From left: Layla Al Dorani, CEO and founder at Raw Middle East; Khalid Aboujassoum, Executive Manager (Co-founder) at ibTECHar; Ahmed Laiali, Incubation Centre Manager at ictQatar; and Ali Al Khulaifi, Executive Director of Business Support Services at Enterprise Qatar.
DOHA: Providing education and training, talent pool, venture financing and enabling business-friendly culture and regulatory environment to Qatari entrepreneurs are the key areas that require particular attention to ensure a healthy and sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country, said experts at the ongoing ‘Global Entrepreneurship Week-Qatar’, (GEW-Q).
As part of a busy schedule of events organised for the event, Silatech hosted a panel discussion on ‘Fostering Entrepreneurship in Qatar: What’s Next?,” bringing together young entrepreneurs and leading experts to share their experiences and in sights.
Silatech, a non-government organisation (NGO) in Qatar, strives to find innovative solutions to challenging problems, working with a wide spectrum of NGOs, governments and private sector to foster sustainable and positive change for Arab youth.
Panelists included Layla Al Dorani, the Qatari-American entrepreneur and founder of Raw Middle East, Qatar’s first cold press juice and beverage company; Enterprise Qatar Executive Director Ali Khalid Al Khulaifi; Khalid Aboujassoum, 2012 “Star of Science” winner and co-founder of ibTECHar Technologies; and, Ahmed Laiali, entrepreneur and Incubation Centre Manager at ictQatar. The panel was moderated by Dr Maher Hakim, entrepreneur and Visiting Associate Professor of Information Systems at Carnegie-Mellon University-Qatar.
Dr Nader Kabbani, Silatech Director of Research and Policy, said: “Events such as this, which bring together entrepreneurs, policy makers, and organisations involved in supporting entrepreneurship, help to generate momentum for informed policies, as well as to improve coordination among the various actors involved in the Qatari entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
Silatech convened the second workshop of an informal entrepreneurship policy working group. Discussions focused on the policy implications emerging from the activities of GEW 2013, and the group will follow up on a number of initiatives designed to improve the climate for entrepreneurship in Qatar. The Peninsula
