H E Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud Al Thani (second right), Governor of Qatar Central Bank; Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa (right), CEO of Qatar Development Bank; and Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al Thani (second left), Chairman of Qatar Chamber, with the winner
DOHA: Qatar Development Bank (QDB), in collaboration with Qatar Chamber and Qatar Stock Exchange (QSE), honoured top 50 SMEs at a glittering ceremony held at St. Regis Hotel yesterday.
During the second edition of the SME Excellence List 2018, the awards were presented to these deserving SMEs under the patronage of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, in the presence of H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Saoud Al Thani, Governor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB) and Chairman of Qatar Development Bank (QDB); Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Qatar Chamber Director-General; and Rashid Bin Ali Al Mansoori, CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange, along with other distinguished and eminent guests from across state ministries, diplomatic missions and leading organizations in Qatar.
SME Excellence List serves as a valuable platform for entrepreneurs, to showcase their achievements as well as their outstanding and innovative efforts in managing their business. It was an arduous task to select the best in class top 50 companies from among the companies who participated in the second edition of the program.
On presenting these prestigious awards, Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al-Khalifa, Chief Executive Officer of Qatar Development Bank, said: “With the ‘SME Excellence List’, we aim to empower the SMEs of Qatar and offer them a much wider platform to showcase their potential to the industry at large. SMEs have always been a crucial source of economic growth of Qatar and this endeavor channelizes their performance in the right direction and is in sync with the Qatar National Vision 2030. The success of the maiden event, which was held in the year 2016, enhanced our confidence to deliver yet another impactful event this year and we are extremely elated to inform you that this has been a bigger & better event for us with a large number of SMEs coming forward and participating in the event.” Rashid Ali Al-Mansoori CEO of Qatar Stock Exchange, said: “We are confident of the important role that SMEs play in achieving the economic growth and in providing job opportunities, in line with QNV 2030. We are also pleased to collaborate with Qatar Development Bank in a unified communications strategy to promote a culture of transparency and competitiveness in the economic sector, to unlock the SMEs capabilities and adopt the highest international quality standards, with the aim of enabling them to compete locally, regionally and internationally. Therefore, we will provide support to the companies that are selected in this edition of SME Excellence List to be listed on the Qatar Exchange.” Qatar Chamber is keen to support SMEs and improve their performance to effectively take part in the development of the national economy, and we are working closely with all institutions that reaffirms united efforts towards building and promoting a culture of entrepreneurship in Qatar, said Saleh bin Hamad Al-Sharqi, Director General of Qatar Chamber.
“ The Chamber will support the companies listed in this year’s edition of the SME Excellence List organized by QDB, by promoting its products either through facilitating their participation in local and international exhibitions and conferences, or through meetings held by the Chamber with foreign trade delegations inside and outside Qatar,” he said.
The evaluation criteria, adopted by QDB, for determining the 50 top finalists for the SME Excellence List 2018 included: financial performance, rates of staff development and retention, the local supply chain management, innovation and use of technology, integrity and transparency, application of quality standards and certifications, and finally, commitment to environmental protection in terms of waste management and compliance with environmental legislation.These criteria indicate the enormous strides made by the Qatari economy in developing the SMEs performance level each year.
The SME Excellence List ranking program serves as an important incubator for SMEs, which allows them to showcase their products and services and contribute to the success of their businesses.
The Program also honors small and medium-sized businesses that are categorized and ranked by their performance and abilities to develop and grow and provides the SMEs all kinds of support needed.
