QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham
CBE Dean Dr Nitham Hindi and SESRI Director and QU Acting VP for Research Dr Darwish al-Emadi at the event.

Qatar University College of Business and Economics (QU-CBE) hosted a conference on the importance of financing small and medium-sized companies (SMEs).
The event was held in conjunction with Qatar Development Bank and under the patronage of the Governor of Qatar Central Bank  and chairman of QDB Board of Directors HE Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani.
Themed, “The International Conference on Access to Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs in the Arab World”, the two-day conference aimed to create state-of-the-art mechanisms that may enable SMEs to obtain the necessary finance through the development of specific government policies on SMEs finance by facilitating the required guarantees to obtain financing, and boosting the role of financial institutions operating in this area in the fashion that enables them to respond to the growing demand for financial resources.
The opening ceremony featured addresses by QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham, QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa representing Sheikh Abdullah and SME Development Bank Group managing director Datuk Mohd Radzif bin Mohd Yunus. Attendees included director of the Arab Planning Institute of the State of Kuwait Dr Bader Othman Mal Allah, CBE dean Dr Nitham Hindi, CBE Centre For Entrepreneurship director Dr Mahmoud Abdellatif Khalil, as well as several representatives from banking and finance sectors, and QU faculty, students and staff.
The event brought together over 12 experts and researchers from local and international institutions to discuss and share ideas on a wide range of issues related to the fields of finance, economics and entrepreneurship.
The conference agenda included four panel discussions themed, “The Role of Government to Facilitate Access to Finance for SMEs”, “Private Equity for Entrepreneurs and SMEs”, “Banking Finance issues for SMEs and Entrepreneurs,” and “Debt vs Direct Finance for SMEs and Entrepreneurs”. It also featured a workshop led by lecturer of management at CBE Eatidal Elqatami. Attendees were briefed on various topics related to financing SMEs in Qatar and the GCC.
Dr al-Derham said: “SMEs development is one of the fundamental pillars to achieve economic diversity and a sustainable knowledge-based economy. Economic diversity requires the development of specific government policies such as establishing an inspiring business environment, encouraging competition and supporting SMEs by facilitating the required guarantees to obtain financing.”