Qatar Development Bank (QDB) wants to tap angel investors to promote Qatar’s entrepreneurship culture and help propel the country’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, an official has said.
Early this month, the bank hosted an angel investment ‘meet-up’ to link budding entrepreneurs with potential investors, said QDB head of learning Saoud Abdullah al-Mannai.
“We are also planning to conduct a training programme to support this category, and allow angel investors to push the innovation wheel and bring entrepreneurs to new territories,” al-Mannai told Gulf Times on the sidelines of Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) Qatar.
Al-Mannai stressed that QDB has launched an innovation programme that focuses on startups and young entrepreneurs, whom he described as “active” in attending training courses and “are known for devising bold initiatives in the market.”
“The innovation programme is an ongoing initiative that caters to entrepreneurs who want an innovative business plan, meaning they want to start and contribute something different in the market.
“Not only is the innovation programme promoting Qatar’s entrepreneurship culture, but it also encourages people to think out of the box, and move away from the standards of a small scale business. We want people to be bold in pursuing their ideas,” al-Mannai explained.
To achieve this, al-Mannai pointed out that QDB has forged partnerships with different organisations to conduct training programmes and participate in international conferences like GEW.
“At all times, QDB is working with everybody both in the public and private sectors … we believe that we cannot promote the development of the country’s business ecosystem alone, and it can only be done through partnerships,” he said.
Asked to cite innovative trends and businesses in Qatar and the Gulf region, al-Mannai said app development had played a significant role in expanding the reach of traditional businesses.
“Integrating apps into a traditional business is like adding a layer of service to help businesses grow and reach more people through online technology…the youth are known for innovation, and they are the catalysts that would drive the economy in the future,” he said.
He also underscored the role of women in entrepreneurship: “A lot of women in Qatar are very intrepid in establishing their own businesses. They are making up more of the country’s entrepreneurship sphere. Their contribution to the economy is very significant and it is growing, and they play a bigger role in society.”