An entrepreneurship culture with growing SME sector could help Qatar lessen the dependence on oil and gas, says al-Mannai: PICTURE: Anas Khalid
By Peter Alagos/Business Reporter
As falling oil prices continue to impact global economies, innovative non-hydrocarbon businesses play a significant role in diversifying Qatar’s economy, an official of Qatar Development Bank (QDB) said.
QDB capability development manager Ibrahim Abdulaziz al-Mannai said developing a culture of entrepreneurship and expanding Qatar’s small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector could help lessen the country’s dependence on the oil and gas industry.
Asked what types of non-hydrocarbon businesses could help drive Qatar’s economy, al-Mannai said, “Looking at Qatar and where we are now in light of the recent drop in oil prices, anything innovative in the fields of IT, ICT, environment, renewable energies, could become successful businesses and will help diversify the economy. These sectors are grounds for entrepreneurs to build their businesses.”
Al-Mannai, who was speaking to Gulf Times yesterday on the sidelines of the launching of the “Al-Fikra” competition for start-ups, said QDB is targeting “specific and serious entrepreneurs” who would like their ideas to take off from the implementation stage and finally start their businesses.
“The competition is open to all start-ups and people who want to transform their groundbreaking ideas into full-sized businesses. This could be achieved by nurturing the talents of Qatari entrepreneurs through mentoring their innovative businesses, which will contribute to QDB’s goal towards economic diversification,” al-Mannai said.
Al-Mannai cited the case of Maryam al-Subaiey, who won first place in last year’s Al-Fikra competition in the professional category for her idea, Qtalent.
This year, al-Mannai said the competition will select five team winners, whose business ideas will be incubated at the Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC) and at QDB.
“This is part of the reward. To be incubated means having access to a lot of support services such as training programmes and facilities. Some of the other winners from previous Al-Fikra competitions are currently working on their feasibility studies,” he added.
Simon Younger, acting president and general manager at ExxonMobil Qatar, lauded QDB “for bringing together a handful of Qatar’s most innovative and creative young business minds, and for creating space where they can express their entrepreneurial talent.”
“There’s nothing like a bit of competition to spur innovation and creativity...Today’s modern economy is all about creativity, ambition, and the smart use of new technology. Every story, product, idea, and application is unique but together they emphasise how crucial it is that we create a window for innovation at every level.
“Today’s generation of youth stands at 1.8bn, the largest the world has ever seen. The energy, enthusiasm, and innovation of this generation can bring a great dividend to countries, including Qatar. Today’s economy demands dynamic growth but what we really need is economic innovation, real innovation,” Younger added. Page 16
