Qatar Development Bank (QDB) today kicked-off the third edition of ‘MOUSHTARAYAT’ - the Government Procurement and Contracting Conference & Exhibition, in collaboration with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) - the strategic partner, and Qatar National Bank (QNB) – the golden sponsor. This three-day event is dedicated to providing a platform for interaction between local SMEs and the governmental bodies, in addition to strengthening cooperation between the private and public sector companies in Qatar. The event was inaugurated under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, in the presence of H.E. Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry who inaugurated the exhibition.

The conference saw the National Procurement Awards, where names of the five winning Qatari organizations were announced in recognition of their commitment to facilitating the entry of new participants into the Qatari marketplace. The winning companies included: The Ministry of Municipalities and Environment, Occidental Petroleum Qatar, Ministry of Public Health, Public Works Authority (Ashghal), Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

This year's conference will include several interactive sessions that aim to educate attendees on the procedures involved in partaking in future tender and application processes successfully. The event will provide SMEs with more than 2000 business opportunities with an estimated cumulative value worth up to QAR 6.5 billion as well as the platform to learn about existing public tenders extended by 40 big buyers, such as larger private sector companies, semi-governmental and governmental bodies.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al-Khalifa, CEO of Qatar Development Bank, said:

“By organizing the Government Procurement and Contracting Conference & Exhibition ‘Moushtarayat’ 2018 and its previous editions, QDB aims to help Qatari SMEs gain access to government, semi-government and private business opportunities. This is essentially an interactive platform for entrepreneurs, SMEs and the representatives who are offering the business opportunities to communicate. Following the unjust blockade imposed on us in Qatar, and through smaller exhibitions such as 'Buy National Product' 1, 2 and 3, QDB has been connecting the local buyers to the local market through SMEs. We are extremely pleased to see the local SMEs reaching executive potential and are becoming the main providers of products & services for large projects within the State of Qatar and the government sector in particular and major private sector companies. Our tie-up with the Ministry of Finance is a strategic partnership to activate the role of SMEs through the Procurement and Government Procurement Conference and Exhibition. We thank and appreciate the role of the Public Works Authority (Ashghal) and QNB for their contribution and sponsorship towards this important conference.”

This year’s Moushtarayat conference and exhibition is the latest in a series of integrated programs and initiatives offered by QDB to develop SMEs. To promote the private sector, QDB locally extends wide-ranging financial and non-financial support to entrepreneurs across a myriad of industries so that SMEs may achieve higher scales of competitiveness in Qatar.

The exhibition is expected to bring significant achievements for all parties, where SMEs will be able to identify the existing opportunities and open new markets through their presence. Local buyers will also benefit from gaining more knowledge and establishing better dialogue with prominent buyers and suppliers. QDB’s efforts will help enhance SMEs market positions both technically and financially by assisting to localize supply chains.

All images courtesy of QDB

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