Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is making great strides and is at the forefront in supporting entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through various platforms. This was evident when QDB opened its Derwaza Store for micro- and home-based businesses in Doha Festival City.
Through the Derwaza Store, micro- and home-business Qatari entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of the platform to enhance their access to the local market while boosting their business revenues. The selected businesses will be participating in five waves, each lasting for two weeks, effective October 19 till December 31, 2020.
QDB has achieved significant milestones, playing an integral role in stimulating national economic and social development by funding local projects and providing support through a range of innovative services. In that context, QDB recently announced the launch of the first virtual edition of the Qatar Entrepreneurship Conference 2020 (Rowad Qatar) which will be held from November 15-19. Also, QDB, in cooperation with the General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority, launched the fifth edition of the ‘Khotwa’ programme, which aims to build the capacities of retirees in the field of entrepreneurship and convert their ideas into successful projects.
Qatar Development Bank CEO Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa said QDB is committed to providing all the needful support to SMEs and startups with innovative business ideas. He said Qatar is the ideal destination to expand their operations given its geographical location, world-class infrastructure like airports, seaports, high-speed Internet, and easy access to capital, business-friendly environment and the right ecosystem for growth.
He reiterated QDB’s mission to support entrepreneurs, particularly SMEs in Qatar, and highlighted the bank’s previous move to increase its stimulus package for the National Guarantee Programme from QR3bn to QR5bn, as part of Qatar’s economic response to help local businesses amid the pandemic.
QDB has contributed to empowering entrepreneurs to benefit from a wide range of promising investment opportunities, and to develop their exporting potentials while supporting their entry to new international markets.
It must be mentioned that Qatar ranked 29th globally and second in the Arab world in the Global Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum in 2019, in addition to the fourth rank in the index of financing small and medium companies and 12th globally according to the entrepreneurial culture index of the same report that included 141 countries.
QDB is committed to its strategy to stimulate a vibrant, robust and diversified private sector through the development and nurturing of Qatari entrepreneurs and SMEs and assisting them to overcome obstacles.
