To bolster the ability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to market their products in both existing and newly-emerging markets, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) successfully hosted a developmental workshop on organizing and managing trade fairs, January 30 – 31, at Oryx Rotana Doha. The training program, which was arranged in collaboration with Intraservice, a Netherlands-based professional training and coaching company, was attended by 95 participants. The workshop was designed to equip attendees with practicable exhibition skills so as to raise their professional capabilities to commercialize local products and services on a global scale.

Commenting on the workshop, Executive Director for Tasdeer, QDB’s export program, Hassan Khalifa al-Mansoori said: "At QDB, we are dedicated to the continuous and holistic improvement of SMEs—we strive to improve their effectiveness in all aspects of their operation. With our exhibition management workshop, we seek to raise awareness amongst local entrepreneurs about the many considerations exhibitors have to undertake during expos at an international scale. Furthermore, we seek to inform them about the many methods through which they may organize their exhibitions more expeditiously and skillfully to ensure its success and achieve their ultimate sales objectives.”

The workshop was designed to facilitate a free exchange of views and ideas between coaches and participants. It covered a number of pivotal topics, such as: “How to successfully participate in trade shows,” "Important principles of participation in exhibitions," and "How to conceptualize a winning strategy." Entrepreneurs in attendance were instructed on the mechanisms of attracting targeted visitors and ensuring a healthy footfall at their company's stand at the show. The session also included a tutorial on displaying products and services aesthetically to maximize potential buyers and sellers.

Additionally, the two-day program also included soft-skills training in interpersonal skills and customer service to help the attendees guide their respective audiences using high standards of ethics and business practices. The segment discussed building relationships with existing clientele and bidders alike so that the entrepreneurs may communicate with greater flexibility, confidence and efficiency.

The SME training workshop on exhibition management comes as a prelude to a series of upcoming global expos scheduled this year. With the support of Tasdeer, QDB’s export program, local entrepreneurs are in preparation for international exhibitions, such as: Middle East Electricity (MEE 2017), Gulfood 2017, Plast Expo 2017, the Big 5 Exhibition in addition to more than a dozen export-related events this year.

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