which would be both local and unconventional, with an aim to deliver digital excellence.

We also happen to complement each other perfectly in terms of digital creativity and technological expertise that has made this venture easier to develop. We are all very passionate about creating great ideas and translating them into engaging, intelligent and innovative brand experiences.

What kind of services does Wakra Lab offer?

We offer services within six different areas of expertise - digital strategy, integrated communication, content curation, digital innovation, social influence and corporate online presence.

Our services deal with all aspects of the establishiment of our clients’ presence in the digital space. We try to position ourselves as a creative, young, and innovation-driven team. We want to offer something extraordinary. We say that we are a digital voyage – “Come, try, and experience.”

Please tell us your opinion on the importance of social media in today’s business world.

Social media has become a de facto of online presence, transforming communication to a low-cost alternative channel to reach customers. It has become a more economical approach than feeding into big budget advertising.

Today, brands have more followers than an average circulation of a newspaper, and tapping into that treasure of accessing customers is a minefield for businesses here in Qatar. For that reason, executives are now more concerned than ever about their digital presence.

Companies today do not fully capitalise their usage of social media since they use it as a PR outlet rather than a tool to directly engage with customers.

However, we are witnessing in Qatar today that companies are slowly transforming by not just looking at IT or marketing teams anymore. They are now looking to form digital teams. I truly believe that once that is established inside any company, their social media presence will improve.

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My advice for local companies is to identify their target audience and engage with them. Don’t be afraid to let go and build your character on social media. Engaging with your customers through these channels will decrease your costs and become an important traffic driver for your products.

What differentiates you from competition within the Qatari market?

We are a local, young, and innovation-driven team.

We think of ourselves as inventors, who don’t want to stop at anything, but amazing. We invite everyone to embark with us on a digital voyage – “Come, try, and experience.”

Ideas, ideas and, ideas are at the heart of how we deliver memorable brand experiences. Whether it’s through digital communication or as part of a wider channel mix, the Wakra Lab team will sail the shores to deliver a campaign that rocks your audience world!

What we do exceptionally well is that we not only identify the target, but we also segment it. That is our formula – we understand the context by listening to conversations. We know what appeals to people. In that manner, we create the content and make it appealing.

We also have a distinctive service that’s considered to be the big fish of any communication strategy - we create digital content that sparks emotions and drives action through storytelling with our Content Curation Pillar.

This service allows our clients to acquire, convert and retain customers through different mediums of communication What challenges have you faced in setting up and growing your business in Qatar?

I faced our main challenge during the startup phase. I found it difficult to obtain information about the governmental requirements.

It took me almost a year to get through all the procedures.

Therefore, I think it would be good to streamline the process and establish a clear way for new entrepreneurs.

Since we cannot deny the rapid pace of technological development, what does the future hold for businesses in this regard?

I feel like we are already in the future. It’s not anymore a battle of media space, but a battle of getting the attention of your customers in a creative way and by becoming more social.

I expect that objects and everyday things will become smarter and new tech entrepreneurs should think how to enhance that. My advice for them is to be committed and focused on what they do best.

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TECHNOLOGY

What’s your address?

Today, more than five billion of the world’s 7.1 billion citizens are part of the global mobile network, and 20% of these are SmartPhone users, according to GO-Gulf.com’s research in January 2012. The concept of a career, a professional routine, and an office has also taken on new meaning in the past 20 years. In line with this, Laudy Lahdo, General Manager, Servcorp Middle East, explains to us the concept of a virtual office, which has been taking center stage in the Middle East region.

S

o, what is a virtual office? Essentially, it’s everything but the office. That is the infrastructure of an office, without the physical office space, and the intrinsic benefit of a prestigious business address that you can call your own. The difference? A virtual office is your place of business for as long or as little as you would like it to be.

Laudy Lahdo is the General Manager of Servcorp, an Australian-based global provider of office solutions, in the Middle East region. At Servcorp Middle East, Lahdo and her team have worked with several international corporations including Sotheby’s, Rolls-Royce, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Indexes and Vodafone, as well as local SMEs. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Commerce from the University of Melbourne. For more information, please visit www.servcorp.com.qa

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The typical virtual office user isn’t necessarily an entrepreneur who is just starting his business and needs a cost-effective solution. The virtual route can be taken by a large business in need of a short term office space for a specific project or a busy SME in need of a space to conduct meetings. Overall, a virtual office is a solution that offers unparalleled flexibility.

Some of the essential services a virtual office typically includes are: ■■ An on-demand trained receptionist to handle calls and messages ■■ A worldwide network of flexible, premium business address options ■■ A dedicated support team for IT, administration and even HR ■■ A fully equipped meeting facility with a powerful global network of technology and communications

With a virtual office, there are also so many other possibilities. Given these key fundamentals, it is only natural that the role of a virtual office is growing, with a pattern that seems to predict it becoming indispensable to the global workforce. To put this into perspective, 46% of companies encourage telecommuting and nearly 20% of all employees enthusiastically participate. In addition to this, 94% of the companies have successfully implemented the virtual office solution into their operations according to the Allied Q1 2013 Workforce Mobility Survey.

The virtual office concept Suppose you have a brilliant business idea, but you are not quite sure about the next step. It can be exciting, but also daunting, to think about the logistics of launching a new venture. There is a great deal of time, effort, and, in this case, capital to invest. Naturally, you want to do this in a way that impresses, has an impact, and gives you the satisfaction of value-for-money. There are a number of factors that must be considered – location, access to global network of offices, technology, staff professionalism and so many more!

With the network setup of a virtual office provider, you can get a range of pre-existing resources at your disposal and it is wise to tap into these as an effective platform for future success. Instead of trying to understand cumbersome regulations, deciding

Instead of paying large sums for space, staff, furniture and equipment, optimise your operations with flexible leases, savings and consistent business support. With a virtual office, it’s like you’re there, without actually ever really having to be there.

which address matters to your target audience and clients, and a host of other factors, just use the knowledge of a respected company that has all the right experience.

As you are in the planning stage, there are a few points to consider such as, of course, whether or not a virtual office is an environment that will suit your business objectives or team. If the answer is yes, and you choose the virtual office route, all the legwork has been done for you! A virtual office package can be set up in minutes and hassle-free.

There are several advantages in using a virtual office solution. First and foremost, you create a strong first impression with your CBD location and surroundings when a client walks in. Not only is your mail handled, but your calls are answered by a professional receptionist and transferred to you according to your instructions.

Regardless of your internal office culture, there is also a significant reduction in stress and time from less commuting and, as a result, increased productivity. This allows you to use your time more effectively and work when it truly suits you best. Human resources wise, you have greater choice in hiring, and you can choose the right formula of full-time or part time workers from a larger labour pool because location no longer needs to be taken into account.

So, instead of paying large sums for space, staff, furniture and equipment, optimise your operations with flexible leases, savings and consistent business support. With a virtual office, it’s like you’re there, without actually ever really having to be there. Your potential clients will be impressed by your seeming omnipresence, and you in turn, will have the advantage of improved connectivity and market accessibility. As a result, you will experience higher sales conversions and, if need be, can outsource certain business functions and still control precisely how they are run.

With the typically advanced IT infrastructure of a virtual office, you can hold 15 minute meetings or day long

webinars and conferences. This increased interactivity is sure to satisfy your customers and make you more accessible.

You improve your flexibility with the global presence, increase your productivity, boost your company image, reduce costs and data risks with innovative technology and keep more of your assets liquid with easy contracts. What’s more, if you choose to intensify your business activities in a particular city or place, a virtual office can easily be switched to a full or part time serviced office!

Be careful in choosing your provider Despite the plethora of benefits that come with a virtual office solution, there are a couple of minor setbacks to be aware of, depending on your choice of provider. You may have technical difficulties that slow the day’s progress or miscommunications due to the peak network traffic. However, the only global provider of virtual office solutions with an instant online and real-time platform is Servcorp. You have total control of booking your meeting facilities around the world through an online portal.

As you consider a virtual office, you may wonder about its role in business communications. How does it work? There are several small, but significant tools that power its purpose. Although they are mostly used for social purposes, even just a mobile phone could be considered as a virtual office. It keeps you in the loop without having to be confined to a set of four walls. With the advent of the Internet, you can oversee important documents in real time. When you can’t, you can let your virtual assistant take over. Although some may argue that video conferencing eliminates that essential face-to-face personal touch, it brings the advantage that time zones no longer apply, which means that your business is always moving. Technology can encroach upon on personal freedom, but it has definitely made the business world unbeatably efficient.

If or when you have finally determined which way to go, the inherent question is how to choose a virtual office?

The simplest way is to make sure you have access to all the fundamentals outlined above. An ideal virtual office will have a premium business address, elegant interior décor, a well-trained selection of personnel with impressive capabilities and experience, no signage and, of course, a fully converged IT and communications system.

To be taken seriously in your industry, consider what address is going to work best for winning you more clients. Is a home office address going to portray the right message?

september 2013

29

SMEs

Right on time!

The manufacturing sector in Qatar is about to offer some of the world’s most prominent business opportunities for local companies which are capable of complying with the highest quality standards. Tamara Pupic got talking to Pradeep Rajan, CEO, Jersey Group, about how they managed to set up one of the most advanced glass factories in Doha in just two years.

Please tell us more about Jersey Glass factory in Qatar?

Jersey Group acquired Al Khamees Glass factory in October 2006. It was renamed to Jersey Glass in 2011.

When our founder, Mr. Ghanim, purchased Al Khamees Glass, it was only a retail business that performed basic processing requirements and catered to small businesses. At that time, we had a turnover of around QR 35 million. With that factory we could not target any of the big projects because our products were not in line with their standards.

Pradeep Rajan is the CEO of Jersey Group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore, India. Pradeep started his career in the Middle East in 1997, when he joined the Jersey Engineering and Trading Company as General Manager.

Consistent and improved performance by Jersey Group has resulted in Pradeep being elevated to VP-Engineering, GSSG Holdings in 2010. For more information, please visit www.jerseygroup.com

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We, as Jersey Group, always target big projects. In 2008, I got approval from our Board to upgrade this factory.

From the beginning, it was all about enhancing its quality in order to offer something different from what others were doing in this region. For that, we had to invest a lot.

The process of choosing machines took us a lot of time since we spent almost eight months on selecting the right equipment. That was the first part of the process.

Our space was limited to 5,600sqm, therefore, we had to focus on complete automation of our factory and work in line with European standards. We looked at LiSEC Systems, Bystronic Glass, and a combination of few other manufacturers. All are popular brands in the region and around the world. However, since we really wanted advanced machines, we chose LiSEC machines from Austria. Some of the machines are now installed in the Middle East, for the first time.

Furthermore, we needed to really understand the requirements and specifications that are required in this market, and whether these machines would perform. So, we planned the movement of glass, how the trolley should be designed, and each and every aspect of the work from one process to another. It is fully automated now.

What benefits did you gain out of this?

Next, we need more skilled people to work on them. The biggest advantage that we got out of these machines is that today the whole plant requires only 38 people to operate it. This is against a normal requirement of a minimum of 70 persons. For example, there is a line for insulated glass, which is one of our products. Normally, the insulated line requires around 12 to 14 workers on it, however, our line requires only four people because everything is done by the machine. Our workers just need to put a finished product in the trolley. We have cut the delivery time by 50%. Even our manufacturer, LiSEC Systems, said that we were among a few who have such an automated system. That’s the level of automation we have achieved in our factory. Today, it can cater to up to QR 150 million worth of business.

Additionally, we have invested in software which can generate codes and plan our production and inventory.

When a client calls us and asks about the product, we can tell him exactly in which stage it is since it is all bar coded – every part of the process is in the system.

It is all about learning and team work. I attended some fairs in Germany to educate myself. I think that experience doesn’t necessarily include expertise.

Experience, according to me, is repeating the same job.

On the other hand, expertise is learning every day.

How did you gain access to finance?

We started the process of preparing our proposal for QDB in 2009. At the end of 2010, we managed to formalise and confirm everything. So, it took us almost a year and a half to really understand what we need, and to finish our business feasibility study.

We chose QDB because of their much lower interest rates and their long term loan repayment options. Our loan has a eight year repayment term. They financed only our costs relating to the equipment, which means that our loan component of finance was only QR 29 million while the remaining was our investment.

Towards the middle of 2011, we started construction.

It was actually a revamp of the existing factory. We had to carry out a detailed planning including dismantling of the existing Chinese machines, selling them and monitoring all other necessary activities stage by stage.

But, I think that, in spite of all these constrains, we managed to finish everything in only two years. In normal circumstances, setting up a glass processing factory requires a minimum four years. So, I think we are right on time to bid for projects. At present, a number of consultants are visiting our factory and we are getting certification from Glass Majors, although many already consider us as an approved processor.

Furthermore, I am confident that we can commence our loan repayment earlier than envisaged.

Please tell us more about your current position within the Qatari market?

Today, I cannot give valid estimate of our position in the market since we plan to officially launch in November 2013. But, I can state confidently that, at present, there is nobody who has same or even similar facility.

The Qatari market requirement is around six million sqm, out of that our capacity is 500,000 sqm. We could go up to 800,000sqm within our installed capacity.

Otherwise, it is one million sqm of a single glass. So, there is a lot of potential for others to come. But, it depends on how they run their factories.

When we talk about the commercial side of our business, we already have some in-house projects, which can utilise our factory’s production for four to five months. Generally, the market is very slow and we don’t see any growth even though infrastructure projects have been announced.

We have to wait and see what will happen in the next six months. We will use this time, which is crucial for us, to introduce our factory to the market. I am sure that some people in Qatar are not even aware that there is a company like ours. So, we are starting our marketing campaign in order to target all consultants and contractors.

We know that we need to wait longer for the projects.

Glass always comes towards the end, or when a project achieves 60% or 70% of completion. Then our work lasts till the end. In any case, I don’t worry about our market share because it’s all about hard work and nothing comes easy.

You have to work on your business. That’s why we have decided, as Jersey Group, that in 2014//15 we will not

invest in any other factory. Otherwise, every year we’ve had a plan to set up something within the manufacturing sector. But, now we decided to focus on this because it is a big investment of around QR 65 million.

What are your remaining challenges, if any?

The main challenge is to get the right technicians. It’s about the fact that we need people who have worked on exactly these kinds of machines. If we hire somebody with ten years of experience that means that he has been working on a machine developed ten years ago. However, our machines are much more advanced. So, if we hire that person, his mindset will be in line with what he has been doing for the last ten years. It will take him some time to learn and he will make a lot of mistakes, and that will be on our expense.

For that reason, we need somebody who still feels that there is a lot to learn. To get people with this mindset is very difficult. Thus, we are very careful with employing people. Till now we have only 60% to 70% of employees.

How do you assess conditions for doing business within this sector in Qatar?

I think Qatar should have a single window scheme. In that way, the country will also grow since more investors will come in. Investors will feel that they are getting a lot of support.

Qatar is promoting the SME sector, and there is room for new manufacturers. However, the private sector’s export is still small, but we hope that with the New Doha Port that will change. We did our study and determined that transport costs are not that expensive since most of the containers are going back empty.

What are your growth plans and how do you plan to achieve them?

Since we buy big jumbo glass, cut it and process it, we need to get certified for processing of certain types of glass. Thus, when we try to buy high performance glass from a manufacturer, the consultant always checks whether we are certified for that. That also means that he checks whether our technician knows how to handle the glass. Once we finish all the certification processes, we can start selling both locally and globally.

I am confident that we will be able to cater to this market, even though we have 12 competitors. However, if we compare our facilities, I would say that we have only one or two competitors.

Based on my projections, I think that from 2015 I should be able to achieve at least 60% of our production capacity. We will start the marketing and planning of our export business from the mid 2014 in order to start it in 2015. We are already targeting some projects in KSA and also checking other markets, like Africa. We will also look at Lybia in the following years because we have an office there. Finally, our focus is also on Oman since we have a representative there.

september 2013

31

SMEs

A Healthy choice In order to propagate a healthy food culture in Qatar, a branch of Salad Boutique has recently started its operations in Doha. Nasser Al Kuwari and Ahmad Al Thani, Managing Partners, Salad Boutique Qatar, told Jenny Kassis about their motivation to franchise this new healthy concept and bring it to Doha.

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alad Boutique is a regional restaurant franchise that was launched in Kuwait in 2009. It is the first restaurant in the region, which specialises in serving salads as the main course. In February 2013, this concept was brought to Doha when Salad Boutique Qatar opened its doors.

Bringing this new concept to Qatar is definitely a brilliant and innovative idea. Ahmad Al Thani, Managing Partner, Salad Boutique Qatar, started by telling us how they decided to bring this branch to Doha, “It was obvious from the beginning that Salad Boutique Qatar was an ambitious and daring venture. The unique dining experience and concept of the restaurant were different to anything available in the GCC and Qatar. We are strong believers in change towards the better as well as in implementing that change with style.

Salad Boutique Qatar represents exactly that. So, we jumped at the opportunity to bring it to Qatar.”

Elaborating furthermore on how they adopted this healthy concept and shared it with Qataris, Nasser Al Kuwari, Managing Partner, Salad Boutique Qatar, pointed out, “Naturally, as up and coming entrepreneurs we wanted to bring solutions that will add beneficial values to Qatar and allow us to do our bit in contributing towards the bigger picture, which is outlined in the National Vision 2030.

It all started with an idea. We are staunch believers that everything depends on human performance and that everyone has something to bring to the table.”

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He also added, “It is not a secret that Qatar is plagued with extremely high levels of obesity due to various cultural and lifestyle factors. This is where we feel we can contribute the most. Salad Boutique Qatar fits in our own personal vision to make Qatar a healthier country. We aim to introduce an alternative and stylish lifestyle choice that will enable Qataris to enjoy their food whilst cutting back on unfavourable eating habits.”

To start a business in Qatar one needs to get access to finance. A portion of the capital of Salad Boutique Qatar was provided by Nasser and Ahmad as private funds, and the other portion was provided by Qatar Development Bank through their Al Dhameen programme.

Although it is the same concept, the operations are not the same in all the countries, “The GCC countries may have plenty of shared norms, traditions and attributes, but the small details that define each market also matter. Salad Boutique is present in Kuwait, Bahrain, Jeddah (KSA) and Qatar. We all communicate the same values that the brand is based upon, but the manner of communication differs slightly. Why and how we communicate our message in each market is personalised and localised to ensure that we communicate the right message to the right target audience,” said Ahmad.

Talking about the obstacles they faceed, we were interested to hear whether their challenges were different from other startups in

Knowing that the Qatari market has a wide range of restaurants, they made sure that, while visiting their restaurant, their clients will gain an exceptional experience. The fact that they serve a variety of salads as a main course is a new concept in Qatar, about which Ahmad said, “Dining out is a very popular activity in Qatar. We wanted to provide a refreshing dining experience to the Qatari market, and present the values of Salad Boutique in every possible aspect. Our location is unique in its own way as we are located in the heart of the Aspire Zone, which is away from the busy roads of Doha.

The restaurant’s stylish presentation, which includes décor, dishes, and similar, is another feature that has captivated the senses of our diners from the very beginning.”

Ahmad Al Thani and Nasser Al Kuwari

Doha, about which Nasser was honest to say, “The main challenge lies in the fact that Qataris, in general, enjoy their high calorie food. This is a cultural and traditional challenge that has dominated the community’s eating habits for years. This particular habit is a problem, which we believe, is a priority to tackle. With Salad Boutique Qatar, we offer to the community a healthier dining experience. But, obviously we will not stop there. We are planning to embark on a number of campaigns to promote social awareness towards accepting and adopting a healthier lifestyle and healthier eating habits in Qatar.”

A unique experience The key to success that will lead them to a fruitful business in Qatar is in knowing how to be different and making a change, “We realise that dining is a deeply personal experience. The formula for success at any restaurant is simple – great food and great service make a great restaurant. It is obviously much harder than it seems, but this is what is expected in the market. We are aiming towards building relationships with our diners that will result in loyalty. We do not believe that being satisfactory is enough. We intend to always go the extra mile that will make our diners happier,” said Nasser.

With this in mind they developed their plans to establish Salad Boutique Qatar, and Nasser pointed out that it has enabled them to be relatively successful since the opening in February, “But, the best is yet to come,” he added.

When our conversation tackled the advice they would give to other entrepreneurs, Nasser shared his experience as a young Qatari entrepreneur, “It is a tough business, but believe in your business and yourself. Do not think only about money and making profits from the get-go. Make sure that your business serves the community and provides a needed solution. If you manage to provide a value that people will benefit from, they will appreciate your business in turn, and the money will follow.

Keep the bigger picture in mind and make sure to develop a plan that aims to achieve sustainable success.”

As part of their personal vision to make Qatar an advanced country and their specific focus on serving people, Ahmad was quick to share their latest updates, “We have already launched ventures towards one goal – getting rid of obesity in Qatar. These ventures range from nutrition and wellness centers to other restaurants in the Qatari market.”

At the end of our conversation, we asked about their expectations from the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Both of them agreed, “It is an exciting prospect and we personally can’t wait for the FIFA World Cup 2022 and, of course, the fulfillment of the National Vision 2030. On paper, the opportunities can be infinite. But, all that depends on what we, the Qatari community, accomplish in the buildup to the momentous event in 2022. It is our national duty to contribute in a positive way and make sure that Qatar is more than prepared to give the world an unforgettable experience. We know that we can, and so we should put our minds and efforts into ensuring that we will achieve all goals. What happens tomorrow is a result of our actions today!”

september 2013

33

women in business

One of a kind Aparna Shivpuri Arya caught up with Raed Chehaib, CEO, IBN, to follow up on the preparations of the 4th QIBWF, which will be held in November this year.

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e met up with Raed Chehaib, CEO, IBN, to check how the preparations for the 4th QIBWF were coming along, and he was glad to express his satisfaction, “The Qatar International Business Women Forum (QIBWF) is becoming international by all means.

Thus, the preparations should match the standards of such an event. The QIBWF has generated interest in Europe, North Africa, some Asian countries, and, of course, the GCC countries and Arabic countries.” He further added, “We have managed to attract international speakers to present different topics at the QIBWF. This raised the event to the next level. Nobel Prize winners, business leaders, officials, academics, first ladies and celebrities will be part of the 4th QIBWF to be held in November this year.”

usually attended by officials, ministers, business leaders, media and press representatives, academics, students, bankers, and so on.”

He also highlighted that there is an impressive percentage of Qatari women, who have been attending this event annually, which proves that QIBWF has become essential in some areas.

Speaking about QIBWF’s topics in more details, Raed elaborated, “During the first three editions of QIBWF, we managed to discuss several topics such as the Arabic spring, the role of women in politics and business, and, of course, women empowerment. This year, we will focus on the human dimension in business, entrepreneurship, angel investment, emotional intelligence, social skills, and many other topics that are of interest to all attendees.”

He also said that in addition to the rich sessions of the forum, they would be organising parallel workshops on different subjects such as leadership, self-development, and other subjects. “The agenda was tailored to target different audience, and we have made sure that all topics are interesting and educating,” pointed out Raed.

Raed Chehaib

Guess who’s coming?

Since our team will for sure attend the 4th QIBWF, we wanted to know how many international registrations have been received so far, about which Raed explained, “Last year, we had 700 participants attending the QIBWF. This year, due to the different topics and the new strategy that we have set, we are expecting not less than 1000. So far, we have registrations from more than 15 countries.”

Since the aim of this event is to raise awareness, educate, and create a change, we asked Raed whether they were looking at engaging other institutions, such as the universities in Qatar. “Universities play a major role in supporting our goals. We have several universities as educational partners. They will have the chance to involve their students in the event’s activities. Some universities are organising workshops as well.

Universities in Qatar have made recognisable achievements, and they are rising with Qatar towards the National Vision 2030. In addition, we have also involved NGOs and active unions to be a part of the QIBWF as we believe that such happenings should be inclusive,” he concluded.

Looking specifically at Qatar, Raed assured us that the response in Qatar has been overwhelming since the event is already well known here, “It is

On this note, we finished our conversation hoping to see many of our readers there. So, let us know – are you coming?

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Legal

know the law

Despite its small size, Qatar continues to be a magnet for businesses and investments not only from the region, but also on a global scale.

Khalifa Al-Misnad, Partner, Al-Misnad & Rifaat, analysed Qatar Labour Law No. (14) of 2004, which has been a critical component of Qatar’s growth moving ahead in the attempt to recruit and retain human resources.

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he Qatari Labour Law No. (14) of 2004 governs the employment of the majority of individuals currently working in Qatar, and also regulates the entry, sponsorship and residence of foreigners in Qatar. According to a recent report of the Permanent Population Committee (PPC), the number of foreigners in Qatar reached nearly 1,271,000 million in 2011,

Khalifa Al-Misnad is a Partner at Al-Misnad & Rifaat, Doha, Qatar. Khalifa earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas (2003) before receiving a Doctorate of Jurisprudence at the University of Houston (2006.) Upon being admitted to the State Bar of Texas (2006), Khalifa joined QP’s legal department. After acceptance to the Qatar Bar (2010), his law office joined forces with Beirut-based Rifaat Associates to launch Al-Misnad & Rifaat, a new law firm in Qatar. For more information, please visit www.almisnad-rifaat.com.

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Individuals excluded from the provisions and regulations of Law No. (14) of 2004 include the following: 1. Ministries and other governmental organisations, public institutions corporations, and companies, which are established by Qatar Petroleum by itself or with others, and the workers whose employment affairs are regulated by special laws 2. Qatar’s armed forces 3. Family members and dependents of individuals working in Qatar 4. Casual workers 5. Domestic workers such as cooks, gardeners, nurses, and drivers, since the Law No. (8) of 2009 of the Human Resources governs the work of such individuals. That is the second material piece of legislation pertaining to employment of these individuals working in Qatar.

The Qatari Labour Law clearly grants priority for employment to Qatari citizens, who may register

with the Ministry for potential job placements. As for foreigners, the law requires the employer to obtain permission from the Labour Department at the Ministry of Labour before their recruitment for work in Qatar.

It is important to note that, as is the case in most of the Gulf countries, employers in Qatar may hire foreign employees under a sponsorship system. It is commonly known as “kafala”, and in Qatar it forbids foreign employees to seek other jobs in the country without their employer’s prior approval. In fact, without a release letter, the employee is required to leave the country for a minimum of two years before being able to return to work for another employer in Qatar.

The law principally limits working hours for all employees to 48 hours per week or 36 hours during the month of Ramadan. It requires the employer to pay the employee for any additional worked hours at the rate of the basic wage and an addition of not less than 25% thereof. The employee is also entitled to a paid annual leave and a paid leave on public holidays such as Eid Al Fitr (three working days), Eid Al Adha (three working days), Independence Day (one day) and Sports Day (the first Tuesday of the second week of every February), which was recently designated as a public holiday in the Emiri Decree

The Qatari Labour Law No. (14) of 2004 governs the employment of the majority of individuals currently working in Qatar, and also regulates the entry, sponsorship and residence of foreigners in Qatar.

no. (80) of 2011. The law additionally outlines specific safety protocols, which employers must implement, sets precise rules for the employment of juveniles, and favourable conditions for women’s employment.

Termination of employment In the event of an indefinite employment contract, the law provides that any of the parties may terminate the contract without giving reason for such termination, provided that the party who wishes to terminate the employment contract notifies the other party of the said decision.

The notification must be given not less than a month from the desired termination date if the employment is five years or less, and not less than two months if it is more than five years. In a contract of a determined duration, the parties may terminate the contract before its term, but only for valid reasons as specified by the law.

According to the Qatari Labour Law, the employee is allowed to terminate the employment contract before its term if it is a contract of a determined duration, and without notifying the employer if it is an indefinite employment contract, in the following events: 1. The employer commits a breach of his obligations under the service contract or the provisions of this law.

2. The employer or his responsible manager commits a physical assault or immoral act upon the worker or any of his family member.

3. The employer or his representative has misled the worker at the time of entering into the service contract as to the terms and conditions of the work.

4. If continuance with the work endangers the safety and health of the employee provided that the employer is aware of the danger and does not take the necessary steps to remove it.

The law also allows the employer to dismiss the employee at any time for several reasons, which include, but are not limited to: 1. The employee assumes a false identity or nationality or submits false certificates or documents.

2. The employee commits an act that causes gross financial loss to the employer provided that the employer shall notify the Department of the incident within twenty-four hours from the time of his being aware thereof.

3. The employee fails more than once to carry out his essential duties under the service contract or this law despite being notified in writing thereof.

4. The employee discloses trade secrets of the establishment where he is employed.

5. The employee is found in a state of drunkenness or under the influence of a drug during working hours 6. The employee commits an assault on the person of the employer, the manager, or one of his supervisors during work or by reason thereof.

7. The employee has been finally sentenced for a crime involving immorality or dishonesty.

In the event of an employer-employee dispute, the law states that the parties may seek mediation through the Labour Department and the Labour Relations Department at the Ministry of Labour. If the mediation proves to be unsatisfactory, either party may submit a claim to the Qatar’s Labour Court.

With that being said, it is important to note that Qatar’s legislations for labour matters were at times criticised for either being insufficient or weakly enforced. In fact, with no minimum wage fixed for workers in Qatar, an inefficacy of investigation for the violations of the Labour Law and an inability to form labour unions to protect workers’ rights, low-income migrant workers may face subpar pay and reside in inadequate working conditions.

The Ministry of Labour has shown great concern and awareness in this regard, and has discussed on numerous occasions the possibility of reevaluating the laws and adopting appropriate measures in order to assure their right enforcement.

The Qatari Labour Law is likely to mature and evolve in the coming years to address current labour related matters in order to better support Qatar’s pursuit of it’s National Vision 2030, and more imminently, hosting of the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

september 2013

37

Business guru

Promoting growth through diversity Aamal’s growth is a proof of the development that Qatar’s private sector has been witnessing. In a conversation with Sheikh Mohamed Bin Faisal Al Thani, Vice Chairman of the company, Aparna Shivpuri Arya got to know the strategy behind this growth.

Please give us a brief background about your vision for setting up this company.

Aamal Company was established in 2001, following a re-organisation of Al Faisal Company. The creation of Aamal Company reflected my father’s vision and keenness to preserve what he had built over the last five decades. Aamal became a listed company at the end of 2007, and since then we have achieved unprecedented growth, operating in four main sectors – industrial manufacturing, trading and distribution, property and managed services.

My father believed in the benefits of transforming the family business into a public shareholding company because it promotes continuity of the business, provides access to capital for future growth and helps to raise the profile and perception of the business to reassure customers, clients and employees about the business’s quality. A listing also creates a mechanism to transfer share ownership and value the business.

Aamal Company has benefitted from all of this and, as the company has grown in both headcount and revenues, so has the number of our shareholders.

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As you mentioned, Aamal has diversified into a number of sectors – what has been your strategy for this diversification?

We believe in diversity as it minimises risk, increases profitability and offers stability. Aamal is widely diversified with operations across 22 business units, some of which have been operating in Qatar for more than 40 years, achieving strong market leading positions.

Our corporate strategy is to create long-term shareholder value through the continued profitable operation and expansion of its diversified business platform. The company seeks to take advantage of the growth opportunities created by the Qatar National Vision 2030 and to leverage its position as a leading participant in various key economic sectors by focusing on three pillars for sustained, profitable growth: ■■ Increased emphasis on industrial manufacturing and related high growth sectors to capitalise on significant demand arising from wider

My father always stresses the importance of having a clear vision, an ambitious dream, honesty, patience and consistency, which he says are more important and crucial than capital for a successful business.

Large companies were not built with big capital, they were created with big minds

industrialisation of the Qatari economy ■■ Continued growth, diversification and innovation across other businesses to enhance market position and optimise performance ■■ Application of clear and disciplined operational and financial principles underpinning our strategic growth initiatives.

As an industry leader, how do you see the economy in the coming years?

Aamal is successfully positioned as a predominantly industrial company. It is well placed to capture the opportunities that are being afforded by the rapidly developing Qatari economy. The economy’s growth is being driven by a significant infrastructural and industrial development programme as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030 that seeks to diversify the country away from its substantial, long-term hydrocarbon reserves into alternative and sustainable avenues of growth.

To illustrate the size of this programme, Qatar is expected to spend upwards of USD 150 billion on infrastructure alone in the next five years.

Furthermore, Qatar has attractive demographics, with its rapidly expanding population stimulating further economic growth.

Aamal has been very active in the medical equipment and pharmaceutical sector - how do you see the investment opportunities in this field, for SMEs and large corporations. Are there any niche areas that SMEs can tap into?

With rapid population growth and changing lifestyles, the Supreme Council of Health (SCH), Qatar’s highest health authority, launched the country’s first comprehensive health reform, supported by all-encompassing socio-economic development. This built on the country’s longterm development strategy, the Qatar National Vision 2030.

Accordingly, I believe there are good opportunities in this domain for SMEs and large corporations to offer high quality products and medical services assisting SCH achieve its goals.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Faisal Al Thani

As a market leader, earlier this year Aamal signed an agreement to create a joint venture with Vivantes International Medicine, the biggest hospital group in Germany, to build an outpatient medical centre in Doha. This agreement is another step towards expanding our operations and attracting foreign investment to Qatar. Aamal has a leading position in the medical sector and this will definitely enhance our position.

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Business guru

Can you tell us a bit more about the joint venture with Vivantes and how that will support the Qatari healthcare sector?

For Aamal, this is a very significant joint venture. This centre will allow us to contribute to Qatar’s policy of providing high quality, strong health services in our country.

The outpatient centre, which will be managed by Vivantes, will offer a clinic with leading doctors in different fields, a diagnosis centre using the most up to date telemedicine technology and visiting professors from Germany to consult with patients in Qatar.

Vivantes is Germany’s largest state-owned healthcare group. It offers international healthcare consulting and management services and is involved in numerous large-scale projects all over the world.

In Germany, it has nine hospitals including nursing schools, education centres and the biggest academy for health care management.

As one of the business leaders of the country, if you had to give some pointers to SMEs, what would be your advice to them?

Qatar’s economy is flourishing more than ever, offering many business opportunities. My father always stresses the importance of having a clear vision, an ambitious dream, honesty, patience and consistency, which he says are more important and crucial than capital for a successful business. Large companies were not built with big capital, they were created with big minds. You cannot always expect 100% success in businesses. There will always be obstacles and hurdles. Taking care of the people’s wellbeing is equally important. You must hire honest and faithful professionals, and support them. Working together, companies can develop and commercialise great ideas to the benefit of each other but more importantly to the benefit of our customers, consumers and society. Developing education and research is central to our company and my father’s personal philosophy.

With development pressing ahead in the coming decade (partly because of the 2022 FIFA World Cup), how do you see the economic landscape changing in Qatar?

Over the last few years the economic development of Qatar has been remarkable. The country has become one of the world’s fastest growing and most successful economies as markets continue to diversify and the country’s infrastructure continues to develop.

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We believe in diversity as it minimises risk, increases profitability and offers stability. Aamal is widely diversified with operations across 22 business units, some of which have been operating in Qatar for more than 40 years, achieving strong market leading positions.

The vision of H.H. The Emir, to develop Qatar into one of the region’s leading economic powers, remains at the heart of our business. Aamal is as determined as ever to play a major role in the realisation of this vision and to be a major beneficiary of the State of Qatar’s success.

Lastly, what are your future local and international expansion plans?

We are continually looking at new potential opportunities in order to consolidate and build upon our existing market leadership positions. First mover advantage is very important to Aamal and is part of our DNA. However, we would never compromise on the application of strict investment criteria when appraising potential new business opportunities in a bid to be first in the market.

Aamal has a geographical focus, at present, on Qatar with intentions to expand further in the region and beyond.

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Learn more at www.qatar.cmu.edu

Finance

resilient financial support

With a strong commitment to the MENA region for over a century, BNY Mellon, a global investments company, has been a leader in helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Jenny Kassis got talking to Bana A. Azhari, Head of Relationship Management, Treasury Services, MENA, BNY Mellon, to hear her opinion about Qatar’s economy and the latest trade trends in the Middle East region.

As we know, BNY Mellon has been operating in the Middle East since 1963. Please tell us more about your activities here.

You are right, BNY Melon has had an office in the Middle East since 1963. But, we have been working and operating in this region for over a hundred years since we started working with the Ottoman Bank at the turn of the 20th century.

Bana Azhari is the Head of Relationship Management, Treasury Services, MENA, at BNY Mellon. Based in Beirut, Bana is responsible for providing solutions to the bank’s clients in depositary receipts, trade finance, global custody, corporate trust and asset management. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Masters of Money and Banking degree from the American University of Beirut. For more information, please visit www.bnymellon.com.

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The activities that we do in the region have evolved, but not changed. Our philosophy has always been to provide products and services that cater to the needs of the regional and local institutions. That aims at facilitating a connection between the local and the international financial markets and communities.

Our role in the local market has always been as a sort of a conduit rather than a direct player. The reason is that we do not compete with local and regional institutions, but try to connect with them in order to help them do what they do best - cater to the needs of their clients.

Our activities can be divided in two main segments – investment servicing and investment management.

Investment management is more or less within the asset management space, and, in fact, it is within external asset management. It is all about the services and products that support an investment, which has been made or is

being made. We are known as a custody bank since we are the world’s largest custodian. We provide the basic services related to asset servicing with custody being the core product of it, but, of course, there are lots of other surrounding products.

We also help the issuers link the local financial markets to the external financial markets by helping them either through their Euro debt issuances, which are issued on the foreign or international financial markets, or equity issuances, which are in the form of global deposit receipts.

Moreover, payments clearing is a part of what we do within the treasury services. We support payments clearing in foreign currencies. We are also one of the world’s acclaimed trade banks since we support trade amongst countries by servicing the instruments that comprise the actual trade. So, all that falls within our investment services solutions set.

Do you provide any particular services and solutions for SMEs? We don’t provide any services for SMEs since we mainly work with financial institutions. We deal with corporates when they have an international listing and want to do a dual listing of their stock abroad, or in case they are issuing an international bond. But, otherwise, we don’t compete with local banks for the local business. This segment is very well served by the local banks.

What is your opinion about the latest trade trends in the Middle East?

We have been seeing the growth of the South - South trade corridor where we see more trade flows between the Middle East and other countries in Asia or Africa.

This is a shift from the historical relationship between the region and Europe or the United States.

What do you foresee for the trade sector in the region, especially in Qatar?

The regional trade sector is certainly growing whether through straight export or re-export due to the importance of this region as a financial hub. We can expect more trade activities coming out from across the region, but specifically from the financial center countries in the region.

With respect to export, if you forget about re-export that is a growing sector here, export activities in general and in the GCC in particular are energy driven to a great extent.

It will continue, but we can see that the financial markets are taking a more active role in acting as a hub, which is where the re-export comes in.

As for Qatar, the rapid rise in the hydrocarbons output has supported equally rapid increases in both export and fiscal earnings. In the years between 2000 and the end of 2009, Qatar’s export earnings rose more than four-fold. In the subsequent three years, revenues more than doubled, but now from a much higher base. This rise has also been supported by a jump in oil price with both production and prices forecast to remain high over the next five years. We anticipate that export revenues will reach around USD 130 million by the end of 2017.

Fiscal earnings have followed a similar, if not as dramatic, trajectory. By the end of 2017, we forecast that the Qatari exchequer will be earning around QR 330 billion, which is up from a mere QR 25 billion in 2000.

How do you see the banking and finance sector changing in Qatar with the FIFA World Cup 2022 plans and the investments being made by Qatar overseas?

The key indicators for Qatar’s financial services sector suggest that the industry is performing well particularly in relation to its regional peers. Its assets to GDP ratios are high relative to the region while the asset growth is also the highest in the GCC. This is driven by a strong credit growth and underpinned by a healthy deposit growth both leading to the growth of profit levels throughout the industry. These strong indicators are reflected in the World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Report, which ranks Qatar 14th globally

The key indicators for Qatar’s financial services sector suggest that the industry is performing well particularly in relation to its regional peers. Its assets to GDP ratios are high relative to the region while the asset growth is also the highest in the GCC. for financial market development. Over the course of last year, its ranking jumped from 80th to the 44th in the financial trustworthiness sub-category.

Access to finance is the most problematic factor for doing business in Qatar. On one hand, there are limited financing options offered in Qatar while, on the other hand, there is also limited awareness on the consumer side about which financial options would ordinarily be available in a more developed financial market.

For the moment, foreign investors tend to invest directly in Qatar as the liquidity on the Qatar Exchange (QE) is very limited. But, actually Qatar needs FDI more for technology transfer than for cash, whereas the QE needs the liquidity. But, it takes so long for qualified investors to get in the market since transparency and the regulatory climate remain as obstacles.

In addition, local banks tend to favour lending to the public sector knowing that they can rely on an implicit sovereign guarantee. Not only has this created a degree of moral hazard, but it has also crowded out the private sector to some extent. And, although the private sector credit has grown in recent years, it is now very much concentrated on the real estate, construction and trade financing.

In order to improve, Qatar’s financial sector needs to diversify its financing options by offering a wider array of products. The private sector in Qatar mainly focuses on trade finance, but more sophisticated financing options would be a big boost to their activities. Developing a debt market would be a start although there is still limited awareness among local companies of the debt market potential.

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Finance

However, the government is doing its bit. Although it has strong liquidity, it is nevertheless borrowing, and its debt levels are rising. It wants to build up a strong credit profile and good ratings, and to create a benchmark yield. It hopes that then it will support the ability of local companies to access affordable credit.

When compared to the other parts of the world, where do you think the MENA region stands in terms of transactional banking?

Transactional banking has always been the back bone of all traditional banking businesses that we do. But, in the latter years, it has been more recognised as an institutionalised branch by itself rather than a back-office process of corporate banking.

We certainly see more emphasis being put on transactional banking as a business line by itself. It is quite essential since it connects various banking services that are being provided by financial institutions.

So, unquestionably, you see a lot of heighten importance being put on transactional banking by banks in the region. They are looking more at creating some of the services offered by transactional banking rather than being a derivative of a loan that is provided to a corporate. Therefore, we can see more efforts and investments looking at this business as itself. It is an international trend, which the regional banks have certainly caught on to.

How has the global financial situation in the US and the Eurozone impacted trade and investments in the MENA region?

There have been increased regulations on the international banks, whether European or US banks, which are stricter and require them to reorganise or restructure their strategy regarding what they can or cannot do. In addition, they may need to retrench from certain markets as compared to other markets, especially where they do direct business or where they compete locally. We have seen some retrenchment that has provided a larger space for local and regional banks to take a more active role and become larger players versus the European or US banks.

Which sectors, according to you, will offer opportunities for investment in the MENA region?

The needs of different countries within the MENA region vary. Some countries need more infrastructure than others and, therefore, they might need more investments in the infrastructure and contracting sectors. Others, which are the oil exporters, focus on the hydrocarbon sector as a very big component of their economies.

Technology is certainly emerging and gaining more importance across the region. Furthermore, you can see

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In order to improve, Qatar’s financial sector needs to diversify its financing options by offering a wider array of products. The private sector in Qatar mainly focuses on trade finance, but more sophisticated financing options would be a big boost to their activities. some countries, which are currently more concentrated on one area such as the hydrocarbon sector, now looking at diversifying their economies in order to add more income.

If we had to generalise, maybe then we could put a differentiator between the oil importing and the oil exporting countries. The opportunities would then be in line with their individual needs and requirements.

We know that you will participate in the SIBOS Conference in September 2013. What are your targets at this event?

We think that the SIBOS is an excellent opportunity to bring the bankers’ community and the financial sector experts from all over the world to meet in one place and discuss new trends and products and, more importantly, network among each other.

I am super excited about the fact that this year’s SIBOS will be held in the Middle East for the first time. It is a great recognition to the growing role of our region as a financial center hub. Being from the Middle East myself, I certainly look to seize the opportunity to highlight that role and see how we can benefit the most out of sharing our experiences and thoughts. We are always focused on learning. And, as long as we continue to learn together, we can excel.

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 financing and export development and promotion support to Qatar-based SME exporters. It provides access to finance, 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 financial 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 identified 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

Export Promotion Services

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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

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

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Events

Moroccan experiences As part of its export promotion services, TASDEER supported participation of Qatari companies in the 5th International Plastics, Rubber, Composites, Packaging and Conditioning Trade Fair for Morocco and North Africa (Plast Expo Exhibition), which was held from 19th till 22nd June 2013 at the Casablanca International Fairgrounds, Morocco. Private Sector Qatar brings to you the event’s coverage.

T

he Plast Expo Exhibition is the largest trade show for the plastics industry in the North African region and successfully serves as the Euro-Mediterranean gateway to Africa. The event enjoys the official support of the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Trade and New Technologies and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (GCEM).

As indicated by TASDEER’s market survey undertaken initially, North Africa and especially Morocco offer large market opportunities for various kinds of plastic products like bags, sheets, pipes, syringes, and similar.

The customs duty charged by Morocco and other Arab nations, like Tunisia or Egypt, for the products manufactured by Qatari companies is 0%. Therefore, the event served as a good platform for Qatari companies to market their products as well as liaise with potential importers from across the region.

The main highlights of the exhibition included more than 150 exhibitors with official pavillions from various countries like Austria, Spain, Qatar, and many others, and more than 2800 visitors.

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During the preparatory phase, TASDEER conducted three preparatory meetings in March, May, and June 2013, with the following 12 confirmed participants: ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■

l Bayadar Pack Qatar A Al Haya Plastics Asima Plastic Factory Al Khaleej Plastics D oha Plastic Gulf Plastic Factory Hepworth PME Orient Plastic Container Factory Qatar German Medical Devices Qatar Polymer Industrial Co. Uniplast Factory Universal Wrapping

In addition to setting up the Qatari stand, TASDEER supported the exporters by providing all required documentation and assistance for their visit visa to Morocco, handled logistics, and distributed marketing collateral in the form of a brochure introducing QDB and all the participating exporters. Furthermore, TASDEER organised match-making meetings between

Exporter wise total opportunity across the relevant importers (QR / million)

Denotes the total opportunity available for the exporter if the orders are finalised in the future

the exporters and the key Moroccan importers identified within the market study.

Feedback on exhibition exposure to new technology, packaging, marketing, promotions, competitive awareness in the exhibition

As a result, all the participating companies received a significant number of enquiries for their products, and there is a high probability to convert them into actual orders.

The exporters greatly TASDEER’s support.

appreciated

The most impressive presentation TASDEER’s team was widely lauded for having the most impressive presence in terms of its stand at the entire exhibition by the organisers, visitors and exporters themselves.

“The presence of Qatari companies at the event is highly impressive. The presentation in terms of the Qatar Pavilion is one of the best at the entire event,” said Mounia Boucetta, Secretary General, Ministry of Industry of Morocco. Zahra Maafiri, Director General, Maroc Export, also added, “I must complement TASDEER’s team for one of the best stands in the exhibition.”

Feedback on support provided by TASDEER

Interested in participating in the Plast Expo 2015

The overall Qatari presentation at the event received significant coverage within the official “Plast Expo Newsletter”, which had a daily circulation of more than 11,000 copies.

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Events

Hassan Khalifa Al Mansouri, Executive Director, TASDEER, stated, ”Our intention is to promote the Qatari exports globally based on our detailed market studies. We have excellent opportunities for the Qatari plastic products in Morocco.

We expect to participate in the next two editions of the Plast Expo Exhibition with an even bigger presence. All the exhibitors are very satisfied with the high quality of the trade visitors.”

Speaking on behalf of exporters, Moataz Ebisi, Chief of Marketing, Qatar German Medical Devices (QGMD), said, “Morocco is one of the fastest growing economies in North Africa. Our key objective is to meet Moroccan partners and understand their needs in detail in order to get a complete understanding of the market. I think that the services here are very satisfactory. The quality of the visitors is very surprising as they are highly professional and know exactly what they want. I am also very happy to meet the visitors from other parts of the globe such as Europe, Russia and other countries.”

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Book launch

Trade secrets revealed!

In its continuous efforts to encourage exports of Qatari companies, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is proud to present “Trade Secrets: The Export Answer Book for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises,” which is a comprehensive guidebook developed in association with the International Trade Centre (ITC). Private Sector Qatar brings to you more details.

Q

atar Development Bank announced the launch of “Trade Secrets: The Export Answer Book for Small and Medium-Sized Exporters” (“Trade Secrets”), which is a comprehensive guidebook developed in association with the International Trade Centre (ITC), a United Nations agency based in Geneva, Switzerland.

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“Trade Secrets”, which is available in English and Arabic, aims to provide Qatari companies with a trustworthy source of information on all issues related to exporting. It includes details about the procedures, which companies need to follow, both inside and outside Qatar, when selling their goods and services abroad.

Book launch

Mansour Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO, QDB, said, “We have been able to contribute to economic diversification by providing the private sector with the tools necessary to grow and, thereby, boost the country’s GDP. The ‘Trade Secrets’ initiative builds on this track record, and helps SMEs to familiarise with various export procedures, both locally and internationally.”

The book was developed following interviews with Qatari exporters and companies looking to begin exporting, as well as with a range of government and non-government entities. Their insights and feedback were used to develop answers to different export-related enquiries of companies in Qatar.

For companies that require further information, “ Trade Secrets ” also includes references, which direct a reader to an additional material. It also helps companies to identify available export opportunities in the existing or new markets.

Mansour Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO, QDB, said, “Since its establishment, QDB has set ambitious goals in support of the ongoing development of Qatar. We have been able to contribute to economic diversification by providing the private sector with the tools

“QDB and TASDEER are proud to work together to support the exporting community in Qatar. By launching this book, we are providing local companies with various information and tools needed to access international markets,” added Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive Director, TASDEER.

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necessary to grow and, thereby, boost the country ’s GDP. The ‘ Trade Secrets ’ initiative builds on this track record, and helps SMEs to familiarise with various export procedures, both locally and internationally.”

Al-Mahmoud also stated, “The private sector is the main driver of economies in most parts of the world, since it plays a major role in the GDP growth, economic diversification and job creation. With this in mind, we have prepared this book, which is directly relevant to the business environment in Qatar and meets the demands of the local economy.”

“QDB and TASDEER are proud to work together to support the exporting community in Qatar.

By launching this book, we are providing local companies with various information and tools needed to access international markets. The book covers areas such as market insights, product issues, trends, standards and measurements, trade regulations, customs duties, which will all help in increasing the competitiveness of Qatari products across the targeted export markets,” added Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive Director, TASDEER. Qatar Development Bank was established in 1997 to grow the private sector and to enhance Qatar’s economic diversification. QDB provides services that facilitate the development of the private sector and enhance its contribution to the national economy. In 2011, QDB established the Qatar Export Development Agency, TASDEER, to encourage exports of Qatar’s non-oil manufactured products and to provide export insurance.

Qatar Export Development Agency TASDEER will provide all Qatari exporters and relevant agencies with a copy of the book. A soft copy of “ Trade Secrets ” is also available on QDB’s Website www.qdb.qa.