The diverse range of government support to Qatar’s private sector has played a significant role in promoting growth in the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), an official from the German embassy in Doha has said.
According to commercial attaché Heike Möeckel, the presence of many family-owned businesses in Qatar is one of the similarities the country shares with Germany, whose economy is backed by a strong SME sector.
“I think the government is on the right path because they promote SMEs, and they have done a lot of co-operation in this field. We had a conference on SMEs in Doha last year, and was attended by our vice-chancellor and minister of economy and energy, Sigmar Gabriel.
“Ninety-eight percent of our companies are SMEs, and I think that Qatar could learn from the experiences of other countries that have a lot of SMEs and family-owned enterprises,” Möeckel told Gulf Times. “SMEs are the backbone of the German economy.”
“The so-called ‘German Mittelstand’ is highly-innovative and invests millions of euros in research and development. Thanks to SMEs, Germany maintains a strong position in the international market, stronger than any other country,” she claimed.
Möeckel said certification of entrepreneurs and SME owners, similar to Germany’s dual vocational training system, could help spur further growth to Qatar’s SME sector.
She said the dual vocational training system is a special way of learning a trade, which requires special classes at a vocational school and receive on-the-job-training at a company.
“It’s how to provide on-the-job-training for people to really make them experts in all levels. It’s not only for university but also for people who do not want to attend university but want to be professionals in services and maintenance, among other fields,” she explained.
Asked about “smart SMEs” and companies in this sector that are viable in Gulf countries like Qatar, Möeckel noted that there is a growing trend among young Qatari entrepreneurs who are into innovation and IT, particularly business-minded women.
“I know a lot of young, intelligent Qatari women who have started their own IT companies and they provide online solutions, from shopping to ticketing websites.
“This is a great opportunity, and it’s perfect for Qatar, but if you want to expand internationally, you have to put something additional that is enough to compare yourself with other existing companies, and you have to be able to explain what is new with the concept,” she said.
She added: “They are developing this and they are on the right path. Qatar is very new to this, but Germany can talk about a very long experience, which developed over hundreds of years whereas in Qatar, this procedure has just started. I think they are on the right path and if they are looking at good examples from other countries that have a lot of SMEs, they will learn a lot from them.”