Business

Monday, December 15, 2025 | Daily Newspaper published by GPPC Doha, Qatar.

Business

Gulf Times

Minister al-Kaabi hosts farewell reception in honour of QatarEnergy LNG CEO

His Excellency the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, who is also the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, hosted a special farewell reception in honour of Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani, CEO of QatarEnergy LNG, who will be retiring at the end of the year.In remarks during the reception, al-Kaabi extended both personal and professional appreciation of Sheikh Khalid’s long and dedicated service and acknowledged his role and the impact of his leadership on QatarEnergy LNG’s outstanding milestones and achievements.The Minister also expressed gratitude for Sheikh Khalid’s valuable contributions to the energy sector in general and to the LNG industry in particular, saying: “I have had the pleasure of working closely with Sheikh Khalid over many years, and to ensure that QatarEnergy LNG becomes, and remains, the largest LNG producer in the world. “As he retires, I would like to personally thank him and to wish him the very best for the future.”Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa al-Thani joined QatarEnergy (Qatar Petroleum at the time) in 1991, where he held several positions including Business Development Manager of Mesaieed Industrial City, and Director of Ras Laffan Industrial City. He was appointed as Qatargas Chief Executive Officer in 2010, where he led the integration of Qatargas and Ras Gas and later the transformation into QatarEnergy LNG.Sheikh Khalid will be succeeded as CEO by Ahmad Helal al-Muhannadi on January 1. Al-Muhannadi’s 25-year career stretched across Ras Gas, Qatargas, and QatarEnergy LNG, where he served as Chief Onshore Operations & Support Officer upon the integration and helped achieve remarkable performance in all aspects.The farewell reception was attended by members of the senior leadership team of QatarEnergy LNG.

Mal Filipowska, head of portfolio and platforms at Seedstars.

VC urges stronger go-to-market strategies for Qatar SMEs

An official of a global investment group has urged small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Qatar to sharpen their go-to-market strategies if they are to benefit from fintech innovation and expand internationally.According to Mal Filipowska, head of portfolio and platforms at Seedstars, many SMEs remain hesitant to adopt new solutions, preferring traditional practices even when more efficient tools are available.“The go-to-market is also extremely important. If you are building solutions for SMEs, and this is again a challenge that I see across all of the markets where we invest, a lot of SMEs are used to operating in a very traditional way.“Adapting innovative solutions can be quite challenging, particularly in traditional or generational businesses where people tend to stick to familiar practices,” Filipowska pointed out during a previously held panel discussion in Doha.She also said, “SMEs are used to operating in certain ways, such as they don’t want to retrain staff. They are scared of new solutions because maybe they are not big enough or they don’t have the knowledge of how it works.“It’s natural for businesses to be hesitant about solutions they don’t fully understand, which makes the go-to-market component for convincing SMEs to embrace innovative solutions crucial.”To overcome this barrier, Filipowska said Seedstarts often deploys executive advisors to help portfolio companies engage directly with SME clients. Citing a car-financing startup in the Philippines, where dealerships were wary of new lending models, Filipowska said, “The solution was strong, regulated and showing traction, but credibility was lacking. Without trusted advisers, convincing SMEs to adopt novel financing tools is extremely difficult.”Beyond market entry, Filipowska highlighted the importance of early engagement with regulators. She recalled a case in India where a promising fintech startup stalled for months awaiting licenses, ultimately losing investment opportunities.Filipowska said, “We would love to have invested in them, but the expectation of what this company can build from the founder's perspective versus what is possible from the regulator's perspective to do it completely are two different things.”She also warned against ecosystem fragmentation, observing that SMEs and startups operate frequently in silos, disconnected from banks and regulators. Filipowska noted that cultural differences and entrenched practices compound the challenge: “When designing innovative products, collaboration with regulators and financial institutions is essential.”