QDB, banks look to boost ‘indirect lending’ to Qatar SMEs

Qatar Development Bank (QDB) held its “Eighth Al Dhameen dialogue session” with partner banks to enhance the “indirect lending initiative” for small and medium enterprises that do not have a credit history or enough guarantees to acquire finance.

The session held at the Mövenpick Hotel was presided over by QDB chief executive Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa and attended by some 14 representatives of partner banks and financial institutions based in Qatar.

The session comprised of seminars, during which representatives of partner banks briefed QDB officials on major challenges and ways to enhance Al Dhameen, and highlighted customers’ feedback.

The programme team showcased achievements during the last three years, and 2013 as well, and highlighted efforts towards the programme development with the partners: Enterprise Qatar, Bedaya Centre and Qatar Business Incubation Centre.

The session concluded with a detailed demonstration about Al Dhameen performance, with the participation of partner banks’ representatives.

Al Dhameen was established by QDB to encourage banks to finance promising SMEs held back by a limited credit history and insufficient collateral. Qatar-based private sector companies are eligible for guarantees of up to 85% of the loan amount.

“Al Dhameen came a long way since it was established three years ago, when it had only one partner,” said al-Khalifa.

“The programme managed to achieve huge success in a relatively short period of time, with the support of its 14 partners.

“In line of our commitment to enhance the quality and efficiency of Al Dhameen, QDB administration seeks to continue hard work to enhance the programme as an effective tool to support SME sector, through gathering of stakeholders regularly to discuss ways to develop Al Dhameen”.

Through Al Dhameen, QDB aims to support private and SME sectors in line with its efforts to achieve economic diversification in Qatar and lower dependency on hydrocarbons sector as a major source of income.

In line with this, the bank held many workshops for enterprises’ owners to get them familiar with available investment opportunities in the SME sector. The bank also organised training programmes targeting customer relationships managers in partner banks, in order to enhance their skills in credit and project evaluation.