On the back of public and private sector support, Qatar’s entrepreneurial and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) landscape is expected to make an “amazing shift” in the next five years, a top official of Injaz Qatar has said.
Emad al-Khaja, Injaz Qatar CEO, told Gulf Times that many initiatives have been implemented by different government agencies and ministries in Qatar, as well major private stakeholders that continue to support the country’s entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem.
“As Injaz Qatar, we’re also part of the ecosystem, so we're here and happy to help out in this process. As you can see, we're all working towards one mission, which is getting more successful startups up and going. These efforts are all for startups, which have been producing amazing and mind-blowing ideas, especially with comes to tech and artificial intelligence (AI),” al-Khaja explained.
On al-Khaja’s forecast for Qatar’s SME and startup sector, he said: “We have ‘the perfect kitchen and we have amazing ingredients and amazing chefs’. Putting all these elements together, as well as all of these stakeholders, creates an amazing ecosystem that both the government and the private sector are investing in.
Al-Khaja said top international companies have started investing and supporting Qatar’s SMEs and tech industries, such as ‘ed tech’, fintech, and sports tech, among other sectors.
“The way I see it, the ecosystem in Qatar will grow massively. I’d like to look at things positively, so Covid-19 gave us a boost in the right direction, and honestly, look out for the next five years, there will be an amazing shift in the landscape in Qatar’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” he stressed.
According to al-Khaja, innovation, technology, and fintech have become vital in day-to-day living following the Covid-19 pandemic, which, he said, had put businesses in Qatar “on the right track and in the right direction.”
“Everyone has been saying that Covid-19 is a blessing in disguise because the pandemic actually pushed people in the right direction, paving the way for the creation of different types of innovative digital solutions,” al-Khaja added.
Injaz Qatar partners together with the local business community, corporate volunteers, and educators to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in the global economy. It is a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide (JA), the world’s largest organisation dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programmes.
Injaz Qatar is also part of Injaz Al-Arab, a network of 14 Mena countries working on a common mission to prepare and inspire young Arabs to succeed in a global economy. Founded in 2007, Injaz Qatar has since reached over 100,000 students across 100 schools and universities, thanks to 90 corporate partners and over 2,800 corporate volunteers.
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