DOHA: Khalid Abdulla Al Mana, Executive Director of Business Finance at Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and Yousef Mahmoud Al Neama, General Manager Group Corporate and Institution Banking for Qatar National Bank (QNB), signed a new Al Dhameen Programme portfolio agreement sponsored by QDB, enabling further expansion of SME financing in Qatar.
From QDB, Hamad Al Kubaisi, Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development and Jawaher Humaid Al Noaimi, Al Dhameen Manager, also attended the ceremony. From QNB, the signing ceremony was attended by Hamad Hassan Al Jamali, Acting AGM, SME, SME Banking; Wisam Matouk, Acting Head of Sales and Relationship Management, SME Banking; and Dimitros Criticos, Head of Products & External Relations, SME Banking.
The new product “Al Dhameen portfolio”, is a QR100m portfolio aimed at facilitating and speeding up approvals to guarantee the value of the funding provided by the partner bank to small and medium enterprises lacking sufficient guarantees.
Khalid Abdulla Al Mana of QDB said: “Al Dhameen is a primary programme for ensuring Qatari SMEs can overcome having a short credit history and other obstacles they face. Al Dhameen additionally serves a strategic purpose – boosting lending to sectors of great importance to the national economy including industrial manufacturing, education, health and value-added professional services. We are mainly targeting start-ups and therefore delighted to sign this agreement with QNB – a strong partner committed to developing SMEs and the wider private sector alongside Al Dhameen’s powerful network of banks across Qatar.”
Yousef Mahmoud Al Neama, General Manager Group Corporate and Institution Banking of QNB said: “We at QNB are proud to be the first bank in Qatar to join the Al Dhameen program back in 2013. Today we are proud to be the first conventional bank to sign onto Al Dhameen’s new portfolio agreement as we continue our work funding new and existing companies that want to grow their business. The rapid growth of our country and economy creates more opportunities for start-ups and enables them to meet the growing needs of the market.”
In enhancing and improving the Al Dhameen programme, QDB relied on the survey of partner banks and all concerned parties to expand the base of beneficiaries and allow the partner banks to determine the appropriate small and medium enterprises to be financed and to fund them more flexibly. Al Dhameen program continued its distinguished contribution to the enhancement and diversification of the national economy and achieved the highest rates since it was launched in 2010 as the bank agreed to provide bank guarantees estimated at more than QR573m for more than 212 small and medium enterprises. QR363m of these guarantees were cashed.
This is the second such agreement signed this month, with International Islamic (QIIB) having signed onto QDB’s new Al Dhameen portfolio one week prior.
The Peninsula
