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seLLingBrAnd Q
WouLd YouBuY iT?
b y v a N i s a r a s W a t H i
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CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
he nation has projects in excess o QR350
billion (about $100 billion) planned. Apart
rom FIFA 2022-related work, Qatar will
spend $35billion on a rail network, $20bil-
lion on roads and $25billion on real estate
(approximate: QR127 billion, QR73 billionand QR90 billion respectively). Local busi-
nesses must be riding high on these an-
nouncements. When something seems too
good to be true, it probably is.
Despite the massive investment in hu-
man capital and the liquidity o the state,
government and quasi-government corpo-
rations drive growth, with the private sec-
tor relegated to the periphery.
The truth is, the economy o the region
is mainly driven by the government, not the
private sector. The government makes the
call, sets the agenda, draws up the strategy
or the economy. In essence, the privatesector, which is supposed to be one o the
strong engines or growing the economy,
has taken a back seat, says Issa Al-Mohan-
nadi, Qatari corporate leader and CEO o
Msheireb Properties (MP).
In this context, it is no wonder that
Brand Q has little distinction rom the Qa-
tar Government, leaving a blurred distinc-
tion between the two.
Headline events like winning the 2022
bid, announcing the worlds most expensive
ootball stadium, the Qatar Foundation logo
on the Barcelona ootball jersey or owning
Harrods have little local avour, while the
building and rolling out o Qatar initiatives
is seen more as a triumph o wealth over
ability than as ruits borne rom home-grown industries (a perception that is not
entirely o the mark). Those who benet
the most are the ones to whom the jobs are
outsourced to.
Talking o home-grown capabilities is
a very sensitive subject and is oten a sore
point when the discussion veers towards
why buying local is not the rst option.
The simplest and most bandied about ex-
cuse is the lack o expertise, service and
skill in the country, which means look-
ing beyond the borders as the best way
orward.
However, the voices countering this ar-gument are getting louder and more inces-
sant. The counter-arguments range rom
the emotional to the studied; rom truth
to convenience; rom acts to assumptions.
One grouse is shared across the board: that
apart rom nance, little or no support is
given to local industries.
The argument here is not about nation-
als versus expatriates. Its about businesses
that have invested in the local market, that
tap into its resources to help to build ca-
TibrahiM Jaidah
tHE GUy WHo IS GoING to Start HIS
oWN BUSINESS HaS to takE a rISk,
takE a loaN at tHE BEGINNING oF
HIS CarEEr. Say IF ItS SomEoNE
IN tHE CrEatIVE FIEld, HE IS
ImmEdIatEly UP aGaINSt tHE SaVVy
Fly By NIGHt BUSINESSmEN, WHo
WIll CoNdUCt BUSINESS oUtoF a SUItCaSE, WHo doESNt HaVE
aNy PrESENCE, doES Not EVEN Pay
a rENt HErE. tHErE SHoUld BE
lEGISlatIoN to at lEaSt ProtECt
tHE SmallEr aNd mEdIUm SIzEd
ComPaNIES.
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SEllING BraNd Q I CoVEr Story
pacities against those who do business out
o suitcases and tea lounges.
Qatar Today speaks to captains o indus-
try and entrepreneurs to understand why
Brand Q is such a hard sell.
thRee CleaR points emeRGe:
Make the PriVate sector and
entrePreneurshiP More attractiVe to
youngsters.
Bring aBout a Mandate to Buy LocaL.
and Most iMPortant, LocaL coMPanies
need to Face reaLity and gear uP For
coMPetition.
These three interlink to both highlight
the problem and provide the solution.
We begin by asking why local companies
are not seen as worthy competitors.
Bring it on!
Ibrahim Jaidah o Arab Engineering Bureau(AEB), considered a pioneer in his eld and
is an ot-quoted success story, has an inter-
esting take on competition.
Some local rms complain about com-
petition rom abroad and I dont agree with
this. True, with competition, with bigger
names coming in and better quality o work
in the market, local companies will have
to ght harder to compete with them. But
now that Ive proved that I can do as well
as international rms, I can bill like them
and get away with it. Ive taken advantage
o this, instead o complaining that Im notbeing spoilt!
This is the new world o competition,
and its going to open up more. So there are
local businesses that are worried, and will
be more worried in the uture.
What cant be overlooked is that other
countries which opened up to competition
did so ater building local capabilities. That
hasnt happened here yet.
Jaidah agrees that the solution is not in
restricting international competition, but
in building local capabilities. Unortu-nately this hasnt been looked at. Its been
slow, and Qatari companies are struggling
to compete with new comers. Some coun-
tries have implemented legislation that
says a locally registered company gets a
10% extra margin. For instance, i you are
not lowest in price but have the ability and
are up to 10% above the lowest bidder, you
still get priority. This should be the case in
all sectors. The construction industry is one
o the main sectors in any economy. Such
advantages should be considered, because
what we build in the next 10 years is going
to equal what we have built in the last 30years.
We will lose out, i we dont use this op-
portunity to establish strong, highly quali-
ed local entities in terms o companies, in
all sectors be it graphic or interior design or
suppliers.
Talking about the projects being an-
nounced in the light o 2022, he says: In-
terestingly, it was announced by the Prime
Minister when we won the bid that the local
companies would get a decent share o the
pie. Frankly, when you see the amount o
work that has to be done, there is no way wecan do it; its ar more than we can handle.
Raise your game
Al-Mohannadi raises a question that has no
single or easy answer: Dene what is local.
issa al-MohaNNadi
tHE laSt CHaNCE For tHE PrIVatE
SECtor, at lEaSt IN my tImE, IS
2022. aNd I SaId aS mUCH to tHE
QCCI. WE loSt tHE oPPortUNIty
IN 2006 to dEVEloP tHE PrIVatE
SECtor, WE loSt oUt IN tHE o&G
dEVEloPmENt WE CoUld HaVE
dEVEloPEd a maJor ENErGy
SErVICES ComPaNIES; WE HaVE
rEaCHEd 77mtPa BUt tHErE WaSNt
mUCH dEVEloPEd aloNGSIdE
tHat. tHE raIl ProJECt HaS BEEN
laUNCHEd; HoW mUCH oF tHat WIll
dEVEloP loCal CaPaBIlIty?
IF WE lEaVE It to CHaNCE, tHEN
NotHING WIll HaPPEN. It IS tImE
For tHE GoVErNmENt to
takE a CoNSCIoUS dECISIoN, to HElP
loCal BUSINESSES.
SUCCESS StorIESibRahim Jaidah:
"easy as it May sound For a LocaL guy to set uP a Business, it is hard work. i Purchased
araB engineering Bureau in 1990-91. i Borrowed Money to Purchase it. then you reaLise
that howeVer Much you May think its an adVantage to Be LocaL, its aLso a disadVan-
tage. who is this LocaL uPstart who can design? its aLways Been Foreign nationaLs
who haVe Been designing, so there werent Many others with the wiLL to do so.that was a chaLLenge which took Me Few a years to ProVe that i couLd do as weLL or
eVen Better. i Managed to do that with a Lot oF hard work and sacriFice. the rest is
history."
iF you were to do it now, wouLd it Be easier or tougher?
"there are tons oF oPPortunities. whether i wouLd haVe done it the saMe way, i dont
know. For youngsters, there is a wonderFuL oPPortunity to teaM uP with estaBLished
FirMs that coMe FroM oVerseas. they wiLL Be oF great VaLue - Being LocaL and haVing
the right kind oF training and education."
araB engineering Bureau is one oF the Leading architecture FirMs in the country and
region, and has to its credit seVeraL LandMark ProJects incLuding the qF headquar-
ters, BarZan towers and keMPinski.
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CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
We are struggling to understand as a player
in the market what it means. Is there such
terminology as local companies versus local
reps maybe you can dene it or me?
Though his companys agship project
(QR20 billion regeneration o the down-
town area o Doha) oten awards contractsto oreign companies, Al-Mohannadi says
there is intent to go local then again,
all companies are local, arent they? Qa-
taris are supposed to own 51% interest in
all businesses as per the law but it is not
always possible. (See ootnote on Pg. 47)
There are some special areas whether
we like it or not, or they (private companies)
like it or not - that cannot be handled by lo-
cal companies, he stresses, because o is-
sues either o scale, technology or skill.
Deending why his company chooses
international or oreign companies over
locals, he elaborates: There are so manydierent skills required excavation, de-
water, dredging, site preparation. As a com-
pany, it is in my interest to have one con-
tractor who will take care o all those tasks,
to have one ocal point. Local companies
may have the capability to take care o one
o the operations, but not all o them. Local
companies complain that we go or interna-
tional companies, and they in turn use us.
You could have come to us directly, they say,
and we could have done it cheaper.
But thats cheaper only or one element,
Al-Mohannadi says. I have ve elementsor doing this job; yes, you are cheaper,
and you have been sub-contracted, but you
cant handle the other related work. For
business owners, its more efcient to go to
a single point o contact or their jobs than
break them up into pieces and oer them to
dierent companies.
Eventually that contractor may use our
to ve sub-contractors rom the market, he
accepts. Its not unusual when someone
tells me theyre working on my project.
Despite all these constraints, his compa-
ny has made an eort to dene whats local.
We are probably the only company thathas in its procedure, when we go or a con-
tractor, a mandate or a joint-venture (JV),
with a local company. This mandate did not
come rom the Government. We are trying
to help the local market, so we eel com-
pelled to do it this way. Did the Government
ask us, or the QCCI? No. I believe this is the
right thing to do or the market.
And the challenges continue. The
minute we say we want local companies,
the international companies point out that
they are majority-owned by nationals.
Omran Al-Kuwari o Green Gul, weigh-
ing in on the argument, says there are many
reasons why local companies lose out, some
o which are obvious. This is a new econ-
omy, and local companies do not have the
history or track record o the internationalcompanies. From the project owners per-
spective, going with an international rm
with a proven track record makes more
sense to mitigate risks, to get unding but
there are many areas where local companies
have an added advantage and still lose out
to international companies. They dont get
opportunities because o other reasons.
He eels the only way to compete is to
enter into partnerships with international
companies.
Al-Mohannadi adds: Qatari companies
dont reject the idea o a JV, but interna-
tional companies see no nancial benet init. When they can get their work done else-
where, or much less, without compromis-
ing on quality, they dont see the value o
coming to Qatar. Acquiring sta here isnt
cost-eective, because Qatar is one o the
most expensive places to live in.
I there is a mandate or companies to
have a local presence which we are con-
sidering, by the way what the internation-
al companies will do is jack up the price, and
we will pay the price.
Time or consortiumsProminent Qatari businessman and Chair-
man o Al-Darwish United Group Yousu
Jassim Al-Darwish says local construction
companies have increased their level o
perormance rom the previous year in all
aspects, technical or qualied expertise,
and are undergoing continuous develop-
ment and modernisation.
This development and modernisation is
in part due to the support given by the gov-
ernment, by way o awarding us tenders and
projects.
However, he eels, in light o develop-
ments in the country, with huge projectsplanned in inrastructure development
and construction, more support is required
rom the government, and to this end we
need to establish an association o contrac-
tors through which they can talk about the
problems acing the construction sector,
and to cooperate with each other and with
governmental authorities to nd appropri-
ate solutions that are air and transparent,
or the sake o the country and its citizens.
He suggests: Small and large local com-
Yousuf JassiM al-darwish
HE SayS: aS PEr tHE laWS
GoVErNING tHE Work oF
CoNStrUCtIoN ComPaNIES INQatar, tHErE IS No dIFFErENtIatIoN
BEtWEEN loCal CoNtraCtorS aNd
otHErS From tHE GCC. tHErE
arE HUNdrEdS oF CommErCIal
ComPaNIES From tHE GCC
WorkING IN Qatar. tHErE SHoUld
BE SomE Sort oF rECIProCIty tHat
IS INSIStEd UPoN.
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SEllING BraNd Q I CoVEr Story
panies alike could work together, so that
when a larger tender beyond the scope o
a single company comes up, then there can
be a consortium o two or more such com-
panies that works on it under a joint name,
pooling their capabilities and resources.
They can share the benets and liabilities
o the project.
(In a recent interview to a local Arabic
daily Al Arab , Al-Darwish discussed the
challenges acing local companies, parts o
which are used in this article.)
Why go international?
Being one o the largest regeneration
projects in the region, Msheireb has come
under a lot o scrutiny, particularly since it
aims to build something quintessentially
Qatari.
We are always asked why we didnt use
local companies to establish the architec-
tural language which is rooted in Qatari
history. So I ask mysel the question; i I am
bringing European architects to develop
this, are they more capable o doing this,
or do they have more knowledge than thelocal businesses? The answer is they dont
have the knowledge, but neither do the lo-
cal companies. What the international
companies have is creativity, capabilities,
discipline, quality and efciency.
Jaidah doesnt completely buy that rea-
soning. About 30% o the work I do is or
international rms, or signature architec-
ture. I that doesnt prove our merit, what
else would?
What eort has been taken to assess local
capabilities, he asks.
There is a tendency, especially in the
design sector, that whatever comes rom
the outside is resh and new, and this is not
unique to Qatar, it happens in many places
around the world. Unortunately a lot o
them get a shock later, when dealing with
someone not amiliar with local needs.
In our eld o architecture and de-
sign, there has been an inux in the past
10 years o design rms coming rom
all over the world. The intention o theState o Qatar is to open up to competi-
tion and opportunities or variety, which
is not entirely a bad thing. I take this as a
challenge.
Revise tender processes
Al-Darwish is also concerned about unair
competition with international companies,
and points out that some oreign companies
operate here without adequate controls be-
ing imposed on them. Some oreign com-
panies claim to be international and get
their government's support to compete in
projects that local companies could easilyhandle alone or at least in partnership. Lo-
cal companies should be encouraged to ex-
ecute major projects, either by themselves
or in partnership with specialised interna-
tional companies, to acilitate their devel-
opment.
Furthermore, to ensure the efciency
o international companies, he says there
should be a mandate that they operate with-
in the local economy by not less than 40%
which means they will have to enter into
buthaiNa al-aNsari
tHE SEll IS IN tHE markEtING.
WHEN yoU aPProaCH ComPaNIES,
PrEParE yoUrSElF, markEt yoUrProdUCt WEll, BraINStorm WItH
yoUr tEam, aNd talk lIkE a
CoNSUltaNt. WHy arE CoNSUltaNtS
SUCCESSFUl? BECaUSE tHEy talk a
lot (EVEN IF tHEy dElIVEr lIttlE)
So lEarN From tHat, aCE yoUr
PrESENtatIoN.
SUCCESS StorIESomRan al-KuwaRi:
aFter 10 years with qatargas aL-kuwari though haPPy in his JoB, decided to do soMe-
thing diFFerent with his LiFe. he LeFt his FuLL-tiMe PuBLic sector JoB to iMMerse hiMseLF
coMPLeteLy in a new Business Venture. that was three years ago...
i had the idea For green guLF, But i wouLdnt haVe Been aBLe to do it without soMe
goVernMent suPPort. i had qstP and qatar Foundation suPPorting Me with strategic
Funding. i was aBLe to BeneFit FroM soMe oF the successFuL PrograMMes running in
qatar.
eVen though he had that suPPort, it was stiLL diFFicuLt. First oF aLL, there is a sociaL
eLeMent to it. it is stiLL taBoo to Be soLeLy a BusinessMan. whats exPected is a day JoB
in a Prestigious PuBLic sector coMPany, and running a Business on the side. But as
an entrePreneur when you decide to JuMP in FuLL steaM into a Business, it does raise
questions.
then there is aLways the FinanciaL risk, that entrePreneurs aLL oVer the worLd Face.
But the whoLe exPerience has Been Both chaLLenging and rewarding.
the tiMing was PerFect For aL-kuwari, as his Business was in sync with changes in the
region and gLoBaLLy. green guLF inc is a Leading cLean technoLogy adVisory Business
Based at the qatar science & technoLogy Park.
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CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
oMraN al-Kuwari
yoU doNt NECESSarIly NEEd
morE ENtrEPrENEUrS IN tHE
US oNly 2% oF tHE PoPUlatIoN arE
ENtrEPrENEUrS, BUt yoU NEEd a
StroNGEr PrIVatE SECtor.
EdUCatIoNal INStItUtIoNS SHoUld
CrEatE morE INtErESt to BrING
aBoUt a CUltUral aNd SoCIEtal
CHaNGE IN tHE attItUdE toWardS
tHE PrIVatE SECtor. IN tHE
mEaNtImE, tHE GoVErNmENt NEEdS
to CrEatE tHE rIGHt ENVIroNmENt.tHE rIGHt StEPS HaVE alrEady BEEN
INItIatEd, By Way oF ENtErPrISE
Qatar, QdB. I am VEry oPtImIStIC.
CoUPlE oF yEarS aGo, It WaSNt So.
NoW tHErE IS SomE momENtUm.
tHIS IS Not aN EaSy ProBlEm to
SolVE For aNyBody, BUt WE arE
GoING IN tHE rIGHt dIrECtIoN.
a JV with a local company, rent equipment,
buy materials, and use local resources.
Recalling past practices, he says Qatari
companies that participated in tenders
were given preerence over oreign compa-
nies, up to a cost dierentiation o 15% over
the latters price. He regrets the stopping othis system, and emphasises that cheaper
oreign contractors dont mean better work
or efciency.
At this point he argues, it is important to
upgrade the Central Tenders Committee
and Audit Bureau, and to review and apply
tender rules and regulations accurately.
Omran Al-Kuwari says that when it
comes to less capital-intensive industry (in
emerging sectors such as new media and
other creative elds) there denitely seems
to be a perception that anything interna-
tional is better, simply because those com-
panies have better marketing. There needsto be more incentive to support local com-
panies. Keep in mind, its not just rom in-
ternational companies; competition is also
coming rom the government itsel. They
should make sure that theyre not compet-
ing with the private sector.
Qatariat T&D Holding Founder and
Chairperson Buthaina Al-Ansari points out
that there are monopolies here in various
sectors, which is a big challenge. Now how
do you compete with these? Some o them
have a huge government backing.
Even i we accept the need or mo-nopolies in some sectors, they should
unction in a manner that assists smaller
companies. Sub-contract your work. Allow
others to grow.
Dealing with decits
That question applies to private businesses
as well, says Jaidah: Although the country
has advanced, how have you taken advan-
tage o it? Dont hide your head in the sand.
Lets go talk to these international rms to
collaborate. I have proessional riends who
take advantage o this such as lawyers and
designers. Even i your rm is relativelynew, explore partnerships. We cannot go
against the tide. See where it is going and
adjust, try to nd synchrony.
Al-Mohannadi agrees: I we have
to help local businesses, then local
businesses need to help themselves rst.
How many have standardised their
systems and processes to international
levels? How many provide services to in-
ternational standards? A lot o people in
Qatar have representative ofces or have
businesses run by expats where a Qatari is
registered as the owner. To be honest with
you, I can count on the ngers o my hands
those owners who are keen to develop their
businesses.
Reerring to successul home-grown
businesses, he attributes their success tothe owners ocused and unwavering in-
volvement in the operations.
Thats the kind o entrepreneurial spirit
that will lit the quality o the private sec-
tor in Qatar. What we are missing now is
quality Q. I we dont work hard now, i the
government doesnt put an eort into cre-
ating quality say the kind o eect Made
in Japan products have then we will be in
trouble.
Building quality quotient and building
trust is important. This is what local busi-
nesses need to realise i I dont play by
international rules now, I will be let out othe game.
Saying people are not giving us a chance
and other such excuses are not unequivo-
cally true. There is some merit in those
arguments but you need to question
yoursel too. Are you using the latest tech-
nologies? Are you brain-storming strate-
gies or your business? Have you adopted
standards? Have you developed your ofces
and assured quality? Youve been in exist-
ence or 20 years as a business, but nothing
has really changed! You cant just scrounge
or crumbs. Youve been repeating yourselor the past 20 years without a growth strat-
egy.
I they want to compete with the best,
they have to bring something more to the
table. The problem with local companies
is they want to think local and take inter-
national jobs. That doesnt cut it, because
Qatar is already international. Building the
2022 stadiums is an international job; MP
is an international job, in size, quality, and
cutting edge technology.
I see where they are coming rom in their
hesitancy to commit to cost without guar-
antee o business or assurance i somethingin the pipeline is risky; and I agree with
them. Thats where the government should
step in and say listen, i you do 1,2,3,4,5, you
will be classied or X (see box on Pg 46),
and i you get that classication you will be
taking 10-20% o any international tender
that comes in. I you set that up, then there
is an incentive or local companies to re-
orm themselves, to become capable to play
the game at that level.
Its a long debate and is bound to con-
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tinue i action is not taken. They will accuse
you o not giving them a chance, but we will
counter this by saying you dont have the
proo o capability.
Al-Kuwari adds: I am not an expert
on tender policies, but I do know there
is an urgent need or the government tostep in, without compromising on qual-
ity. There are several critical projects in
the pipeline, and we need the best working
on them. Why would companies invest in
themselves i they dont have some kind o
assurance?
Private sector needs zest
The truth is, or Qataris to be ully en-
gaged in the private sector is not appealing
enough.
Very creative young graduates come
into the market and I know the government
cannot absorb more than 70% o them. Im-agine, we have the school o architecture in
QU; VCU-Q is graduating a lot o interior
designers; and all o them are entering the
government sector in a direct or indirect
manner. When they come to train here
with me, the rst thing I tell them is to train
well, open their eyes, and hopeully theyll
become a new competitor or me in a ew
year's time.
You take all the consultants in the State
o Qatar, and see what percentage are Qa-
tari. Just imagine, in my industry, locals
who are practising in the design or archi-tecture eld account or less than 1% o the
total. This is alarming. There should be an
incentive rom the Government or young-
sters to seek opportunities in the private
sector. Sometimes, they get a job in the
public sector or no greater reason than to
gure in the payroll."
Jaidah is worried that a lot o young crea-
tive brains are sitting in a job where they
might not even ulll hal o their ambi-
tions. He eels there should be some sort o
incentive to absorb young local talent.
Lets take my design team here I have
400 people in my company, and I am theonly local. Ive been begging some locals to
come and join us, but they wont. They want
something easier. They dont understand
that by being patient or a ew years, to be-
come a proessional, how much it would
mean or them in the long run, as a proes-
sional designer, gaining experience rom
the local industry. They dont see the op-
portunities in ront o them, and we need to
open their eyes. There is so much to gain.
He recalls that 15-20 years ago, it was
mandatory to employ locals or the dura-
tion o their contract. Imagine how much
training and building o local capabilities
would happen. Say i its building stadiums,
and the international rm has to take in a
ew locals seconded rom government
departments perhaps - and train them. Im-agine the scope o growth rom there or
that person. He can either take the learning
back to the employer or, i he is ambitious
enough, set up his own rm. QF has done it
in a ew cases, but QF is dierent, its not the
norm.
AEB has recently signed a contract or an
army-related project. Its a good-sized one.
The conclusion o the contract is that we
will train three locals through the duration.
I initiated this, while we were negotiating
my ees. I can give you more than money,
I can invest in people with brains, I told
them. The youngsters are thrilled that theyare going to be joining us. By the time we
complete the project, they will know a lot
about it, and how it was achieved. Hopeully
they will be ambitious enough to compete
against me one day - it is getting boring now,
as no one is really competing with me.
Who is at the helm?
Its more than evident that dynamic local
businesses that are doing well have at the
helm a business owner who is 100% com-
mitted to the operations. Al-Kuwari himsel
stands testimony to this reasoning.Just because you are a local company it
doesn't mean you can take it easy? The only
way to be ahead o the game is to be hands-
on. The reason companies like AEB are suc-
cessul is because their local management
team is ully engaged. Local companies have
the strength o knowledge and insights o
the country that they must leverage to their
advantage.
You cant expect business just because
you are local i you are not willing to put in
that eort. But i the company is competent
and able to do a task, then you have the right
to ask or preerence.
Lack o support
Speaking or SMEs, Qatariat T&D Founder
and Chairperson Buthaina Al-Ansari says
there is not enough support or guidance. I
you only support the well established, and
the giants only support each other, what
happens to the rest o us? I need someone
to guide me and teach me. The small and
medium enterprises get let behind; we are
orced to take on competition in a dierent
one stop shop to help
pRivate Companies
issa aL-Mohannadi rues the Lack
oF guidance For the PriVate sec-
tor. once that is Fixed, the cre-
ation and seLLing oF Brand q wiLL
Be Much easier, he says.
he contends that there is soMe-
thing criticaLLy wrong that soMe-
one has to correct right away.
who? in My oPinion the goVern-
Ment shouLd steP in, he says, sug-
gesting the estaBLishMent oF an
oFFice For this PurPose. this oFFice
wiLL audit coMPanies and Brands,
and categorise theM as Per ca-
PaBiLities. the oFFice wiLL aLso Be
resPonsiBLe For attracting and
nurturing LocaL coMPanies.
it wiLL heLP LocaL Businesses uP
their gaMe, Be it By way oF educa-
tion, technicaL suPPort or con-
suLtancy. heLP theM to estaBLish
quaLity systeMs and work with
theM to Bring theM to a certain
LeVeL. this oFFice shouLd aLso
FaciLitate Business contacts For
theM.
First heLP Me identiFy LocaL coM-
Panies, and then hoLd Me account-
aBLe For using their serVices.
Mandate that these Branded and
categorised coMPanies shouLd Be
giVen PreFerence in tenders.
how do we identiFy and heLP
LocaL coMPanies, he asks. so
there are internationaL coMPa-
nies Based aBroad, with a LocaL
Branch that has qatari inter-
est, and they cLaiM to Be LocaL.
how Much can i dig and ask theM
For structure and ProoF on the
LocaLisation oF their oPerations?
its not PracticaL For us as a
Business.
giVe Me an oFFiciaL List to teLL Me
iF these LocaL coMPanies recruit
resources FroM here and that
they haVe the right caPaBiLities. iF
that source is aVaiLaBLe, we wiLL
take it seriousLy. we now haVe
a tendering coMMittee List and
that List incLudes internationaL
coMPanies.
hoMe-grown coMPanies are now
Fighting oVer the cruMBs, as the
Biggest ProJects wiLL go to inter-
nationaL coMPanies that haVe a
ProVen track record, he Points
out.
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a u g u s t 2 0 1 1 Qatar today 49
CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
league. We dont have the wherewithal or
that."
She voices a thought shared by another
entrepreneur, Bassam Al-Ibrahim (see in-
terview on pg 48). The larger corporations
need to back us up. I would like to highlight
and speak or this middle generation. Thisgeneration needs to put in triple the eort
to succeed like the rest. The younger gener-
ation on the other hand, those 16 and below,
they have everything education, linguis-
tic skills, techno-awareness. But those o us
rom the 70s, we need to work very hard to
align with the economic development hap-
pening now.
Al-Ansari is o the rm opinion that the
eort to build onesel should come rom the
person or company itsel. Then again, not
everyone has the ability to do so and many
require a bit o hand holding. Now the gov-
ernment has two programmes - one is theQDB-run Al-Dameen (nancing), and the
other or SMEs through Enterprise Qatar.
These support you nancially, and they ed-
ucate you on how to set up. But what about
the next step, when you roll out your busi-
ness, and you want to sell your services or
products?
The consultant complex
There is not sufcient belie in our abilities,
bemoans Al-Ansari. I will educate you, -
nance you, incubate you, but beyond that
how do you buy peoples trust? You, as anentrepreneur, a business owner, need to
take responsibility to earn that trust. The
Government cant really do that. What we
need rom the government is to inuence
larger, established players to buy into us.
She quotes a traditional proverb to
strengthen her argument:I the leader does
not believe in his people, then his people will
not believe in him.
I you see the decision-makers approach
consultants and oreigners, then youll do
the same.
Taking a dig at a common practice, she
says,big corporates love consultation -
and what do the consultants do? They take
inormation rom us and make a presenta-
tion out o it. And they walk away with a mil-
lion riyals in their pocket. Look at the ads in
the magazine and on the billboard even
small things like the abaya and the thobeare depicted wrong we laugh at this.
She underlines the need to tap into local
knowledge. You need our inputs, consult
us. We know what we want, what appeals to
us, not the consultants. Use our expertise.
She also echoes her peers views: We
have to promote ourselves. There is no
other choice. You have to squeeze yoursel
dont wait or things to be handed on a
platter. Youll be stamped out i you dont
do that.
Future perect
Omran Al-Kuwari is very upbeat about thegrowth o the private sector. He says the
road map is available, and its just about
getting in sync with it. Keep in mind that
this is a huge country economically, even i
its small domestically. The Qatar National
Vision (QNV) has already identied areas
where it needs more private participation.
As or Brand Q, he says internationally
its already extremely strong. You think o
Qatar, you think o progress, you think o in-
novation, transparency, good governance.
But isnt that based more on diplomacy
and the unctioning o the Sovereign WealthFund (SWF)? Isnt the lack o separation
between government and private sector an
issue?
It could be an issue, but could it also be
an opportunity?, he asks.
I Qatar has a strong image, even one
built on the governments activities, you
can use that as a springboard. Take ad-
vantage o the situation we are in. We are
well placed to improve the Made in Qatar
brand. There is no reason why this cant
happen. The important thing is to identiy
areas we want to ocus on.
*generaLLy, a non-qatari nationaL, whether naturaL or Juristic, May engage in coMMerciaL
actiVities ProVided the Foreign ParticiPation in the entity does not exceed 49 %. in octoBer
2000, the goVernMent enacted a new Foreign inVestMent Law aiMed at ProMoting Foreign
inVestMent in sPeciFic Business sectors incLuding agricuLture, ManuFacturing, heaLth,
education, tourisM, Power and ProJects which deVeLoP and utiLise the states naturaL
resources. the new Law PerMits uP to 100 % Foreign ownershiP in these Business sectors.
the Law does not aLLow a non-qatari to ParticiPate in Banking, insurance, coMMerciaL
agency or reaL estate trading actiVities.
iF non-qataris are Partners oF a Joint Venture coMPany, then the coMPany is aLLowed to
carry out onLy those Business actiVities stiPuLated By Law For non-qataris.
Yousuf JassiM al-darwish
chairMan, aL-darwish united grouP
"It IS ImPortaNt to UPGradE
tHE CENtral tENdErS
CommIttEE aNd aUdIt
BUrEaU, aNd to rEVIEW aNd
aPPly tENdEr rUlES aNd
rEGUlatIoNS a CCUratEly."
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Qatar today a u g u s t 2 0 1 150
SEllING BraNd Q I CoVEr Story
ow can local companies compete bet-
ter with regional and internationalplayers?
Bassam:Khalia and I have discussed this
so many times. We believe that i you want
to compete with international rms you
need to set standards. This means that the
global standards set today are not the ones
that Qatar ollows, but that Qatar creates its
own standards that the world ollows. Its
about exporting instead o importing.
Khalifa: I agree with Bassam, we denitely
need to get into the business mentality o
wanting to export Qatari brands rather than
ocus on opening up ranchises. I think this
question depends on the company trying
to determine whether it wants to be the
best in Qatar or the best in the world.
There are many challenges:
Companies do not seem to want to em-
ploy local talent or the services o local
businesses because o the belie that a
oreign company means higher quality.
Right now there isnt that much compe-
tition in the market, or local compa-
nies to be able to improve and compete
on a global scale; they need to improvethe quality o their services and nothing
does that better than good old ashioned
competition.
Owning a niche or segment is also a key
actor. People try to do too much. I you
want to succeed pick a product or serv-
ice and work hard at becoming the best
there is. Spreading yoursel too thin
(and its easy to get distracted with so
much potential here in Qatar) is your
ast track to being JUST another anony-
mous company.
h
desPerATeLY
seeking:AngeLs,guideBooksAndfLexiBiLiTY.
kHalIFa SalEH HarooN aNd BaSSam al-IBraHIm arE tHE Co-FoUNdErS
oF IloVEQatar.NEt, aNd tHE CloSESt tHING Qatar HaS to SErI al
ENtrEPrENEUrS. tHEy draW From tHEIr ExPErIENCES to dISCUSS
ISSUES FaCING ENtrEPrENEUrS, oFFEr INSIGHtS oN WHy BraNd Q IS
oFtEN a Hard SEll , aNd CoNSIdEr HoW BESt to CHaNGE tHat.
bassam al-ibRahim
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a u g u s t 2 0 1 1 Qatar today 51
CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
Why are local corporations reluctant to
use local services and products?
Bassam: The local market is a vast one,
and in recent years the economy has really
stepped up its game to provide the service
and product requirements needed to realise
Qatars National Vision. Unortunately the
quality o these services and products can-not meet the standards required by these
corporations. The labour or white collar
workers placed in these businesses do not
provide the SME quality required to ensure
a Grade A project delivery.
Khalifa: Its hard to get people to start
searching locally. Its one o those Catch-
22 situations. Local companies need to be
given the opportunity to grow and improve,
and those that are hiring want the best rom
Day 1.
Another reason is that many people in
the past would simply go ahead and set up a
company, bring in the cheapest labour/em-ployees they could nd, and the corollary o
this was usually an extremely low quality o
service. People have been burned too many
times.
When I look at the new generation o
start-ups and growing SMEs, Im very im-
pressed with how they apply themselves.
In this situation, how can home-grown
industries make their mark and com-
pete with y by night consultants rom
outside?
Khalifa:There are a number o dierentways; the government could intervene and
try to orce the market to look locally. Thatd
probably help but it might make the local
market lazy and uncompetitive. Either way,
I think when it comes to companies that try
to get a slice o the pie or a quick buck and
run o, its something that the government
has to solve. Otherwise itll demotivate the
local market.
The groundwork or nurturing talent is
being laid through Education City and
other such initiatives. Yet buying local is
seen as inra dig?Khalifa: You made me whip out the diction-
ary there. Inra dig, meaning beneath ones
sel. Hmm, I dont think I would go as ar as
saying that buying locally isnt seen as be-
ing valuable, I just think that the ramework
isnt completely there yet. Ill use an exam-
ple. Take a simple game o connect the dots,
draw the lines rom 1-10 and you get an im-
age. Sadly were missing a ew numbers, so
nobody can really see the big picture.
The younger generation now have the
education needed to start thinking outside
the box to create a new company. But the
requirements rom the Ministry o Business
and Trade (MoBT) are quite strict or start-
ups. I they do manage to tick all the require-
ments, where are they going to rent? Will
it be easy to get the licences they require?
Where are the angel investors and venture
capitalists to invest in great ideas? I theytake a loan rom the bank then theyre stuck
with a strangling interest rate. Its just not
really business-riendly or start-ups and
SMEs.
Bassam: That situation is simply based as o
today. Education city will educate and create
a culture based on learning and knowledge-
sharing so that Qatar can be a knowledge-
based economy. These concepts will create
the new generation o Qataris who will cre-
ate products or services that other young Qa-
taris will thrive on.
These businesses will create high qual-
ity products; young entrepreneurs in Qatarare taking things to a new level. I personally
know o a young Qatari who wants to cre-
ate handbags rom material purchased rom
Italy and London to eventually create a de-
signer handbag collection based out o Qa-
tar. The process has already begun based on
the act that we wish to create a new image
o quality products made by Qataris or the
Qatari market.
It truly is an uphill task or an entrepre-
neur. Despite that, how do we get inter-
ested people to take the leap and becomeentrepreneurs? What can be done at pol-
icy level, and at an educational level?
Bassam: This is something we both discuss
regularly. Firstly entrepreneurs need to be-
lieve in themselves and not quit when the
going gets tough. They need to believe in
their idea and stick with it, as we have.
The policy makers need to ease the proc-
ess o creating a business entity. To create
a WLL in Qatar you need start-up capital
o QR200,000, which does not even include
the unds required to create the business or
the additional unds to rent a location. So to
start your business you would need a mini-mum o QR400,000, which most aspiring
young entrepreneurs simply dont have. Ad-
ditionally most banks wont provide unding
since you need some orm o collateral such
as more unds or real estate - just one barrier
ater another. These busy minds may have an
amazing idea but dont know where to start
when creating a business plan or how to sell
their business once its up and running.
Educating these entrepreneurs in the
ways o business etiquette is so important
to ensure theyre comortable with interna- Khalifa saleh haRoon
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Qatar today a u g u s t 2 0 1 152
SEllING BraNd Q I CoVEr Story
tional business standards to drive Qatars
economy orward.
Khalifa:Well, its all about taking the plunge
and just giving it a go. Did you know that on
average in the Middle East 70% o people
with great ideas have ull-time jobs and work
while trying to set up their business? Theyregiving it a go (albeit without being able to
give it their ull attention).
Even as they innovate and come up with
great ideas, we need to remind people o
RISK. Risk implies that someone has some-
thing to lose. When youre a young person
trying to get your project o the ground,
what do you really have to lose except time?
And lets be honest, your time isnt really
that valuable until youre actually achieving
something worth risking in the rst place.
At a policy level, more exibility is re-
quired to start up a business. Looking at it
rom an educational level, I believe its not just talking about theories, but presenting
success stories to give young entrepreneurs
the condence to give it a go.
Look at us. We didnt start o with much..
We decided that we were going to do every-
thing on our own, invest whatever we could
in ourselves, and just give it a go without
sweating over the small. Now were trying
to encourage and support other young guys,
especially now that Qatar is the place to be.
Once of the ground, what in your mind
is the single most disabling actor whenit comes to local companies selling them-
selves?
Bassam: A company needs to understand
that to reach the wider community you need
to show yoursel o, and since Qatar is now
(besides other ocuses) becoming a tech hub
or the Gul, these companies orget the on-
line space and just create a solution to ll a
void rather than innovate. The MoBT and
ictQatar are promoting businesses and other
requirements to be completely online-based.
So being online is not only an amazing way to
reach your target market and wider commu-
nity, it is playing a role in the 2030 vision.
Khalifa: To sell yoursel, you need to invest
in your idea, take a risk to develop it and then
sell that product to prospective clients. I
think that people arent willing to take those
risks most o the time.
I I had to look at it rom a simplistic point
o view though, I think its the cost o adver-
tising and marketing in this country. To be
honest, the cost o advertising in any medi-
um, be it in print, roadside ads or the radio, is
just ridiculously high. How can smaller com-
panies aord it and market themselves? Ac-
tually, orget small companies, I know large
corporations that cant aord it!
So should the onus o building SMEs be
on the government? Or on the private
sector?
Bassam:Both. The government should as-sist nancially and educate the private sec-
tor to ensure their growth. A mentor told me
that great leaders stand on the shoulders o
giants and not dwars and the same applies
to businesses. These business powerhouses
in Qatar should assist the SME industry to
ensure their growth and in turn the SMEs
will push the powerhouses to the next level.
Khalifa:It starts with the government. Prop-
erties need to be cheaper, requirements or
setting up a business need to be simpler, ac-
quiring licences needs to be straight orward;
there needs to be one central area to get eve-
rything done (rather than running aroundlike a headless chicken trying to gure out
what to do), and there needs to be support
rom the baladiya (Central Municipal Coun-
cil) to help reduce the cost o advertising in
the country. It boils down to transparency
at the end o the day. The problem we have
with SME growth isnt with one department
or area, its a joint eort between the Cen-
tral Bank, the need or competitively priced
commercial districts, reduced requirements
by the MoBT. The list goes on.
In closing, as a businessman, what is theone thing you wish could be done, so you
have air access to the economic pie?
Khalifa: I cant say one thing, but i I ab-
solutely had to select one, Id say we need
more angels, venture capital (VC) unds,
and reduced business start-up rates rom
the banks.
I I could slip in one other thing that we
wished or when we rst started up, its a
guide or road map. Its great hearing theo-
ries and listening to inspirational speakers,
but the question I believe 99% o entrepre-
neurs have is, Whats the road-map? or
what do I need to do to get started? Maybea beginners guide to setting up a business
in Qatar? Where to go, who to speak to,
what to do?
Bassam: More assistance in capital to en-
sure the growth o SMEs in the orm o VCs
and angel investors. This will allow great
minds to launch their great ideas and en-
large the economic pie to ensure more op-
portunities or more entrepreneurs
interViewed By Vani SaraSwathi
BassaM aL-iBrahiM
is an engineering graduate FroM
the uk, MaJoring in teLecoMs. he is
currentLy with VodaFone qatar,
and is actiVeLy inVoLVed in Various
sustainaBiLity PrograMMes in the
country.
khaLiFa saLeh haroon
is a Law graduate FroM the uk and
is currentLy with VodaFone qatar.
he is aLso the Founder oF haroon
united grouP. he recentLy won
the entrePreneur oF the year For
2011 and is working on a nuMBer
oF unique ProJects, ForeMost
oF which is iLq, with the aiM oF
encouraging start-uPs and to
sPruce uP the qatar Brand.
iLoVeqatar.net was an initiatiVestarted By the two in order to
change the way PeoPLe run Busi-
nesses in qatar and to ProMote
a new way oF thinking through
encouraging a deeP PartnershiP
ModeL.
other ProJects in the PiPeLine
incLude iLq radio, creatiVe Minds,
and identity qatar, a Joint Ven-
ture PartnershiP with PJ Media,
Founded By FaMous BBc star Peter
Jones.
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a u g u s t 2 0 1 1 Qatar today 53
CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
greATerconsumerAWArenessreQuired
raSHEd NaSSEr SraIya al-kaaBI, CHaIrmaN oF tHE INdUStry CommIttEE
aNd Board mEmBEr oF tHE Qatar CHamBEr oF CommErCE aNd INdU Stry
(QCCI), talkS aBoUt tHE Poor SalES PErFormaNCE oF QatarI ProdUCtS,tHE oBStaClES to tHE dEVEloPmENt oF loCal INdUStry, aNd tHE rElUC-
taNCE oF loCal ComPaNIES to lEVEraGE loCal ProdUCtS.
hat is QCCI doing to enable the private
sector to sell its services and products
better?
Were delighted with the launch in January
o the Export Development Agency, known
as Tasdeer, which is dedicated to support-
ing, encouraging and stimulating Qatari ex-
ports o various products and commodities.
It will serve to boost sales o Qatari-made
goods and help Qatari industries establish a
strong presence in world markets, thus bol-stering the local private sector. The agency
will help local companies in all sectors o
activity to create strong enterprises oering
high quality products capable o compet-
ing abroad. The government is taking great
pains to tackle any obstacles or barriers to
the export o Qatari goods, and we would
likewise urge local consumers to buy Qa-
tari products, as this is what will help local
businesses to compete with others. Theres
also the matter o setting up industrial ar-
eas with low interest rates, including one
or ood processing enterprises. All these
things will help to bring about a competitive
local industry.
Whats the main reason people are un-
enthusiastic about Qatari products, and
how can this change?There are a number o things hampering
the appeal o Qatari products in the mar-
ketplace, perhaps the main one being that
some o these goods ail to meet the re-
quired specications or measure up to the
standards o their oreign rivals. Also, some
o our industries ace extra charges, in addi-
tion to the customs duties on exports, which
increase their production costs and thus
lower their sales potential.
As or helping them, the government has
to clamp down on the producers o counter-
eit goods, and punish traders who manipu-
late prices. Secondly, the Consumer Protec-tion Department has to do more to promote
local products so that people become amil-
iar with them, because a lot o it is down to
consumer awareness and patterns o con-
sumption. So they need to run publicity and
advertising campaigns or a whole group o
products to get people amiliar with them.
The government has to support local pro-
ducers, both ood manuacturers and oth-
ers, by means o a support und to subsidise
local industry so that consumers can access
quality products at the best possible price.
W
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Qatar today a u g u s t 2 0 1 154
SEllING BraNd Q I CoVEr Story
Whe knowledge economy represents a para-
digm shit in our ability to guarantee the
uture prosperity and legacy o nations and
peoples. Creating intellectual capital is the
main orm o wealth creation today, account-
ing or 7.3% o GDP in the UK, or example.
In essence this means that o the fve capi-
tals - human, social, fnancial, economic and
intellectual - it is intellectual capital that is
going to provide the opportunity or successand longevity. Its a renewable asset!
Intellectual capital (IC) provides the roots
to nourish and cultivate the uture wellbeing
o nations and organisations. At the corporate
level, intangible investments (intellectual
capital) e.g. reputation and brand manage-
ment, innovation, knowledge creation and in-
cubation, marketing and advertising spend,
are now unanimously considered the most
important determinants o perormance and
competitive advantage. At the macroeconom-
ic level, new growth theories have already
T
inVesT inQATAr. forALL our
fuTuresaNtHoNy rymaN JoINS tHE BUy Qatar dISCUSSIoNS, aNdSPEakS oF tHE rolE loCal CrEatIVE aGENCIES Ca N Play IN
ENHaNCING tHE loCal ECoNomy.
Whats the biggest constraint on the
sales o local products?
Right now the obstacles we ace are in the
process o being eliminated. The QCCIs th
annual consultative meeting with HE the
Prime Minister resulted in a reduction in
interest rates on industrial loans to a maxi-
mum o roughly 3%, and then there was thesetting up o the Export Development Agen-
cy, Tasdeer. So there are very ew remaining
problems, and all we need now is to come up
with some quality local products that con-
orm to hygiene regulations.
Tasdeer is meant to secure its objectives o
helping local industry boosting its export ca-
pacity in a clear and open manner, which will
necessitate bringing representatives rom the
private sector into the agencys management
structure.
At present Qatari products suer rom
weak sales even in the local market, let alone
overseas markets, so Tasdeer should work
rst on marketing Qatari products at home
beore promoting them abroad. And even
beore that, it has to help entrepreneurs de-velop Qatari products to become competitive
in export markets.
Similarly, the Export Development Agency
should maintain a permanent exhibition o
all domestic products so that it stays ully up-
to-date with what Qatari enterprises have to
oer, which will help with their promotion
and development
interViewed By Ezdhar iBrahiM
tHE CoNSUmEr ProtECtIoN dEPart-
mENt HaS to do morE to PromotE
loCal ProdUCtS So tHat PEoPlE
BEComE FamIlIar WItH tHEm,
BECaUSE a lot oF It IS doWN to
CoNSUmEr aWarENESS aNd
PattErNS oF CoNSUmPtIoN
rashed Nasser sraiYa al-Kaabi,
chairMan oF the industry coMMittee and
Board MeMBer oF the qatar chaMBer oF
coMMerce and industry (qcci),
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a u g u s t 2 0 1 1 Qatar today 55
CoVEr Story I SEllING BraNd Q
demonstrated the importance o knowledge
in the perormance o nations.
(Source: The World Bank)
Today, knowledge management is the
currency or trade and growth, and this re-
quires a new kind o creativity, approach
and critical thinking. This means there has
to be a sea change rom a trading and price-
sensitive mentality towards a value-based
mindset that promotes the wealth-creating
potential o people, ocusing especially on
their ideas.
In other words, ocus on value rather thanprice, and people rather than product.
Historically, higher levels o intellectual
capital have been associated with higher
standards o living. However, the power o
knowledge and ideation are not oten as-
sociated with the long-term prosperity o a
nation. This disparity highlights the need to
value intellectual capital and place it at the
centre o a nations value system.
It is people and their ideas that orm the
potential or countries and companies to
prosper.
Systems and processes can capture this
knowledge and provide the storage systemsto enable urther research and development.
This creates a eedback loop to urther de-
velop human capital, thus leading to more
marketable intellectual wealth resulting in
higher nancial well being.
I Qatar and Qatari companies can em-
brace intangible investments (Intellectual
capital) and put them at the centre o their
business environment, they can leaprog
older, more entrenched economies.
The enlightened leadership o Qatar has
set out its vision in the QNV 2030. This ena-
bles investment in intellectual capital (crea-
tivity), education and entrepreneurialism
(human capital) as central to the nations
uture.
Its time to invest in Qatars creativity
to promote inward investment, not just in
companies, systems and processes, but the
intellectual capital that goes with it.
Its time to protect intellectual copyright
in the orm o ideas and designs that sae-
guard the inspiration and capital creation o
the ideas and their owners.
Its time to invest in legacy, knowledgetranser, training and being part o the con-
versation.
Fostering creativity
There is no doubt that the green shoots o
creativity are being nurtured and ostered,
rom QSTP (Qatar Science & Technology
Park) to QMA (Qatar Museums Authority)
and rom Enterprise Qatar to the DFI (Doha
Film Institute). The prolieration o world-
class universities and the rise o gradu-
ates seeking to make their mark and nd
the right livelihood in Qatar mean creative
economy is growing.Creative agencies, whether in advertising,
events, PR or brand communications, pro-
vide the energy and environment to create
and oster the brand reputations o Qatari
companies, creating a unique tone o voice,
look and eel, and brand story to communi-
cate within Qatar and globally.
This will create a virtuous circle, rstly in
attracting global talent - i youve got a pow-
erul dierentiator, youll attract top people.
This talent will create the added value to
support and grow your business. Your brand
IN tHE INtaNGIBlE World oF CrE-
atIVIty aNd INtEllECtUal CaPItal,
It IS Hard to EValUatE CrEatIV-
Ity IN tECHNICal tErmS tHIS
CoUPlEd WItH tHE PrICE FaCtor
HaVE lEd ComPaNIES to PUrCHaSE
SUB-StaNdard tHINkING aNd
CrEatIVIty or ImPort ExPENSIVE
IdEaS From aBroad tHat HaVE Not
NECESSarIly rESoNatEd WItH tHEloCal PoPUlatIoN.
8/6/2019 Selling Brand Q
15/15
SEllING BraNd Q I CoVEr Story
with its inherent value becomes the acilita-
tor to lower costs and increase margins.
However, there is an inherent blockage in
the system. The growth o the economy to
date has been primarily ocused on the tan-
gible world o hydrocarbons, to process and
distribute oil and gas. In this world, once
technical competencies have been evalu-ated, price became the determinant actor.
In the intangible world o creativity and
intellectual capital, it is hard to evaluate
creativity in technical terms - this coupled
with the price actor has led companies to
purchase sub-standard thinking and crea-
tivity or import expensive ideas rom abroad
that have not necessarily resonated with the
local population.
There is the undamental DNA or soul
story to the country and its people that is
orever changing and growing. Its hard to
quantiy, but its very real. On one side, you
have heritage and tradition used with reli-gion and amily as the primary motivators.
On the other you have youth, vitality, and
enormous ambition brimming with ideas,
hopes and dreams.
It is this usion o let and right that is
orming and developing in Qatar.
We need to help this process along a little
bit by promoting a Buy Qatar campaign to
really ocus everyones attention on invest-
ing in this nations inherent creativity.
Take our agency. I you invest in Buy Qa-
tar trust us with your business we can
invest in bigger and better. Yes, well importpeople with real and measurable award win-
ning talent, but well also invest in and train
the local creative population, hiring more
designer alumni rom Virginia Common-
wealth University, and maybe one day, they
will start their own creative businesses.
Well invest more in creating systems and
processes that help to educate and inorm
our clients, thereby raising the bar again and
again. Through global thinking and crea-
tive local design well be able to grow your
brand and your business, increasing your
market share while reducing your customer
acquisition costs.Its a sel-perpetuating cycle o constant
improvement. It acilitates better crea-
tive work and aster output, because cli-
ent trust is there, derived rom increas-
ing aptitude, knowledge, experience and
intelligence.
Creating a legacy
The knowledge economy starts thriving and
maniesting in myriad small businesses, thus
ostering the entrepreneurial instinct in the
local population, a virtuous circle.
Empowering and protecting our home-
grown creative potential has never been
more important than now. Starting this
journey by changing the rules governing the
hiring o creative agencies, promoting a Buy
Qatar quotient and incentivising local crea-
tive agencies to hire locally will engender
and oster a creative renaissance in Qatar.What would help is raising the withhold-
ing tax on international agencies working
in Doha.
What would also help is some kind o or-
mula which rewards agencies that have been
here in Qatar or a signicant period o time
and are employing designers in Qatar.
Qatari-based companies, especially the
bigger quasi-governmental organisations,
have no real incentive to commission local
design and advertising companies, especial-
ly or the larger, more prestigious accounts.
In act the opposite is true they get kudos
or working with an international agencywhere they can possibly plant the seedlings
or their uture career. Where is the legacy,
transer o knowledge, skill-set or training
or local creatives?
Where is the reinvestment o those ees
in the local economy or in the raising o
creative standards?
Moving orward, there has to be a radical
rethink o what is important or the long-
term viability and success o Qatar Inc. And
I would put it to the powers that be - invest-
ing in your country means investing more in
your people and their ideas. You engenderloyalty, goodwill, passion and progress by
nurturing local creativity. And i we need to
cross-ertilise with international creative
talent, then let them invest in ofces and set
up here, hiring locally-based designers and
committing to training and education, tak-
ing the lead example o Qatar Foundation
who have a joint venture with Fitch.
So Buy Qatar is the rallying cry. Its also
the means whereby we can ensure the long-
term sustainable uture o Qatar by invest-
ing in local creativity and talent
anthony Ryman
is a Branding exPert, and the Managing
director oF grow, a doha-Based creatiVe
agency.he has years oF Branding exPerience in
uk and MiddLe east.
I WoUld PUt It to tHE PoWErS tHat
BE INVEStING IN yoUr CoUNtry
mEaNS INVEStING morE IN yoUr
PEoPlE aNd tHEIr IdEaS. yoU EN-
GENdEr loyalty, GoodWIll,
PaSSIoN aNd ProGrESS By NUrtUr-
ING loCal CrEatIVIty. aNd IF WE
NEEd to CroSS-FErtIlISE WItH
INtErNatIoNal CrEatIVE talENt,
tHEN lEt tHEm INVESt IN oFFICESaNd SEt UP HErE, HIrING loCally-
BaSEd dESIGNErS aNd CommIttING
to traINING aNd EdUCatIoN,
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