The ‘Made in Qatar’ brand, which has continued to strengthen its presence in both the local and international markets, is seen to expand its footprint further despite an ongoing economic blockade, which marked its third year Friday.
Various organisations from both private and public sector immediately activated a series of initiatives aimed to cushion the impact of the land, sea, and air blockade imposed on Qatar by four of its Arab neighbours on June 5, 2017.
These initiatives from government ministries and private sector leaders like Qatar Chamber and Qatar Development Bank (QDB), among other organisations, helped stimulate Qatar’s manufacturing and industrial sectors, thus laying the foundations for self-sufficiency and sustainable development.
“As local manufacture and production continue to rise, more opportunities will be presented in the Qatar market that will contribute to the expansion of the ‘Made in Qatar’ brand,” said Layla al-Dorani, who is the founder of plant-based food and beverage (F&B) manufacturing firm, Raw Middle East.
Looking back at how large and small businesses operated under the blockade, al-Dorani said: “The growth of Raw ME was pushed greatly when the borders were closed as large corporations began discovering local manufacturers to partner with to fill the void of products they were buying outside the country.
“We have adopted similar models and collaborated, as well as featured other local products and brands to help increase their reach inside of Qatar through the Raw ME platforms.
“It just takes a bit of brainstorming and creativity to find ways to connect products that are completely different than what your core business is and your regular clients are used to purchasing from you,” al-Dorani told Gulf Times.
Al-Dorani is the first woman to be awarded food and beverage (F&B) factory in Jahiz 2 from QDB. Jahiz 2 is an initiative that leases complete and ready-to-operate facilities to F&B small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), QDB stated in its website.
In order to accelerate the development of Qatar’s private sector and help diversify the local economy, Jahiz 2 was launched as an initiative offering 16 ready and complete industrial facilities for SME owners and entrepreneurs in the F&B sector, the website added.
“More than ever, we are now purchasing locally-made items as the increase of local production continues to scale up with ever increasing demand. The growth in such a short amount of time really shows the awareness the entire State of Qatar has focused on the development of ‘Made in Qatar’ products.
“Almost 10 years ago, we were the first company in Qatar bottling fresh cold-pressed juices in clear square and round bottles. For years, we couldn't find a local bottle manufacturer and we were importing from China. Today, the market is quite competitive as there are multiple players producing the same style of bottles; we helped contribute to the demand for companies to produce locally,” al-Dorani stressed.

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