Women make up a significant proportion of entrepreneurs in Qatar. Many run small businesses in the food and beverage sector, but there are signs of growth in others, encouraged by the National Vision 2030
Women make up a minority of the population of Qatar, which has a high number of expatriate individuals. But it is a growing minority, from 24% of the population to 28% in the past decade, and a highly educated one – there are more female than male students in Qatari universities.
A significant number of women – around one fifth of the population – are running their own business or planning to do so. This development is encouraged as part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, and supported by government policies such as mentoring programmes and financial support.
This year a report into the state of play and prospects for female entrepreneurs was published. It was initiated by the Qatar Development Bank, in association with Namaa, Qatar Chamber, Qatar University and HEC Paris.
The main survey informing the report involved interviewing 100 female Qatari entrepreneurs. Among the findings are that women who start a business are mostly like to do so between the ages of 25 and 34, and that they tend to be graduates. More than a quarter (28%) are in food and beverage, while 19% are in the clothing sector, both manufacturing and retail; with other retail sectors in third place at 15%. The report notes that Women Technopreneurs is an initiative started by Microsoft and INJAZ Qatar to encourage female entrepreneurs in the hi-tech sector, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence.
Motivations for starting a business produced varying answers. More than half (54%) cited the opportunity to earn more, with 37% citing greater independence, and 33% to meet a market need or niche. A quarter of respondents wanted to develop a product or service that they were passionate about (respondents could cite more than one motivating factor).
Personal savings were the most popular source of investment capital, cited by 44% of respondents who were owners of established businesses, followed by personal loans at 33% and commercial loans (28%). The proportions of those seeking to start a business were rather different, with just 21% reporting personal savings, 36% a personal loan and 50% commercial loan. More than half of the entrepreneurs had at least a degree, and a significant proportion were qualified to masters of PhD level.
From anecdotal information, it is likely that a proportion of the personal savings have come directly or indirectly from parental wealth. It is a common practice, in the Gulf and elsewhere, for owners of family businesses to help their offspring set up a business in the real world – as a good experience in its own right and to help acquire skills and knowledge that may be of help to the family firm. If the enterprise does not become profitable and successful it can still be valuable experience, and the investment loss does not have the same negative consequences as if the start-up capital had been a bank loan.
In the survey, the main constraining factors facing women entrepreneurs were listed as high rents, by 35% of those with an established business and by 29% of those seeking to start a business. Finding people with the right skills was second factor listed by both categories, at 30% and 21% respectively.
Challenges mentioned by interviewees included regulations and licensing processes; finance, and access to technical skills.
Qatar scores well both regionally and globally on rankings of entrepreneurial culture, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor Qatar National Report 2021, but there are inevitably many policies that can be developed and improved.
There are certain challenges for women – for example, 87% of respondents in the 2023 study have caring responsibilities – while many challenges are faced by both women and men, such as access to financial advice and skilled people.
The female entrepreneurs studied were mostly running small businesses, with an average of 10 employees. Key to boosting both opportunities for women and economic development generally is to encourage the establishment and scaling of businesses, and to do so across all sectors. There is no doubting the intellectual and entrepreneurial potential.
The author is a Qatari banker, with many years of experience in the banking sector in senior positions.
Fahad Badar
