In line with its support of the Qatar National Vision 2030 to promote the development of the private sector, Qatar Shell is supporting the ‘3rd Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum’ for the second consecutive year.
The forum is being held under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani on March 7, 8.  The event is expected to attract hundreds of entrepreneurs locally, regionally and internationally, from business leaders, banks and specialised financial organisations to economists, academics and major public and private institutions.
Michiel Kool, managing director and chairman of Qatar Shell companies, said: “We are honoured to contribute to the ‘Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum’ again this year. This event is in line with our mission to support the development of a robust private sector that will help diversify Qatar’s economy.”
“We are achieving this through our Corporate Social Responsibility programmes. On the one hand, we support existing Qatari SMEs and encourage them to join our in-country supply chain through our strategic partnership with QDB; on the other hand we seek to inspire the spirit of Entrepreneurship in young people through our partnership with Bedaya,” he added.
During the 3rd Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum, Qatar Shell will highlight its increasing support to existing local SMEs in recent years owing to its successful partnership with QDB.  
Since 2013, Qatar Shell has presented over 500 SMEs with 19 business opportunities.
The SMEs who expressed interest then followed Shell’s pre-qualification process, and those who pre-qualified were invited to tender. Shell then assessed the bids from a technical and commercial perspective.
Over the three years, a total of 150 local SMEs have registered their interest. More than 90 SMEs were subsequently invited to tender, and 14 local SMEs have been awarded with contracts with an aggregate value of $20mn.  The awarded local SMEs are also given a period of up to 18-months to build their capability to be able handle the contract to meet Shell’s HSSE and operating standards. Qatar Shell also provides them with ongoing and sustained support and guidance.
During the Forum, Qatar Shell’s Local Content manager Amro Ahmed will make a key presentation on how companies can apply to Shell’s tendering process to  become suppliers of choice to Pearl GTL, the world’s largest gas to liquids plant delivered by Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Shell.
The presentation will be part of Qatar Shell’s efforts to encourage local SMEs to bid and win contracts with Pearl GTL in 2016.