Qatar Development Bank (QDB) officials met with its entire workforce to discuss the company’s latest initiatives, updates, and strategies during the first Town Hall for employees. The meeting included interactive networking sessions and presentations by heads of departments, highlighting their key achievements in 2013 and the bank’s direction in the future.Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa, chief executive officer, QDB, awarded citations to employees who have been with QDB for more than five years and praised their efforts and loyalty to the bank.In a speech, al-Khalifa “expressed pride in the important work undertaken at QDB to support Qatari businesses.”“This meeting embodies QDB’s commitment building a strong community among colleagues and to transparency, which plays a significant role in organisation’s success. QDB’s staff is its most important resource for powering the development of a vibrant private sector and a prosperous and sustainable economy towards Qatar National Vision 2030,” al-Khalifa said.He added: “I am delighted to see each member of the QDB family play a role in our achievements and I am looking forward to many more successful years ahead. We are keen to involve our employees in all the bank’s developments, strengthening our work environment and the organisation overall.” The Town Hall meeting was the latest of several QDB initiatives providing a platform for staff to discuss key issues, engage with management and provide feedback. Aside from offering financial support, “QDB is also promoting entrepreneurship and facilitating the development of key economic sectors through the provision of capital and advisory services.”These services included the launching of several QDB initiatives, including Al Dhameen – an indirect loan programme to guarantee commercial bank loans to private sector companies.QDB’s export arm, Tasdeer, was created to develop and promote Qatari by providing export credit guarantees and financial solutions designed to mitigate risk for exporters. The bank also provides consultancy services “to help entrepreneurs develop their businesses, produce feasibility studies, market research, and other services that help SMEs in Qatar build the right skills and grow their businesses.”