DOHA: As part of efforts to promote the SMEs sector, Qatar Development Bank (QBD) today announced the launch of a Home-based Business National Program (HBBNP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA), Social Development Centre (SDC) and Qatar Chamber.
As per the National Development Strategy 2011-16 through which the Qatari government is providing increasing support to small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as to entrepreneurs, to enhance the economic and social empowerment for the Qatari family, QDB initiated a survey research that was launched under the title ‘Home-based Business projects: Realities and Improvement Mechanisms.’ This survey was carried out in partnership with SDC and MOLSA and it took over three years of hard work done by the three partners.
The project aims to ‘recommend alternative feasible policies to improve the quality of Home Business-based projects in Qatar.’ To achieve this, a scientifically-based survey has been conducted for around 535 home business owners, the survey identified the nature of their projects, the problems they are facing and their needs. Further, 10 regional and international pilots were explored to identify the lessons learned in addition to two workshops with home business owners that discussed the primary development recommendations for the project and their feedback on these recommendations. More workshops were held with appropriate authorities to discuss the project’s outcome and their feedback on the proposed recommendations
Hamad Al Kubeisy, Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development at QDB, said: “For almost two years, we have been working closely with our partners SDC and MOLSA to empower Home Business-based projects and to overcome any potential challenges that the owners might encounter. We have reached out to Home-based business owners and identified the nature of their projects, their needs and the challenges they are encountering, this resulted in launching the Home Business-based National Program. We are also communicating with all the appropriate parties on all levels to improve all sectors that will contribute to the economic resources variation in Qatar.
Al Kubeisy added: "We are very proud to launch such a program that relies on six principles that are: equality in importance of both Home-based and commercial projects; promoting home-based businesses; preserving the nature of the economic project; respecting the privacy of the household; and sharing the responsibility to improve home-based projects."
Nora Al Hajri, Head of Productive Families Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs underscored the importance of this program, as her department aims primarily at supporting women and families in creating development projects, according to Amiri Decree 29 of the year 2014. This results to economically-enabling families and help them promote their products.
Munzer Al Dawood, Director of Projects and Investment and Deputy CEO of Social Development Center, added: “SDC has been supporting home-based businesses since 2000, as it believes in the vital role this section plays in enhancing the wellbeing of Qatari families on all levels. Working closely with this segment contributes to developing the vibrant Qatari private sector we seek. As we unify efforts with our partners; QDB and Ministry of Labour and Social affairs, we have launched this project to come up with a framework that achieves our targets and realizes the Qatar National Vision 2030."
The survey results showed the majority of home-based project owners are females (more than 95 percent). Also, that 46 percent of the owners have current jobs, 11 percent had jobs and that 43 percent didn’t have jobs at all.
The survey further showed 28 percent of these projects work in food catering preparations, 26 percent in handicrafts, 24 percent in sewing and 8 percent in business. 65 percent of them established these projects as hobbies, while 18 percent of them established these projects as a ‘source of income.’
Moreover, 55 percent of respondents highlighted their need for shops with low rentals, 29 percent expressed their need for facilitated funding and 18 percent needed support in sales and marketing. Financial funding was a problem facing the home-based business community in Qatar (42 percent), followed by 28 percent noting sales and marketing problems. Of those who were questioned that had unsuccessful projects, they claimed financial issues were the main reason for its failure followed by domestic problems, 33 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
The Peninsula
