A view of the ‘SME Business Opportunities’ workshop held in Qatar early this year. More than 30 Qatari small and medium enterprises have been shortlisted to tender for seven specific business opportunities offered by Qatar Development Bank and Qatar Shell.

More than 30 Qatari small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been shortlisted to tender for seven specific business opportunities offered by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Qatar Shell.
The successful SMEs will become part of the supply chain for Pearl GTL, the world’s largest gas-to-liquids plant delivered by Qatar Petroleum and Qatar Shell.
The successful SMEs will be awarded contracts, with an estimated aggregate value of more than QR15bn, in a special ceremony on December 13, a QDB spokesman said.
“We are proud to partner with Qatar Shell to promote the diversification of the national economy by nurturing the growth of the private sector through the support of local entrepreneurs and SMEs,” Hamad al-Kubaisi, executive director of Strategy and Business Development at QDB, said.
Asserting that QDB believes in the capabilities and quality of services of local SMEs; he said by linking them with a world-class company such as Qatar Shell, they now have the chance to bid for contracts that will help raise their operating standards to meet global requirements.
“QDB is fully committed to providing those SMEs and entrepreneurs with all the management, advisory and financial support that they need,” he added.
The shortlisted SMEs will tender for the following business opportunities: manufacturing of safety boards and electric labels; cafeteria and catering services for staff and events; servicing of custody flow meter calibration; manufacturing of stud bolts; supplying onsite welding inspection services; manufacturing and maintaining fire extinguishers, and managing Qatar Shell’s social media.
The contract period for the manufacturing of safety boards and electrical labels is for two years, cafeteria and catering for staff and events (three years), custody flow meter calibration (five years), manufacturing of stud bolts (three years), on site technical support for welding inspectors (three years), manufacturing and maintenance of fire extinguishers (five years) and managing social media (two years).
“We are proud to see a significant increase in the number of Qatari SMEs and entrepreneurs who are showing interest in joining Qatar Shell’s supply chain. We believe that by supporting their development we are significantly contributing to the economic pillar of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” according to Amro Ahmed, Qatar local content and SME manager at Qatar Shell.
More than 150 Qatari SMEs attended the third annual ‘Qatari SME Business Opportunities Workshop’ earlier this year, where over 60 local SMEs showed their interest to participate and compete for the seven business opportunities on offer.
Following the launch of the first workshop in 2013, three local SMEs were awarded with contracts; and in 2014 five more new local companies were added to the supply chain.
The ‘Qatari SME Business Opportunities’ initiative is a strategic partnership between QDB and Qatar Shell, aimed at supporting the QNV 2030 by providing local SMEs with access to specific business opportunities within Qatar Shell’s supply chain, and helping them raise their operating standards in order to fulfil global requirements.