Private Sector Qatar - October 2012 | English

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ـــــاب ــــرقـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـــ ـ المـ ــــلةالشقــــق الفندقيــــــــة ـ ــــــــــــ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ــــــسرة مشــــــــــــــــــــــــــيرب ارميـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ــــــادةالجــــــ ـ ـ ـــــــ ــــ ــــــ ـ النجـA L M I R Q A B A L N A J A D A R E S I D E N C E SA L J A S R A M U S H E I R E B A R U M A I L A

ـــالة ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـــــهتك لألصـ ـ ـ ـ ـ ـ وجـتحقق سلسلة فنادق البوتيك في سوق واقف، من خالل فنادق البوتيك الستة و الشقق الفندقيــة

الجديدة، نقلة فارقة في الصناعة الفندقية الفخمة في المنطقة التاريخية و األثرية من الدوحة التي تمثل ٔاحد ٔابرز معالم العاصمة السياحية. اذ يحتضن سوق واقف الذي شكل منذ زمن بعيد محور و مرتكز الحركة التجارية في العاصمة القطرية، ويتراوح عدد غرف الفنادق الستة الجديدة بين ١٤ و٣٧ غرفة فندقية، تتميز

بهندستها المعمارية الفريدة أجوائها الرحبة، بينما تتمايز عن بعضها البعض بتصميماتها المستلهمة من األصالة القطرية ٔاو الحداثة الفخمة، وهي مصممة لتوفر للنزالء، سواء من رجال األعمال ٔاو السائحين ٔاو

المقيمين في قطر، ضيافة ورحابة تخلد في ذاكرتهم.

[email protected] | swbh.com | هاتف: ٤٤٣٣٦٦٦٦ ٩٧٤+ | الدوحة | قطر

















News10 UPDATESGet to know about the latest events and happenings in Qatar that will have an impact on SMEs and large enterprises.

32 BALANCE AMBITION WITH REALISMTamara Pupic got talking to Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank, who gave some insightful tips on how SMEs can contribute to the transforma-tional period in the history of Qatar.

Finance

34 BE yOUR OWN gUARANTORAparna Shivpuri Arya asked Shareefa Fadhel, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Roudha Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, about challenges faced by the Qatari women interested in developing their own businesses.

Entrepreneur

36 FASHION FOR BUILDINgSNasser Al Maadeed, President and Industrial MD, Qatar SAT, explained to Tamara Pupic about how they not only developed a successful business out of constructing tensile membrane structures, but also made it a fashion.

SMEs

40 WEALTHy AND WISEQatari women are increasingly educating themselves on investment and business opportunities. For that reason, insights of Elsbeth Blekkenhorst and Danielle Duttenhofer, Co-Founders and Directors, Global Women Qatar, ensure better understanding of how this money can be invested.

Women in business

Private Sector Forum on Business and Finance

contentsOctober 2012

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Private Sector Forum14 OVERVIEWThe Private Sector Forum on Business and Finance, organised by CPI and presented by QDB, highlighted the most important issues for SMEs and entrepreneurs – finance. It provided an interactive platform for discussions and solutions. We bring you the exclusive coverage.

15 DISCUSSIONSGet to know what the speakers had to say about the opportunities and challenges faced by SMEs and the entrepreneurs in the region, when it comes to finance.

30 THE UNSUNg HEROES Meet the team behind the scene, the unsung heroes who made the forum a huge success.

22 SAy CHEESEWe bring you snapshots from the forum, held at the St.Regis, Doha.

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42

40

Legal46 HOW TO CLOSE? Emma Higham, Senior Associate, Clyde &Co, provides an overview of the members’ voluntary winding up provisions under the QFC Insolvency Regulations (Regulations No. 5 of 2005, Insolvency Regulations).

Technology50 THINK OUTSIDE THE BUILDINg! Co-locating is stressful for a company’s staff, but even more for its IT managers. Robert Campbell, Managing Director, Ecommnet Limited, advises us on how to implement and manage secured access within this period.

Management52 WEAR THE STRATEgy HAT! Planning ahead is vital in today’s business world. Nada Al Mahmeed, Corporate Planning Officer, QDB, advises on how to plan the growth of your business.

Business advice42 ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET: FAIL OR SUCCEED!Salwa Atiyyah, Senior Career Guidance Manager, Silatech, tells us where is that thin line which marks a new entrepreneurial endeavour a success or a failure.

qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en

In September we celebrated the first anniversary of the Arabic version of Private Sector Qatar. And we shared the celebration with 150 plus people who attended our Private Sector Forum on Business and Finance on the 25th of September. If you were unable to attend or would like a recap, turn the pages, as we have all the details – presentations, discussions, pictures, from the event in this issue.

As I mentioned during the event, our interactions with the various private sector stakeholders over this last year, made us realise that the one recurring issue, which was a cause of concern for all was – finance.

So we thought that there could be no better time to provide a platform for discussions on this issue. And we did witness some interesting discussions!

With speakers ranging from entrepreneurs, lawyers, bankers and international experts, there was no dearth of information to soak in. We have uploaded all the presentations on our Website for you to take a look. You’ll also get to see the team behind the magazine and the event, who have toiled hard to exceed everyone’s expectations.

The event also provided us with the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people, who we hope to cover in our magazine in the coming issues.

Besides the event coverage, as always, we bring you stories of Qatar’s entrepreneurial brigade. So don’t forget to read about the Roudha Centre for Entrepreneurship for Women and Qatar SAT and get to know about their journey. Also, in this issue, you’ll get some useful tips about the importance of corporate planning.

As we step into our second year, we believe that the teething issues are behind us and we will only go from strength to strength.

Thank you so much for all your support and encouragement. We look forward to hearing from you.

Till then..

eDitorial

Marking a milestone

Aparna Shivpuri Arya, Senior Editor, Private Sector Qatar

Talk to us:E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @PrivateSectorQA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PrivateSectorQatarLinkedIn group: Private Sector Qatar

qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en

PublisherDominic De Sousa

Group COONadeem Hood

Managing DirectorRichard Judd

[email protected] +971 4 440 9126

EDITORIAL

Senior EditorAparna Shivpuri Arya

[email protected] +971 440 9133

Assistant Editor - EnglishTamara Pupic


Contributing EditorsMike Byrne


ADVERTISING

Commercial DirectorChris Stevenson


CIRCULATION

Database and Circulation ManagerRajeesh M


OPERATIONS AND DESIGN

Production ManagerJames P Tharian


Head of DesignFahed Sabbagh


PhotographerJay Colina


DIGITAL SERVICESwww.smeadvisor.com

Digital Services ManagerTristan Troy Maagma

Web DevelopersJerus King Bation

Erik BrionesJefferson de Joya

Louie Alma


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Printed byAl Warq Printing Press, Qatar

Distributed byDar Al Sharq Distribution

© Copyright 2012 CPIAll rights reserved

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this

magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

QDB BriDgeD the gap to starting my own Business through aL Dhameen.

Do you have a promising business or new business idea? But do you also have trouble finding the funding that you need? Ask us about Al Dhameen Indirect Lending Program from QDB. We will guarantee up to 85% of your business loan*, leaving you free to focus on developing your business. Click on www.qdb.qa or visit one of our partners listed below.

* Guarantees of up to 85% are for new businesses. Exiting businesses can get guarantees of up to 75%. Terms and Conditions apply.

QDB_Al_Dhameen_Bridge_270x207mm.indd 1 24.01.12 16:29

For more information, please visit www.privatesectorqatar.com/en

Abdulaziz N. Al-Khalifa

Mr. Al-Khalifa is the Executive Director, Strategic Planning and Control at Qatar Development Bank (QDB).

Raed Al-Emadi

Mr. Al-Emadi is the Deputy CEO, Silatech.

Rashid Nasser Sraiya Al Kaabi Mr. Al Kaabi is the Chairman of the Board of Energy City Qatar Holding (ECQH).

George M. White, Ph.D.

Dr. White is Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar.

Hamad Mohammed Al-Kuwari

Hamad AL-Kuwari is the Managing Director of Qatar Science & Technology Park.

Ms. Amal Al-Mannai

Ms. Al-Mannai is the Executive Director of the Social Development Center (SDC).

Hamad Al Abdan Al-Marri

Eng. Hamad Mohamed Al Abdan is the Chief Business Operation Officer at Enterprise Qatar.

Professor Nitham M. Hindi

Professor Nitham M. Hindi, is the Dean of College of Business and Economics at the Qatar University.

Gail Gosse

Gail Gosse, is the Dean of the School of Business at College of North Atlantic-Qatar.

adviSory Board

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subscribe to private sector for valuable business advice that will help develop your business. maximise your opportunities and growth through our initiatives spanning magazine, events, website and social media.

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The Qatar International Businesswomen Forum

(QIBF) has announced its return for a third

successive year in October 2012, following the

huge successes of 2010 and 2011. The event will

be held on the 15th and 16th October 2012, at the

St. Regis Hotel Doha.

In 2011, under the patronage of HH Sheikha

Moza Bint Nasser, the event attracted nearly

800 delegates from the GCC, Europe and the

Americas. Hugely successful and influential in its

scope, the decision to reconvene for a third time

in 2012 was an automatic one, with the goal of

attracting and engaging more delegates from a

larger number of countries also.

The forum, which has gained recognition

as one of the most successful events in the

region focusing on issues of Arab women in

business and economic life generally, will again

be organised by the Qatari Businesswomen

Association (QBWA) in collaboration with

Interactive Business Network.

The political upheavals taking place in the

Arab world since the beginning of 2011 will

continue to impact the course of economic and

social developments in the region for many

years to come, and one of the key questions

is whether this process of change underway

will boost the political and economic role of

women in the region. The forum will thus look

at the personal freedoms to promote greater

empowerment of the Arab women and to

help them achieve their causes. In addition, it

will assess whether the Arab businesswomen

will be able to strengthen their leadership

and executive positions in an environment of

change and uncertainty, and what, in fact, are

the new economic and business challenges

that they should expect to face in this

prevailing environment.

Aisah Al Fardan, Vice Chairwoman, QBWA,

explained, “The Qatar Businesswomen

Association, and the forum itself, were born

out of the recognition that women’s issues are

growing in importance and gaining support

in the Arab World. This third annual forum

will reinforce its reputation as one of the

leading and most relevant women’s events,

and will discuss important topics and hopefully

come up with practical solutions that can be

implemented.”

Some of the topics which will be examined

at the forum include – perspectives on the

post-revolution Arab economies, challenges

facing Arab businesswomen in this transitional

economic period, investment and asset

management strategies during conditions of

uncertainty and risk/reward scenarios for Arab

women entrepreneurs within prevailing cultural

constraints, among others. There will also be

workshops on corporate governance in Arab

companies, branding and other topics.

“In 2011 the forum has witnessed a superb

participation and the State of Qatar is dedicated to

the empowerment of women, which is represented

in the National Strategy 2011-2016. This strategy

includes various initiatives to support women in

education, professional training, employment

in the private sector and establishment of small

businesses,” explained Sheikha Al Anood Bint

Khalifah Bin Hamad Al Thani, President, Qatari

Businesswomen Association.

In 2011 the forum attracted an array of

influential delegates and VIPs among them was

HE Abdulla Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah, Deputy Prime

Minister of Qatar and the Head of Emiri Diwan, HE

Dr Ibrahim Al Ibrahim, Secretary General - General

Secretariat for Development Planning in Qatar,

Lebanese MP HE Bahia Al Hariri, Jordanian Senator

HE Suhair al Ali, Dr Sabah Abdel Rasoul Al Tamimi,

President of the Iraqi Businesswomen Association,

Reem Badran, Jordanian MP, Fatma Al Jaber, COO

of the UAE’s Al Jaber Group, German television

anchor Astrid Frohlof, and many others.

news

Third Qatar International Businesswomen Forum

10 october 2012

news

Compete with Qatar’s economy

Opportunities for all

Qatar has retained its title as the region’s

most competitive economy in the Global

Competitiveness Report 2012-2013, released

in the beginning of September 2012 by the

World Economic Forum.

In 2012 Qatar ranks 11th in the world, up

three places from 2011. Switzerland tops

the rankings for the fourth year running.

Elsewhere in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia

also has a place in the top 20, ranking 18th.

The UAE is also up three places at 24th, but

Kuwait ranks as the least competitive country

in the GCC, at 37th in the world, down three

places on 2011.

“Qatar has maintained its position

by improvements in its macroeconomic

environment, the efficiency of its markets

for goods and services, and its institutional

framework,” officials from the Qatar

Businessmen Association (QBA) and Qatar

University have said.

However, the report points to difficulty in

obtaining finance, inflation, restrictive labour

regulations and an inadequately educated

workforce as the main barriers to doing business.

Qatar Chamber, the host of the ICC WCF 8th

World Chambers Congress, announced the

opening of the registration to attend the four-

day event that will take place in Doha from

22nd till 25th April 2013 at the Qatar National

Convention Center.

Chamber representatives and businesses in

Qatar and worldwide are encouraged to register

now at www.worldchamberscongress.com to

receive a 20-40% early bird discount.

Being held in the Middle East for the first

time and organised by the International

Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World

Chambers Federation (WCF), the 8th World

Chambers Congress will welcome chamber and

business leaders from more than 100 countries

to develop and strengthen partnerships,

exchange best practice, and network with

members. Chamber leaders will also be joined

by a peer from each of the world’s 48 least

developed countries, as part of the corporate

social responsibility (CSR) efforts of Qatar

Chamber.

Under the theme “Opportunities for All”,

the unique platform will feature dynamic

plenary sessions and interactive working

sessions on topics at the heart of a chamber’s

local and international agenda. These include

SMEs and the world economy, education and

unemployment, women in business, and youth

entrepreneurship.

The Congress will also feature the ICC

Business World Trade Agenda Summit, to

take place on 22nd April 2013. All delegates

are invited to attend the summit, which

aims to make recommendations on business

priorities for a 21st century agenda for world

trade.

11october 2012

news

Save the date!date Event Location17 september - 19 october gulf-european partnership forum under the patronage of he prime minister Qatar chamber

30 september - 04 october investment management forum Doha

october - December Job shadowing programme bedaya centre

1 - 3 october 3rd annual global petrochemicals technology conference Doha

2 - 3 october its and road safety forum Qatar 2012 renaissance Doha city center hotel

5 october made in italy 2012 Qatar chamber

7 - 10 october tower tech 2012 Doha exibition center

8 - 10 october hse forum in energy Doha

13 - 27 october build your business plan workshop bedaya centre

15 - 16 october cfo congress Qatar Doha

15 - 16 october 3rd Qatar international businesswomen forum st. regis hotel Doha

16 - 18 october Diyafa exhibition Doha exhibitions center

16 october Doha transport and rail exibition Doha exhibitions center

17 - 18 october 2nd annual lng technology global summit Doha

21 - 24 october ground support mena congress Doha

22 - 24 october career Development Qatar Doha

6 november energy Qatar 2012 Doha exhibitions center

6 november exporta's middle east capital markets conference Doha

11 - 13 november 5th annual bridges middle east the ritz-carlton hotel

11 - 17 november global entrepreneurship week Doha

12 - 15 november iconip2012 Doha

13 - 15 november eco-Q Doha exhibitions center

13 - 15 november world innovation summit for education (wise) Qatar chamber

14 - 17 november Q-money 2012 Doha exhibitions center

20 - 22 november 16th arabal grand hyatt Doha

25 november - 8 December united nations framework convention on climate change Doha

1 - 6 December Qatar health 2012 Doha

9 -12 December mena gas processing summit 2012 oryx rotana hotel

10 - 11 December hse in construction Qatar crowne plaza Doha-the business park Doha

ocToBEr – dEcEMBEr 2012

12 october 2012

Partnership opportunitiesPrivate Sector (al Kitaa al Khass) is an arabic and english magazine, presented and supported by Qatar Development bank (QDb) and published by cpi. it is aimed at business owners and senior executives in the private sector in Qatar. armed with practical advice, it highlights key issues for the business community.

The driving force for regional economies is the private sector – a catalyst for growth, development and job creation. with the world’s spotlight on Qatar’s development activities and the buzz being created around 2022, this sector is going to grow by leaps and bounds. that’s great news if you’re targeting the private sector, which spans across almost all industry verticals, but the problem you face is identifying the most dynamic and competitive companies amongst a sea of competitors.

a key answer for the past half decade has been cpi’s uae-based magazine SME Advisor Middle East, which has delivered valuable business information to leading smes across the region, helping them develop their businesses, putting them in touch with valued partners and fuelling growth even in a stalled global economy.

for more information about advertising and other partnership opportunities, please visit www.privatesectorqatar.com/enfor marketing ideas and opportunities, please contact [email protected]

now, with the support of QDb as our presenting partner, we have launched the same business values, tailor-made for Qatar in the form of the brand Private Sector. this will encompass magazine, events, online and several other initiatives to drive Qatari entrepreneurship and the private sector.

This is your chance!this is a market you cannot afford to miss. this is a market that you can reach in an intelligent, focused way, working with the expert team that brought you SME Advisor Middle East and has now launched Private Sector magazine in Qatar.

14 october 2012

PRIVATE SECTOR FORUM

Paving the way forward

In September 2012, the Arabic version

of our magazine celebrated its first

anniversary and, in just a few months,

the English version will also reach its first

milestone. Throughout this time we have

been listening to and writing the stories

of many Qatari entrepreneurs, SMEs and

large corporations. Some of them were kind

enough to share with us their success stories

and advise others on how to overcome

difficult periods. Others were honest to

describe the tough trials their businesses

were going through. But, all of them were

unified in appreciating the support given by

the government of Qatar for the fulfilment

of the Qatar National Vision 2030 goals.

Although each business path is different

and majority of business problems turn out to

have several solutions, our team worked hard

to present both the successes and the obstacles

hoping that each of the stories will find its way

to our readers and help them to further develop

their businesses. In this way, we tried to give our

humble contribution to the attainment of the

QNV 2030 with the aim of being recognised as a

facilitator of the private sector in Qatar.

The Private Sector Forum on Business and Finance was organised on 25th September 2012 at the St. Regis Doha in order to provide a platform for all stakeholder to dicuss a very important issue - access to and management of finance. The forum also marked the first anniversary of the magazine. It attracted an array of more than 150 prominent attendees from the government, foreign diplomatic missions, business community, academia, and the NGO sector in Qatar. We bring you the highlights from what proved to be a very important business event in Qatar.

The event was opened by Richard Judd,

Managing Director, CPI Business. In his welcome

speech, Richard took us back in time and said,

“Private Sector Qatar is now officially one year

old. A year ago, I was looking at the first issue

just before it went to press. It has evolved

quickly into a leading magazine in Qatar

that offers business advice and, with these

events, we continue to grow. The objective of

today’s event is to help business owners and

aspiring entrepreneurs to understand business

and finance better and, hopefully, help your

businesses to flourish in a competitive local and

global market.”

In line with the experience gained throughout

last year, we decided to focus on SMEs since

it is them and the entrepreneurs that fuel the

innovation and growth within the private sector.

For that reason, the agenda followed a step by

step approach to the topic of financing in order

to highlight all the important issues for SMEs

and entrepreneurs by providing an interactive

platform for discussions and solutions.

Regarding this, Aparna Shivpuri Arya,

Senior Editor, Private Sector Qatar, pointed

out, “When we decided to organise this

forum, we were debating on what our focus

would be. And then we realised that during

our discussions and meetings with a number of

companies, startups and entrepreneurs in Qatar

over the last one year, the one recurring issue

that was a cause of concern to everyone was

– access to and management of finance. So,

we decided that this is a good time to put forth

a platform for discussion on this important

issue and bring together all the stakeholders.

The forum will highlight step by step the

process related to accessing finance and then

managing it.”

The six sessions invoked much participation

from the audience. Distinguished international

and local subject matter experts gave their

thoughts and tips on opportunities and

challenges regarding the financing of SMEs

and entrepreneurs. Attendee reactions were

very positive and constructive discussions within

small groups continued even during the lunch

organised upon official closure of the event.

Tamara Pupic, Assistant Editor, Private Sector

Qatar, brings you synopsis of the discussions.

14 OCTOBER 2012


SMEs lead the growth

William James Gohary is

the Regional Manager

of Financial Market & PE

Funds within the International Finance

Corporation (IFC) and is responsible for

leading IFC’s financial markets activities

in MENA. Gohary has over 20 years of

experience in acquiring, integrating and

growing banks and non-bank financial

institutions. Prior to joining the IFC in

2008, he worked at the GE Capital where

he held a number of senior leadership

positions. He last served as the Vice

President Finance for the consumer

finance business, based in Stamford,

Connecticut.

James started the presentation by giving us

an overview of the global economic scenario.

According to him, growth expectations in

developed countries for 2013 are finally

being adjusted downwards as has been

anticipated. Contrary to the previous

forecasts which expected a pick-up in 2013,

updated consensus figures have diminished

growth expectations for all regions. Growth

momentum in the US economy is diminishing.

In Europe only a few countries are doing well

and they cannot be considered to be drivers

of the economy. The same applies for some

emerging economies in Asia.

With an attempt to generate more understanding around the

topic of financing of SMEs and entrepreneurs, the flow of our

topics followed a step by step approach. Thus, we began by

checking why SMEs and entrepreneurs matter to the economy

and how much support they need from it. William James

Gohary, Regional Manager, IFC, assured the audience that their

importance for the economy is bigger than the help they seek for.

Within this short overview of the world’s

economy, James posed a question where the

growth was in today’s world? He went on to

explain that in such a situation the growth and

job creation will have to follow bottom-up

approach and to start at home! That makes

the best moment to check what the role of

SMEs should be for the GDP growth and

employment as James added, “We cannot

rely on the global economy to help our local

economy anymore.”

Statistics show that formal SMEs contribute

up to 39% of GDP and up to 55% of

employment in developing economies while

the ratios are even higher when taking the

informal SMEs into account. Talking specifically

about characteristic of SMEs in the GCC region,

James pointed out, “GCC region has a relatively

smaller portion of the informal sector than in the

other markets. That is one characteristic of SMEs

as they typically operate outside the formal

sector. But, in most of the GCC countries, the

largest number of registered companies is

actually SMEs.” He further provided an example

that in Qatar the share of SMEs in the registered

businesses is at high 75%. However, these

SMEs contribute less than 20% of employment

in Qatar which is a very small portion when

compared with other markets, like 40% in Saudi

and 43% in Oman.

Focusing on Qatar, he expressed a concern

that the banks’ lending proportion to SMEs is

low across the region with Qatar ranked at the

very bottom (0.5% when compared to GCC

average of 2%) and stated, “Financing of the

banks is going to large corporations since the

banks are afraid of the lack of transparency

among SMEs. So, there is obviously a big

gap there. One of the reasons why banks

don’t want to lend to SMEs is that they don’t

find it profitable. Sometimes it’s the banks’

fault – they don’t know how to lend to SMEs!

It requires entirely different methodology

to lend to SMEs when compared to large

corporations.”

In conclusion, he recommended some

important steps in order to develop an

enabling environment for promotion of the

growth within the SME sector. Firstly, it relates

to creation of a proper regulatory framework

which should include simplifying registration

processes, creating a registry of movable

inventory and building up information systems.

Secondly, awareness of the importance

of alternative options such as guarantee

programmes and venture capital funds, and

of private equity funds for growing businesses

should be raised. Lastly, James highlighted that

the banks need to understand that lending to

the SMEs can be profitable for them.

15OCTOBER 2012

15october 2012


Paving the way forward

In September 2012, the Arabic version

of our magazine celebrated its first

anniversary and, in just a few months,

the English version will also reach its first

milestone. Throughout this time we have

been listening to and writing the stories

of many Qatari entrepreneurs, SMEs and

large corporations. Some of them were kind

enough to share with us their success stories

and advise others on how to overcome

difficult periods. Others were honest to

describe the tough trials their businesses

were going through. But, all of them were

unified in appreciating the support given by

the government of Qatar for the fulfilment

of the Qatar National Vision 2030 goals.

Although each business path is different

and majority of business problems turn out to

have several solutions, our team worked hard

to present both the successes and the obstacles

hoping that each of the stories will find its way

to our readers and help them to further develop

their businesses. In this way, we tried to give our

humble contribution to the attainment of the

QNV 2030 with the aim of being recognised as a

facilitator of the private sector in Qatar.

The Private Sector Forum on Business and Finance was organised on 25th September 2012 at the St. Regis Doha in order to provide a platform for all stakeholder to dicuss a very important issue - access to and management of finance. The forum also marked the first anniversary of the magazine. It attracted an array of more than 150 prominent attendees from the government, foreign diplomatic missions, business community, academia, and the NGO sector in Qatar. We bring you the highlights from what proved to be a very important business event in Qatar.

The event was opened by Richard Judd,

Managing Director, CPI Business. In his welcome

speech, Richard took us back in time and said,

“Private Sector Qatar is now officially one year

old. A year ago, I was looking at the first issue

just before it went to press. It has evolved

quickly into a leading magazine in Qatar

that offers business advice and, with these

events, we continue to grow. The objective of

today’s event is to help business owners and

aspiring entrepreneurs to understand business

and finance better and, hopefully, help your

businesses to flourish in a competitive local and

global market.”

In line with the experience gained throughout

last year, we decided to focus on SMEs since

it is them and the entrepreneurs that fuel the

innovation and growth within the private sector.

For that reason, the agenda followed a step by

step approach to the topic of financing in order

to highlight all the important issues for SMEs

and entrepreneurs by providing an interactive

platform for discussions and solutions.

Regarding this, Aparna Shivpuri Arya,

Senior Editor, Private Sector Qatar, pointed

out, “When we decided to organise this

forum, we were debating on what our focus

would be. And then we realised that during

our discussions and meetings with a number of

companies, startups and entrepreneurs in Qatar

over the last one year, the one recurring issue

that was a cause of concern to everyone was

– access to and management of finance. So,

we decided that this is a good time to put forth

a platform for discussion on this important

issue and bring together all the stakeholders.

The forum will highlight step by step the

process related to accessing finance and then

managing it.”

The six sessions invoked much participation

from the audience. Distinguished international

and local subject matter experts gave their

thoughts and tips on opportunities and

challenges regarding the financing of SMEs

and entrepreneurs. Attendee reactions were

very positive and constructive discussions within

small groups continued even during the lunch

organised upon official closure of the event.

Tamara Pupic, Assistant Editor, Private Sector

Qatar, brings you synopsis of the discussions.

14 OCTOBER 2012


SMEs lead the growth

William James Gohary is

the Regional Manager

of Financial Market & PE

Funds within the International Finance

Corporation (IFC) and is responsible for

leading IFC’s financial markets activities

in MENA. Gohary has over 20 years of

experience in acquiring, integrating and

growing banks and non-bank financial

institutions. Prior to joining the IFC in

2008, he worked at the GE Capital where

he held a number of senior leadership

positions. He last served as the Vice

President Finance for the consumer

finance business, based in Stamford,

Connecticut.

James started the presentation by giving us

an overview of the global economic scenario.

According to him, growth expectations in

developed countries for 2013 are finally

being adjusted downwards as has been

anticipated. Contrary to the previous

forecasts which expected a pick-up in 2013,

updated consensus figures have diminished

growth expectations for all regions. Growth

momentum in the US economy is diminishing.

In Europe only a few countries are doing well

and they cannot be considered to be drivers

of the economy. The same applies for some

emerging economies in Asia.

With an attempt to generate more understanding around the

topic of financing of SMEs and entrepreneurs, the flow of our

topics followed a step by step approach. Thus, we began by

checking why SMEs and entrepreneurs matter to the economy

and how much support they need from it. William James

Gohary, Regional Manager, IFC, assured the audience that their

importance for the economy is bigger than the help they seek for.

Within this short overview of the world’s

economy, James posed a question where the

growth was in today’s world? He went on to

explain that in such a situation the growth and

job creation will have to follow bottom-up

approach and to start at home! That makes

the best moment to check what the role of

SMEs should be for the GDP growth and

employment as James added, “We cannot

rely on the global economy to help our local

economy anymore.”

Statistics show that formal SMEs contribute

up to 39% of GDP and up to 55% of

employment in developing economies while

the ratios are even higher when taking the

informal SMEs into account. Talking specifically

about characteristic of SMEs in the GCC region,

James pointed out, “GCC region has a relatively

smaller portion of the informal sector than in the

other markets. That is one characteristic of SMEs

as they typically operate outside the formal

sector. But, in most of the GCC countries, the

largest number of registered companies is

actually SMEs.” He further provided an example

that in Qatar the share of SMEs in the registered

businesses is at high 75%. However, these

SMEs contribute less than 20% of employment

in Qatar which is a very small portion when

compared with other markets, like 40% in Saudi

and 43% in Oman.

Focusing on Qatar, he expressed a concern

that the banks’ lending proportion to SMEs is

low across the region with Qatar ranked at the

very bottom (0.5% when compared to GCC

average of 2%) and stated, “Financing of the

banks is going to large corporations since the

banks are afraid of the lack of transparency

among SMEs. So, there is obviously a big

gap there. One of the reasons why banks

don’t want to lend to SMEs is that they don’t

find it profitable. Sometimes it’s the banks’

fault – they don’t know how to lend to SMEs!

It requires entirely different methodology

to lend to SMEs when compared to large

corporations.”

In conclusion, he recommended some

important steps in order to develop an

enabling environment for promotion of the

growth within the SME sector. Firstly, it relates

to creation of a proper regulatory framework

which should include simplifying registration

processes, creating a registry of movable

inventory and building up information systems.

Secondly, awareness of the importance

of alternative options such as guarantee

programmes and venture capital funds, and

of private equity funds for growing businesses

should be raised. Lastly, James highlighted that

the banks need to understand that lending to

the SMEs can be profitable for them.

15OCTOBER 2012

16 october 2012


Where is the challenge?

Shams Hasan is a Middle-East based

technology leader and entrepreneur

with global experience. Currently,

he is the Board Member & Co-founder

of the CarSemsar.com serving in an

advisory capacity as the gadgets,

technical solutions, and strategy guru

for the team. He is also the Director

of IT at Carnegie Mellon University.

Shams is also engaged as an advisor to

many international businesses, inside

and outside the region, on business

strategy, ICT strategy, technical

infrastructure and operations and

Middle East business development.

The statistics, according to him, represent

the brighter side of doing business in Qatar and

is relevant in order to better understand what

are the challenges, “The top and down are

definitely engaged – the youth is inspired by

the vision of the leadership. So, the challenge is

somewhere in the middle.”

According to the “Global Competitiveness

Report 2012-2013” by the World Economic

Forum, Qatar is evaluated as the most

competitive economy in the region which

constantly improves its provision of services

At the beginning of what proved to be an entertaining and

informative discussion, Shams Hasan, Board Member & Co-founder,

CarSemsar.com, presented statistics which proves that entrepreneurial

spirit is present among 33% of the Qatari youth. He also added that

the leadership and public sector in Qatar are really engaged in creating

and supporting business opportunities. At the end of the session, he

discussed with the audience where the challenge lies, if the wise and

the young already share the same ideas.

to help businesses boost their economic

performance. However, Shams was quick to

point out that the results of the World Bank

Doing Business Report states that the ease of

doing business in Qatar is not that high since

Qatar obtained only 36 out of a maximum

183 points, behind Bahrain (38), Oman (49)

and Kuwait (67). Going further on this, Shams

explained that the bigger problem comes up

when these figures are broken down to a

subject that is important for startups and SMEs

– starting a business. Coming to this point

Shams said, “We have created an environment

which is very healthy to do business, but in

which is also extremely difficult to start a

business. That is the problem.”

Shams made an interesting approach to the

topic regarding ease of starting a business by

analysing whether it really could be done out

of the garage, “The nature of the business

today is that it is very dispersed – it’s mostly

conducted online, outsourced to a great

extent, and we don’t need an office anymore

in order to start a business. But, in Qatar for

starting a business you need QR 200 000 and a

real estate property. So, we can’t do it from the

garage. With this I want to say that although

we have all these programmes, like the ones

offered by QDB or EQ, we need to build better

awareness on what entrepreneurship really

is. For me, it is filling a gap, a niche, in an

innovative way.”

With an aim to address need for change in

people’s mindset regarding entrepreneurship,

Shams explained that Qatar, which is

developed enough to be focused on niche

elements, is in the top among the GCC

countries in attracting particular talents. But,

the challenge again is in raising the awareness

among the youth that the private sector is

more interesting than the public sector. On

this Shams shared his personal experience in

recruiting local talents, “For growing a business

you need talented people. I want to employ

local people. But, how to do that when local

talent is stirring their careers towards the public

sector?”

He concluded by putting to rest the belief

that all the responsibility is on the government,

“We need to build a different culture which

would accept failure as a part of the learning

process. In addition, we need to avoid starting

a company in our spare time since it will not

turn out to be a success story. Lastly, people

need to aspire to be more innovative.”

16 OCTOBER 2012


Where to start?

Dr. Salvatore Zecchini is the

Chairman of the OECD

Working Group on SMEs and

Entrepreneurship. He has held various

prestigious positions within international

organisations such as Executive Director

of IMF (1984-1989), Deputy Secretary

General of the OECD, Director of the

OECD Centre for Cooperation with

Economies in Transition, and many

others. In addition to his engagement as

a consultant on SMEs, entrepreneurship

and finance in several economic sectors

and foreign countries, since 1997, he

is also professor of the international

economic policy at the University of Rome

“Tor Vergata”.

Dr. Zecchini started his presentation by

highlighting that the smaller and more

innovative the enterprise is, the harder it is

for the entrepreneur to find the necessary

financing. In the MENA region, SMEs receive a

lower share of the total lending than in other

areas, due to the lack of transparency on

SMEs conditions, poor protection of lenders’

rights and higher SME risk perception,

together with the lack of reliable collateral.

Dr. Zecchini presented that the actual SME

Entrepreneurship is the result of skills and experience which can

be built upon. This holds even more true for the entrepreneurs

and SMEs in the MENA region. For that reason, make sure you

implement the advice offered by our distinguished international

economic expert – Dr. Salvatore Zecchini, Chairman, OECD

Working Group on SMEs and Entrepreneurship.

lending in the GCC region is much lower than

expected with the average of 2.02% and 33

banks with the SME lending programmes.

Within the region, Morocco and Lebanon

are the most active in SME lending, with

23.79% and 16.14% respectivelly, while

Qatar (0.49%), Bahrain (1.14%) and Saudi

Arabia (1.70%) are surprisingly at the bottom

of the list.

Within the region, among the selection

criteria used for targeting SMEs, the

banks value the most existence of SME’s

clients (76%), growth prospects of the

specific SME sector (73%) while the export

orientation is the least-valued criteria with

only 16%. He went on to explain that the

GCC banks require higher collateral (78%)

from SMEs than from large corporations

when compared to the non-GCC banks due

to their assumed lack of stability (51%),

less competent management (53%) and

difficiluties in their evalutaion (64%). For

that reason, statistics show that the GCC

SMEs mostly rely on financing from family

and friends (255%) and internal funds

(32%), and underutilise other financing

sources like trade credit (-50%) or local

commercial banks’ loans (-51%).

Talking specifically about conditions for

doing business in the region, Dr. Zecchini

admitted that access to financing and

restrictive labour regulations are the most

problematic factors. In order to ensure that

the audience understood, he listed the main

SMEs’ weaknesses – the lack of business track

record, poor management capabilities, and

information assymetry vis-a-vis the lenders

because of which they are marked with higher

financing risk.

SMEs would greatly benefit by taking Dr.

Zecchini’s advice on how best to overcome

these weaknesses. Firstly, invest time and

skills in analysing potential market demand

and prepare a thorough business plan with

a horizon of three to six years and a capital

budgeting plan. Secondly, try to enhance

credit worthiness by participating in a supply

chain, an innovation chain and/or mutual

credit guarantee schemes. This approach

should ensure fulfillment of the banks’

main requirements from SMEs within the

loan application, such as existence of the

proper business plan, cash flow, equity base,

management capabilities, and customer

base, in addition to favourable market trends,

financial guarantees or collaterals.

17OCTOBER 2012

17october 2012


Where is the challenge?

Shams Hasan is a Middle-East based

technology leader and entrepreneur

with global experience. Currently,

he is the Board Member & Co-founder

of the CarSemsar.com serving in an

advisory capacity as the gadgets,

technical solutions, and strategy guru

for the team. He is also the Director

of IT at Carnegie Mellon University.

Shams is also engaged as an advisor to

many international businesses, inside

and outside the region, on business

strategy, ICT strategy, technical

infrastructure and operations and

Middle East business development.

The statistics, according to him, represent

the brighter side of doing business in Qatar and

is relevant in order to better understand what

are the challenges, “The top and down are

definitely engaged – the youth is inspired by

the vision of the leadership. So, the challenge is

somewhere in the middle.”

According to the “Global Competitiveness

Report 2012-2013” by the World Economic

Forum, Qatar is evaluated as the most

competitive economy in the region which

constantly improves its provision of services

At the beginning of what proved to be an entertaining and

informative discussion, Shams Hasan, Board Member & Co-founder,

CarSemsar.com, presented statistics which proves that entrepreneurial

spirit is present among 33% of the Qatari youth. He also added that

the leadership and public sector in Qatar are really engaged in creating

and supporting business opportunities. At the end of the session, he

discussed with the audience where the challenge lies, if the wise and

the young already share the same ideas.

to help businesses boost their economic

performance. However, Shams was quick to

point out that the results of the World Bank

Doing Business Report states that the ease of

doing business in Qatar is not that high since

Qatar obtained only 36 out of a maximum

183 points, behind Bahrain (38), Oman (49)

and Kuwait (67). Going further on this, Shams

explained that the bigger problem comes up

when these figures are broken down to a

subject that is important for startups and SMEs

– starting a business. Coming to this point

Shams said, “We have created an environment

which is very healthy to do business, but in

which is also extremely difficult to start a

business. That is the problem.”

Shams made an interesting approach to the

topic regarding ease of starting a business by

analysing whether it really could be done out

of the garage, “The nature of the business

today is that it is very dispersed – it’s mostly

conducted online, outsourced to a great

extent, and we don’t need an office anymore

in order to start a business. But, in Qatar for

starting a business you need QR 200 000 and a

real estate property. So, we can’t do it from the

garage. With this I want to say that although

we have all these programmes, like the ones

offered by QDB or EQ, we need to build better

awareness on what entrepreneurship really

is. For me, it is filling a gap, a niche, in an

innovative way.”

With an aim to address need for change in

people’s mindset regarding entrepreneurship,

Shams explained that Qatar, which is

developed enough to be focused on niche

elements, is in the top among the GCC

countries in attracting particular talents. But,

the challenge again is in raising the awareness

among the youth that the private sector is

more interesting than the public sector. On

this Shams shared his personal experience in

recruiting local talents, “For growing a business

you need talented people. I want to employ

local people. But, how to do that when local

talent is stirring their careers towards the public

sector?”

He concluded by putting to rest the belief

that all the responsibility is on the government,

“We need to build a different culture which

would accept failure as a part of the learning

process. In addition, we need to avoid starting

a company in our spare time since it will not

turn out to be a success story. Lastly, people

need to aspire to be more innovative.”

16 OCTOBER 2012


Where to start?

Dr. Salvatore Zecchini is the

Chairman of the OECD

Working Group on SMEs and

Entrepreneurship. He has held various

prestigious positions within international

organisations such as Executive Director

of IMF (1984-1989), Deputy Secretary

General of the OECD, Director of the

OECD Centre for Cooperation with

Economies in Transition, and many

others. In addition to his engagement as

a consultant on SMEs, entrepreneurship

and finance in several economic sectors

and foreign countries, since 1997, he

is also professor of the international

economic policy at the University of Rome

“Tor Vergata”.

Dr. Zecchini started his presentation by

highlighting that the smaller and more

innovative the enterprise is, the harder it is

for the entrepreneur to find the necessary

financing. In the MENA region, SMEs receive a

lower share of the total lending than in other

areas, due to the lack of transparency on

SMEs conditions, poor protection of lenders’

rights and higher SME risk perception,

together with the lack of reliable collateral.

Dr. Zecchini presented that the actual SME

Entrepreneurship is the result of skills and experience which can

be built upon. This holds even more true for the entrepreneurs

and SMEs in the MENA region. For that reason, make sure you

implement the advice offered by our distinguished international

economic expert – Dr. Salvatore Zecchini, Chairman, OECD

Working Group on SMEs and Entrepreneurship.

lending in the GCC region is much lower than

expected with the average of 2.02% and 33

banks with the SME lending programmes.

Within the region, Morocco and Lebanon

are the most active in SME lending, with

23.79% and 16.14% respectivelly, while

Qatar (0.49%), Bahrain (1.14%) and Saudi

Arabia (1.70%) are surprisingly at the bottom

of the list.

Within the region, among the selection

criteria used for targeting SMEs, the

banks value the most existence of SME’s

clients (76%), growth prospects of the

specific SME sector (73%) while the export

orientation is the least-valued criteria with

only 16%. He went on to explain that the

GCC banks require higher collateral (78%)

from SMEs than from large corporations

when compared to the non-GCC banks due

to their assumed lack of stability (51%),

less competent management (53%) and

difficiluties in their evalutaion (64%). For

that reason, statistics show that the GCC

SMEs mostly rely on financing from family

and friends (255%) and internal funds

(32%), and underutilise other financing

sources like trade credit (-50%) or local

commercial banks’ loans (-51%).

Talking specifically about conditions for

doing business in the region, Dr. Zecchini

admitted that access to financing and

restrictive labour regulations are the most

problematic factors. In order to ensure that

the audience understood, he listed the main

SMEs’ weaknesses – the lack of business track

record, poor management capabilities, and

information assymetry vis-a-vis the lenders

because of which they are marked with higher

financing risk.

SMEs would greatly benefit by taking Dr.

Zecchini’s advice on how best to overcome

these weaknesses. Firstly, invest time and

skills in analysing potential market demand

and prepare a thorough business plan with

a horizon of three to six years and a capital

budgeting plan. Secondly, try to enhance

credit worthiness by participating in a supply

chain, an innovation chain and/or mutual

credit guarantee schemes. This approach

should ensure fulfillment of the banks’

main requirements from SMEs within the

loan application, such as existence of the

proper business plan, cash flow, equity base,

management capabilities, and customer

base, in addition to favourable market trends,

financial guarantees or collaterals.

17OCTOBER 2012

18 october 2012

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has been inspiring innovations that change the world. Consistently top ranked, Carnegie Mellon has more than 11,000 students, 90,000 alumni and 5,000 faculty and staff globally.

In 2004, Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon to join Education City, a groundbreaking center for scholarship and research. Students from 39 different countries enroll at our world-class facilities in Education City.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. Carnegie Mellon is firmly committed to Qatar’s National Vision 2030 by developing people, society, the economy and the environment.

Learn more at www.qatar.cmu.edu

Excellence. At Carnegie Mellon.PRIVATE SECTOR FORUM

Sustainability as a business model

Dr. R. Seetharaman is the Group

CEO of Doha Bank Group,

Chairman of Doha Brokerage and

Financial Services Limited and the CEO

of Doha Bank Assurance Company. He

is a chartered accountant and also holds

certificates in IT systems and corporate

management. Prior to joining Doha Bank

in 2002, Dr. Seetharaman held senior

management positions in three banks in

Oman. He started his professional career at

PriceWaterhouseCoopers before moving to

the banking sector.

“We are living in an interconnected world. To

ensure the success of your business operations

you need to understand not only the economics

of your local market, but also the regional and

overall global economic conditions,” stated

Dr. Seetharaman.

With these introductory words, Dr. Seetharaman

drew attention of the attendees to the state of

play of today’s business world and added, “Look

at the challenges happening in the world today.

Political, social and economic stability are integral

in real terms and countries are setting disciplines

In order to advance professionalism, local businessmen need

to learn how to gain sustainability and to develop the ability to

take calculated risks. Dr. R. Seetharaman, Group CEO, Doha Bank

Group, shared with the attendees many useful insights on how to

upgrade local business standards with the latest benchmarks of

global businesses.

for trading opportunities of SMEs. That is the big

change we are witnessing in the world today –

focus is not on the large corporations anymore,

but on SMEs.”

In the period after financial crisis, the

liquidity, or lack of it, is affecting the supply

chain. Therefore, in order to follow the pace,

business owners need to think long-term and

plan strategically. Dr. Seetharaman advised that

a successful businessman needs to prepare a

business plan that is aligned with these global

economic dynamics and to adopt sustainability as

a credible and viable business model.

Shifting the focus of the discussion on Qatar,

Dr. Seetharaman pointed out that the goal of

sustainability is already integrated in the Qatar

National Vision 2030 and that the business

community in Qatar has the responsibility to

execute it.

Since Qatar has a stable and functional

financial market and many plans and projects to

be developed, the question Dr. Seetharaman put

in front of the audience was how to exploit all

these opportunities in order to convert a business

model in a substantive journey? He said, “If you

start with a short-term objective, you will fail for

sure. But, if you have a medium- or long-term

vision and run with a discipline, you can seize

more opportunities in Qatar than anywhere else

in the world at this moment.”

The businessmen need to ask themselves how

they can recognise the right opportunity and

cash it. To achieve this, Dr. Seetharaman advised

them to prove their sustainability. Furthermore,

he added that proper understanding of what

sustainability is and how to ensure it is crucial for

the development of a successful business. Doha

bank considers that the sustainability of their

client’s business exists if the business is structured

in a disciplined form and substance. In order to

demonstrate the success of this approach, Dr.

Seetharaman provided an example of one of the

bank’s clients. By being disciplined, an optician,

who started his business with QR 700 000 and

six outlets, has achieved sustainability of his

business which grew to 23 outlets and reached

annual turnover of QR 23 millions. In the closing

words, he explained, “We educate and discipline

our clients to understand the dynamics of proper

business making.”

18 OCTOBER 2012





Excellence. At Carnegie Mellon.

19october 2012





Excellence. At Carnegie Mellon.PRIVATE SECTOR FORUM

Sustainability as a business model

Dr. R. Seetharaman is the Group

CEO of Doha Bank Group,

Chairman of Doha Brokerage and

Financial Services Limited and the CEO

of Doha Bank Assurance Company. He

is a chartered accountant and also holds

certificates in IT systems and corporate

management. Prior to joining Doha Bank

in 2002, Dr. Seetharaman held senior

management positions in three banks in

Oman. He started his professional career at

PriceWaterhouseCoopers before moving to

the banking sector.

“We are living in an interconnected world. To

ensure the success of your business operations

you need to understand not only the economics

of your local market, but also the regional and

overall global economic conditions,” stated

Dr. Seetharaman.

With these introductory words, Dr. Seetharaman

drew attention of the attendees to the state of

play of today’s business world and added, “Look

at the challenges happening in the world today.

Political, social and economic stability are integral

in real terms and countries are setting disciplines

In order to advance professionalism, local businessmen need

to learn how to gain sustainability and to develop the ability to

take calculated risks. Dr. R. Seetharaman, Group CEO, Doha Bank

Group, shared with the attendees many useful insights on how to

upgrade local business standards with the latest benchmarks of

global businesses.

for trading opportunities of SMEs. That is the big

change we are witnessing in the world today –

focus is not on the large corporations anymore,

but on SMEs.”

In the period after financial crisis, the

liquidity, or lack of it, is affecting the supply

chain. Therefore, in order to follow the pace,

business owners need to think long-term and

plan strategically. Dr. Seetharaman advised that

a successful businessman needs to prepare a

business plan that is aligned with these global

economic dynamics and to adopt sustainability as

a credible and viable business model.

Shifting the focus of the discussion on Qatar,

Dr. Seetharaman pointed out that the goal of

sustainability is already integrated in the Qatar

National Vision 2030 and that the business

community in Qatar has the responsibility to

execute it.

Since Qatar has a stable and functional

financial market and many plans and projects to

be developed, the question Dr. Seetharaman put

in front of the audience was how to exploit all

these opportunities in order to convert a business

model in a substantive journey? He said, “If you

start with a short-term objective, you will fail for

sure. But, if you have a medium- or long-term

vision and run with a discipline, you can seize

more opportunities in Qatar than anywhere else

in the world at this moment.”

The businessmen need to ask themselves how

they can recognise the right opportunity and

cash it. To achieve this, Dr. Seetharaman advised

them to prove their sustainability. Furthermore,

he added that proper understanding of what

sustainability is and how to ensure it is crucial for

the development of a successful business. Doha

bank considers that the sustainability of their

client’s business exists if the business is structured

in a disciplined form and substance. In order to

demonstrate the success of this approach, Dr.

Seetharaman provided an example of one of the

bank’s clients. By being disciplined, an optician,

who started his business with QR 700 000 and

six outlets, has achieved sustainability of his

business which grew to 23 outlets and reached

annual turnover of QR 23 millions. In the closing

words, he explained, “We educate and discipline

our clients to understand the dynamics of proper

business making.”

18 OCTOBER 2012





Excellence. At Carnegie Mellon.

20 october 2012


A good legal advice

Mohammed Khodeir is the

Partner and Head of Al Tamimi

& Company’s Qatar office

with a diversified practice in advising

and representing corporate, institutional

and government GCC and international

clients on different areas of law. He has

been extensively involved in major M&A

and IPO deals in the UAE, which are

currently his principal areas of practice

along with corporate governance and

family businesses. Mohamed has been

consecutively selected in the Asia Law

Leading Lawyers Survey (in 2008, 2009,

and 2010) as one of the leading lawyers

in the area of general corporate practice.

What businesses in Qatar need to know

from a legal point of view in order to properly

structure their operations? What types of

legal establishments are envisaged by its

legal system? What kinds of documents are

needed within the life-cycle of a business?

How to secure enforcement of payments?

These are all the questions Mohammed

addressed during his session in order to advise

participants on the easiest way to comply with

business requirements of Qatar’s legal system.

Whatever kind of business you are in, familiarity with the legal

system is crucial for its development. Closer to the end of the

forum’s learning curve, especially designed for SMEs, Mohammed

Khodeir, Partner and Head, Al Tamimi & Company’s Qatar office,

gave valuable advice on the legal system in Qatar.

Qatar is a civil code system, but it has

also undertaken a novel step in applying a

common law based regime in the financial

sector – the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). The

QFC allows certain transactions and activities

relating to financial sector to be regulated

on a precedent basis. This is important to

distinguish since in many instances different

kind of documents will be required depending

on the regime in place.

Mohammed then turned to explain in more

details available options for establishing a

legal entity which include contracting, setting

up a limited liability corporation (LLC) or a

branch. The LLC is the most common type

for establishment of an SME and it includes

signing of shareholders’ agreement and quite

extensive set of application documents. In both

cases, Mohammed highlighted the importance

of structuring these documents with a

long-term business perspective in mind, “A

company should be considered as a life-time

story since it is important to understand what

kind of documents will be needed within its

life-cycle. In terms of compliance, it all helps an

SME to secure its current and future position –

as a setup or as a growing business.”

Speaking about the aspect of

enforceability, Mohammed gave insightful

tips on how to avoid a key default for the

provider of goods or services –

non-payment. It is crucial that all contracts

and other business related documents

envisage mechanism for enforcement

which will pressure other party in the event

of a default. He further advised business

owners to constantly check whether all

relevant documents are signed, especially

when in some later stage they decide

to expand the scope of their services.

Therefore, make sure that each business

expansion is covered by legal documents.

Closely connected to the enforceability

is the issue of the courts’ jurisdiction. Local

courts are organised through the Court of

First Instance, Court of Appeal and Court of

Cassation, while the QFC has established a

new regime. With this Mohammed wrapped

up his session, “In choosing the legal regime

which will be applied in case of a dispute,

make sure you know your options and are

secured in terms of enforceability. Believe me,

when I say that you don’t want to receive a

judgment you cannot enforce.”

20 OCTOBER 2012


Partners for growth

Jawaher Humaied Al-Naimi is the Al

Dhameen Programme Manager at QDB.

She has a ten years’ long experience

in the retail banking and customer service

sector. From 2003 she has held some of

the supervisory and managerial positions

in the Commercial Bank of Qatar and

the International Bank of Qatar. In 2011,

she joined QDB in order to enlarge her

experience in corporate banking.

Faisal Khalifa Al Muraikhi is the Senior

Relationship Manager, Business Finance

Department at QDB, with eight years’ of

experience in the banking sector. Before joining

QDB in 2011, he worked in the National Bank of

Umm Al Qaiwain, Abu Dhabi Br, and the Qatar

Islamic Bank.

Established in 1997, Qatar Industrial

Development Bank was fully funded by the State

of Qatar to shift the focus from the hydrocarbon

industry by creating a robust and diversified

private sector that would stimulate economic

growth. From 2007, when it was renamed to

Qatar Development Bank (QDB), the bank was

constantly increasing the portfolio of its services.

You are now ready for financing! But, which option is the best

for your business? Jawaher Al-Naimi, Programme Manager, Al

Dhameen, and Faisal Khalifa Al Muraikhi, Senior Relationship

Manager, Business Finance Department, QDB, presented the most

sought after financing options in Qatar – programmes of the

Qatar Development Bank (QDB).

Faisal spoke to the attendees about the

range of services offered by the bank, stating

that QDB provides financial aid to startups

and existing companies by offering highly

competitive interest rates and terms that include

lengthy repayment periods. The loans, facilities

and guarantees are intended mainly to meet

the costs of key production equipment, import

of raw materials, innovation and invention,

selected tangible fixed assets and similar. In

addition, he explained that the bank has also

covered other than industrial sectors which are

healthcare, education, tourism, agriculture &

livestock, and fisheries.

Since 2011, QDB has implemented many

valuable initiatives – launch of the Al Dhameen

programme and the Qatar Export Development

Agency “TASDEER”, as well as the introduction

of the Bedaya Center, Qatar Business Incubator,

Private Sector Magazine, and many others. Faisal

finished his presentation by saying that 2012 was

marked by the launch of the SME Toolkit, but

that many new plans are yet to be announced.

Al Dhameen is an indirect lending initiative

launched by QDB to assist SME’s that are not

able to borrow money from banks due to the

lack of collateral. Jawaher began by explaining

that only an SME with a complete feasibility

study can approach a partner financial

institution which will further process the

request and seek the guarantee for the project

from QDB. Upon analysing the request, QDB

decides and issues the guarantee to the partner

bank. In the last stage, the partner bank

disburses the fund to the client. Nevertheless,

Jawaher pointed out that their work with the

client does not end at that point since QDB had

established regular follow-up meetings with

their clients.

Jawaher provided historical overview of

the programme stating that it started in 2010

in cooperation with QNB, while other banks

started to partner since January of 2011. The

success of the programme was recognised by

the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2012

when it received the award as the best SME

finance scheme in the Middle East. Nevertheless,

she assured attendees that the potential of the

programme is being proven on a daily basis

through the growth and development of their

clients’ businesses.

21OCTOBER 2012


A good legal advice

Mohammed Khodeir is the

Partner and Head of Al Tamimi

& Company’s Qatar office

with a diversified practice in advising

and representing corporate, institutional

and government GCC and international

clients on different areas of law. He has

been extensively involved in major M&A

and IPO deals in the UAE, which are

currently his principal areas of practice

along with corporate governance and

family businesses. Mohamed has been

consecutively selected in the Asia Law

Leading Lawyers Survey (in 2008, 2009,

and 2010) as one of the leading lawyers

in the area of general corporate practice.

What businesses in Qatar need to know

from a legal point of view in order to properly

structure their operations? What types of

legal establishments are envisaged by its

legal system? What kinds of documents are

needed within the life-cycle of a business?

How to secure enforcement of payments?

These are all the questions Mohammed

addressed during his session in order to advise

participants on the easiest way to comply with

business requirements of Qatar’s legal system.

Whatever kind of business you are in, familiarity with the legal

system is crucial for its development. Closer to the end of the

forum’s learning curve, especially designed for SMEs, Mohammed

Khodeir, Partner and Head, Al Tamimi & Company’s Qatar office,

gave valuable advice on the legal system in Qatar.

Qatar is a civil code system, but it has

also undertaken a novel step in applying a

common law based regime in the financial

sector – the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). The

QFC allows certain transactions and activities

relating to financial sector to be regulated

on a precedent basis. This is important to

distinguish since in many instances different

kind of documents will be required depending

on the regime in place.

Mohammed then turned to explain in more

details available options for establishing a

legal entity which include contracting, setting

up a limited liability corporation (LLC) or a

branch. The LLC is the most common type

for establishment of an SME and it includes

signing of shareholders’ agreement and quite

extensive set of application documents. In both

cases, Mohammed highlighted the importance

of structuring these documents with a

long-term business perspective in mind, “A

company should be considered as a life-time

story since it is important to understand what

kind of documents will be needed within its

life-cycle. In terms of compliance, it all helps an

SME to secure its current and future position –

as a setup or as a growing business.”

Speaking about the aspect of

enforceability, Mohammed gave insightful

tips on how to avoid a key default for the

provider of goods or services –

non-payment. It is crucial that all contracts

and other business related documents

envisage mechanism for enforcement

which will pressure other party in the event

of a default. He further advised business

owners to constantly check whether all

relevant documents are signed, especially

when in some later stage they decide

to expand the scope of their services.

Therefore, make sure that each business

expansion is covered by legal documents.

Closely connected to the enforceability

is the issue of the courts’ jurisdiction. Local

courts are organised through the Court of

First Instance, Court of Appeal and Court of

Cassation, while the QFC has established a

new regime. With this Mohammed wrapped

up his session, “In choosing the legal regime

which will be applied in case of a dispute,

make sure you know your options and are

secured in terms of enforceability. Believe me,

when I say that you don’t want to receive a

judgment you cannot enforce.”

20 OCTOBER 2012


Partners for growth

Jawaher Humaied Al-Naimi is the Al

Dhameen Programme Manager at QDB.

She has a ten years’ long experience

in the retail banking and customer service

sector. From 2003 she has held some of

the supervisory and managerial positions

in the Commercial Bank of Qatar and

the International Bank of Qatar. In 2011,

she joined QDB in order to enlarge her

experience in corporate banking.

Faisal Khalifa Al Muraikhi is the Senior

Relationship Manager, Business Finance

Department at QDB, with eight years’ of

experience in the banking sector. Before joining

QDB in 2011, he worked in the National Bank of

Umm Al Qaiwain, Abu Dhabi Br, and the Qatar

Islamic Bank.

Established in 1997, Qatar Industrial

Development Bank was fully funded by the State

of Qatar to shift the focus from the hydrocarbon

industry by creating a robust and diversified

private sector that would stimulate economic

growth. From 2007, when it was renamed to

Qatar Development Bank (QDB), the bank was

constantly increasing the portfolio of its services.

You are now ready for financing! But, which option is the best

for your business? Jawaher Al-Naimi, Programme Manager, Al

Dhameen, and Faisal Khalifa Al Muraikhi, Senior Relationship

Manager, Business Finance Department, QDB, presented the most

sought after financing options in Qatar – programmes of the

Qatar Development Bank (QDB).

Faisal spoke to the attendees about the

range of services offered by the bank, stating

that QDB provides financial aid to startups

and existing companies by offering highly

competitive interest rates and terms that include

lengthy repayment periods. The loans, facilities

and guarantees are intended mainly to meet

the costs of key production equipment, import

of raw materials, innovation and invention,

selected tangible fixed assets and similar. In

addition, he explained that the bank has also

covered other than industrial sectors which are

healthcare, education, tourism, agriculture &

livestock, and fisheries.

Since 2011, QDB has implemented many

valuable initiatives – launch of the Al Dhameen

programme and the Qatar Export Development

Agency “TASDEER”, as well as the introduction

of the Bedaya Center, Qatar Business Incubator,

Private Sector Magazine, and many others. Faisal

finished his presentation by saying that 2012 was

marked by the launch of the SME Toolkit, but

that many new plans are yet to be announced.

Al Dhameen is an indirect lending initiative

launched by QDB to assist SME’s that are not

able to borrow money from banks due to the

lack of collateral. Jawaher began by explaining

that only an SME with a complete feasibility

study can approach a partner financial

institution which will further process the

request and seek the guarantee for the project

from QDB. Upon analysing the request, QDB

decides and issues the guarantee to the partner

bank. In the last stage, the partner bank

disburses the fund to the client. Nevertheless,

Jawaher pointed out that their work with the

client does not end at that point since QDB had

established regular follow-up meetings with

their clients.

Jawaher provided historical overview of

the programme stating that it started in 2010

in cooperation with QNB, while other banks

started to partner since January of 2011. The

success of the programme was recognised by

the Banker Middle East Product Awards 2012

when it received the award as the best SME

finance scheme in the Middle East. Nevertheless,

she assured attendees that the potential of the

programme is being proven on a daily basis

through the growth and development of their

clients’ businesses.

21OCTOBER 2012

snapshots

We bring you the exclusive coverage of the event – the presentations, discussions and interactions.

22 october 2012

http://www.PrivateSectorQatar.com/en

valuable business advice that will help develop your business.

Be part of a community spanning magazine, events, Website and social media.

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24 october 2012

snapshots

25october 2012

snapshots

26 october 2012

snapshots

27october 2012

snapshots

28 october 2012

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private sector team

Tamara PupicTamara joined CPI in April 2012 as the

Assistant Editor (English) of Private Sector

Qatar. She moved to Dubai from Belgrade,

Serbia, and brings with her eight years of

experience in matters relating to international

trade law and policy.

Fahed SabbaghFahed joined CPI in September 2011 as the Head

of Arabic Design. Apart from the design element,

he is a self professed geek and can be found

tweeting regularly on anything from comic books

to technology (@MrNerdyFace). Fahed also has a

passion for typography and blogging.

Abey MascreenAbey is the Web Developer for the Business

Department at CPI since May 2012. Apart

from building websites, He’s also a guitarist

and a technology enthusiast. Follow him on

twitter @abeymac or abeymascreen.com

Together we can do it all! That has been our mantra through all the good and the bad times we have gone through. Therefore, I am more than proud to present each and every member of the team without whose efforts this success would not have been achieved.

Senior Editor - Aparna Shivpuri Arya

30 october 2012

private sector team

Amy LinneyAmy is our events and marketing manager

since 2010 when she joined CPI. She is in

charge of implementing over 40 events for

the business and technology division with

Siobhan and Shweta. Amy is from London

with eight years of experience in events,

ambient media and publishing.

Siobhan JensenSiobhan is the events and marketing

coordinator at CPI. She works with Amy and

assists with all of our events. Siobhan arrived

in Dubai in June 2011 and has been with CPI

since November 2011. She has four years of

experience in hospitality management and is

from Christchurch, New Zealand.

Shweta SantoshShweta is the operations manager and is

engaged in organising events together with Amy

and Siobhan. Shweta has lived in Dubai for over

18 years and has been with CPI since November

2010. She has four years of experience in

publishing and a year long experience in financial

management. She hails from Mumbai, India.

Jay ColinaJay Colina is the main photographer and

social media coordinator for CPI’s Technology

and Business Group magazines. He loves

photography which has been his work for

the last seven years. Jay is from Cebu City,

Philippines, and came to Dubai in June 2011.

Rajeesh M Rajeesh joined CPI in 2008, after working with

Macmillan Publishing Company in Bangalore,

India. He is our Manager for circulation,

distribution, database and branding services.

Rajeesh is originally from the south Indian

State of Kerala.

Marilyn Naingue BiduyaMarilyn was born and raised in Mandaluyong

City (The Tiger City), Philippines. She joined

CPI in 2005 and has been working as

company administrator, assisting everyone in

the office with a smile.

31october 2012

Qatar offers an extremely dynamic business environment with a great deal of potential and opportunities. Tamara Pupic got talking to Steve Troop, CEO, Barwa Bank, on how they intend to help and facilitate SMEs as well as major corporations to contribute to this.

economies and rapid growth, people are now much more

prosperous. Wealth brings with it a new set of challenges and

opportunities.

Another key aspect is the inexorable and ever

accelerating rise of technology, its progressive affordability

and almost universal adoption. A good example would be

mobile telephony. Twenty years ago, cell phones were very

expensive and limited in their functionality with ownership

as a mark of sophistication. Now everyone has a mobile.

Indeed, not having one is unusual. As a consequence,

banks are now working very hard on mobile banking and

payment systems via cell phones. Thus, that is the latest

technology-led new frontier.

Since Barwa Bank is the newest Islamic bank in

Qatar, please explain to us the concept of a modern

Shari’ah compliance which you have conceived.

As a central part of our mission, we see upholding to the

traditional values whilst, at the same time, embracing

progressive ideas and technologies as a modern, forward-

looking financial institution. Let me put it in a different

way, we believe that our service standards and customer

propositions should be both equally good as anything

available at conventional banks and consistent with Shari’ah.

Shari’ah, of course, underlines all our values including

our commitment to long-lasting partnerships with our

customers through a relationship driven approach. Within

that we keep constant focus on their success, create a

32 september 2012

finance

Please tell us more about Barwa Bank’s operations in

the Middle East and, particularly, in Qatar.

At present, we are focussed on Qatar and have no

operations overseas. However, part of our medium-term

strategy does involve selective regional and international

expansion. I am sure that we will do so in the future once

we identify the right opportunity.

Here, in our core market, we aspire to become the most

recommended Islamic bank group, acknowledged for its

progressive ethos, excellent service, outstanding results

and contribution to the society. We are selectively active

across a number of different business areas - corporate,

SME and retail banking, leasing, consumer finance, asset

management and investment banking.

How has the banking sector changed in the past few

decades in the Middle East?

The sector has changed very dramatically indeed over the

last 30 years. As, of course, has also the whole region and

especially Qatar.

From our perspective, our customers are far

more sophisticated than they used to be. With that

sophistication comes far higher expectation of a service,

product range and executional capability. Banks now have

to work much harder to meet those expectations.

Equally important is the fact that the customers’ underlying

needs are changing. As a consequence of booming

Balance

ambition with realism

32 october 2012

long-term value for our shareholders through

the growth of profitable and sustainable

businesses and provide full contribution to the

development of the society and the economic

well-being of its residents.

Which Shari’ah compliant products you

offer to SMEs and entrepreneurs?

All our products are Shari’ah compliant. Services

and products most appropriate for SMEs

include deposits and savings accounts, all forms

of customer financing including term loans,

leasing, trade finance (to support both imports

and exports), asset-finance, as well as the full

range of deposits, and account-related services

including Internet banking.

We were also among the first Shari’ah

compliant banks to join Qatar Development

Bank’s Al Dhameen indirect lending programme

for startups, aimed to guarantee commercial

bank loans to the private sector. The programme

is particularly useful for new businesses with

a limited credit history or lack on collateral to

obtain access to finance for starting or growing

their businesses.

Entrepreneurs require banking solutions that

offer a great deal of convenience as they often

have particularly busy schedules, trying to get

their fledgling businesses off the ground.

What would be your advice for an SME or

an entrepreneur in this regard?

Firstly, we would always encourage SMEs and

entrepreneurs to balance ambition with realism.

Entrepreneurs are, by their nature, upbeat and

optimistic, but are not always patient. There are

very few examples of commercial “overnight

success” stories while the vast majority of the

world’s high-profile businessmen have been

at their trade for many years, improving and

refining their ideas through experimentation and

progressive improvement.

Secondly, to listen to advice. Some of us are

“professionally miserable” and spend our time

in risk assessment, looking for what might go

wrong. We are, thankfully, not always right

but, at the very least, entrepreneurs should

understand the potential downside of their plans.

Thirdly, get a good “numbers man” (or a

woman!). Banks want to see the numbers

before they lend money. An entrepreneur, and

his team, that can speak professionally about

their numbers inspires trust and confidence.

Once credit is granted, a failure to provide

regular financial statements on a timely basis is

equally powerful in eroding confidence between

banks and entrepreneurs

According to you, what are the

opportunities and challenges in the

banking sector in Qatar?

The opportunity in Qatar is self-evident - to play

a role in what is a transformational period in the

history of the nation as we now embark on the

massive infrastructure and development projects

laid out in the National Vision 2030. It includes

the development of rail and road transport, the

construction of stadiums and related services

following Qatar’s successful bid to host the 2022

Football World Cup.

The principal challenge is the same one -

making sure that the institution remains suitably

positioned, resourced, equipped and with the right

people to carve out a niche for itself during that

period and make the most of the opportunity.

What is your opinion on investment

opportunities in Qatar?

At present, Qatar is one of the world’s largest

and most conspicuous exporters of capital as

the nation’s sovereign wealth-fund seeks, very

wisely, to invest that money for the benefit

of future generations. Qatari corporates and

individuals are also interested in overseas

33september 2012

finance

investment and with some quality assets,

particularly in the mature markets, they can

offer a real value in historic terms. Thus, one can

understand their desire to do so.

Closer to home, across the region and

domestically, local equity markets remain

relatively buoyant. Nevertheless, the valuations

have been affected, somewhat inevitably, by

global sentiment – whether or not this is “fair”

is neither here nor there.

It is worth remembering, perhaps, that Qatar’s

future economic growth is not all about large,

publicly-listed corporations. Equity investment

in smaller and unlisted companies (“private

equity”) is not easy to find, but is often worth

looking at if the opportunity presents itself,

sometime via specific investment or opportunity

funds offered by the banks.

If equity holds no appeal, companies

and individuals can invest in debt, either

conventional bonds or their Shari’ah compliant

equivalent, sukuks, which are issued by the

region’s largest banks and corporations.

Debt capital markets in the region are

expanding rapidly and Barwa Bank has been

part of that growth story with lead management

roles for a number of recent sukuk issues, not

least the spectacularly successful State of Qatar

2018/23 issue. They are, however, still away

from maturity as market depth and liquidity are

not what they are in other parts of the world – it

may not always be easy to exit a regional bond

or sukuk quickly and at a sensible price.

The opportunity in Qatar is self-evident - to play a role in what is a transformational period in the history of the nation as we now embark on the massive infrastructure and development projects laid out in the National Vision 2030.

Steve Troop is Chief Executive Officer of Barwa Bank since September 2010. On graduation from Cambridge University in 1979, Steve first joined HSBC and has worked extensively in the Asia-Pacific region, most of the GCC countries, South America and Europe. In 2007 he was appointed Chief Operating Officer at Saudi Hollandi Bank. Steve has spent more than three decades in leadership roles in the financial services industry and has far-reaching international experience in retail and branch banking, corporate lending and relationship management, investment banking, insurance, operations and support services.

About

33october 2012

Be yourown

Guarantor

entrepreneur

How did you come up with the idea of

setting up the Roudha Centre?

The idea of the center came to life after an

18 month long research conducted by Renna

Al-Yassini, Aysha AlMudhakei and Shareefa

Fadhel which was supported by the Tepper

School of Business in Carnegie Mellon University.

The research focused on the question of how

to increase the number of Qatari women

entrepreneurs. It concluded in the creation of the

“One Stop Shop” for women, which is envisaged

to provide them with all the essential soft and

hard skills required for opening a business.

What programmes are available for women?

Our programmes vary from the very basic to the

more advanced ones. Thus, the topics spread

from the ones related to how to chose and

evaluate an idea to those related to how to grow

your existing business.

How do these programmes help an

individual to prepare to be an entrepreneur?

The programmes we offer help women

understand their own personal potential as well

as the potential of their business idea. This is

achieved through consultations with professional

experts and through various trainings and

workshops.

What has been the response in Qatar?

We have been overwhelmed with the response

from local Qatari women. Though our initial

intention was to target all women in Qatar, we

found our workshops and events occupied by

not less than 80% of Qatari women. We believe

this is the real success. Furthermore, we received

a lot of support and encouragement to continue

Paving the way to entrepreneurial success for Qatari women,

Roudha Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is a must-stop-

and-check place for all women interested in creating and developing

their own businesses in Qatar. Aparna Shivpuri Arya got talking to

Shareefa Fadhel, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Roudha Center

for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, on challenges and changes

faced by the Qatari women on this path.

Finances are an important aspect of

starting and sustaining a business.

What advice would you give and

what support does the Roudha Centre

provide?

We do not offer funding to individuals, but

we provide financial consultations and advice.

In addition, we organise specific workshops

on financing, such as book–keeping, balance

sheet, auditing, and similar.

Please share with us some success stories

that can be an inspiration to our readers.

Our biggest success is our OWN! We started as

three young local women believing in an idea

and, thus, faced most of the challenges that

women entrepreneurs face today. Yet, we have

achieved so much in such a short period of

only one year.

I would highlight the first ever exclusive

Qatari women exhibition held last February

through which women have presented the

progress and growth of their businesses.

Through our business consultations, we

have advised a number of local businesses,

whether they were startups or already existing

ones. Both have grown and developed in

different ways.

Do’sFollow your

dream and don’t give up. Take

advice and just do it.

Don’tsDon’t share

your idea with everyone and

don’t let others put you down!

on our path as it touched an area that was

previously left void.

What, according to you, are the challenges

that women face in Qatar, if they want to be

an entrepreneur?

The challenges of being an entrepreneur

are faced equally by both men and women.

However, in the conservative culture of Qatar,

women face the challenge of breaking the

barriers and allowing themselves to feel

comfortable in doing things on their own

without the help of their families. Last but not

the least, finance and support is always the

biggest struggle for all, let alone for women. For

that reason, they additionally have to face the

question – “Who is your guarantor?”

If a young individual wants to start her

business, what advice would you give to

her? Are there any dos and don’ts?

Start with a business that you have a passion for

and which is close to your heart, because that’s

what will make you go on.

Today with the Qatar National Vision 2030

and FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar offers a lot of

opportunities that can be siezed by potential

entrepreneurs. The question they should ask

themselves is – “What can I offer?”

34 october 2012

Please tell us more about your company

and its operations in Qatar?

Qatar SAT is a company for design and

structural engineering of tensile structures.

Tensile membrane structures, which represent

a construction of elements carrying only

tension, are most often used as roofs as they

can economically and attractively span large

distances.

The company was established in 1990

and focused only on regular construction

activities. Since we build outstanding

structures, in 1999 we shifted to designing

and aerodynamic engineering in order to,

later on, transfer to industrial modelling. I like

to say that we create fashion for buildings.

For that reason, our projects include a lot of

art work. Consequently, we consider that our

customers mostly have an eye for beauty.

In the beginning, creation of these

kinds of structures was done manually,

but now IT developments have brought

many improvements. Also with time we

have expanded our manufacturing to three

different factories that we now have within

our company.

What kind of services do you provide to

your clients?

The idea of our business is derived from our

environment and its heat. It was realised that

something for cooling the buildings, except

from energy, was needed. We were studying

various areas and countries and developed

for buildings

smes

our knowledge first with German software.

Nevertheless, not one software package is

fully accepted since we create tailor made

solutions for our clients.

How did you set up your business?

Qatar SAT has a smart team of people who

are well-trained for the construction of

structural steel and installation of fabrics as

membranes for tensile structures.

Our work starts with the design. Our

design team has in-house capabilities for

2D drawings, 3D drawings, 3D studio movie

presentations and full size mock-ups. Further

process includes analysing calculations for

tensile structures. For that our engineering

department uses the latest software

Tensile membrane engineered structures are a cost-effective, flexible, and practical solution for warm

climates. In addition to manufacturing them, Qatar SAT has created a fashion out of this process. Tamara

Pupic got talking to Nasser Al Maadeed, President and Industrial MD, Qatar SAT, on how they succeeded

in catching the beauty in the eyes of their customers.

36 october 2012

smes

developed within the tensile structures

industry. Engineering process may include

conceptual design, survey and marking

the site, physical and computer modelling,

and similar. In the last stage, upon client’s

approval, we turn to manufacturing of the

tensile structure while the surface treatment

is done according to project specification and

SSSP standards.

We are very proud of our projects for Qatar

Petroleum, Hamad Medical Corporation,

Doha Golf Club, Qatar Foundation and many

others.

Upon introduction of automation machines

and software designing we have substantially

decreased number of employees. Previously,

we had only drawing software which was just

a tool for manual drawing. But, automation

software is smarter and, thus, requires fewer

employees. For that reason, number of

our employees now varies from 70 to 80,

depending on the project.

We do not work with mass production

items, since all our orders are on case by

case basis. Within each of the projects, our

work is highly creative and includes a lot of

brainstorming during our staff meetings.

Thus, I’m just one of the employees.

During these meetings, we set targets and

determine execution time for each of the

phases. In the following process, we stick to

the timing and monitor planning, scheduling

and production.

Because of the specific nature of

each of our projects, we are extensively

engaged in R&D. To sum up, I would say

that our business is set up of gathering,

brainstorming and R&D. In line with that,

people still are and will remain crucial in our

industry, since only they can communicate

and develop ideas.

Access to finance is difficult in the first

years of business development, how did

you gain access to finance?

For financing businesses in Qatar, QDB offers

the best conditions since other available

options are only from commercial banks. QDB

offers two possibilities of support – to finance

either 60% of the total project or 80% for

the machinery.

We took both options. In the beginning,

we accepted financing of 80% for the

new machinery since, at that time, only

machinery fund was available. A year later,

new management immediately accepted to

support us in our aim to construct a new

factory. As a result, the facility was built in

only ten months.

How did you develop your business

within the Qatari market? What are your

future growth plans?

In the period from 1999 to 2004, around

80% of our customers were individual

businesses, while government projects took

only about 20%.

From 2005 till 2007,

50% of our activities were for government

projects and that percentage has increased

up to 94% from 2008 onwards.

Nevertheless, our growth plans include

engagement on many new projects. For now,

we are not working abroad. We are focused

I agree that FIFA World Cup 2022 will bring new and big projects, but for now all launched projects are not directly related to that, but to normal and usual city growth. I consider that 2022 is still far for everybody and, especially, for our business.

on the Qatari market since it indeed offers

a lot of opportunities. For that reason, we

have nearly finished construction of our new

factory. With this expansion of our production

we intend to cover future demand.

What differentiates you from the

competition within the Qatari market?

Qatar SAT is the biggest factory in the Middle

East in terms of machinery and spacing,

because textile roofs require big spacing for

big machines and similar. But, within this line

of business, we cannot call other companies

as competitors because each one of them has

its own style and offers specific solutions. Our Nasser Al Maadeed

37october 2012

Nasser Al Maadeed is President and Managing Director of the Qatar SAT. He completed engineering management training programmes at the Technical University (TU) in Berlin , Barcelona and Brussels. Nasser has more than 25 years of professional experience in designing, engineering and manufacturing management. For more information, please visit www.qatar-sat.com

About

report

customers check our solutions in advance

and decide whether they feel comfortable

with our idea.

In line with that, we cannot be precise

about the percentage of demand that we

cover, because various companies work

with different materials to cater different

types of demand. Thus, our market share

for each of the materials that we use is

different.

What is your opinion on the

opportunities FIFA World Cup 2022 will

bring?

I agree that the FIFA World Cup 2022 will

bring new and big projects, but for now all

launched projects are not directly related to

that, but to normal and usual city growth. I

consider that 2022 is still far for everybody

and, especially, for our business. The reason

is that nobody can predict which new

materials will come to usage within the

following few years and cause change in our

production. In addition, the building that is

currently new will be old by 2022 and we

will have to work on it again.

I think that the normal period for start and

execution of FIFA World Cup 2022 projects

should not be earlier than 2016/2017.

Nevertheless, in last eight months, many

big size projects were announced, and not

launched up to now.

To conclude, I think that FIFA World Cup

2022 will bring a lot of opportunities, but

need to highlight that businessmen are often

impatient. From one side, we need to be

more patient. From the other side, a lot of

companies in Qatar wait for FIFA World Cup

2022 projects and keeping them on hold is

dangerous.

What is your opinion on challenges

within your sector in Qatar?

Challenges are derived from the manner in

which our market functions.

All the business in the GCC region

comes from real estate development.

For the real estate sector is usual to be

composed of SMEs and large companies,

while in the GCC region we have SMEs and

huge real estate companies. It is specific

for GCC region and not present anywhere

else in the world.

I think it’s not healthy to have two or three

huge companies as it is now. So, if they are

huge and we, as those who provide services

to them, are small there is no balance. In

order to work for huge real estate company,

you need to be huge as well. Let me explain

in more details, if they chose roofing from

me, the whole market will be covered by my

services since the client is a huge company.

Consequently, other companies within my

line of business will not have any business

within the market for a certain period of

time.

For that reason, I think we should

introduce limitation on the size of each of

the companies to small and medium sized

ones. It will allow us to survive with them.

That will also bring more energy to the

market, since many different companies will

have their own style and different demand

for our solutions.

In real life, we need the middle sector

that invests and provides regular business

opportunities for us. It would also ensure

proper business development since

circulation of money within economy is

currently lacking.

What do you see as the existing

obstacles in doing business within your

sector in Qatar?

The most difficult is to track changes in

the legal system. In the last decade, we

had a lot of amendments to the laws and

regulations. I consider it as a good thing,

but at the same time it is quite demanding

in terms of time and efforts needed for

becoming familiar with it.

But, the main obstacles will actually

come as a consequence of many projects

lined up in Qatar. Official projects that

are at the moment launched for tenders

are bigger than anyone’s capacity. For

that reason, they are being delayed. At

the same time, new projects are coming. I

think it will all create a chaos with regards

to the quality of project execution and its

time of delivery.

In relation to tender procedures, policies

change over time. In 2007-2009, the timely

execution of the project was important,

after that the price was important. Qatar

SAT has only one single policy which we

cannot change – quality is important!

All the business in the GCC region comes from real estate development. For real estate sector is usual to be composed of SMEs and large companies, while in the GCC region we have SMEs and huge real estate companies. It is specific for GCC region and not present anywhere else in the world.

38 october 2012

Under the patronage ofH.E. Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al -Thani

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar

Oct 15 & 16, 2012 - St. Regis Hotel - Doha, Qatar

Women Counted:Challenges

BecomeOpportunities

+974 44877442 I 44881525 I 44880627Fax: +974 4483196

Organized by

P.O. Box: 96494 I Doha - Qatarwww.qibwf.org

October 15-16, 2012 - St. Regis Hotel, Doha Qatar

Bronze Sponsor EducationalSponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors Online MediaSolutions Sponsor

Diamond Sponsor Platinum Sponsor

Official CarrierLanyard Media Partners Media Webpartner

In the US, women now own half of

all US private wealth, which means

they control or influence at least

USD 16 trillion in assets. In addition,

about a third of all US households are

headed by women.

In the Arab region women are estimated to

control 22%, or about USD 500 billion, of the

region’s investments, growing at 8% a year,

according to a recent BCG Global Wealth report.

Given those statistics, you can see why

women now represent the greatest potential

market, as well as a great recruiting opportunity

for the financial services industry.

Change in generationsThe majorities of these ultra-wealthy women live

in the oil-and-gas-rich nations surrounding the

Arabian Gulf and include countries like Saudi

Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the

UAE. In those countries women hold more than

USD 40 billion in personal wealth.

Last year’s GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council)

Federal Report showed that Saudi women alone

held USD 15 billion, mostly in cash accounts and

trust units, while women in the less populated

countries of Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE had

amassed a total of USD 18 billion.

Wealth in the Gulf countries only came into

being, and for women in particular, about 20

to 25 years ago when women started inheriting

cash and real estate from their families. Not all

of them were very well educated or very well

informed. They didn’t understand inflation or that

their money was actually devaluing in the bank.

Within the “older generations” the men were

taught all about finance and business while

the women didn’t have those expectations and

education.

The story nowToday, though domestic life is still steeped in

traditional family values that see men dominate

politics and religious life, women are using their

newfound inheritance and education to find

their own way.

Unlike their mothers, these women

speak openly about money, investment and

financial opportunities and the need to secure

their financial future. Topics that were once

considered immensely private are now discussed

freely over coffee.

They are very successful entrepreneurs, they

hold very high positions in government and

private companies and they are taking over

control of the wealth in family companies.

Today’s women are taking control of their financial future by investing or starting a commercial business

they believe in. Among them are also Qatari women who are increasingly educating themselves on

investment and business opportunities. Elsbeth Blekkenhorst and Danielle Duttenhofer, Co-Founders and

Directors, Global Women Qatar, give tips for better understanding of how their money is being invested.

women & investment

Wealthy and wise

40 october 2012

women & investment

Qatar’s acceptance of women’s equality The Qatari government is investing significant

resources to training women and supporting

their rise in business, recognising the significant

input they will have to the region’s economy.

The financial industry sees the opportunity

to attract local and expat women to invest.

Not only Qatar Exchange has held a special

introductory meeting for Qatari Business

Women Association (QBWA) as part of a

strategy to unleash the potential of women in

the investment sector, but international banks

have started to add women funds to their

portfolios as well.

Qatar Ladies Investment Company, the first

of its kind in the whole region, was established

in 1998. It is equally shared by a group of

Qatari ladies and Qatar National Bank.

Qatar’s first lady, Her Highness Sheikha

Mozah Bint Nasser al Missned is looking

at women’s contribution to the long-term

economic and social development of this

nation by creating organisations, such as the

Qatar Business Women Forum, and drafting

policies to pave the way for more widespread

social acceptance of women’s equality.

In November 2000, the Business Women

Forum was set up after securing the approval

of the Qatar Chamber of Commerce and

Industry, which had decided that the Forum

would serve as one of the Chamber’s

committees. By doing that, the Chamber

tried to provide an encouraging social

atmosphere for women to play their role

in the development process, increase their

contribution in small trades and industrial

projects and enhance their potential to take

economic decisions.

Women’s way of investingConventional wisdom has it that men are

interested in investment performance, while

women are more concerned about security

and having enough so as not to become a

“shopping bag lady” in their older age.

A lot of what we read says that women are

not as concerned about performance as men,

since they are more concerned about feeling

secure. Women tend to be more diligent than

men, as men are quicker to make a decision

and just trust that it’s going to work. Not that

they’re afraid to do their own due diligence,

but women want to know that they made the

right decision to begin with. They are also less

apt than men to want to make changes in their

portfolio at the drop of a hat.

A Barclays Wealth survey in the Middle

East states that women prefer to make their

investments close to home and look for an

advisor who can help them make empowered

decisions. Women investors typically study

the product more thoroughly before investing

and go into details of the product and seek

clarifications. Women like to take a balanced

portfolio of different types of stocks and

diversify their investment options. They prefer

investing in reputable financial institutions and

banks or firms with whom they have developed

a trustful and faithful relationship.

Women also want to feel special. They like to

come into a room that is calm and nice and they

don’t like to enter a room that is too crowded.

They like to have a personal relationship with

their managers, so that they can sit down and

discuss very deeply their financial situation and

how they want to go about it. It’s not always

easy for women, especially the older women, to

share this kind of information. It takes a lot of

relationship building.

Surveys show women now expect more and

genuinely want to understand and have input into

how their money is being invested. They attend

regular seminars in order to educate themselves on

investment and business opportunities. Financial

institutions hire women relationship managers to

target and meet their growing needs.

At last, six tips for well-considered

investments:

• Diversify.

• Do your research.

• Run the “stars” and sell the “dogs”.

• Reinvest dividends.

• Be contrarian.

• Take the long view.

Global Women Qatar was established in January 2012 as Qatar’s first employment agency to focus exclusively on the recruitment of women who already reside in Qatar. They are a very dynamic, rapidly growing employment agency with both local and expatriate women in our database. Their candidates come from different educational backgrounds with a variety of qualifications and skills. For more information please contact Elsbeth Blekkenhorst or Danielle Duttenhofer at [email protected].

About

Elsbeth Blekkenhorst and Danielle Duttenhofer

Qatar’s first lady, Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser al Missned is looking at women’s contribution to the long-term economic and social development of this nation by creating organisations such as the Qatar Business Women Forum and drafting policies to pave the way for more widespread social acceptance of women’s equality.

41october 2012

business aDvice

The word entrepreneur was

originally used to describe

“someone who takes risks

between buyers and sellers or someone

that starts a new business venture”.

However, there are many myths behind

this word that have been passed from

one generation to the other. Some of

them are so far removed from the field

of entrepreneurship since they destroy

the dreams and ambitions of young

entrepreneurs before they even start

their endeavor. Such misleading myths

include:

Entrepreneurs are born with innate qualities and cannot be madeMany studies have shown that every person

has the potential to become an entrepreneur.

Becoming an entrepreneur is, in fact, influenced

by environmental factors and is not a genetic

endowment. Therefore, one can learn to

become an entrepreneur by acquiring certain

skills, knowledge and personality traits that he or

she was not born with but through the amount

of effort and hard work put into improving

oneself. Entrepreneurs think differently, which

is a trait that is acquired over a period of time

through experiences.

ENTrEPrENEuriaL MiNdSET: FaiL or SuccEEd!

Every year, many people opt to set up their own businesses. Some succeed, but there are also those

that fail within the first three years. Salwa Atiyyah, Senior Career Guidance Manager, Silatech,

answers where is that thin line between success and failure.

You need to be a risk taker to succeed as an entrepreneurThe truth is that most entrepreneurs are

moderate risk takers. One does not need to risk

everything to be a successful entrepreneur. Some

of the most renowned entrepreneurs today

succeeded by following well-organised plans

from the outset, while others simply followed

their hearts and did what they enjoyed doing

and were good at it.

In order to succeed as an entrepreneur, you need to start at an early ageResearch shows that successful entrepreneurs

42 october 2012

business aDvice

do not start straight away, but rather after years

of work experience and upon acquiring a lot of

skills through working for others. Many opt to

start their own businesses because they are tired

of working for others.

You can only be an entrepreneur if you are highly educatedIn fact, many successful entrepreneurs have

fewer educational qualifications than you

might think. There is a logical explanation for

this correlation. Without formal qualifications,

one has to search for other ways to succeed.

Successful entrepreneurs can also be highly

intelligent people who possess non-academic

types of skills.

Entrepreneurs are always coming up with great business ideasActually, great ideas are not unique to

entrepreneurs – they’re all around us! The

difference between an entrepreneur and the

rest of us is that the entrepreneur can look at

something and see an opportunity in it. The rest

of us don’t notice the opportunity and end up

asking ourselves, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Some entrepreneurs simply create something that

they really need in their lives, while others decide

to turn their hobbies into a business. Still, others

simply adopt what they have already seen working

successfully somewhere else in the world.

The right mindset While we don’t expect everyone to be as

successful as Bill Gates, anyone has the potential

to become an entrepreneur. The good news is

that there are no rules to become a successful

entrepreneur.

An entrepreneur is an ordinary person,

young or old, male or female, rich with business

ideas or focused only on one idea, who makes

mistakes just like the rest of us. Entrepreneurship

is more and more becoming a career option that

appeals to those who want to be their own boss

and believe in what they are doing. They are also

positive thinkers and have the right attitude. It is

all about creating the right mindset, which can

be learned.

Simply put, they believe in themselves and have

enthusiasm for what they do. They might not be

the most skilled, or the most knowledgeable, but

they have passion.

The ultimate achievers do not get where

they are because they are chasing money. They

achieve success by pursing their passion. They

are more performance-oriented and processes-

oriented and perceive the finished work as a

mean to a goal, not an end in itself. They set no

boundaries to their job roles and their position

within it. They work more closely with others

who might impact their work and focus their

attention not on their responsibilities, but rather

on their interconnected responsibilities.

If you are thinking of becoming an

entrepreneur, take into consideration the

following:

Entrepreneurship is not about intelligence. It is

about mastering the entrepreneurial mindset and

taking full responsibility for results. It is a passion,

a commitment to results, and a willingness to

give your all to achieve what you’re seeking

to achieve. It is not about what you do that

determines your success and your market

leadership, it is about how you do it.

Of course, keeping the right mindset can be

a real challenge sometimes. The most important

thing to remember is that you need to focus

your attention on what you think about daily.

Remember, “If other people have done it, then I

can do it as well.”

If you can do it differently, then you can do

it better, thus, building a unique identity for

yourself. You might question why some people

in your industry succeed in spite of themselves.

Passion and attitudePassion and a good attitude are absolutely

essential. If you believe in what you want

to achieve, you will enjoy doing it. Once the

passion is there, it will be followed by self-

confidence and the belief that you will succeed.

It will motivate you to learn what is needed

to succeed. Irrespective of the problems you

might face, you’ll persist and find the right

solution to them. Your absolute passion will

make you stand apart.

Curiosity and motivationCuriosity will drive you into exploring new

options, and not be blinded by your belief in

one fixed idea. Exploring new possibilities

will make your business grow better while

openness to new information will help you

shape an entrepreneurial mindset. Curiosity

goes beyond asking about facts and figures. It

An entrepreneur is an ordinary person, young or old, male or female, rich with business ideas or focused only on one idea, who makes mistakes just like the rest of us. Entrepreneurship is more and more becoming a career option that appeals to those who want to be their own boss and believe in what they are doing.

It is not about what you do that determines your success and your market leadership, it is about how you do it.

43october 2012

Salwa Atiyyah

Salwa Atiyyah graduated with a master degree in Educational Psychology, Guidance and Counselling from the American University of Beirut. She has worked for many years as a counsellor and for six years as a career counselling consultant at the Higher Education Institute – Qatar. Salwa currently holds the position of Senior Career Guidance Manager at Silatech. In addition to her career in trainings for counsellors, she has numerous publications in this field on topics such as a guide for career counsellors, how to make an informed career decision, job hunting strategies, career portfolio and much more. Salwa Atiyyah can be contacted at [email protected].

About

business aDvice

The ultimate achievers do not get where they are because they are chasing money. They achieve success by pursing their passion. They are more performance-oriented and processes-oriented and perceive the finished work as a mean to a goal, not an end in itself.

involves thinking outside the box and always

asking “What if?” What really motivates

entrepreneurs is not the financial side, but rather

the satisfaction they get from following their

passion, growing and exploring, and proving to

others that they are capable of achieving great

things. To them, money is a smaller part of the

overall story.

Positive thinking and problem solvingEntrepreneurs are positive thinkers

and they need to be optimistic.

This does not mean that an

entrepreneur is a dreamy person,

and not “down to

earth.” It rather means

that they are always

looking for solutions

to different problems.

Their main emphasis is

on possibilities, options

and outcomes. No matter what obstacles come

their way, entrepreneurs truly believe that their

goal is attainable. In fact, often a “relentless

optimism” can help to transform what might

seem impossible to some into reality. The first

step to changing something is just envisioning it

strongly.

While entrepreneurs are usually relentless

optimists who imagine the “impossible” and

then make it happen, that doesn’t mean that

they’re out of touch with reality. They routinely

assess their situation objectively, get honest

feedback about what works and what doesn’t,

and make course corrections to ensure they stay

on track to meeting goals. By keeping their eyes

fixed on the goal and constantly adjusting to

meet new challenges as they arise, they keep

moving forward until they succeed! They are

never afraid of failure and perceive it as a lesson

to be learned.

MentorsAnother great way to shorten the “learning

curve” is to find a mentor who will help you

learn and grow by sharing his/her knowledge

and wisdom with you. Mentors are usually

positive people who can help you through

tough times and will show you how to find an

opportunity in any difficulty you might face.

A good mentor really cares about you and is

willing to devote some time to helping you learn.

Learning from the experiences and the lessons of

someone else will often help you avoid some of

the mistakes they may have made, and can give

you an edge that might help you succeed in your

new career.

The mentor will help you in setting your goals,

and will monitor your progress toward achieving

them. You can also benefit hugely from their

experience, and their knowledge will help you to

avoid some of their mistakes as well.

So, while you don’t need to have an advanced

education, a lot of experience, or even a

constant stream of great business ideas, if you

have the right mindset, meaning a passion for

what you do, curiosity to explore and learn, and

a focused but optimistic attitude, then you have

what it takes to be an entrepreneur!

We as individuals need to change the way

in which we think and start thinking about

things that we do want in our life, so that we

can attract them to us. If you think this might

describe you, then what are you waiting for?

Get out there and start your new career as an

entrepreneur!

44 october 2012

45october 2012

How toclose The Qatar Financial Centre Law, Law No. 7 of 2005, established the Qatar Financial Centre as

an international business centre for financial service providers. Emma Higham, Senior Associate,

Clyde &Co, provides an overview of the members’ voluntary winding up provisions under the QFC

Insolvency Regulations (Regulations No. 5 of 2005, Insolvency Regulations)as well as a discussion

of certain issues relating to insolvency practice.

legal

46 october 2012

legal

The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC)

attracts international financial

institutions and multinational

corporations to establish businesses in

investment banking, financial services,

insurance, corporate head office functions

and related services.

The QFC is organised into two authorities,

a commercial authority – the QFC Authority

(QFCA), and a regulator – the QFC Regulatory

Authority (QFCRA). Both the bodies are

independent of each other and from the

Government of Qatar.

The QFCRA permits regulated activities

primarily related to financial, insurance, brokerage

and fund management services. In addition

to licensing entities which provide regulated

activities, the QFCA licences unregulated activities

such as ship broking, professional services, and

classification services.

The entities registered within the QFC may

operate and trade without a local sponsor or

service agent, thus allowed for 100% of non-

Qatari ownership. They are governed by the

QFC rules and regulations, including tax and

employment regulations.

The insolvency regulationsA company established in the QFC may be

wound up voluntarily or compulsorily, by order

of the QFC Tribunal, under the Article 56 of the

Insolvency Regulation.

In all cases, once the relevant authority or

decision is made to wind up a company, one

or more liquidators are appointed to attend

to the winding up. Article 57 refers the reader

to Schedule 1 of the Insolvency Regulations

which sets out the powers of a liquidator.

This Article also provides that an officer of a

company commits a contravention and is liable

to a financial penalty if the officer broadly fails

to assist or comply with a reasonable request

of the liquidator, or hinders or obstructs the

liquidator.

Voluntary winding upArticle 58 envisages that a company can

undertake a voluntary winding up:

a) in accordance with its articles of association,

b) if the company resolves to do so, or

c) if the company resolves that it cannot by

reason of its liabilities continue its business and

that it is advisable to be wound up.

The procedure for a voluntary winding up is

broadly similar to the procedure under English

law and other common law jurisdictions. There

are two types of voluntary winding up namely,

members’ voluntary winding up and creditors’

voluntary winding up. This article only discusses

the key features of the former, leaving the topic

of creditors’ voluntary winding to be considered

at a separate time.

Members’ voluntary winding upThe key provisions are set out in Section 2 of Part

3 of the Insolvency Regulations.

Directors’ declaration of solvency – To initiate

a members’ voluntary winding up, the directors

of the company must, at a properly convened

directors’ meeting, make what is commonly

termed a solvency declaration. This requires

the directors to make a full inquiry into the

company’s affairs and that, having done so, they

form the opinion that the company will be able

to pay its debts in full within such a period (not

exceeding 12 months from commencement

of the winding up) as may be specified in the

declaration.

Because of the consequences relating to the

making of a false or inaccurate declaration, it is

advisable for directors to declare that the company

would be able to pay its debts within 12 months to

deal with any unforeseen events. This declaration

can be made up to five weeks before the passing

of the company’s resolution to wind up the

company, or immediately before that happens. In

the absence of a solvency declaration, the winding

up would be a creditors’ voluntary winding up and

further requirements, including the convening of

creditors’ meetings, apply.

Article 63 relates to the declaration of solvency

and importantly provides that directors must

make reasonable enquiries of the company to

have reasonable grounds to form the requisite

opinion. The making of a declaration without

reasonable grounds by a director gives rise to

a contravention of the Insolvency Regulations

and liability to a financial liability. Practically, each

director should have the most up to date financial

reports to support the making of the declaration.

This is especially important because if the

company’s debts are not paid in full within the

period specified in the declaration, each director

will be considered, at first instance, not to have

had reasonable grounds for forming his opinion.

Resolution to wind up and appointment of one or more liquidatorsTo undertake a winding up, the company must

generally pass a special resolution which should be

approved by more than 75% of its shareholders.

However, as most QFC companies are wholly

owned subsidiaries of foreign companies or are

otherwise closely held, it is expected that the

company’s immediate parent company or other

entity approve would approve a written resolution

to wind up the company and to appoint one or

more liquidators to wind up the company’s affairs

and distribute its assets which are surplus to its

liabilities. Once passed, the company must notify

the QFC’s Companies Registration Office (CRO)

and, if required by the appointed liquidator, place

an advertisement in one or more local newspapers

(Article 59). Although the passing of the resolution

marks the commencement of the voluntary

winding up and the company is taken to cease

to carry on its business, its corporate status and

powers continue until it is dissolved (Article 61).

Consequences of liquidator appointmentAfter the appointment of one or more

liquidators, all of the powers of the company’s

directors cease, except to the extent that they are

preserved by its shareholders in general meeting

or otherwise permitted by the liquidator (Article

There are two types of voluntary winding up namely, members' voluntary winding up and creditors' voluntary winding up.

47october 2012

legal

65(2)). In addition, all transfers of shares are void

from the commencement of the winding up

(Article 62).

QFC authorised insolvency practitionersPresently, there are only two insolvency

practitioners registered with the QFC who may be

appointed as liquidators by a company. Namely,

Joanne Kim Rolls and Steven John Parker of

RSM Tenon, both based in the United Kingdom.

It will be watched with interest whether the

number of authorised insolvency practitioners will

increase, possibly from the relevant departments

of the “Big 4” global accounting firms. As part

of preparatory steps, companies should contact

these individuals or the firm to obtain a quote

for winding up. It is accepted practice in some

jurisdictions for two liquidators from the same

firm to be appointed jointly to each company to

deal with any unforeseen events happening to

either of them.

Meetings during the winding up processOnce the company’s affairs are fully wound up,

the liquidators must account for their activities

and present that account at a general meeting

of the company (Article 67). If the winding up

lasts for more than one year, the liquidator must

convene a general meeting within three months

of the end of the first year, as well as within each

succeeding ones, to provide an account of the

liquidators’ winding up activities (Article 66).

Insolvency and conversion to a creditors’ voluntary winding upIf the liquidators consider that the company will

be unable to pay its debts within the period

stated in the directors’ declaration of solvency,

the liquidators must convene a meeting of the

company’s creditors within 21 days of forming

that opinion, providing not less than 14 days

notice (Article 68). Once held, the winding up

would become a creditors’ voluntary winding

up and certain deeming provisions apply for the

winding up to proceed in that manner.

Other issues in practiceDistribution of company property and priority of

payments

Article 91(2) provides that in a winding up, the

priority of payments is as follows:

a) secured creditors to the extent of their security,

b) costs and expenses, including the liquidator’s

remuneration, properly incurred by the

liquidator in the exercise of its functions, and

c) ‘preferential creditors’ which are defined in

Article 148 as:

i) a person who is or has been an

employee of the company who is owed

remuneration by the company, including

any notice period not exceeding three

months, of up to USD 50,000,

ii) a person who is or has been employee of

the company who is owed by the company

reasonable accrued holiday

remuneration and

reasonable contributions

to occupation pension

scheme, and

d) the State, the QFCA,

the QFCRA and the

CRO (presumably in

that order of priority)

in respect of taxes,

financial penalties

and fees owed by

the company, then

e) unsecured

creditors.

Notification requirementsWhen a company is being wound up, every

document issued by or on behalf of the company

or the liquidator on which the company name

appears must contain a statement to the effect

that the company is being wound up. Practically,

the words “in liquidation” should suffice. The

type of documents this would apply to include

a business letter, written order for goods or

services, invoice receipt, written demand for

payment and similar documentation.

Mutual credit and set offArticle 107 of the insolvency Regulations broadly

provides for a statutory set off of mutual credits,

mutual debts or other mutual dealings between

the company and any creditor of the company.

As a result, only the net amount, if any, is payable

or receivable by the liquidator of the company.

This is commonly used by insolvency practitioners

to minimise the cost of winding up a company

and preserve the amount of distributable

property.

Emma Higham is a corporate and commercial lawyer with over nine year’s experience. Having been based in Qatar for nearly seven years, Emma incorporates her extensive knowledge of the local law when advising both local and international clients. Emma joined Clyde & Co in October 2007, having previously worked for another international law firm for six years, both in London and Qatar. Prior to that Emma worked for Price Waterhouse for eight years in both audit and corporate recovery. Emma can be contacted at [email protected]

About

Presently, there are only two insolvency practitioners registered with the QFC who may be appointed as liquidators by a company.

48 october 2012

In case you are thinking of co-locating your staff under one roof, be aware that it might cause

logistical nightmare for the IT team aiming to secure adequate data access and protection. Robert

Campbell, Managing Director, Ecommnet Limited, talks about implementing and managing secured

access in a period of rapid change.

technology

It is no secret that the UK Government

is still running at a significant loss. It is

therefore no surprise that organisations

have to cut costs, and for the public

sector, this has fast become its mantra.

The NHS, children’s services, housing and

regeneration, local government, the police

force - everywhere you turn there is a

generic call to introduce changes that will

save money.

One popular initiative has seen many local

councils consolidate their operations by co-

locating their staff. NHS, education, council

employees and others are all congregating

together in one central location in an effort to

reduce property costs. While on the surface this

seems a practical solution, for the IT team it’s a

logistical nightmare.

Physical connectivityImagine if you will, each department existing in

its own locale. Part of the infrastructure would

typically include a physical IT network. Just like

a building has walls protecting the contents

inside, the network too would have barriers, or

gateways, to prevent external access.

As organisations come together, under one

roof, so do the networks on which they function

and this is where the complexity begins.

Sticking with the physical building analogy,

if you give someone a key to the front door,

without a thought to the security within the

building, then that person is free to roam all

the floors, corridors, offices and potentially rifle

through the unlocked drawers and filing cabinets

within. Similarly, a physical network is made

up of several layers and it’s reliant on someone

physically locking all the areas, or compartments,

to prevent unauthorised access.

It is imperative that a company controls

which individual has access to which services,

applications and information and from where.

They also need to ensure that each individual is

actually who they claim to be. While this sounds

pretty straight forward, it can be very complex to

manage without the right tools.

Before I continue its worth clarifying that

inadequate data protection will get you into a

whole heap of trouble. If you’re in any doubt

a quick Internet search of “public sector data

breaches” will bring up a long list of organisations

that stand testament to the size of the problem,

and the penalties they’ve incurred as a result.

Networkless connectivityInstead of building separate physical or rigidly

constructed networks for each organisation, one

method that is gaining popularity is to create one

network, and to control access to the services and

data it houses at the point of entry.

Networkless connectivity removes the

dependency on how the network is physically

constructed and is instead dependent on an

individual’s role within the organisation. Using

access control technology, such as Cryptzone’s

AppGate Security Server, the services and

information each individual is granted access to

will be determined at the point that they attempt

to connect to the network. Returning again to the

building analogy, it is akin to each person having

50 october 2012

technology

their own unique key to the building that, when

they unlock the front door, automatically opens

all the doors within the building that they can

legitimately enter, but also seals all the doors that

they should not.

Access can be further controlled by what type

of device is being used to connect and where

people authenticate themselves. For example, if

a user connects to the network from a PC within

the organisation’s premises then they can access

all files and information needed to perform

their duties. However, if they connect from a

laptop from home, they may be restricted to just

calendar information or basic applications. Taking

it a step further, access can be further controlled

by the day of the week and/or time of day that

the person is accessing the network to determine

what they can do and see.

While this might all sound extremely complex,

fundamentally networkless connectivity is far

more flexible, with the underlying infrastructure

easier to build and manage.

Secure authenticationA key security consideration is proving that the

user is who they claim to be. Historically, many

access gateways required an individual to enter

their username and password combination to

authenticate themselves. While this may have

been adequate for one organisation functioning

from one location, as soon as you start co-

locating, or even allowing remote access, single

factor authentication is woefully inadequate and

easily circumvented.

For this reason the introduction of two factor

authentication (2FA) is increasingly being driven by

legislation and/or the need to be more secure. 2FA

fundamentally is the combination of two of three

elements:

• Something you know – a username or

password,

• Something you have – an authentication device

such as a SmartCard,

• Something you are – referred to as biometrics it

involves retina or fingerprint scanners.

Just so we’re all straight, a username and

password combination is not 2FA as it is two

variations of one element – two things you know.

Now that we’ve established what 2FA is, it’s time

to look at what the options are. Fundamentally

there are two main forms of authentication

device:

• A physical token or SmartCard,

• A virtual token – a mobile phone used to

receive a passcode via SMS message or

generate the code via an app.

While physical tokens have been used for

numerous years, many would argue that they’re

an outdated technology. In addition to the

administrative nightmare of configuring each

token, and the logistical headache of distributing

them to users, they also have a shelf-life, typically

two to three years. In contrast, virtual tokens

on SmartPhones are far cheaper to manage,

Robert Campbell

Networkless connectivity removes the dependency on how the network is physically constructed and is instead dependent on an individual’s role within the organisation.

practically every pocket houses a device, and

people are comfortable with their handset so user

acceptance is easily overcome.

Networkless connectivity combined with

strong 2FA allows straightforward user access,

without constraints, to deliver a completely

dynamic set up at the time of connection. So,

whether you’re merging, re-merging, de-

merging or just looking to introduce a more

flexible working practice, securely, make sure

its future proof and cost-effective. Instead of

getting physical, it’s time to start thinking outside

the box, and even the building.

Robert Campbell, Founder and Managing Director, Ecommnet Limited, qualified as an engineer at the Newcastle University and spent the first 12 years of his career working in production engineering in the manufacturing and automotive industry. In November 1998 Robert established Ecommnet, as a specialist IT security and mobile application development company. For more information, please visit www.ecommnet.co.uk.

About

51october 2012

management

Wear the

strategy

hat!

Corporate planning is a systematic approach which

sets long term corporate objectives. It establishes

strategic decision-making and progress-checking

procedures towards meeting those objectives.

Basically, organisations employ three, five or ten year planning

horizon depending on the nature of the industry. But today, due

to trends in technology, emerging competition and changes in

government policies and regulations, planning has to be more

realistic in terms of time and alertness to incidence happening in

the market place.

Planning is neither a feasibility study nor a business plan, since

it covers the functioning of the organisation as a whole. It cannot

be limited to its various parts or be considered as an aggregate

of various functional plans like product plan, marketing plan,

purchase plan or HR plan. Hence, it’s a comprehensive approach

to analysing what are the organisation’s long term goals with an

aim to develop a road map for achieving them.

Within QDB, corporate planning is used for monitoring the

performance of the entire bank as the entity. We do not keep

track to solely keep people responsible for their performance, but

in order to find out areas of possible improvements. In that way

we can assess the market better and contribute to the society

through realising what is lacking, what do people need and what

can we do better.

Importance of long term business goals Organisations, and especially SMEs, should have a long term

vision. It means moving from point A to point B which is a

destination to be reached in a given time frame. So, once an

entrepreneur is clear about the vision of his organisation, he can

set his goals as outcomes of what he expects his business to

achieve. Those could be goals which relate to becoming a highest

profit performer or a technology leader or a market share leader

in the industry. Setting such an outcome-based vision with a

timeline is the starting point for developing business goals.

Business goals can also be set in terms of return on share

capital or anticipated market share, level of customer satisfaction

and many others. In a sum, business goals are the critical

outcomes which determine the viability and sustainability of the

organisation.

Business goals or corporate objectives need to be SMART

(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time scaled). They

represent fixed development objectives with suitable targets.

Today we are talking about linking corporate plan with

budgeting and with monthly or quarterly performance review

systems. Review systems include preparation of monthly

performance reports against corporate plan targets. Tools like

Balanced Scorecard facilitate such performance reviews and

enable us to test and adapt the strategy on a periodic basis.

Corporate planning is a holistic approach to formulating growth for the entire organisation.

Nada Al Mahmeed, Corporate Planning Officer, QDB, advises entrepreneurs and SMEs on how

proper planning can lead to growth of their business.

52 october 2012

management

Theory recognises two ways of planning:

top-down and bottom-up planning. For SMEs, a

hybrid version would be more suitable, since it is

more helpful in evolving a realistic plan.

Once a corporate plan is prepared, it needs to

be cascaded to all the business units or divisions.

Targets need to be set at each of these levels,

so that attainment of the objectives of business

units will lead to attainment of objectives of the

organisation. The next challenge is to determine

what is the best way to apply it and which tools

and techniques to use. This relates to the state-

of-the-art application of tools and techniques like

industry structure analysis, SWOT, value chain

analysis, simulations, scenario planning and similar.

To achieve this, the organisation needs

to apply tools and techniques to complex

business situations and, more importantly, to

posses skills needed to apply them. Experts are

normally not available in SMEs due to incorrect

belief that corporate planning is reserved for

large and diversified businesses. Today even

smaller organisations need to have a culture of

corporate planning. They do not need to have

a big corporate planning department, but CEO

with outsourced consultants can do the plan

themselves. The most important thing is to

give priority to planning and to have the ability

to foresee the trends which take place in the

market. Next step is to synthesise them with

respect to long term objectives and vision of the

organisation. In that manner, the organisation will

be able to evolve its plan.

For that reason, SMEs should be careful

not to prepare a plan and leave it on a shelf

because it needs to be implemented.

Planning ahead: How it’s done?Planning ahead is vital in today’s business world

– technology has been advancing progressively,

government regulations have been changing

very fast, competition is making new trends in

determining new factors on which success is

evaluated.

QNV 2030 is the prime, leading light

to show entrepreneurs of Qatar which

direction they should take when they plan

their entrepreneurial endeavours. Economic

development is one of the pillars of QNV

2030 and the entrepreneurs have to fulfil the

national dream of creating a truly broad-based

economy, not solely dependent on oil and gas

exports.

In line with that, the entrepreneurs

and SMEs can exlpore potential growth

opportunities in areas such as infrastructure

projects and resource-based industries.

SMEs have a tendency to look at short-term

performance results like sales, receivables, order

back log, day-to-day production schedules and

similar. By being focused on the short-term

trends, they miss to realise potential paradigm

shift in the business. For example, in order to

increase volume of production, a company

may plan to upgrade its plant and machinery

instead of noticing a change in consumers’

perception. This change might require them only

to introduce a new product and not to build

a whole new plant. For that reason, decisions

which have long-term impact have to be taken

care of in planning ahead.

ChallengesSMEs are focused on day-to-day operations,

managing funds and getting the right people.

In such situations, the tendency is to look at

short-term problems and to ignore long-term

problematic trends. This is the starting point

of a cycle in which they get trapped in dealing

with everyday issues.

SMEs think that having a budget plan

equals to having a business plan. This is not

correct since budgeting is only for a short

term period and, thus, does not take into

account long term trends and overall impact

of various parameters which have bearing on

the performance of the organisation.

Another tendency is to think that a few

separate individual plans sum up to having

a corporate plan. That is not so, because

corporate plan is concerned with changes

and overall shape of a company rather than

individually looking at departmental plans.

Some entrepreneurs are doing well without

a plan, but for some entrepreneurs it is vital

The most difficult thing for a planner is to plan his resources which are always limited. The organisation must look for a way to make the best out of the available resources in order to compete successfully in the market place.

to have a plan, especially when it comes to

technology.

For example, few years ago a startup for

mobiles’ applications, would enter the market

only with the iPhone, which was a major player,

and ignore the other brands. So, when people

started shifting to Samsung or other products,

those startups were in trouble.

On the other side, technology advancements

do not necessarily require from an entrepreneur

to adapt immediately. For example, when

SmartPhones were invented, the market share Nada Al Mahmeed

53october 2012

of the previous major player, Nokia, went down.

But, if Nokia decided to downsize and just

keep producing the basic phones, it would not

necessarily go bankrupt since there was still a

need for cell phones. Thus, an entrepreneur needs

to choose a target group and adapt technology to

its needs. It’s really about deciding what you want

to do and not necessarily just following the flow

of technology advancements.

In any case, advice for entrepreneurs and SMEs

would be to keep in mind that whatever plan

they have set they need to ensure that it’s actually

applicable.

Always have a plan BOnce long-term objectives are set, the

organisation must think in terms of strategies and

initiatives that need to be implemented. Initiatives

include determining what types of financial,

marketing, IT or HR resources are needed and

implementing them within the determined time

period. The initiatives will have reflection on the

performance of the objectives and successful

achievement of the goals of the corporate plan.

The most difficult thing for a planner is to

plan his resources, which are always limited. The

organisation must look for a way to make the

best out of the available resources in order to

compete successfully in the market place.

Mobilising resources (IT, human, financial,

and so on) which may have an impact on the

performance of the organisation is crucial for

success. Today, organisations are leveraging IT

resources to effectively reach the customers and

meet their needs. Online marketing has become

a very successful tool and small organisations may

find that this is a necessity. But, since most of the

SMEs have limited resources and might not be

in position to explore online marketing properly,

they could consider additional options – plan

B. For example, if you plan to do newspaper

advertisement and find out that it’s beyond

your budget, plan B would be to go for online

resources (Twitter, Facebook and other social and

digital media options) since it’s cheaper and will

reach more people.

The advice for SMEs would be to know what

resources are required to meet the changing

consumer trends and competition dynamics.

Don’t blindly stick to the planA corporate plan is normally prepared with a long

term perspective in mind. However, a periodic

review of a strategy and its performance needs to

take place if there is a major shift or an emerging

new trend within the market. It is done by

comparing actual market situation with the goals,

vision and plan of the organisation and realising

existence of some of the triggers which require

revisiting the corporate plan to make changes if

needed.

It is crucial to be open to changes happening

in the market. For example, Kodak and Xerox at

some point failed because they didn’t consider

market changes – market entry of the digital

cameras and computers which forced Xerox to

downsize. The advice for SMEs would be not to

completely change their business, but to check

how emergence of new market conditions can

affect it and act and plan accordingly.

Dos and dont’sDos

• Try to wear the strategy hat! The entrepreneurs

should have faith that planning is essential for

growth in today’s competitive environment

• Rely on budget

• Look for the major changes that can happen in

your market place

Dont’s

• Planning is not only for large enterprises – it’s

the first, fundamental belief that is required.

Planning is as essential for SMEs as for large

enterprises.

• Planning is not budgeting – that’s the second

mistake everybody makes. Planning is looking

at overall shape of a company.

• Don’t start a business just to be called an

entrepreneur! Start a business to fill a gap and

because you think it will add value.

• Don’t hesitate to reach out for help if you find

yourself in a problematic position. Seek advice

from companies and entities which are willing

to guide SMEs and entrepreneurs – Enterprise

Qatar, Silatech, Bedaya centre, QDB and similar.

• Don’t feel that if you reach out for help you

are a failure – you’re not! Even if you fail, you’ll

learn from it and do better.

Planning is neither a feasibility study nor a business plan, since it covers the functioning of the organisation as a whole.

Nada Al-Mahmeed is a Corporate Planning Officer in Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and is responsible for developing the corporate plan for QDB and implementing the Balanced Scorecard for corporate performance management which contributes towards improving the productivity and performance of the bank as a whole. Nada graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a minor in English Studies. Nada can be contacted at [email protected].

About

management

54 october 2012

The SME Toolkit is a joint project between Qatar Development Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank Group.By bringing together the global expertise of IFC and the local knowledge ofQDB, the SME Toolkit Qatar provides small businesses in Qatar with the toolsand resources that allow them to function to international standards.

• Step by step guidelines for business start up and management• Downloadable software tools like Business Plan Maker, Website Builder etc.• Online library with information on topics like Finance Marketing, Technology and International Business• Business Directory Listing and Legal Updates

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Private Sector Qatar - October 2012 | English