At least 20 entrepreneurs completed Qatar Development Bank's four-day intensive industrial training on effective strategies for establishing and managing manufacturing projects in Qatar.
QDB chief executive officer Abdul Aziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said: "At QDB, we believe that our role does not only stop at financing. Rather, we feel it is our responsibility to advise entrepreneurs at each stage of their growth by providing mentoring, intelligence, and skills needed to build and manage their businesses."
The sessions, al-Khalifa said, included a step-by-step approach for setting up "viable and competitive manufacturing businesses in the country."
He said the programme was "dedicated to Qatar's entrepreneurs to provide useful knowledge for launching industrial projects and to familiarise all the potential requirements, opportunities and the risks when launching a major industrial project."
"We are proud to host this training programme for the fourth time, as we strive to develop knowledge transfer and nurture organic growth across Qatar, while fostering entrepreneurial growth across the country in line with the 2030 vision," al-Khalifa added.
The event was held in collaboration with Social Development Centre (SDC), Gulf Organisation for Industrial Consulting (Goic), Eversheds, Enterprise Qatar, Jadwa Programme, and Qatar Business Incubation Centre.
"Prior to hosting the event, the facilitators discussed how entrepreneurs can accurately identify and assess potential business opportunities by carrying a comprehensive evaluation of their relevant industrial macro-environment," al-Khalifa said.
Also, the training helped familiarise participants with "key aspects and procedures necessary to make their proposal a success."
The programme also included selecting industrial opportunities in Qatar, legality issues, technical analysis, and selection of the technology provider and several services provided by Qatar to support entrepreneurs.
Al-Khalifa said the participants were also presented with methods of production schedule, business planning and control, materials requirement, capacity, shop floor and inventory control, product costing and pricing, feasibility studies, market constraints, and demand analysis.
The presentations included production management and product manufacturing process, plant layout, procurement of the necessary equipment and tools, plant engineering and maintenance and production programming.
The training programme focused on the model of the manufacturing process and provided practical tips for assessing the selection of technology of the total investment and production costs, financial analysis for industrial projects, developing and managing a manufacturing for small and medium size enterprises, and requisites for registration.
They were also provided with an overview of QDB's indirect loan facility - Al Dhameen, direct finance, and the Qatar Business Incubation Centre, including a joint initiative between QDB and SDC as well as the SME Toolkit as smart solutions to jump-start and grow a business venture in Qatar.
Al-Khalifa added that the training programme was concluded with the charting of schedules for mentoring and counselling sessions for all the participants.
© Gulf Times 2014
