Vital concerns and the latest information on entrepreneurship are expected to be shared, examined, and deliberated by top government officials, key business leaders, and leading academicians from the region and the world during the third edition of the “Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum.”
Organised by Qatar University and Qatar Development Bank (QDB), the event will take place under the patronage of HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani on March 7 and 8 at the Sheraton Doha Resort and Convention Hotel in Qatar.
“The importance of this forum is highlighted by the presence of high-calibre experts and decision makers in the field of entrepreneurship and there is no doubt that the government’s support to this important and vital sector is a key element in achieving the development of the entrepreneurial system in the state and activating it. “And at QDB, we are proud of the leadership role that we are playing to provide key services to this sector in general and to Qatari entrepreneurs in particular,” said Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdul Aziz al-Khalifa.
Dr Nitham Hindi, dean of the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University, said: “The academic community, while presenting its theoretical expertise on entrepreneurship, is very much in touch with the realities of everyday business and governmental operations through exchanges of information and insights with the key business leaders and government officials.
“It is through platforms such as this forum that deeper knowledge and understanding about entrepreneurship is shared, which, in turn, facilitates the crafting of academic programmes that meet the requirement of a fast-changing business and economic environment.
“We, in the academic community, look forward to having continuous and constant dialogue among all stakeholders in order to keep students up-to-date with the current trends on entrepreneurship,” he added.
Speakers from the public and private sectors, as well as the academe include the ambassador of the Republic of Ecuador to Qatar, Kabalan Abisaab, and the founder and CEO of GEE from Oman, Kaleem Mohamed al-Yaqoobi. Both speakers will provide their insights in the panel discussion on “Government Intervention with SME’s and Entrepreneurs” to be conducted on the first day of the forum.
To kick-off the second day of the forum, Mohamed Jaffar, founder of the e-Commerce business Talabat.com from Kuwait, will reveal some secrets to his success in a Q&A format session on “Success Story: How Did I Do It. ”The third panel discussion of the forum entitled “Financing Entrepreneurs & Entrepreneurial Ventures: Institutional Financing, Angel Investors, Crowdfunding, and other sources” will have Dr Maher Hakim, associate professor of Entrepreneurship from CMU-Qatar as a member of the panel. In the afternoon session, Ramzan al-Naimi, Creative and Branding Consultant for Al Jazeera Network, will deliver a keynote speech on “Brand Identity & the Means of Social Communication - Traditional vs Conventional.”
Other topics that will be discussed in the forum include a keynote speech on “Realising Potential – Developing the Traits of a Good Entrepreneur”; a presentation on “How SMEs can tender to win business opportunities in Qatar Shell Supply Chain”; a discussion on financial inclusion “Obtaining Funds for Your Venture - Options, Conditions and Requirements”; a keynote speech on “Effective Methods of Using Social Media to Ensure the Success of Entrepreneurial Ventures”; and a final panel discussion on “Building an Effective Entrepreneurship Ecosystem - Do we have what it takes?”