Entrepreneurship enjoys continuous support from the State of Qatar as it is seen as a crucial element in developing the Qatari society, achieving the diversification and sustainability of the economy, having an influential role in the comprehensive and sustainable economic growth of the State of Qatar, being a source of many innovative solutions that support the information and communication technology, having a direct impact on the national economy, and at the same time a major source of the growth of new jobs.
In this regard, the Executive Director of Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) Yosouf Al Salehi stressed, in his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the importance of policies and plans adopted by the State of Qatar, which aim to expand the scope of supporting and encouraging the entrepreneurship locally, due to its prominent roles in advancing and improving the performance of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) sector, which has recently achieved remarkable progress that enhanced its contribution to the support of the national economy and provided it with elements that boost its rapid growth at various levels.
Al Salehi pointed out that QSTP incubates around 26 emerging companies in various technological fields. He noted that regional startups started to take a broad space at the level of the GCC countries, represented in entering new Asian markets.
The Executive Director of QSTP said that the Gulf-Asian economic relationships have a dual impact, as the shift in global capital after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the emergence of a new environment where several startups and successful SMEs in the ASEAN region aspire to expand in new regions filled with opportunities, meaning the GCC countries.
Commenting on the growing global importance of the economic interdependence between the Gulf region, India, and Southeast Asia by saying that it is undeniable that the economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have been a driving force for innovation over the past fifteen years.
He added that the strength of bilateral opportunities not only provides ways to expand the scope of business but also provides new means to boost supply chains and establish new manufacturing centers. As some countries, such as Qatar, take the lead in energy transition efforts, new industries have emerged, and the economy in the southern countries enjoys a good position to acquire these industries.
The State of Qatar has adopted strategic plans to promote the entrepreneurship community and encourage its integration in a competitive national business climate. Thus, several SMEs managed to achieve rapid growth in their productivity, while a number of those companies proved their ability to maintain the balance in the local business environment and continued to grow and provide work opportunities. Some companies marked their presence in foreign markets when they started exporting, competing globally and regionally in several industrial and consumer sectors.
Various public and private institutions work on establishing a business environment that supports youths and encourages them to direct their innovations and creativity toward building a sustainable community by turning their business ideas into successful economic facilities. These institutions focus on encouraging creative thinking among youths and turning their ideas and perceptions into viable projects.
Initiatives were designed to provide the support and skills needed to help youths nurture and support their ideas and contribute to economic diversification through the growth of the private sector.
The State of Qatar focuses on creating an appropriate regulatory environment that supports the local business sector. The Qatari government followed many policies and made various structural reforms to help stimulate the economy, most notably the initiatives to improve the investment environment; strategies to encourage local manufacturing industries to achieve self-sufficiency and food security; the expansion of airlines, shipping lines, and operate Hamad Port; allowing citizens of many countries to enter Qatar without a visa; adopting policies to strengthen relations with import and export partners in Qatar; taking measures to achieve macroeconomic stability; and implementing government investments in infrastructure and social services, especially in the education and health sectors.
Qatar also works on empowering the private sector to play a fundamental role in achieving sustainable development. It has supported the localization efforts in the State through public procurement policies, as well as incubating and accelerating projects of entrepreneurs and MSEs through Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), QSTP, Digital Incubation Center (DIC), Nama Center, and other institutions.
Qatar Development Bank (QDB) also played a significant role in empowering and encouraging SMEs, as it launched a set of initiatives and programs and adopted unique business models based on innovation, employing best practices and modern technologies to support operations. In addition, in 2021, the QDB launched Factory One in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as the factory helped several companies to achieve their goals, boost their productivity, and improve their operational levels. The first batch of Learn and Transform program included 7 companies, while the Kaizen Journey program saw the participation of 5 companies. The companies that completed the program in 2021 achieved positive results as they succeeded together in advancing the pace of introduction and achieved revenues of QR 44 million.
In 2022, 10 companies participated in the various programs offered by Factory One, and all achieved noticeable operational success by raising their production efficiency, as the revenue for all those companies reached QR 33 million, in addition to the long-term impact, especially in the business sustainability and making it more streamlined on the long-term.
Factory One also contributed to the assessment of the preparedness of companies for digital transformation for more than 10 companies at the technical level and the mechanism and methods of work, as well as the administrative structure, and the readiness of human resources for digital transformation, which highlights all aspects of companies’ work and motivate them to raise their levels of productivity and open new horizons for them in the national and international market.
Since the beginning of 2023, Factory One has held several programs, training workshops, bilateral meetings, and developmental field visits to achieve these goals, while 5 SMEs have benefited from the Learn and Transform program to raise their productivity to date.
Factory One is an industrial capability center in Qatar that brings forth the model factory concept to empower SMEs. The factory leverages the combined power of experiential and theoretical learning using real machines, production processes and systems to support businesses in improving their productivity and performance. As the first model factory in GCC, Factory One focus is on helping manufacturing SMEs in Qatar and the region transform and achieve operational excellence like never before. By supplementing hands-on, real-world experience in the model factory with classroom training and dedicated advisory support, we provide end-to-end delivery of lean production principles to businesses, from learning to implementation to value capture.
Factory One hopes, through its continuous endeavors, to raise the level of its provided services to develop its facilities using the best technologies in line with modern industrial and technological practices, to be the first technological industrial center for capacity development in Qatar and the region in cooperation with the best international partners in this field, to achieve a distinguished industrial experience for SMEs by adopting various digital solutions in their journey to develop their business.
Qatar has also sought, through its National Development Strategy, to remove the obstacles facing the private sectors participation by improving the business climate, simplifying government procedures, and eliminating deficiencies in the business environment.
Qatars efforts have contributed to improving the States “Doing Business” global rankings, issued by the World Bank, benefiting local and international investors. Qatar ranked third in the MENA regions in the entrepreneurial environment index and made a good performance in all entrepreneurship axes. The latest economic reforms in the field of labor laws, privatization, special economic zones, and raising the limit for foreign ownership to 100 percent in some projects in facilitating investment and work in the State and stimulated entrepreneurship activity.
The latest Global Monitor reports indicate active entrepreneurship in its early stages and reflect a major improvement in recent years. The State of Qatar managed to jump 37 ranks in a short time from the 50th rank globally in 2016 to the 13th rank in 2020, as the indicator’s value raised from 14.7 percent in 2019 to 17.2 percent in 2020.
The report measures the level of entrepreneurship among employees who participated as employees in developing or launching new goods or services or establishing branches or business units within the institutions in which they work.
At the level of the sub-axes of the entrepreneurial environment index, the State of Qatar ranked first in the MENA region and fourth globally in the best supportive government policies related to taxes and bureaucratic procedures.
As for the development of entrepreneurial capabilities and skills, the State of Qatar ranked first in the MENA and 5th globally in entrepreneurship education and training at university and vocational levels, in cooperation with supporting institutions and universities. (QNA)
Source: Qatar News Agency