Qatar Development Bank headquarters
Doha: The total outstanding loans extended by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) to SMEs reached a whopping QR6.7bn in 2019, registering a year-on-year growth of nearly 8 percent compared to QR6.2bn loans provided in the previous year.
The short term financing to promote exports in 2019 stood at QR507m, while total financial support through insurance policies reached at QR562m.
The QDB disclosed that it made remarkable achievements in 2019 in almost all segments of its services, including financial assistance to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and providing them access to job opportunities.
The state-owned development organisation is the main entity responsible for supporting and promoting local SMEs to establish a vibrant private sector in the country. This is part of efforts to achieve economic diversification in the energy-rich economy in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
After the unjust economic blockade imposed on Qatar in early June 2017, QDB started giving special focus in projects related to food security in the country, resulting in sharp rise in the number of SMEs related to the agriculture and food sector, which has been growing steadily since then.
In 2019, the number of QDB-supported food security projects witnessed a remarkable 65 growth (year-on-year), while the number of industrial projects funded by the Bank saw 26 percent growth. The total number of companies receiving the QDB’s financial benefits increased to 951 in 2019, recording a growth of 5 percent against the previous year, according to key numbers released by QDB on its Twitter handle.
The QDB also invested in 27 small, medium and emerging companies in 2019, reporting a double-digit growth of 36 percent in its investments compared to previous year. Through its Al Dhameen programme, the development bank provided a loan guarantee of QR938m in 2019. Al Dhameen is an initiative related to credit guarantee to promote the growth and development of SMEs in Qatar.
QDB noted that 2019 was full of accomplishments for the organization, and it is committed to providing all the needful support to Qatari SMEs, and looking forward to providing the best services in the coming years aiming to achieve the objectives laid under the country’s long-term vision.
In terms of providing market access (through Government Procurement and Contracting Conference & Exhibition—Moushtarayat and other initiatives) local SMEs were able to sign contracts for 3,233 job opportunities valued QR 1.22bn.
QDB, apart from providing local as well as global market access and financial support services, it also offers a lot of other benefits such as incubation facilities, consultancy, market intelligence, training and skill development programmes, meetings, seminars, workshops and exhibitions.
In 2019, QDB organized 1,442 bilateral meetings, 354 consulting services, 25 workshops and more than 100 training programmes dedicated to SMEs. Some 6,600 trainees benefited from QDB’s training and development programmes in 2019 with a growth of 88 percent compared to the previous year.
QDB has also provided housing loans to 33, 510 clients, up 3 percent, with the combined value of its outstanding loans reaching at QR24.3bn, witnessing 6 percent growth compared to previous year.
