Entrepreneurship stakeholders assess their role in economic development

In his opening speech at the forum, the Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr. Mohamed bin Saleh Al  Sada, said, “Entrepreneurship plays a very important role in Qatar and other Gulf states in activity and the role of the private sector, as well as increasing its dynamism and expanding the economic base.”

The Minister said Qatar offered a set of entrepreneurship incubators to revive and encourage projects in various domains. “Qatar has set up several business incubators which are working to support modern projects in various areas,” he said. 

In the keynote address on the second day of the forum, Dr Abdulaziz Al Horr, CEO, Qatar Finance and Business Academy, said that there are four sub-sets in the overall entrepreneurial climate in any country and elaborated that these sub-sets are the economic, political, legal and social milieus. He added, “It is essential for entrepreneurs to be thinkers, to aim to grow, operate and design expansions.” 

Dr Horr added that entrepreneurs need to think differently in order to succeed. “It is a myth that someone cannot start a business if he or she is above the age of 40.” Answering questions from the panel on whether a business plan is an absolute necessity, Dr Horr said, “This varies from case to case and I have come across entrepreneurs who have it written in their minds, and have the capacity of executing it without any difficulty.”