Qatar Development Bank (QDB) formally ushered in the first edition of the ‘Made at Home’ exhibition at a joint press conference held today with organizing partner Qatar Chamber, strategic partner Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor & Social Affairs, and telecommunications sponsor Ooredoo. Scheduled to be held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC) from 1 – 5 October 2017, the five-day expo is organised under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The upcoming exhibition is part of a broader small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) outreach programme – the Home-based Business National Program (HBBNP) – that was launched by the development bank in 2015 to stimulate the private sector through facilitating the entry of a greater variety of SMEs into the local economy. Importantly, the upcoming ‘Made at Home’ expo shines a spotlight on homemade products and supports home-based entrepreneurs in their challenge to overcome traditional barriers to market entry, a feat that has traditionally been predominantly achievable by larger businesses.
With the launch of the latest expo, QDB aims to develop the capabilities of Qatari home-based entrepreneurs by offering them a unique opportunity to display and sell their products, create new marketing windows for their commodities, and exchange experiences with other similar businesses involved in a wide range of specialized fields. Notably, the ‘Made at Home’ expo is also strategically aligned with the development bank’s basic organizational principles of promoting local products and encouraging new entrepreneurial pursuits.
Commenting during the press conference, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), QDB, Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa said:
We are delighted to organize an exhibition that focuses on a special group of SMEs in the private sector: the home-based business industry. Through ‘Made at Home’, we develop the skills of home-based entrepreneurs and strengthen their ability to formally introduce their products to the market.
Director General, Qatar Chamber, Saleh bin Hamad Al Sharqi said:
Through our cooperation with Qatar Development Bank, we actively meet the cornerstone of our organizational strategy to support commercial productivity – be it by businesses or families – in Qatar. Through this exhibition, we aim to help home-based entrepreneurs develop their products further and introduce them formally to the local market.
The idea of this exhibition came from the successful participation of home-based businesses during our previous editions of the ‘Made in Qatar’ exhibition, when homemade products attracted a great number of visitors. Naturally, Qatar Chamber and Qatar Development Bank felt it our obligation to organize an exhibition that specialised in the showcase of products of this category. Through this expo, we jointly promote productive families, who are an important part of the national economy and a constituent element of the broader SME sector that we aim to develop in Qatar.’
https://marhaba.qa/event/made-home-exhibition-2/
In the past, Qatar Chamber also partook in other exhibitions that supported home-based business owners in their objective to introduce homemade products to the local market. Some of the exhibitions in which Qatar Chamber lent its support to home-based entrepreneurs included Made in Qatar, Made in China and Expo Turkey.
Head of Department for Family Affairs, Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs, Najat Al Abdullah said:
Today, the national development process is witnessing unprecedented progress in the country and we are delighted to contribute our part. Following the directives of Qatar Vision 2030 to transform Qatar into a sustainable economy, the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs is actively promoting all programmes, mechanisms and policies that contribute to the empowerment of the civil society as a whole.’
She highlighted the role of the Ministry in implementing a series of plans and policies on a nationwide scale that inclusively aimed to support diverse segments of the society, including families and home-based businesses involved in entrepreneurial pursuits on a local scale.
Participation in the exhibition “Made at Home” is subject to certain controls, such as the condition that home-based business owners hold a Qatari nationality as well as a valid business license or commercial registration for the production and sale of goods, such as garments, jewelry, handicrafts and food items.
The upcoming expo – jointly organized by partners QDB and Qatar Chamber, strategic partner Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor & Social Affairs, and telecommunications sponsor Ooredoo – first opened for registration to home-based entrepreneurs and businesses in May.