‘My Chance’ fair empowers grassroots entrepreneurs

By Hamza Jilani/Staff ReporterThe ‘My Chance 2013’ fair started yesterday under the organisation of the Ministry of Social Affairs, which aimed to showcase various charities, semi-government businesses and products and services. The fair is open to the public from 10am to 10pm and will continue until tomorrow at the Doha Exhibition Centre.One organisation, Afif, a non-profit Qatari initiative set up by Al Asmakh Charity, provides business start-ups and budding entrepreneurs with training, economic empowerment, hands-on support and expert counsel to gain the skill sets required to succeed, seemed to garner exceptional credit among audiences. “We’ve done a lot of work both in Qatar and greater Asia,” Nael Salah al-Din, general director of Afif, says humbly.According to Salah al-Din, ‘My Chance’ is the leading opportunity fair for the public to take complete advantage of. “All you need is an idea,” he says, adding that the fair gave him and other participants the perfect chance to reach out to a public that is looking for intellectual and economic transformation.“‘My Chance’ gives us the chance to engage the public and identify their interests, activities and ideas in the field of small projects. In order to be effective, we have to know the extent of their needs,” Salah al-Din said. “Today’s event was a success; we were able to show off the power of our work and how it empowers our members, introduced the idea of programme development, and attracted new members to the programme.”He pointed out that Afif will participate in the Qatar Career Fair, which begins its work at the beginning of April, in addition to conferences focusing on social responsibility, family, and women’s rights and empowerment.My Chance 2013 enjoyed the financial support of RasGas.