Qatar Development Bank (QDB) has announced that applications are now open for the ‘Resilient Award, which comes in “recognition and encouragement for the innovation, creativity, and resilience” exhibited by private sector enterprises during Covid-19 pandemic, thereby inspiring more SMEs to adopt and develop sustainable business models.
The award will highlight the SMEs that have demonstrated their resilience during the crisis by adopting innovative business strategies, effective financial management, management compliance and dynamic decision making – all considered to be instrumental in overcoming the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The candidates will be evaluated based on preset criteria such as the business strategies adopted by SMEs amidst the crisis, creative measures taken, financial and resource management, business excellence, and adaptability, risk management and business sustainability.
To offer all enterprises the opportunity to apply for the award, the bank has set three prerequisites for a company’s application to be accepted; being in business for a minimum of three years and sharing financial statements for the previous three years, having a valid commercial registration, and qualifying as an SME according to the official definition of a small and medium enterprise in Qatar.
The award only has one category and three slots for winners where the first winner receives a prize of QR75,000, QR50,000 for second and the third QR25,000.
The awarding ceremony will be during Qatar Entrepreneurship Conference (ROWAD), within the Global Entrepreneurship Week activities in November.
On the launch of the award, Abdulaziz Nasser al-Khalifa, CEO, Qatar Development Bank said, “Through this award, QDB aims to introduce to the entrepreneurial community in Qatar, SMEs that have dealt and are still dealing successfully with the novel coronavirus pandemic, and honour the companies that managed to overcome the challenges. This comes as part of our ongoing pursuit to build and develop a healthy and competitive business environment that encourages creativity and innovative solutions.”
Following the submission phase, applicants will undergo an initial screening process, proceeded by an interview process for the companies' owners by a panel of judges. Companies will then go through their final evaluation process, before the award ceremony takes place during the Global Entrepreneurship Week.
