Home-based businesses in Qatar could multiply their online presence to attract more customers and expand their network using a new App developed by a Qatari tech startup.
‘Souqagram’, a free App available on both Apple iOS and Android, is a virtual directory for home-based businesses that facilitates access to Instagram-based microenterprises, said Souqagram manager Noor Hamade.
Souqagram is among the 144 exhibitors participating at the ‘Made at Home’ expo organised by Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Qatar Chamber, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs (MADLSA), and Ooredoo with the aim of promoting household products and providing a periodic platform for the exchange of experiences and skills among entrepreneurs.
Many home-based businesses in Qatar do not have brick-and-mortar stores in malls or shopping outlets and are only accessible via social media sites like Facebook and Apps such as Instagram or WhatsApp.
‘Made at Home’ aims to develop the capabilities and skills of Qatari home businesses in presentation and marketing, and to provide the opportunity for business owners to present their products and enable them to connect to local markets and overcome the challenges that may face, QDB CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said at the exhibition, which concludes today (September 5).
“We want to help the community and these businesses to allow their markets to grow and let more people be aware of their presence,” Hamade told Gulf Times on the sidelines of the expo.
“For many clients that want to order from home-based businesses, they find it very difficult to know what accounts are available on Instagram and what these businesses are selling, as well as the services that they provide, so we are the go-to data base to help people find these businesses easier and we let people access and communicate with these microenterprises,” she continued. Hamade said while Souqagram has been in the market for only six months, the company already has a database of around 1,000 home-based businesses in the Gulf region, including roughly 400 microenterprises in Qatar.
She said food, specifically desserts, is on the topmost business product in Qatar on Souqagram. “Aside from desserts, other products in demand are savoury foods followed by fashion; there are also so many abaya accounts and dress accounts,” she said.
Speaking about the company’s expansion plans, Hamade said Souqagram aims to develop its database and increase user activity in the next two years.
“Once we achieve that, our idea is to start charging home businesses a set fee by providing analytics of how many new users had accessed their account through the App. We are trying to build the analytics part of the businesses so that we have something to show these businesses and how using our application adds value to their company,” she said.