Al Khaliji joins hands with QDB to help SME projects

Al Khalij Commercial Bank (Al Khaliji) is offering “aspiring” entrepreneurs the opportunity to finance and grow their small and medium enterprise (SME) projects through Al Dhameen programme, in association with the Qatar Development Bank (QDB).
Al Dhameen supports businesses in manufacturing, education, tourism, healthcare and services sectors in launching their SME ventures, while effectively contributing to the realisation of the Qatar National Vision 2030 through investing in the country’s economic growth and diversification.
The programme is based on an agreement signed between the two leading banks with the aim of empowering entrepreneurs and startups in various sectors and fields to establish and develop their planned projects by financing up to 85% of the project cost with a preferential interest rate.
The “market-leading” initiative reaffirms Al Khaliji’s commitment to the diversification of the national economy as one of the main objectives of the National Development Strategy 2017-2022 and its overarching Qatar National Vision 2030, while supporting the growing number of SMEs and boosting the private sector and entrepreneurial innovation in the country, thereby creating more opportunities for the next generation of business leaders.
As part of its commitment to supporting the SME sector in Qatar, Al Dhameen programme helps SME’s establish a credit history with banks for future credit facilities, without the need for large collateral, and encourages financial institutions to understand the importance of Qatar SMEs, and develop closer business relationships with them.
Al Dhameen is an indirect loan facility established by QDB to guarantee commercial bank loans to private sector companies, as a way of assisting SMEs that show components of success with limited credit history or lack of collateral to obtain access to funds, for establishing or growing their businesses.
The programme reflects Al Khaliji’s belief “that to be a successful financial institution, the bank must meet the needs of both this generation and future generations of employees, customers, investors and business partners, by blending tradition with innovation.”

QDB hosts SME development workshop on exhibition management
Qatar Development Bank (QDB) recently hosted a workshop on organising and managing trade fairs to bolster the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to market their products in both existing and newly-emerging markets.
The training programme, which was arranged in collaboration with Intraservice, a Netherlands-based professional training and coaching company, was attended by 95 participants. The workshop was designed to equip attendees with practicable exhibition skills to raise their professional capabilities to commercialise local products and services on a global scale.  
Hassan Khalifa al-Mansoori, executive director for Tasdeer, QDB’s export programme, said QDB is dedicated to the “continuous and holistic improvement” of SMEs, and strives to improve SME effectiveness in all aspects of their operations.
“With our exhibition management workshop, we seek to raise awareness amongst local entrepreneurs about the many considerations exhibitors have to undertake during expos at an international scale.
“Furthermore, we seek to inform them about the many methods through which they may organise their exhibitions more expeditiously and skilfully to ensure its success and achieve their ultimate sales objectives,” al-Mansoori said.
The workshop was designed to facilitate a free exchange of views and ideas between coaches and participants. It covered a number of pivotal topics like ‘How to successfully participate in trade shows’, ‘Important principles of participation in exhibitions’, and ‘How to conceptualise a winning strategy’.
Participating entrepreneurs were instructed on the mechanisms of attracting targeted visitors and ensuring healthy footfall at their company’s stand at the show. The session also included a tutorial on displaying products and services aesthetically to maximise potential buyers and sellers.
Additionally, the two-day programme also included soft-skills training in interpersonal skills and customer service to help the attendees guide their respective audiences using high standards of ethics and business practices.
The segment discussed building relationships with existing clientele and bidders alike so that the entrepreneurs may communicate with greater flexibility, confidence, and efficiency.
The SME training workshop on exhibition management comes as a prelude to a series of upcoming global expos scheduled this year. With the support of Tasdeer, local entrepreneurs prepared for international exhibitions like the Middle East Electricity (MEE 2017), Gulfood 2017, Plast Expo 2017, and the Big 5 Exhibition, in addition to more than a dozen export-related events this year.