Senior officials following the agreement signing for the “Navigator” programme. The announcement came on the first day of the ‘2nd Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum’ yesterday, which aims to foster the new generation of entrepreneurs in Qatar and the region.

Qatar Shell, Qatar Business Incubator Centre (QBIC), Social Development Centre (SDC), and Silatech have signed an agreement to host the ‘Navigator’, a “common purpose programme” for emerging leaders.
The first one will take place in Doha between May 24 and 28.
This announcement came on the first day of the ‘2nd Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum’ yesterday, which aims to foster the new generation of entrepreneurs in Qatar and the region.
Many entrepreneurs attended the two-day forum that was hosted by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce and sponsored by Qatar Shell.
The primary focus of ‘Navigator Leadership Programme’ in Doha will be innovation and entrepreneurship and it will help both develop the leadership capabilities of the participants and generate new ideas, which have the potential to be prototyped in the ‘real world’ beyond the programme.
On the forum, Wael Sawan, chairman and managing director, Qatar Shell said, “In line with our support of the Qatar National Vision 2030, we are delighted to sponsor the ‘Second Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum’ and to continue supporting the development of a robust private sector that will help diversify Qatar’s economy.”
“I am proud to announce that today will mark a further collaboration with key local entrepreneurship organisations to bring the ‘Navigator’ a common purpose programme for emerging leaders to Qatar. ‘Navigator’ will play an important role in engaging emerging leaders in Qatar in some of the practical issues and challenges that arise from the vision for the country,” he added.
Munther al-Dawood, projects and investment manager and acting CEO of SDC, said, “We at Social Development Centre are delighted to join hands with major organisations who share with us the same mission to inspire Qatari youth to take initiative and contribute innovatively to a more diverse Qatari corporate culture and economy. The ‘Navigator Leadership Programme’ will help entrepreneurs be more innovative as well as advance their leadership skills to maintain sustainable growth for their businesses and ultimately contribute to the National Vision 2030.”
During the forum, Qatar Shell highlighted its increasing support for existing SMEs in recent years owing to its successful partnership with Qatar Development Bank.
In 2013, QDB and Qatar Shell launched the “SME Business Opportunity Workshop,” which enables Qatari SMEs to compete for business opportunities within Qatar Shell’s supply chain. Three SMEs were awarded the contracts.
Qatar Shell’s team of experts explained to participants at the forum the tendering process and qualification requirements to tender to become suppliers of choice to Pearl GTL, the world’s largest gas-to-liquids plant at Ras Laffan, a Qatar Petroleum-Qatar Shell joint venture.
The presentation was part of Qatar Shell’s efforts to encourage SMEs to bid and win contracts with Pearl GTL.
In 2014, Qatar Shell in partnership with QDB presented seven new specific business opportunities to the private sector; five new Qatari SMEs were awarded the contracts for Pearl GTL last December. This brings the total number of awarded SMEs to eight for the period 2013-2014.
In addition to its efforts to support existing local SMEs, Qatar Shell seeks to inspire young Qataris to consider entrepreneurship as a career option.