Doha: There’s a new generation of entrepreneurs rising in Qatar, and they are looking beyond mere profit generation. These social entrepreneurs are driven to implement new applications as well as develop and fund solutions to community-based problems.
“In the last three years, we are witnessing a higher number of people who are entering the market for social entrepreneurship. We see many projects that are focusing about the challenges that the Qatari society faces. And they try to address these issues with their projects. They have their income, but they’re still trying to solve a problem in the society,” Mohammed Al Abdulghani, Entrepreneurship Department Manager at the Social Development Center (Nama Center) told The Peninsula during the website launch for Al Shomous Products recently.
During the event, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, Chairman of the Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA) highlighted that such initiatives – helping micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in their digital transformation – will help increase the number of ‘Made in Qatar’ products in the local and global markets, as well as encourage entrepreneurship.
Asked on the support provided to social entrepreneurs in the country, Sheikh Faisal told The Peninsula: “We have the Qatari Businesswomen Association (QBWA) and the Qatari Businessmen Association (QBA) which are playing their roles in encouraging entrepreneurs. In addition, all government institutions and social organisations are providing various types of support including holding conferences for the welfare of the community including young entrepreneurs”.
Al Abdulghani added that Nama Center has recently adopted a new segment providing support for social entrepreneurs and has also launched its ‘Be a Social Entrepreneur’ campaign. “It’s different than traditional entrepreneurship, in the aspect that in social entrepreneurship we are focusing on the same traditional cycle of work, but we try to focus also on the social outcome of the project. The project has to have a footprint on society. Also, to have an income, and the income here is for the purpose of sustainability, it will not be for pure profit. For this angle, we are trying to support our social entrepreneurs,” Al Abdulghani said.
To date, among the most well-known social entrepreneurs in Qatar is Wardah Mamukoya, Founder and Managing Director of Wa’hab, an award-winning SME that aims to reduce food waste in the country.
In a previous interview with The Peninsula, Mamukoya said: “We are social beings. We shouldn’t be merely looking for success. That might come along the way. But it’s really about impacting other people’s lives”.
And with Qatar promising the first ever carbon neutral FIFA World Cup this year, Mamukoya is banking on the idea that reducing food waste also reduces carbon footprint. “There’s a huge wave of sustainability awareness right now in Qatar and I think the country is ready for composting,” she added.
Also speaking to The Peninsula on the sidelines of the website launch event recently, Saba Mohammed Al Fadala, Executive Director at Nama Center reiterated the support provided to micro businesses and social entrepreneurs in Qatar.
She said: “One of our main projects now is the training with Amazon web services. We signed an MoU with them. And we are the only and the sole entity in Qatar that provides training on Amazon web services on the cloud computing. We do it for the unemployed and underemployed youth in Qatar.
“Also, there’s very big support for the micro businesses. We receive a lot of young people who want to explore and know more about social entrepreneurship. We receive lots of business ideas from the youth, catering to various sectors including, F&B, education, health and wellness, sports, lifestyle, artificial intelligence, environment, and agriculture,” Al Fadala added.