The 2^nd Entrepreneurship in Economic Development Forum kicked off to an impressive start as organisers welcomed a record number of attendees, who were instantly impressed by the highly informative speeches and interesting discussions that characterised the first day of the two-day event.

The Forum, which has been organised by Qatar University College of Business and Economics (QU-CBE), in collaboration with the Qatar Ministry of Economy and Commerce and Interactive Business Network (IBN), is being held under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al-Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce.

“The quality of the presentations and discussions on day one of the Forum clearly made the attendance of a huge number of participants truly worth their time,” said Mr. Raed Chehaib, Chief Executive Officer of IBN. “Such an impressive line-up of speakers have more than lived up to our expectations in terms of the amount and value of information sent across to participants as well as in the relevance and significance of the topics to the overall objective of positively contributing to the growth and development of entrepreneurship in Qatar and the Gulf.”

H.E. Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce – Qatar inaugurated the Forum followed by speeches for Mr. Raed Chehaib, Chief Executive Officer of IBN; Mr. Saif Al Sowaidi, Deputy President, Qatar University – Qatar; Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Khalifa, CEO, QDB – Qatar; and Mr. Wael Sawan, Managing Director & Chairman, Qatar Shell Companies – Qatar. The first keynote message was delivered by Dr. Saad Al Barrak, CEO, ILA Group – Kuwait, who talked about Entrepreneurial Culture.

An exhibition, which is happening in conjunction with the Forum, was then inaugurated after Dr. Saad’s keynote message.

After Lunch, the first panel session on ‘Developing the private sector in Qatar and other GCC countries to diversify the economic pillars’ was held, with Dr. Nitham Hindi, Dean, College of Business and Economics, Qatar University acting as moderator. Among those who provided their valuable insights during the discussions were Dr. Aisha Netto, Entrepreneur/ Consultant – KSA; Ms. Roberta Annan, CEO, Roberta Annan Consulting LLC (RAC) – USA; Ms. Aisha Al Mudehki, CEO, Qatar Business Incubation Center – Qatar; Mr. Mohamed Al Malki, Chief Planning & Business Development Officer of Manateq – Qatar; and Dr. Nader Kabbani, Director of Research and Policy, Silatech – Qatar.

This session was then followed by the second keynote message delivered by Mr. Maher Kaddoura, Social Entrepreneur, Next Move – Jordan, who touched on the subject of ‘Imagine the possibilities’, and the third keynote message from H.E. Mrs. Ewa Palano, Ambassador, Embassy of Sweden in Qatar, who discussed about Sweden’s Success Story of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The first day then proceeded to the first Success Story presentation conducted by Eng. Eric Stackpole, CEO and Co-founder of OpenROV and the first Case Study presented by Qatar Shell Companies.

The first day of the Forum ended with the second panel session on ‘Developing an entrepreneurial eco-system’ participated in by Mr. Andrea Dianselmo, President, Meta Group – Italy; Dr. Sherif Abdel Wahab, GM, National Employment Center – KSA; Mr. Tony Bury, Founder, Mowgli – UK; Mr. Tarek Sadi, Managing Director, Endeavor – Lebanon; and Ms. Yasmeen Hasan, Entrepreneurship Manager, Bedaya – Qatar.

With a main theme of ‘Fostering the New Generation of Entrepreneurs in Qatar and the Gulf’, the event is being conducted at the Sheraton Doha Resort and Convention Hotel in Qatar until 3 March 2015. It aims to emphasise on the importance of developing the private sector and SMEs, investing in an entrepreneurial eco-system and human capital, as well as creating a knowledge economy in order to support economic development and prosperity in line with the goals expressed in Qatar’s National Vision 2030 Plan.

Among the event’s key sponsors and partners are Qatar Development Bank as Economic Development Supporter; Qatar Shell as Diamond Sponsor; Ahli Bank as Platinum Sponsor; Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) as Gold Sponsor; International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) and Masraf Al Rayan as Silver Sponsors; Qatar First Bank (QFB) as Bronze Sponsor; and Qatar Petrochemical Company (QAPCO) as Lanyard Sponsor. Other Supporting Partners are Qatar Chamber, Social Development Center, INJAZ Qatar, ICT and the Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Guidance (BEDAYA).

In addition, Manateq is the event’s official Economic Zones Partner; the College of North Atlantic Qatar as the Educational Partner; and the Qatar Central Bank & Qatar Financial Center Regularity Authority are the Lunch Hosts.

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