US entrepreneur inspires future business leaders

Sheikh Faisal Centre for Entrepreneurship in the Middle East, a leading business education partnership between Al Faisal Holding and DePaul University of the US, has hosted serial entrepreneur Paul M Rand as part of its entrepreneurship and business development programme.
Rand, who is also an author and a marketing expert, spoke to more than 200 professionals from a number of institutions with a presentation focusing on the power of “word-of-mouth” marketing and his approach to building a business and brand from scratch.
The entrepreneurship and business development initiative was devised to educate Qatari entrepreneurs about promoting their business and taking it to the next level by applying smart marketing tools and the latest marketing trends with minimum cost.
The Sheikh Faisal Centre for Entrepreneurship focuses on enhancing Qatar’s entrepreneurial capacity and strengthening connections between Qatar and the US in this domain, which plays a key role in supporting Qatar’s efforts to encourage the development of local entrepreneurial talent, according to a statement.
Over the last decade, Qatar has reinforced its efforts in strengthening the role of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country and established several enterprises to support local entrepreneurs. The initiative recognises the important contribution SMEs make to economic growth and to the overall strength and diversification of the country’s business infrastructure and employment opportunities, the statement notes.
Dr Mandy Terc, director of Sheikh Faisal Centre for Entrepreneurship in the Middle East, DePaul University, said: “SMEs are more constrained by financing than large enterprises. Through this presentation, we are giving new ideas, derived from first-hand experience from a leading entrepreneur, on increasing the value added by applying innovative methods in promoting and marketing their businesses.
“We are honoured to be collaborating with leading institutions in Qatar such as Qatar Business Incubation Centre, Qatar Science & Technology Park and Bedaya and look forward to further enhancing our partnerships in the future to strengthen Qatar’s entrepreneurial capacity and connect entrepreneurs in Qatar and the US.”