private sector - en

it's all about numberswhat smes need to know

PATENT LAW IMPORTANCE OF CONTRACTS

INCOME TAX LAW TRAVEL AND TECHNOLOGY ACCESS TO FINANCE

REGIONAL TRADE

qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en

JUN

E 2012w

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News10 UPDATESGet to know about the latest events and happenings in Qatar that will have an impact on SMEs and large enterprises.

Business setup24 TAKING AIM AT QATAR 2022With the World Cup 2022, only a decade away, Qatar is whirlpool of activity. Wayne Merrick, Country Manager, Links Group, Qatar, brings to our notice, the opportunities for foreign companies.

Business Guru18 KNOW YOUR NUMBERS One of the basic pre-requisites of starting a business is, access to finance. Abdulla Al-Khalifa, General Manager, Corporate Banking, QNB, talks to us about the importance of securing finance and which sectors show promise

20 ADOPTING TECHNOLOGY FOR TRAVELNasser Batha, Regional Director, Markets MENA, and Wafiq Al Wahidi, General Manager, Amadeus Qatar, advise on how should SMEs adjust to the new market environment in order to benefit from the enormous potential of travel and tourism industry within the region.

Travel

Shelf Life14 PRODUCTSTake a look at the new launches that make your work life easier. It’s not like you need an excuse!

26 BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU MEASURE, YOU MIGHT GET ITElias Mazzawi, Managing Director, EMS MENA, explains to us the concept of metrics and how can we avoid misusing them.

Management

28 WHO DO YOU BELIEVE IN? It is common knowledge that businesses need a lot of input and different forms of investment to grow. Carolin Zeitler, Director, Arcata, explains to us why our business can only grow as much as we can.

Business Growth

Tax16 PAYING YOUR DUESKurian Kuriakose, Managing Partner, Sohila and Kuriakose, gives an overview of the various significant developments intro-duced by the new income tax law in Qatar.

Know your numbers!

CONTENTSJune 2012

36 PICTURE THIS!Graphic recording is the way to go, if you want to captivate your audience and get your message across, says Jenn Wicks, Instructor, School of Language Studies, College of the North Atlantic – Qatar

Technology32 KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR INFORMATION Nick O’Connell, Senior Associate, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Al Tamimi & Co. gives us an overview of the key aspects of law governing information technology in the region.

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Increase your workplace productivity

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38 NEVER GIVE UP Aparna Shivpuri Arya got talking to Christos Mastoras, Director, Business Development, MENA Yahoo! Maktoob, on what is his take on the ICT revolution and how can entrepreneurs from the region take advantage of it.

Business Advice

SMEs40 YOU ARE NOT ALONEThe government of Qatar has been working towards providing a support system to SMEs. In the first, of a two part series, Reji Cherian, Director, Investment Strategy for State Holding Group, highlights the important role of SMEs in Qatar’s economic expansion and gives an overview of the various initiatives.

50 FTAs: PROMOTING REGIONAL TRADE We bring you the highlights of the panel discussion organised by TASDEER, on the status of intra-regional trade in the GCC.

Trade

About Town54 GRAB THE OPPORTUNITYThe ninth Project Qatar was held in Doha and attracted 2,000 plus exhibitors. Private Sector was there and brings you the highlights.

46 THE CONTRACT IS YOUR FRIENDWhy talk about the legal stuff when business is all about deals and relationships? Mark Hill and Fiona Robertson, from therightslawyers, have some thoughts on that matter that they wanted to share with us.

Legal44 ENFORCING YOUR RIGHTSEmma Higham, Senior Associate, Clyde &Co, explains to us the status of the Patent Law in Qatar.

Marketing52 RELATIONSHIP RULES Public relations professionals need the media to get their message out to their clients and target customers. To do this effectively, it’s essential to build mutual respect, says Sawsan Ghanem, Managing Director, Active Public Relations.

Time sure does fly – we are already half way through the year and we still have so much left to share with you. And not to forget, we are just a decade away from the World Cup 2022!

We want to keep our readers engaged and cover every possible issue that might be of interest, so we thought it might be a good idea to expand our team. As I mentioned in the previous issue, we have two new additions to our editorial team. So please put your hands together for Tamara Pupic and Huda Kamal. Both

of them have been hard at work to put together an issue that informs you on all aspects of doing business in Qatar.

As the temperature soars, so does the tempo of the activities in the country and in the June issue, we get talking to some of the country’s business gurus, who are very successful and knowledgeable individuals in their respective fields, to pick their brain on what entrepreneurs and startups should and should not focus on. One advice stood out – Never be afraid of taking risks! So don’t miss the interviews of Christos Mastoras from Yahoo! Middle East and Abdulla Al-Khalifa from the Qatar National Bank.

In the last few weeks we were also privy to a number of events, such as Project Qatar and the Arabian Travel Market and we got some interesting inputs from the people we met there. Turn the pages to read some interesting technological developments in the travel industry.

And the list doesn’t end here, as we bring forth some attention-grabbing articles on business opportunities because of the World Cup 2022, the implications of the new income tax law and the advantages of graphic recording as a mode of presentation.

So please grab your copy of this issue and sit back and enjoy the read.

Till then...

EDITORIAL

Follow the buzz

Aparna Shivpuri Arya, Senior Editor (English), Private Sector Qatar

Talk to us:E-mail: [email protected] Twitter: @PrivateSectorQA Facebook: www.facebook.com/PrivateSectorQatarLinkedIn group: Private Sector Qatar

PublisherDominic De Sousa

Group COONadeem Hood

Managing DirectorRichard Judd

[email protected] +971 4 440 9126

EDITORIAL

Senior EditorAparna Shivpuri Arya

[email protected] +971 440 9133

Assistant Editor - EnglishTamara Pupic


Assistant Editor - ArabicHuda Kamal


Contributing EditorsMike Byrne


ADVERTISING

Commercial DirectorChris Stevenson


Advertising Sales ManagerZaid Abdel Hadi


CIRCULATION

Database and Circulation ManagerRajeesh M


OPERATIONS AND DESIGN

Operations DirectorJames Rawlins


Production ManagerJames P Tharian


Art DirectorKamil Roxas


Head of DesignFahed Sabbagh


PhotographerCris Mejorada


DIGITAL SERVICESwww.smeadvisor.com

Digital Services ManagerTristan Troy Maagma

Web DevelopersJerus King Bation

Erik BrionesJefferson de Joya

Louie Alma


Published by

1013 Centre Road, New Castle County,Wilmington, Delaware, USA

Branch OfficePO Box 13700

Dubai, UAE

Tel: +971 4 440 9100Fax: +971 4 447 2409

Printed byAl Warq Printing Press, Qatar

Distributed byDar Al Sharq Distribution

© Copyright 2012 CPIAll rights reserved

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this

magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en

QDB BriDgeD the gap to starting my own Business through aL Dhameen.

Do you have a promising business or new business idea? But do you also have trouble finding the funding that you need? Ask us about Al Dhameen Indirect Lending Program from QDB. We will guarantee up to 85% of your business loan*, leaving you free to focus on developing your business. Click on www.qdb.qa or visit one of our partners listed below.

* Guarantees of up to 85% are for new businesses. Exiting businesses can get guarantees of up to 75%. Terms and Conditions apply.

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For more information, please visit www.privatesectorqatar.com/en

Abdulaziz N. Al-Khalifa

Mr. Al-Khalifa is the Executive Director, Strategic Planning and Control at Qatar Development Bank (QDB).

Raed Al-Emadi

Mr. Al-Emadi is the Deputy CEO, Silatech.

Bassam Salman

Mr. Salman is Executive Assistant, Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

George M. White, Ph.D.

Dr. White is Associate Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar.

Hamad Mohammed Al-Kuwari

Hamad AL-Kuwari is the Managing Director of Qatar Science & Technology Park.

Ms. Amal Al-Mannai

Ms. Al-Mannai is the Executive Director of the Social Development Center (SDC).

Hamad Al Abdan Al-Marri

Eng. Hamad Mohamed Al Abdan is the Chief Business Operation Officer at Enterprise Qatar.

Professor Nitham M. Hindi

Professor Nitham M. Hindi, is the Dean of College of Business and Economics at the Qatar University.

Gail Gosse

Gail Gosse, is the Dean of the School of Business at College of North Atlantic-Qatar.

AdviSory BoArd

The new silk route

QAMC and Barclays come together

The first IHT Global Conversation, to kick off the 125th anniversary of the International Herald Tribune (IHT), presented compelling viewpoints on the post Arab Spring world, with the panelists discussing the region’s current developmental challenges, the role of the US and Asia, and the significance of the Middle East on the “New Silk Road.”

Thomas Friedman, Foreign Affairs Correspondent of the New York Times, who delivered the keynote address, highlighted the challenges in today’s hyper-connected world, reminding audiences that the age of

“average is officially over.” To be competitive in the new world order, one has to “think like an immigrant, create like an artisan, work like a startup and provide service like a waitress, and continuously create a unique value add”.

On the conference’s key topic, “The Middle East’s Role on the New Silk Road”, Friedman observed that the region is witnessing the end of a 100-year-old order and the lid has been thrown open for the winds of change, reminding policy-makers and governments on the need to enable the region’s youth to realise their full potential.

Tarik Yousef, CEO of Silatech, Qatar, Nader Mousavizadeh, CEO of Oxford Analytica, and Masood Ahmed, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia in the International Monetary Fund (IMF), joined Friedman in the panel discussion, moderated by Serge Schmemann, Editor of the IHT editorial page.

Introducing the topic, Serge Schmemann said, “There is no question that Asia and the Middle East are facing critical political and social challenges. But that makes it all the more important to discuss the “New Silk Road” because the shift of economic power from West to East is inexorable. The huge economic opportunities opening along the arc from China to the Middle East and beyond to Africa and South America will require enlightened and creative leadership, and it is important to start talking now about what this means in concrete terms.”

The IHT Global Conversation will progress on to Hong Kong on 15th June 2012, where it will address the topic “Can Asia Manage an Asian Century,” and Paris, on 4th October 2012, to discuss “Restoring European Competitiveness on the World Stage.”

The Qatar Asset Management Company (QAMC), a collaboration between the Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFC Authority) and the Qatar Investment Authority, and Barclays Natural Resource Investments (BNRI), a division of Barclays Bank PLC, announced the formation of a strategic partnership. BNRI is a global private equity business focussed on natural resource investment opportunities.

Under the partnership terms agreed, QAMC will co-invest USD 250 million in BNRI’s current and future portfolio companies, of which a substantial proportion will be allocated to BNRI’s existing USD 2.1 billion portfolio of companies. BNRI will continue to source, execute, manage and exit private equity transactions in the natural resources sectors on a global basis and co-investors will be invited

to participate immediately upon completion of each transaction.

The BNRI office in the region will be located within the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC). BNRI employees, including senior members of the BNRI team, will work on the ground in Doha. BNRI will also add local as well as international talent as its growth strategy unfolds.

NEWS

Thomas Friedman highlights challenges at first IHT Global Conversation in Dubai

10 JuNE 2012

QDB and IFC workshop: Scaling up SME Banking Business

Following QDB’s successful launch of the SME toolkit in collaboration with the IFC (International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank Group), QDB and IFC continued their collaboration through a three day training workshop from 14th to 16th May 2012 for all banks and financial institutions in Qatar, to assess the potential benefits of targeting the SME sector and help them to build and expand their SME business offerings. This programme provided an overview of the best practices in SME banking from around the world, and methods for adapting these practices to the local market conditions.

This training programme was part of the QDB’s broader strategy to build to overall private sector ecosystem of Qatar. QDB sees the commercial banks and financial institutions operating in Qatar as integral partners to its efforts and commitment to achieve the QNV 2030.

NEWS

“As part of our commitments to promote sustainable private sector development in Qatar, we are very pleased of QDB’s collaboration with IFC’s Bank Advisory Services department to strengthen the capacities of other banks and financial institutions in Qatar for SME financing”, said Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, Executive Director, Strategic Planning and Control at Qatar Development Bank.

Mr. Mansoor Bin Ibrahim Al- Mahmoud, CEO, QDB, congratulated all the participants for completing the training programme and said that he was delighted to see the workshop was attended by the IFC staff and number of other financial institutions from different parts of the world such as the USA, Egypt, Pakistan, India and Turkey.

He appreciated all the trainers from IFC who have provided their valuable time and inputs to make this program successful especially:• Mr. Xavier Reille ( Manager, Access to

Finance, Advisory Services MENA Region)• Mr. Kaiser Naseem ( Manger Bank Advisory

Services MENA Region)• Andrew McCartney ( Senior SME Banking

Specialist) Trainer• Qamar Saleem ( Senior SME Banking

Specialist) Trainer

The training programme was especially tailored to address the needs of SME banking to meet the growing challenges of the private sector. It will also form a pillar in building the capacities and capabilities of the participants to assess the potential benefits of targeting the SME sector and help them to build and expand their SME business offerings.

“Our experience working with financial institutions globally shows that when the right systems are in place in an institution targeting SMEs can be profitable, as risks can be mitigated. IFC believes that SME banking is a huge opportunity for banks to tap,” said Kaiser Naseem, IFC’s Head of MENA Banking Advisory Services.

Mansoor Bin Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud , CEO, QDB, presents certificates to the participants

Mansoor Bin Ibrahim Al-Mahmoud , CEO, QDB, speaks at the workshop

11JuNE 2012

Save the date!date Event Location2 June "HYA" Abaya Exhibition June 2012 Doha Exhibition Center

3 - 7 June World Stadium Congress Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Center

10 - 13 June 2nd Annual underground Infrastructure and Deep Foundations Oryx Rotana Hotel

1 - 10 July Doha Trade Fair 2012 Doha Exhibition Center

2 - 3 August Strategies, Governance & Social Research Conference Mövenpick Doha Tower

5 - 8 September Made in uSA 2012 Doha

15 - 19 September "HYA" Abaya Exhibition September 2012 Doha Exhibition Center

18 - 19 September Capital Markets Conference Qatar Central bank

18 - 19 September MEED Qatar Banking Summit 2012 Doha

23 - 26 September HR Congress Qatar Oryx Rotana Hotel

24 - 25 September Building Information Modeling Summit Doha

25 September Doha Furniture and Decoration Exhibition - INFDEX 2012 Doha Exhibitions Center

26 - 29 September World LP Gas Forum Sheraton Doha Resort & Convention Center

30 September - 04 October Investment Management Forum Doha

NEWS

JuNE-SEpTEMBEr 2012

UNCTAD XIII concludes on a positive note

Hamad bin Abdulaziz bin Ali Al-Kuwari, UNCTAD XIII President and Qatar’s Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage, said, “UNCTAD’s message of reform is a contemporary one that recognises the changes that have taken place in the global

economy in the last ten years. A new generation of policies and reforms in trade, finance, investment and technology will be needed in this next phase of post-crisis globalisation.”The President will continue in the post for the next four years.

At the closing of the quadrennial conference, he also said that consensus texts adopted here have the organisation well-positioned to face contemporary challenges and to continue traditional work that remains relevant and effective.

12 JuNE 2012

SHELF LIFE

A new systemThe eagerly awaited update to

BlackBerry 7 is here! BlackBerry Bold 9900,

BlackBerry Torch 9810, BlackBerry Torch

9860, BlackBerry Curve 9360, BlackBerry

Curve 9380 and Porsche Design P’9881

SmartPhone from BlackBerry owners

can now upgrade to an exciting new

experience with the BlackBerry 7.1 OS!

With the update comes a host of

new features to make your BlackBerry

SmartPhone experience that much

better. Be on the lookout for, enhanced

BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) integration

that makes communicating easier.

BlackBerry Tag helps to easily invite BBM

contacts, exchange information and more

using NFC. And unique to BlackBerry

Curve 9360 or BlackBerry Curve 9380

users, is a new app that allows them to

tune in and enjoy local FM radio stations

without needing a data plan or use data

services. The update also brings fun and

engaging ways to communicate via an

updated BlackBerry Messenger (BBM)

app, which brings with it new emoticons,

animated avatars and the ability to

customise chat bubble colours!

Nokia announced the availability of Office Mobile apps from Microsoft – including Word mobile, PowerPoint mobile and Excel mobile – via a software update for the new Nokia Belle range consisting of the Nokia 701, Nokia 700 and Nokia 603. The update is also available for Nokia E7, Nokia X7, Nokia C7, Nokia Oro, and Nokia C6-01.

Office Mobile completes the suite of Microsoft productivity applications for Symbian SmartPhones with Nokia Belle, including OneNote mobile, Document connection, Lync 2010 mobile and PowerPoint broadcast.

Business users using SmartPhones with Nokia Belle range, can also enjoy the latest Nokia applications like Nokia Drive and Nokia Maps that feature free turn-by-turn voice guided walk and drive navigation in more than 100 countries, maps for more than 190 countries and live traffic in 26 countries maps.

Increase your workplace

productivity

Throwing light on the issue

Acer Inc has revealed its LED-laser

hybrid K520. This projector uses unique

hybrid LED-laser light-source technology

to achieve vibrant imagery with long-

lasting 2000 lumens brightness.

The hybrid LED-laser light source

significantly improves colour brightness

when compared to high-pressure

mercury lamps, and also increases the

light source up to 20,000 hours. In

addition, this innovative technology

enables a wider colour gamut to deliver

better colour saturation.

Utilisation is easy for business meetings

or classroom situations because instant

on/off capability lets the user turn the

projector on and off immediately, without

an ignition and a cool-down period. Users

can even project on uneven surfaces

thanks to 40 vertical keystone corrections.

The K520 is equipped with Acer

EcoProjection, an environment-friendly

power management suite. It features

ExtremeECO mode for advanced

lamp power control and reduced

power consumption of up to 90%.

AcerEcoProjection also includes Acer

ePower Management for customised

power-saving configurations.

14 JuNE 2012

SHELF LIFE

The “chic” notebook

The green printer

Sony’s new VAIO E14 Series, a 14-inch

notebook with stylish new “wrap design” and

long battery life, is set to be rolled out across

the region.

The laptop is equipped with third generation

Intel Core i5 and i7 CPU with AMD Radeon HD

7670M discrete GPU (VRAM: 1GB).

Available in five refreshing colours, including

white, black, pink, silver or gun metallic, its design

is accented by complementary colour flourishes

around the notebook’s edge, touchpad and

keyboard. The device also comes with a premium

diamond-cut finish VAIO logo on the lid and a

personalisation kit comprising matching mouse

and keyboard skin.

The battery life of over five hours is enhanced

by the discreet GPUs that automatically switch off

to boost battery life when less graphic-intensive

tasks are being performed. The efficient VAIO

Display, energy-saving processors, and the on-

board optical drive that shuts down to zero power

consumption when on stand-by or sleep mode

further stretch the battery’s endurance capacity.

Featuring the new “Rapid Wake + Eco”

energy-saving mode, VAIO goes into an ultra-low

power deep sleep, keeping all your data safe for

up to ten days. Once the PC’s lid is opened, the

laptop is up and running in seconds, with the files

exactly as they were left.

Sony’s xLOUD and Clear Phase technologies

enhance volume levels without distortion

for impressive-sounding movies and games.

Alternatively, one can switch to Dolby Home

Theatre V4 for rich, cinema-style audio. VAIO

also makes for a handy charger in the absence

of a quickly accessible AC socket. Users just need

to plug in their phones via USB, even when the

computer is switched off or in sleep mode.

To further increase the usability, VAIO E14

comes equipped with comfortably-spaced

isolation backlight keyboard for error-free late-

night typing.

Canon Middle East extended its range of

smart laser printers with the launch of the

i-SENSYS LBP6680x and i-SENSYS LBP6670dn.

The new black and white, single function

printers (SFPs) can be easily integrated within an

organisation’s print fleet.

Enhanced security features, such as secure

release, user authentication at the device and job

selection, provide controlled access to sensitive

documents and information.

The i-SENSYS LBP6680x and LBP6670dn

also bring high-level print functionality to small

workgroups and small businesses as a standalone,

desktop device.

The new SFPs enable staff to work more

productively, with print speeds of 33 pages per

minute (ppm), the ability to print double-sided

documents, and a quick and easy to navigate

five-line LCD control panel. They are also capable

of producing high-quality documents, printing at

a resolution of 1200x 1200 dpi.

Organisations will also benefit from reduced

print downtime. Efficient device management,

through eMaintenance, enables the remote

servicing of devices and the close monitoring

of consumables ensures that toner and paper

supplies never run low.

To help minimise energy consumption, both

the LBP6680x and LBP6670dn have also been

designed with the environment in mind, with an

auto shut-off feature, the option of two-sided

printing as standard and class-leading low energy

consumption levels of 1.3kWH/week.

15JuNE 2012

pAyiNG your duES

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) represent a significant majority in most economies, both

developed and developing. Role of SMEs in ensuring equitable wealth distribution and, thus, contributing to the well-being of majority of the population is well understood across the world.

With the oil and gas production reaching its capacity levels, experts predict that Qatar’s accelerated growth can only come from the non-oil sectors and that too from SMEs. Therefore, providing the right environment for this segment is an important factor in the continued and accelerated development of the country. The tax regime is one of the important factors that determine the economic environment in any country. The new income tax law, which came into effect in Qatar from 1st January 2010, has brought several changes, mostly favouring the enterprises, entrepreneurs and potential investors in Qatar.

Tax rate reduction As stated earlier, there are many changes in the new income tax law which favours businesses in Qatar, the most commendable one being reduction in the tax rate. The new law replaced the erstwhile method of tax slab system, wherein the tax payer was taxed at progressive rates

starting from 10% and going up to 35% of the net profits, by introducing a flat tax rate of 10% on net profits. As evident from the rates, the tax rate has been fixed at the minimum applicable levels compared to the old tax regime. Further, 10% tax rate is significantly low compared to most jurisdictions in the world, where business income is taxed. The lower tax rate will ensure

that there will be higher percentage of the profits remaining with the business owners as compared to the earlier tax regime. The flat rate also simplifies the computation of tax.

While this being the case, the old law had a basic exemption whereby profits up to QR 100,000 were taxed at 0%, whereas the new law does not provide any such basic exemption limit. Some may point out that the removal of such basic limit is a dampener for small businesses as compared to the old law which exempted this category from paying any tax. Further, the low tax rates need to be taken in context with the “no tax” status in some countries in the region, especially within the Gulf Cooperation Council member states.

Old vs. newYet another significant development in the new law is the introduction of the withholding tax liability for certain type of payments. Under the new law, payments for the services to non-residents which are not in connection with a permanent establishment in Qatar attract withholding tax at 5% or 7%

depending on the nature of service. Royalties and technical fees attract 5% withholding tax, whereas interest and payment for other services attract 7% withholding tax. As per the executive regulations, interests paid by a permanent establishment in Qatar to the head office or to an entity related to the head office outside Qatar are exempted from withholding tax. For a branch, the recharge of head office expenses is exempted from withholding tax. For the companies that do not have a permanent establishment in Qatar, withholding tax will be the final tax. However, they may be able to benefit from the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, if it applies to them. It may be noted that the withholding tax is applicable only on payments for services

Awareness of the advantages and shortcomings of a particular tax regime is of crucial importance for any

business entity, particularly, for SMEs. Kurian Kuriakose, Managing Partner, Sohila and Kuriakose, gives an

overview of the various significant developments introduced by the new income tax law.

TAX

The new income tax law has brought several changes, mostly favouring the enterprises, entrepreneurs and potential investors in Qatar.

16 JuNE 2012

TAX

and is not applicable for payment for goods and materials.

With the introduction of withholding tax on services, the new law exempts filing of tax returns for non-resident companies providing services in Qatar other than through a permanent establishment. Under the old law, such companies were required to maintain accounts for their Qatar operations and file returns. Under the new law, the onus has shifted to the recipient of services in Qatar to deduct withholding tax at the time of making payment for services and remit same to the Income Tax Department. The new law prescribes that the withholding tax so deducted shall be remitted to the department before the 16th of the subsequent month failing which penal provisions become applicable.

Tax registration and obtaining tax card has been made mandatory under the new law for all entities deriving a taxable income. The application for tax registration is required to be submitted within 30 days from date of commercial registration, start date of activity or day on which income started to derive, whichever is earlier. Taxpayers who fail to apply for tax card within prescribed time limit will be subject to a fine.

The introduction of the withholding tax and the tax card has been a great relief for companies, as they are no more required to produce the tax clearance certificate to obtain their final retention released. Under the old provisions, the amount retained by the contractor could be released only upon the production of a tax clearance certificate issued by the department. Under the new provisions, the amount retained may be released upon the production of a valid tax card. This change has helped to ease the cash flows for companies undertaking contracts in the Qatar.

The new law continues to apply the principles existing under the old law in respect of filing tax returns. The law prescribes individuals and legal entities practising a taxable activity in Qatar to submit a tax return within four months from the end of the accounting period. The tax payers

who satisfy any one of the following criteria need to support the tax returns with financial statements duly certified by a registered auditor:• Capital exceeding QR 100,000.00

• Total taxable income exceeding QR 100,000.00

• Headquarters situated outside Qatar

The new law makes it mandatory for entities undertaking an activity that is tax exempted, to file tax returns within the prescribed time limits. The tax returns must be supported with financial statements duly certified by a registered auditor.

With the introduction of the new law, it has been mandated that even fully Qatari owned entities satisfying the following criteria must file tax returns:• Capital of QR 2 million or more

• Annual turnover of QR 10 million or more

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA)The new law prescribes for Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) with other countries to save the businesses with cross-border operations from being taxed twice in respect of those operations (being that in the state of source and in the state of residence). Qatar has entered into a number of tax treaties already and is actively expanding its network of tax treaties to make it easier for the international investors to enter into various ventures in Qatar. While the individual DTAA will prescribe the modalities for claiming tax credit, a common procedure is to file a tax return paying the due tax in Qatar and availing credit for the tax so paid in the home country of the entity.

While some may argue that any kind of taxation will impede business activity, an underlying principle of taxation is public participation in building the country and its infrastructure. If one wants to participate in the enormous growth in infrastructure and

civic amenities in the country, one should heed calls for compliance to tax law as an essential sacrifice and duty of every resident.

The overall impression of the new income tax law is that it has made positive changes making it easier for tax compliance, which in turn has spurred growth of business, generally, and SMEs, specifically.

If one wants to participate in the enormous growth in infrastructure and civic amenities in the country, one should heed calls for compliance to tax law as an essential sacrifice and duty of every resident.

Kurian Kuriakose is the Managing Partner for Sohila and Kuriakose Chartered Accountants and Chairman of Morison Menon Chartered Accountants LLC, independent members of Morison International, a global accounting, audit and tax association. He has over 24 years of experience in auditing, taxation and Finance. He is a fellow member of ICAI (India) and a Certified Information System Auditor (USA). He holds double bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Law. He is also an MBA from Bradford University UK. His experience includes senior positions in Emirates Airlines, Air India and Budget Rent A Car. He is a member of the Board of Governors for IIA Qatar, Treasurer of IBPN Qatar and a past Chairman of ICAI Doha Chapter. Kuriakose has been assisting SMEs to setup their business in Qatar as well as supporting them through provision of quality audit, accounting and consultancy services. He can be contacted on [email protected].

About

Kurian Kuriakose

17JuNE 2012

BuSINESS GuRu

KNow your NuMBErS!

What is the vision of Qatar National

Bank (QNB)?

Our vision is clearly determined – to become a MENA icon.

Our mission includes the following:• To be the institution of choice for customers,

employees, investors and suppliers

• To be the dominant market player

• To maintain the highest credit ratings

• To have strong brand recognition and high

brand value

• To achieve sustainable profitable growth

• To enhance shareholder value

How has the banking sector changed in

the past few years? Has technology lead to

innovation?

As technology is at the heart of most successful businesses, it has a direct positive impact on the economy, especially

in emerging markets. Banking is known worldwide for predictable business practices which have had to evolve as technology improves. In line with that, banking as any other type of business relies on innovative technology to be successful. As customer

demand requires new levels of personal service at an unexpected fast rate, the level of competition in the banking industry is growing. Therefore, many banks now rely on improved technology in order to remain relatively competitive in the market.

Technology has also helped banks migrate customers from busy banking halls to alternate channels. QNB’s Cash Deposit Card for Business Banking customers recently won the award for “Best SME Card” at The Banker Middle East Product Awards 2012. QNB also offers an

electronic banking service (easy business) which allows corporate and SME clients to conduct their daily banking transactions via a secure internet portal. In addition, they directly interact with various Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems used by businesses today.

Access to finance at a start up level is quite difficult, even if a startup or an entrepreneur is ready for financial support

and does not need any additional guidance. Abdulla Al-Khalifa, General Manager – Corporate Banking, QNB, guides

startups and entrepreneurs what to do in both cases and also advises them which sectors to focus on and how.

As customer demand requires new levels of personal service at an unexpected fast rate, the level of competition in the banking industry is growing. Therefore, many banks now rely on improved technology in order to remain relatively competitive in the market.

18 JuNE 2012

BuSINESS GuRu

How does QNB help SMEs, startups and

entrepreneurs gain access to finance?

We have a dedicated SME team which manages an existing portfolio of customers. They attend to their direct and indirect borrowing needs, as and when required, and act as a “partner” in the development of their business.

Access to finance at a startup level is generally perceived as a “no go area” for banks. To challenge this perception, QNB SME has a close working relationship with Qatar Development Bank on the Al Dhameen Direct Lending Programme. This programme allows those companies who don’t have access to finance from commercial banks, facilitate their lending possibilities. In addition, those startups and entrepreneurs who are not quite ready for financial support and need further guidance are forwarded to various government initiatives and programmes that support early stage development.

For an SME looking for a loan or financial

help, what would your advice be to them?

Our advice would be two-fold depending of their needs.

If the SME is an existing, profitable business with sound financials that requires financial support for a new project or business expansion, they can call on an SME Relationship Manager based at any of our Corporate Branches, in Ain Khalid (Salwa Road), Wakra, Industrial Area (street 3) and Corporate Head Office.

If a startup or entrepreneur is looking for initial guidance on where to start, I would encourage them to visit the QDB SME toolkit website at www.qatar.smetoolkit.org/qatar/en. The

Toolkit is a Web-based online resource that supports and promotes the development and growth of private sector businesses in Qatar. Developed in association with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, the online resource provides interactive tools and educational resources as a guide to starting and growing a business.

According to you, which sectors

offer opportunities for startups and

entrepreneurs?

There are a good number of sectors that offer opportunities for new ventures, however, there are two particular sectors in Qatar which are gaining greater focus as the country grows and strives to meet its development goals in line with National Development Strategies.

Those are the following:• Education

Education is starting to become a top priority in Qatar as the larger part of the expat population are young (mid 30’s to mid 40’s) and have young children. For that reason, reasonably priced and good quality training courses and after school activity classes for young children are now in demand. Also, the middle class in Qatar is growing and more families can afford to spend for these life quality improvements.

• Healthcare Health sector is, perhaps, the business sector which will benefit most and, thus, can offer greatest opportunity to entrepreneurs. This is particularly relevant for the alternative healthcare providers like community wellness programmes, out of which acupuncturists, masseuses and yoga instructors could benefit the most.

And, as people live longer, there is going to be rising demand for home health care companies, physical therapists and others who cater to the elderly.

What advice would you give to

entrepreneurs about the financial dos and

don’ts in starting a business?

Here are a few of the general dos and don’ts which I would communicate to any potential entrepreneur.

Dos:

• Take time to research all components of your

business plan.

• Include detailed market research.

• Most importantly, know your numbers.

• Have a basic understanding of what are the financial requirements and impacts.

Don’ts:

• Don’t assume anything. Get to the bottom

of the detail.

• Don’t try and complete a plan overnight.

Take your time to ensure that all avenues are

covered.

• Financially, don’t be conservative and under estimate your expenses and costs.

There are a good number of sectors that offer opportunities for new ventures, however, there are two particular sectors in Qatar which are gaining greater focus as the country grows and strives to meet its development goals in line with National Development Strategies. Those are education and healthcare.

Abdulla Al-Khalifa joined Qatar National Bank in 1996 as an account officer in the Marketing Department where he was gradually promoted to reach his current position as General Manager - Corporate Banking. He is a US graduate from the Eastern Washington University (1995) with a Bachelor degree in Business Administration. He has attended many international courses and conferences in and outside Qatar.

About

Abdulla Mubarak Al Khalifa

19JuNE 2012

TRAVEL

AdopTiNG TEchNoLoGy for TrAvEL

Tell us more about your company and its

operations in the Middle East, in general,

and Qatar, in particular?

We are a technology company which enables

travel trade to get more efficient. We have two

wings, which are the travel agency side of our

business and the airline IT side of our business.

We distribute the airline content to the travel

agencies and we also help airlines to get more

efficient with airline IT solutions.

We are present in the MENA region and

Dubai is the hub for this region. Regionally,

we are present through 17 organisations

servicing 21 countries. We have roughly about

300 employees in the region and, thus, we

are one of dominant players in the region as

travel agencies’ support, as travel technology

provider and as transaction processor for

the travel agencies. We focus primarily on

seeing how we can bring value to the travel

agencies. Basically, our efforts are construed

to enabling them to become efficient and to

reduce their cost of operations.

We’ve been here since 1999 and we are

constantly growing. Three years back, in

2009, we signed a deal with the Arab Air

Carriers Organisation (AACO). AACO is the

organisation which consists of 18 Arab carriers,

out of which we have signed with 13. So,

in each country we have joint venture with

various airlines and, in Qatar, for example, it’s

Qatar Airways.

We started a joint venture with Qatar Airways

in 2001. In the last two years, we have become

a market leader with quite a big market share.

In that market we are, again, focused on travel

agencies and on deploying a new portfolio

of good solutions which helps them to be at

the edge of technology. This should improve

services offered to their customers. Within

that, we also help them in cutting their costs

and having a full control. Basically, it is similar

to our operations in the rest of the MENA

market. In addition, we run a lot of training

programs, so we are also focused on how to

improve efficiency of travel agencies’ staff.

It’s intended to enable them to satisfy their

customers and to be ahead of their rivals.

Technology improvements have fundamentally changed the manner of business operations within travel and

tourism industry. Tamara Pupic and Huda Kamal asked for advice from Nasser Batha, Regional Director, Markets

MENA, and Wafiq Al Wahidi, General Manager, Amadeus Qatar, on how should SMEs adjust to new market

environment in order to benefit from the enormous potential of travel and tourism industry within the region.

20 JuNE 2012

We adapt to market changes, but, more importantly, we prepare ourselves to market changes in advance. Therefore, the advice would be – do not just wait, and then react, be proactive!

TRAVEL

What technology and distribution solutions

do you provide for the benefit of travel

agents and how it can help them better

market in a region?

There are two areas. One is efficiency and

how to get them be more effective. Our role

is to engage with travel agents and solve

operational issues by building technology and

ensuring they can provide services to their

customers. That’s the role we play. For example,

we have an auxiliary service and we try to

facilitate solutions to enable the travel agency

to sell extra leg space or duty free stuff in the

aircraft. Again, that’s our role – to enable them

and support them in executing consumers’

desires. In addition, we enable them to

separate customers according to destinations

and send them packages according to

customers’ profile. We follow them, so that

they can target their customer.

The other one, which we are now

effectively working on, is a way in which

customers today engage in travel. It is

completely different than how they did

it a couple of years ago. Before, they

would call and depend on the travel

agency to tell them where to go, what is

the price and so on. Today, the consumer

has access to information and sometimes

knows even more than the travel agents.

So, the whole process of making a ticket

booking is changing from buying a booking

to shopping. Shopping process is now

supported by the social media through which

the customers’ choices are now influenced

by the choices and recommendations of their

family and friends.

For that reason, Amadeus comes up with the

solutions. For example, exchange search is our

meta search solution which allows a consumer

to search, not only based on a destination, but

just on the basis of the available budget. So, if

you have, for example, USD 200 for a two day

trip, the solution will choose the destination,

the hotel, the ticket and all you have to do is to

choose from suggested results. So, it drives not

only on a choice of an airline and destination,

but on your budget as well, and sometimes

even links it to choices of your friends in social

media. In this manner we help our travel

agencies to stay in business, since now they can

offer that service to their consumers. Otherwise,

existing social media would directly offer these

choices to their consumers.

How have you managed to respond to

these market changes and what would be

your advice for SMEs in this regard?

We adapt to market changes, but, more

importantly, we prepare ourselves to market

changes in advance. Since 2004, we have

invested EUR 2 billion in research and

development. So, in that manner, we try to

stay ahead of competition. Therefore, the

advice would be – do not just wait, and then

react, be proactive!

What sales and marketing advice would

you give to the SMEs in usual market

circumstances?

I have already mentioned one advice which is a

proactive approach.

We cooperate with large organisations,

SMEs and very small customers. Out of

them, our main advice for SMEs and small

customers would be to manage their costs

more effectively.

In line with that, we would further give

them a two-fold advice. Firstly, embrace

technology in order to achieve efficiency

and, thus, reduce costs. Secondly, focus on a

service to be offered to consumers and track

them on that basis by using the automation

capabilities of your organisation. Otherwise, it

would become very difficult.

Wafiq al Wahidi

Nasser Batha

21JuNE 2012

Firstly, embrace technology in order to achieve efficiency and, thus, reduce costs. Secondly, focus on a service to be offered to consumers and track them on that basis by using the automation capabilities of your organisation. Otherwise, it would become very difficult.

Nasser Batha was appointed as Regional Director of Markets in October 2010. Prior to that Nasser was Business Development Director for Middle-East and North Africa and joined Amadeus after 5 years at Alshamel Holding Co (CWT) in Dubai where he was Chief Operating Officer. Nasser has Masters in Business Administration and he is fluent in English, Arabic and Hindi.Wafiq Alwahidi was appointed as General Manager of Amadeus Commercial Organisation Qatar in 2007 prior to which he served at the organisation as Sales Manager for five years. In 2006, he earned the Amadeus Sales Champion Award for his achievements in propelling the market share of Amadeus Qatar to its peak. Amadeus is a transaction processor for the global and regional travel and tourism industry, providing transaction processing power and technology solutions to both travel providers and travel agencies. For more information, please visit: www.amadeus.com.

About

With the FIFA World Cup 2022, how do you

see the opportunities in this sector?

The upcoming event is huge, and will have

long-lasting impact on Qatar. Qatar Airways,

our customer, is expanding to meet increased

demand anticipated by the upcoming event. We

engage very strongly with them to create new

airport solutions through our Altéa IT Platform.

We think that with all the opportunities the

future will bring, government is focused to

turn Qatar to a capital of culture and a capital

of sport championships which has started

already with the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. Also,

great efforts are being invested to promote

education and scientific research as well, like

are the initiatives of Her Highness Sheikha

Moza bint Nasser Al Missned, Chairperson of

the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science

and Community Development.

Do you see any regional challenges which

still need to be resolved and what should

be the next focus of your company and the

entire sector?

Freedom! The manner in which the region

will manage freedom. We are watching and

preparing for the young generations. We try to

provide as much as trainings we can to have

more skilled people. Also, we try to support

airlines in their cost management, so that they

can offer more jobs.

There is going to be a lot of changes in the

region. In our view, regional governments

now understand importance of this sector for

generating government revenue.

The Arab Spring has affected the travel and

tourism industry of the Middle East. Did you

change your marketing strategy to adapt to

the new challenges and how?

In terms of our business the impact was very

minimal, because the loss was somewhere

else and the growth was somewhere else. For

example, some countries in the region benefited

enormously from what had happened and

became the biggest destinations for visitors who

would in the past go to Syria, Egypt or Lebanon.

But, the speed in which things have come back

in Egypt, Lybia, Lebanon is pretty fast. The first

two months of this year have been fantastic in

terms of regional market movements, so we are

very optimistic.

Qatar market has already grown by 12%

which is a good start. So, Arab Spring didn’t

really affect Qatar market at all.

What is your advice to entrepreneurs

interested in being a part of this sector?

We would recommend potential investors in this

sector to invest in technology, since once the

technology is developed you can only improve

further and never go back to traditional way

of doing business. In addition, investments in

technology will open business horizons for other

parts of this sector. Lastly, technology is the only

business not affected by the recession or recent

political changes.

Each one is different and there’s no general

advice. In principle, within a travel business there

is a lot of sectors like corporate, leisure and so

on, and it all depends on what they specialise

in. So, specialisation is very important, because

by being general it would be a bit difficult to

capture the audience. Once they determine their

specialisation area, we will support them with

the right solutions for that market segment.

In the last two years, there have been many

new entries to the Qatar’s travel and tourism

market since there are no restrictions for opening a

business. Due to 2022 FIFA World Cup, the sector

will have a lot of new opportunities. In addition, we

have a growing market for medical tourism.

TRAVEL

22 JuNE 2012

We would recommend potential investors in this sector to invest in technology, since once the technology is developed you can only improve further and never go back to traditional way of doing business.

While the Qatar government remains committed to

supporting and developing local enterprises, it recognises the importance of bringing in external expertise to achieve its many goals. Opportunities abound for international businesses, particularly for consultants, contractors and suppliers.

Be ready for ambitious infrastructural projects

Over the next ten years, Qatar will need to

build the USD 60 billion worth of infrastructural

projects it has committed to in its 2022 FIFA

World Cup bid documents. A big push is needed

to bring Qatar’s roads up to the standards

required for such a prestigious international

sporting event and an extensive integrated

railway network will need to be designed and

built. The country will also invest heavily in hotel

and stadia developments.

Ashghal, the Qatar Public Works Authority,

has confirmed that it will invest USD 20 billion

in building and upgrading roads and drainage

infrastructure up to 2015. So far, only USD 2 billion

worth of projects were awarded in 2011. With

such a tight delivery timeline, Ashghal is expected

to expedite its tendering process.

There are plenty of opportunities for contractors

and suppliers, with design and build experience

and exceptional project management capabilities,

to capitalise on these projects. International

companies may also consider consortium or joint

venture arrangements to make their bids more

attractive (read competitive).

Currently, Ashghal is working on the tender

for Al Khor Highway project for the Lusail

development. The highway will be a multi-level

road that runs along the western border of Lusail

City and will include up to five interchanges.

Ashghal will also oversee the construction of the

planned 107 km New Orbital Highway, which will

be Qatar’s longest road running from Ras Laffan in

the north to Mesaieed in the South.

In addition, Ashghal is awarding contracts for

the development of 50,000 new hotel rooms,

which is more than half of Qatar’s current

supply. According to the Katara Hospitality

(previously known as Qatar National Hotels

Company), that equates to 77 new hotels

and 42 new hotel apartments. Add to that

the construction of nine new stadia and the

upgrade of three existing stadia and it’s easy to

see why Qatar offers ripe pickings for architects,

interior designers and contractors.

Qatari Diar, the country’s national real estate

developer, is heavily focused on completing its

USD 33 billion Lusail City project, which is the site

of the main stadium for the World Cup event. The

35 square kilometre mixed-use development will

contain residential clusters, commercial districts,

shopping and leisure facilities as well as the Lusail

Iconic Stadium.

TAKiNG AiMAT

QATAr 2022Qatar is one of the most promising project markets in the world today due to the need to meet the

immovable ten year deadline for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Wayne Merrick, Country Manager, Qatar,

Links Group, explains what opportunities are put in front of international businesses in the country

which is experiencing a construction boom.

BuSINESS SETuP

24 JuNE 2012

But, perhaps the most ambitious of projects in Qatar’s 2022 World Cup pipeline is its USD 35 billion integrated rail network.

Ashghal is also moving ahead with

infrastructure schemes to link Lusail to Doha

through the Lusail Expressway, a 16 lane

highway stretching approximately 12 km. The

Lusail project will also include a 22 km light rail

transit system, featuring 34 stations, to transport

people around the development. Qatari Diar and

Ashghal are now awarding contracts to local and

international suppliers to deliver on the various

phases of these developments.

But, perhaps the most ambitious of projects in

Qatar’s 2022 World Cup pipeline is its USD 35 billion

integrated rail network. Overseen by Ashghal and

designed and implemented by QRail, the project

comprises the USD 2.2 billion West Bay people-

mover, the Doha Metro, a freight line which will

run from the northeast to the southeast of the

peninsula, a high-speed passenger line serving

the New Doha International Airport and light rail

networks for Lusail and Education Cities.

Both the freight and passenger rail network

will span 651 km and will have 98 stations. The

340 km freight line will run from the industrial city

of Ras Laffan in the northeast to the New Doha

Port in the southeast and will have the capacity to

transport 11 million tonnes of cargo a year. The

high-speed passenger line will span 311 km and

will run at up to 220 km per hour from New Doha

International Airport through Doha and to the

northwest of the country.

The Doha metro will span 300 km and will have

80 stations. The USD 41 billion project will include

four rail lines and will link stadia for the 2022 FIFA

World Cup via underground tunnels in the centre of

Doha. According to a recent announcement from

the Qatar Railway Development Company, tenders

for the work will be awarded by the end of this year.

Again, efficient project management and

engineering excellence will be important differentiators

for landing these lucrative contracts. Suppliers that

provide solutions for mitigating the impact of Qatar’s

harsh climate on the rail network will also improve their

chances of standing out in the bid process.

Opportunities in oil and gas sector

In line with the country’s growing economy,

water and power demand in Qatar is expected to

increase rapidly in the coming years. Kahramaa, the

Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation,

has confirmed it will invest over USD 5 billion

in building new projects to boost its power and

potable water by the end of 2013. New projects

include, a 2,250 megawatt power plant, two

desalination plants with a total capacity of 194

million gallons per day and large water reservoirs.

Qatar’s expected increase in total energy

consumption, coupled with its investments in 2022

FIFA World Cup infrastructure, will likely accelerate

the government’s plans to exploit its gas reserves in

the North field. This is the world’s largest offshore,

non-associated natural gas reservoir with estimated

reserves of more than 900 trillion cubic feet of

recoverable gas. Should the Qatari government

pursue gas recovery in the North field, there will

also be numerous opportunities for companies

working in the oil and gas sector.

Compliance with the QNV 2030

The looming 2022 World Cup deadline will

undoubtedly put pressure on the respective

Qatari government entities to make their tender

processes more efficient. However, participating

bidders would do well to remember that these

projects form part of Qatar’s broader economic

diversification strategy Qatar National Vision

2030. Sustainability and viability of these projects

in the aftermath of the 2022 World Cup should

underscore every tender submission. Development

of local resource and talent is a primary objective in

turning Qatar into a knowledge-based economy,

so think carefully about how a contract fits into

this wider masterplan.

Also important to the Qatar government, is

the commitment a foreign company shows to the

country. If you are pursuing these major contracts,

you’ll be expected to establish a legal presence,

such as a limited liability company. This process

can take months, so it’s best to start investigating

your options now. Joint venture vehicles do offer

an alternative route to market and are worth

considering when the partnership enhances

expertise, resources and price efficiencies.

There is no doubt Qatar offers one of the

most buoyant construction markets in the

world and is one of the few economies with

the capital means to fully fund it. However, the

sheer scale and urgency of what lies ahead for

Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup requires investment

in international expertise and manpower. In

the next three years, we expect most of the

major tenders will be awarded. It’s game on

for consultants, contractors and suppliers.

Be strategic in how you line up your project

positions, shoot and then score.

The Doha metro will span 300 km and will have 80 stations. The USD 41 billion project will include four rail lines and will link stadia for the 2022 FIFA World Cup via underground tunnels in the centre of Doha.

Wayne Merrick is the Country Manager, Qatar, Links Group. He advises clients wanting to set up a commercial presence in Qatar. For more information, please visit www.the-links-group.com.

About

BuSINESS SETuP

25JuNE 2012

Wayne Merrick

MANAGEMENT

The thing is, that both the opportunity and the problem are within this phrase, “what gets

measured gets managed.” Using metrics to drive the performance of the business is only as good as the metrics that are chosen and the way they are used in.

Metrics need to be set up properly. They need to measure the right things, which mean that the processes they measure need to be set up right. The letter and spirit of the metric needs to be understood.

The reason why this is vitally important is that the things that get measured are usually the key things that have an impact on the business- what the customer perceives, profit, and so on. And, in an SME, the impact is very tangible, real and very rapid.

To make a pointA customer has a problem with a piece of technology and contacts the supplier by phone to get it fixed. It’s important to the customer that it is fixed quickly. It’s highly visible and will affect the customer’s perception of the supplier and, thus, it’s reasonable to assume it will have an effect on future business. It’s something that can be fixed by phone.

The customer contacts the help desk. The help desk rapidly finds that the problem is beyond the scope of first line support and passes it to technical support.

BE cArEfuL whAT you MEASurE you MiGhT JuST GET iT!

First impact is customer disappointment since the problem is not fixed at the first interaction.

Technical suppoer now has 24 hours to respond to the referral. Even though It will take 45 minutes to resolve the customer’s problem, but the technical team just doesn’t have that time right now. They have a backlog of work.

The team has a choice of either responding to the problem of missing the deadline. If they need more information, they just need tow minutes to ask and will meet their metric.

In fact, it will be good performance against the metric, because the response can go out within two minutes rather than 24 hours. And one piece of work is deferred rather than making the performance statistics look worse. However, the problem is not yet resolved and customer’s disappointment increases towards frustration.

The help desk now has four hours to go back to the customer for that information. They start to make calls immediately, but it takes a couple of calls to reach the customer. The customer has to go and find the information asked for. He or she can’t get the information immediately because the information is at home and the customer is at the office. The customer calls back with the information that evening. The impact – the customer’s issue is not yet resolved after three interactions while the help desk and the

customer are doing work they don’t need to. This results in more costs, more efforts and less positive impact, but is measured as good performance against metrics.

The help desk passes the information to technical team whose workload is now less pressured and they now have the capacity to address the problem. They find the solution within the 24 hours that they have, according to the metrics (the time-to-respond metric doesn’t change, even though this is a second referral). The technical team passes the solution to the help desk to give it to the customer. Nobody checks whether the additional information was actually needed.

Performance has been well within the metrics and just one referral back to the help desk for more information looks okay to the people that review the performance. How many times information that bounces back and forth between the two teams is measured? In any case, this one round is considered okay and won’t be investigated further.

The help desk now has four hours to contact the customer with the solution. They call immediately, but the customer doesn’t answer, the phone is switched off. They try again a couple of hours later, but the customer is in a meeting and can’t discuss right now. They try again the following morning, but the customer doesn’t get to the phone in time.

Most businesses set up a number of metrics to drive performance, to see how well they are doing and to

measure and motivate their staff. Elias Mazzawi, Managing Director, EMS MENA, explains to us why is

the over-used management phrase “what gets measured gets managed” still pretty accurate and what

impacts the misuse of metrics can have on your business.

26 JuNE 2012

MANAGEMENT

The process states that the case should be closed after three outbound calls from the help desk to the customer. This rule has evolved because a number of cases seemed to stay open forever distorting the performance statistics. Presumably, in those cases, the customer had found the way to resolve, but had not told the help desk.

So, this case is closed. The customer calls in a few hours later and is told the case is closed and the process needs to start again. Last impact – frustration and additional work are all round, but performance against the metrics that measure the process is okay.

A piece of adviceThe fragmented process with hand-offs between teams doesn’t help. Metrics that work rely on processes that work from an end to an end, not just piece by piece.

What gets measured gets managed, but gamed as well. With a strong emphasis on metrics and process, some people will do some things that the letter of the metric allows (even encourages), but which are not consistent with the spirit. This results in making the workload higher and is not helping customer satisfaction.

It’s not a reasonable aspiration to get precisely the right metrics to drive precisely the right actions all the time. Businesses are not machines and it’s more complicated than that. But, it is a reasonable aspiration to instil the right culture in the organisation to do the right thing, sometimes even in spite of the metrics.

The technical team could have raised issues about peaks and troughs in workload. They

see what activity the metrics are driving• Constantly check with focus groups,

composed of people doing the activity being measured, in order to constantly take the temperature of what’s happening and what can be done to tweak and improve.

• Constantly check the end-to-end performance against key metrics like cost, customer satisfaction performance.

Remember, each of the metrics in the example above looked right, when evaluated in its own piecemeal context, but, in some situations, it was driving to longer resolution time, increased workload and was not helping customer satisfaction.

could have raised a discussion about how these should be staffed, rather than burying the issue by sending back a spurious request for more information. In line with that, we can draw the following conclusions:• Organisations need mechanisms to

encourage this kind of discussion in a balanced way

• Organisations need mechanisms to identify these kinds of issues

• Organisations need ways to encourage people to raise them

Finding the right balanceBy their very nature, process metrics will measure disaggregated elements of the overall process, doing that bottom-up and piece-by-piece. And, as presented in the case study, these disaggregated metrics will not always deliver the top-down goal. Therefore, a balance needs to be introduced over some over-arching metrics, like how long does it take for a customer’s issue to be resolved, what does it cost, how is this varying over time and why?

The balance can be achieved by looking into randomly selected cases that can provide a lot of information and uncover situations in which metrics are not driving the right activity.

Working through cases publicly and involving the right case teams is crucial to evolve metrics by:• Encouraging and publicly recognising

exceptional activity • Encouraging issue and resolution• Encouraging opportunity and recognition

Evolving metrics is a key. A way to achieve this is to:• Constantly sample checking specific cases to

Elias Mazzawi is Managing Director of EMS-MENA.EMS (itself an SME) works exclusively with mid-size enterprises in the Middle East, driving higher performance in operations, sales and strategy. The EMS approach is distinctively tailored to the needs of mid-size enterprises.There is a focus on quick wins delivered through short, intense and highly focused project bursts of just a couple of weeks. For more information, please visit www.ems-mena.com

About

27JuNE 2012

What gets measured gets managed, but gamed as well. With a strong emphasis on metrics and process, some people will do some things that the letter of the metric allows (even encourages), but which are not consistent with the spirit.

Elias Mazzawi

BuSINESS GROWTH

who do you BELiEvE iN?

Everyone knows they need to put in time, money and energy to grow their business. Plenty

of courses and tools are available to startups and young entrepreneurs since a number of skills need to be acquired to run a business.

One fact that is largely overlooked, though, is

that there is another vital component to growing

your business. It is -YOU, your mindset, your

interpersonal skills and your awareness, especially if

it’s a sole proprietorship or an SME.

As your business grows, you will constantly

come up against limitations. If you then have

the guts to take a good long look in the

mirror and be perfectly honest with yourself,

you will find that many of these limitations

are personal – grounded in your beliefs. If

you have suddenly found yourself confused,

overwhelmed, irritable or “slamming on the

It is common knowledge that businesses need a lot of input and different

forms of investment to grow. Carolin Zeitler, Director, Arcata, explains to us

why our business can only grow as much as we can.

breaks”, then you have probably just come up

against what we call a “limiting belief”.

This is where coaching comes in to help you get

past these barriers.

Reformulate your beliefs

Here is an example of a “limiting belief” that

clients come up against and how it can be

turned into an opportunity for growth. A

common “limiting belief”, especially amongst

entrepreneurs, is, “I’m not a good sales person.”

This often results in the entrepreneur

not actively seeking or even seizing sales

opportunities. You might find yourself in an

environment that would be conducive to

pitching your product or service to potential

new clients but you feel it would be awkward

or even rude to do so. If you have this strong

belief, a sales trainer telling you that you “need

to seize every opportunity to sell” will not make

it go away. Even if you agree with the trainer,

the fact remains that you feel uncomfortable in

the situation and if you force yourself to do it

anyway that might well result in a rather weak,

somewhat incoherent pitch.

So, how to approach this “limiting belief?”

One possibility would be to reformulate the belief

itself. Rather than saying, “I’m not a good sales

person” you could try something like, “I don’t

do sales the conventional way.” If you look at the

challenge in that way, it opens the door to more

creative solutions.

You could then analyse your strengths and

create a sales procedure that is more in line with

what you are good at.

Say you have a friendly nature and strangers

usually react positively to you. Great, seek out

potential clients at the next networking event

and get chatting to them. You are a good

storyteller and can keep people’s attention for

a long time? Great, spin a yarn around your

product or service that engages the listener.

Or if you are persuasive, determined, a good

negotiator and great with figures? How can you

leverage any one of these strengths and make it

work for you?

As you keep on working on your attitude and

your approach, you might find that your belief

changes into something even more empowering

like “I have my own unique way of selling.”

And you keep on exploring and developing

your approach by asking yourself: What does that

mean for the way you approach your clients?

What comes more naturally to you - a hard sell, a

soft sell or simply building a relationship?

As you learn more and more about what you

are comfortable with, what you are good at

and what you are aiming for, you can develop a

unique approach that works for you. You might

be so uncomfortable with the word sales that you

initially call it something else, maybe outreach or

developing new opportunities. Just make sure

that you are clear on the goal. At the end of the

day, you need to make money and if you’re not

comfortable with that thought, that’s a whole

coaching process of its own.

28 JuNE 2012

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FuLL NAME:COMPANY: JOB TITLE:ADDRESS:COuNTRY:CITY:P.O.BOX NuMBER:PHONE NuMBER:MOBILE PHONE NuMBER:FAX NuMBER:E-MAIL:WEBSITE:SuBSCRIBE TO: ENGLISH ARABIC

It is easy to see how dealing with your limiting

beliefs is a necessity, especially when you are

running your own business. Your business can

literally only grow as much as you can. If you can’t

perceive the growth, can’t even imagine it, then

how would you find ways to work towards it? If

experiencing a setback makes you think, “I will

never succeed”, then you probably don’t have the

energy and the drive to keep on trying.

First you need to work on your beliefs

about yourself and your ability to manage,

lead and succeed.

Improve your style

Then comes the next level that influences your

professional growth and, thus, the growth of

your business, which is your interaction and

communication with those around you.

This, again, is heavily influenced by your beliefs

and attitude. You can learn communication skills

and become better at finding the right words.

But, if you have no respect for the person you

are speaking to, that will still be reflected in your

communication with them.

We need to understand that communication

is a multi-level, simultaneous process. Many

things happen at the same time and influence

our communication, facial expression, posture,

body language, proximity, tone of voice and

pitch of voice, to name just a few of the many

factors that all play into how we perceive the

message. The words we hear only constitute a

small percentage of the message we take away

from a conversation. To paraphrase what Maya

Angelou famously said, “They won’t remember

what you said but they will remember how you

made them feel.”

Your communication and, thus, your leadership

style depend heavily on your attitude towards your

employees, volunteers or subcontractors. They will

remember how you made them feel. If you made

them feel encouraged and inspired, they will thank

you by being committed and engaged. If you made

them feel worthless and unappreciated, they will

ultimately give up trying and resign themselves to

underperforming. The key to all this is your attitude.

If it is one of gratitude, opportunity and enthusiasm,

then that is conveyed in your communication and it

influences those around you.

Understand your context

The final piece, which is the most overlooked out

of the three, is about understanding the bigger

picture – the helicopter view. It’s about activating

the neutral observer and looking at the situation in

a detached way.

Some of the questions you need to ask

yourself are:

• Where are we, as an organisation, at the

moment?

• How could we better respond to what the

market needs and wants?

• How are we doing internally?

• Are we making optimal use of our internal

resources?

• How could we use everyone’s strengths more

fully?

• Where am I, as an individual, in the context of

my company and of my industry?

• Is our internal identity congruent with the

external image?

I encourage you to be brave enough to ask

these questions. It’s better to discover your

shortcomings yourself and remedy them, than to

be made aware of them the hard way by failure or

customer dissatisfaction.

These questions will lead you to a better

understanding of who you are as an organisation,

even if there’s only three or four of you making

up the whole company. They will also help you

understand your organisation’s standing in the

community and industry, and what pathways are

open to you.

In order to navigate anywhere, you need to

first identify where you are, then where you want

to go and finally what the terrain you are moving

through looks like. Once you are aware of all those

factors, you can set your course.

It’s common sense, right? Yes it is and still it

is widely overlooked as entrepreneurs get busy

working “in their company rather than on their

company.”

In summary, to grow your business and yourself

there are three important aspects to consider:

• Your attitude and beliefs

• Your interaction and communication with

others

• Your context – the bigger picture

Most entrepreneurs have a penchant for one

or two of those three aspects and are already

working on that. Make sure to look closely at

the one(s) you’ve been neglecting so far. That’s

probably where you’ll find the biggest potential

for growth.

Carolin Zeitler inspires, encourages and empowers people especially women - to make a difference. She has combined her experience from being an ITA therapist, a trainer for coaches and therapists, a managing director and a coach to create her unique coaching brand, Arcata, the How Women Work community with its annual conferences and the many spin-offs like the “How Women Succeed” CSR Book project, an inspirational self-coaching book of which the proceeds are being used to provide free coaching for women of lower income. She is also a popular motivational speaker and the author of several self-coaching publications.Carolin can be contacted at: [email protected].

About

BuSINESS GROWTH

30 JuNE 2012

In order to navigate anywhere, you need to first identify where you are, then where you want to go and finally what the terrain you are moving through looks like. Once you are aware of all those factors, you can set your course.

Carolin Zeitler

For more than a century, Carnegie Mellon University has been inspiring innovations that change the world. Consistently top ranked, Carnegie Mellon has more than 11,000 students, 90,000 alumni and 5,000 faculty and staff globally.

In 2004, Qatar Foundation invited Carnegie Mellon to join Education City, a groundbreaking center for scholarship and research. Students from 39 different countries enroll at our world-class facilities in Education City.

Carnegie Mellon Qatar offers undergraduate programs in biological sciences, business administration, computational biology, computer science and information systems. Carnegie Mellon is firmly committed to Qatar’s National Vision 2030 by developing people, society, the economy and the environment.

Learn more at www.qatar.cmu.edu

Excellence. At Carnegie Mellon.

TECHNOLOGY

KEEpiNG AN EyE oN your iNforMATioN

The information age brings with it many benefits (including greater efficiency and

convenience with regard to gathering, storing and using data).

On the other hand, expectations with

regard to protection from arbitrary interference

with privacy are generally considered a well-

established social and legal norm, including in

this region.

Privacy

Generally speaking, the position in most of the

GCC countries is that the privacy of an individual

Nick O’Connell, Senior Associate, Technology, Media & Telecommunications, Al Tamimi & Co. gives SME

Advisor Middle East, our sister publication, an overview of the key aspects of laws in the information age,

from his presentation at the Telecommunications Law and Regulation in the Middle East Conference.

is protected under general provisions of laws not

specifically focused on the issue of privacy.

It also makes it an offence for anyone who

is, by reason of profession, craft, circumstance

or art, entrusted with a secret, to disclose the

secret, or use it for his or her own benefit, or

that of another, unless such disclosure or use

is permitted by law or by the consent of the

person to whom the secret pertains.

The key point that I wish to illustrate by

these examples is that these privacy related

provisions have not been drafted with

the information age in mind. To provide

some context, we have recently relied

on provisions, such as this, to advise on

a corporate client’s proposed transfer of

employee data to an off-shore data storage

facility and another client’s proposed use of

customer data for purposes other than those

for which it was originally gathered.

Would a company’s use of personal

information (such as employee information

or customer information) for fairly mundane

business purposes (such as off-shore data

storage or targeted marketing campaigns) fall

within prohibited uses of secret information

under these penal provisions?

32 JuNE 2012

TECHNOLOGY

Other laws restrict the use of personal data

in certain circumstances. By way of example,

the UAE Medical Liability Law (Federal Law No.

10 of 2008) prohibits a doctor from disclosing

the secrets of the patient that the doctor

becomes aware of in the course of practice,

either if the patient trusted him with the secret

or if the doctor became aware of the secret in

the course of practice.

We recently conducted a review of

the situation in other GCC countries and

essentially confirmed that privacy is protected

in these other countries in much the same

way in most countries. Laws designed

primarily to protect privacy do not typically

exist as laws in their own right.

Provisions relating to protection of privacy may

be found in the context of other laws, including

respective penal codes and laws relating to

specific matters, such as regulation of conduct of

medical practitioners, credit disclosure and unfair

business practices.

Data protection

The Qatar Financial Centre has its own data

protection specific laws or regulations. These

legal provisions are generally consistent with

data protection laws from other developed

jurisdictions (specifically, the EU Data Protection

Directive 95/46/EC and the UK Data Protection

Act 1998).

They apply to specific types of personal

information that can relate to identifiable

individuals, and set out obligations requiring

that personal data be processed fairly, lawfully,

securely and for a specified and legitimate

purpose. They also contain restrictions on data

transfer from within the respective financial

centres to places outside those financial centres.

The most significant point to note about the

respective data protection provisions of these

financial centres is that they are applicable only

to activities within those financial centres – or

transfers from those financial centres to places

outside the financial centres.

Oman and Qatar both have laws relating to

e-Commerce, which contain provisions relevant

to data protection. Oman’s Electronic Transactions

Law (Royal Decree 69/2008) and Qatar’s

Electronic Commerce and Transactions Law (Law

No. 16 of 2010) are both based largely on the

UN Model Laws relating to e-commerce and

electronic signatures – but the laws as enacted

in both countries go beyond these to include

specific provisions relating to data protection.

Specific data protection regimes appear to

be common in respect of telecommunications

service providers. By way of example, Qatar’s

Telecommunications Law (No. 34 of 2006)

requires telecommunications service providers to

operate their telecommunications networks and

related systems with due regard for the privacy

rights of their customers.

It also requires telecommunications service

providers to be responsible to protect any

customer data in their custody and to refrain

from collecting, using, retaining or publishing any

customer information unless with the customer’s

consent or as permitted by law. Additionally,

service providers must ensure that all the

information submitted is accurate, complete and

valid for use (and correct or remove data upon

the customer’s request).

Similar provisions (although with varying

degree of detail) apply to telecommunications

service providers licensed by the

telecommunications regulatory authorities in

other GCC countries.

Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory

Authority has issued Resolution No. 113/2009

issuing Regulations on Protection of the

Confidentiality and Privacy of Beneficiary Data.

Thus, telecommunications service providers

should be aware that special data protection

regimes may apply to their activities, even if

there may be no data protection laws of general

application.

Consumer protection and spam

The next topic ties in with the issue of privacy

and data protection in the sense that personal

contact details, such as mobile numbers and

email addresses, may be disclosed by customers

in the context of procuring goods and services,

and then used subsequently for electronic

33JuNE 2012

By way of example, Qatar’s Telecommunications Law (No. 34 of 2006) requires telecommunications service providers to operate their telecommunications networks and related systems with due regard for the privacy rights of their customers.

Nick O’Connell

Nick O’Connell has worked for Al Tamimi & Company for almost five years, initially in intellectual property, and more recently in technology, media and telecommunications. Nick’s work focuses largely on software and IT services agreements, data privacy and data transfer, e-commerce, m-banking, m-commerce, as well as intellectual property and technology aspects of corporate and commercial matters.Nick’s clients have included companies operating in a range of industries, including financial services, automobile manufacturing, business machinery, digital content, e-commerce, engineering, exhibitions and events, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, software, and real estate.

Al Tamimi & Co, originally established in 1989, is today one of the leading law firms in the Arabian Gulf region. It is one of the largest local, non-affiliated law firm in the United Arab Emirates, with offices in the Emirates of Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Riyadh (KSA) and associate offices in Doha, Baghdad and Riyadh. For more information, visit www.tamimi.com.

About

TECHNOLOGY

marketing purposes. Many people find this type

of marketing to be invasive of their privacy, and

prefer to receive it only if they have opted-in.

In some countries in the region there are

general prohibitions on this type of activity.

By way of example, the consumer protection

provisions of Qatar’s Electronic Commerce

Law restricts the ability of e-commerce service

providers (not necessarily telecommunications

providers) to be involved in providing unsolicited

marketing communications, and requires

consumers to be able to opt-out from the receipt

of such communications.

In July 2010, the UAE Telecommunications

Regulatory issued a specific policy on unsolicited

marketing communications. Under this policy,

licensed telecommunications providers in the

UAE are required to minimise spam and take

all reasonable steps to ensure that spam is not

being sent over their networks. If a licensee (for

example a telecommunications provider) fails to

take all practical steps to prevent spam with a

UAE link (which includes spam originating both

inside and outside the UAE) from being sent

over the licensee’s network, then

the regulator can take action

against the licensee.

Cloud computing

The term “cloud computing” describes a broad

range of remote access computing services,

generally involving situations in which users

have access to applications and data storage

services on demand and delivered over an

external network. This basically involves the use

of software and/or data storage space provided

by someone else – allowing for savings on

things such as licensing software or buying data

storage hardware.

Some of the key privacy and data protection

considerations in a cloud computing

environment are:

Data security

The cloud user will have its own data security and

access management policies. The cloud provider’s

policies should, at a minimum, be compliant with

the cloud user’s policies.

Data location

It is necessary to consider the impact of the

various laws governing privacy and data

protection on the collection and transfer

of data to the cloud provider, and the

movement of that data across different

jurisdictions as part of the provision of the

cloud service.

Data retention obligations

Different jurisdictions have different

commercial record retention obligations. If

data storage obligations are outsourced to

a cloud provider in a different country, it will

be necessary to ensure that, at a minimum,

the cloud provider complies with document

retention policies applicable to the user of

cloud services.

Corporate users of cloud services may place

responsibility for direct control of critical data

and applications in the hands of third parties.

If there is an outage or a security breach, the

user could be exposed to claims from its own

customers (and potential reputation damage)

even though the fault was on the part of the

cloud provider.

Similarly, failure on the part of the

cloud provider (for example with regard

to compliance in respect of data privacy)

could lead to regulatory non-compliance

on the part of the cloud user. Cloud users

should conduct thorough due diligence of

the provider they are considering and in

particular focus on the privacy and security

levels of the services to be offered.

34 JuNE 2012

By way of example, the consumer protection provisions of Qatar’s Electronic Commerce Law restricts the ability of e-commerce service providers (not necessarily telecommunications providers) to be involved in providing unsolicited marketing communications, and requires consumers to be able to opt-out from the receipt of such communications.

http://www.PrivateSectorQatar.com/en

valuable business advice that will help develop your business.

Be part of a community spanning magazine, events, website and social media.

TECHNOLOGY

Popular statistics suggest that

approximately 60 - 65% of people are

primarily visual learners. Around the

world, visualisation strategies are employed

everywhere, from offices to classrooms,

to help people learn more efficiently, to

collaborate more effectively and to simply

remember more.

In the current economic climate, where

companies are revolutionising the conventional

workplace to increase employee engagement and

gain an edge over competitors, thinking outside-

the-traditional-box is the key. Utilising visualisation

as a tool to improve business meetings is one

tangible way to tap into the creative energy of

your employees and to harness the talent already

available to you.

What’s wrong with conventional workplace

meetings and brainstorming sessions? Google the

search terms “bored of powerpoint,” and over

2.5 million results appear. Many of these emphasise

the misuse of this tool for workplace meetings and

other potentially meaningful creative sessions. Yet,

while flip charts and powerpoint presentations

abound in the business world, it is generally agreed

that these tools are outdated and often ineffective.

As an adult educator, I know what to expect from

students when I subject them to a series of slides on

a screen. No matter how much time I have spent

animating those slides, making them flashy and

reducing the text to tiny sentence fragments, this

unidirectional style of teaching has proven ineffective

for decades. Yet, for some reason we tend to have

different expectations from employees than from

students. If we know that the one-to-many model

is not working in schools, why should we expect

When was the last time you scribbled on a napkin to get your point

across? Most of us have benefited from napkin sketches to help us

understand a concept that couldn’t quite be conveyed adequately

with words. Jenn Wicks, Instructor, School of Language Studies,

College of the North Atlantic – Qatar, presents six reasons for using

graphic recording in meetings.

employees to be riveted to their seats when they are

being “talked at”? Learning is learning. And, let’s

be honest, boring is boring. If you want to make

the most of your business meetings, visualisation

methods are your golden ticket.

Currently, visualisation, defined as making key

conceptual links between ideas or text and images,

is an often-overlooked and underutilised tool in

business meetings. When considering visualisation

as a workplace tool the approach to creating those

visuals is a key.

Power of visualisation

Graphic recording is one way companies can

harness the power of visualisation in facilitated

group sessions. Examples where this works best

include:

• brainstorming new projects,

• documenting staff development retreats,

• facilitating engagement in meetings and

employee development seminars,

• analysing problems and devising creative

solutions,

• assisting with strategic planning, and,

• synthesising contributions for future reference

or display.

Graphic recording involves a visual artist,

who records ideas as they are expressed during

a group session. This process can turn a typical

meeting on its head. Using a large area of

poster paper, the recorder is strategically located

in a place where participants can view the

poster throughout the session. As participants

contribute ideas and questions, the poster begins

to take shape. The graphic recorder makes series

of quick decisions to cluster and highlight key

information using icons and graphics to help

participants connect with, and expand upon, the

information already contributed. This process

can create opportunities for innovation as visual

representations of ideas are linked and organised

by the recorder, and participants are energised as

their ideas become part of a bigger picture.

36 JuNE 2012

Visualisation, defined as making key conceptual links between ideas or text and images, is an often overlooked and underutilised tool in business meetings.

TECHNOLOGY

The six keys

In the business world, hiring a Graphic Recording

Professional (GRP) works best for meetings where

the goal is to foster innovation and share ideas.

In my experience as a graphic recorder, I have

identified six key ways that graphic recording

can enhance workplace meetings, presentations,

planning sessions, team-building days, or

professional development seminars:

• Graphic recording is more fun than powerpoint:

Having an artist track ideas keeps participants or

the audience on their toes. Seeing information

as an organic process is far more engaging

than being the passive recipient of a product.

Learning should not be like waiting for a pizza

to be delivered. It should be more like making

your own pizza from scratch with all the

ingredients you could ever want.

• Graphic recording validates contributions from

individuals and teams: Most people want to

contribute. We feel a sense of community

membership when our words are valued and

represented beyond our own expression. When

participants see their words written by the

graphic recorder, they feel validated that what

they have said is worth keeping. This can inspire

confidence and pride in participants, which in

turn can foster other positive contributions and

idea sharing.

• Graphic recording stimulates creativity:

Watching ideas grow and connect in logical

ways is energising for participants. Seeing

connections and ideas in visual forms helps

reinforce contributions and also stimulates

a web of related ideas in the minds of

participants. A picture can inspire memories,

interpretations and imaginative thinking in

ways that text cannot – “a picture is worth a

thousand words.”

• Graphic recording provides a record: The

document resulting from a graphic recording

session can be used as a record of both the

process and product of a meeting. It is too

often the case that group meetings and

development sessions are forgotten about even

before the catering company has packed up for

the day. In order to make the most of meetings,

presentations and staff development, it is critical

to follow up with meaningful documentation

that reminds participants of what was learned

or gained from those meetings. The poster

from a graphic recording session can be

broken up into bite-sized sections for easy

referencing, utilised for training purposes, used

as an illustration for marketing purposes or to

reflect a particular company vision in a visually-

appealing manner.

• Graphic recording helps alleviate language

barriers: For companies where employees differ

in language ability, visualisation can be vital

to ensuring everyone is on the same page.

When language fails, most of us rely on visual

cues and images to express or understand

one another. Graphic recording can help get

messages across when other methods may fail

or take too much time.

• Graphic recording is cost-effective: For

all of the reasons listed above, the return

on investment (ROI) is high with graphic

recording. Hiring a graphic recorder to enhance

your group meeting will serve a variety of

purposes and benefits can be sustained

when the end product is utilised for staff

training and reference. The process involved

in generating and collecting employees’ ideas

will also reinforce how the company values

its employees. Graphic recording provides an

opportunity for the company to demonstrate

recognition for in-house knowledge.

Let the innovation begin!

So, rather than scratching key words onto a flip

chart at your next meeting, consider the value

a GRP can bring. Discuss your company’s vision

of the session with the recorder in advance so,

that you can clarify how you expect the process

to serve your business and staff during and after

the meeting. Provide the graphic recorder with

contextual details to help orient them to your

company (such as current mission statement,

company vision, organisation profile, and so on).

The session will flow more smoothly if the recorder

understands the overall vision of the business.

It is also important to inform the recorder

about the logistics of the session. What has been

communicated to potential participants? How

many attendees are expected? Are there any

special considerations (for example, varying abilities

in the target language)? What is your company’s

experience with past training or development

sessions? All of this information can help the

recording professional to tailor the session to the

needs of the company.

Additionally, if there is content-specific jargon,

that you can help your recording professional

prepare for, provide documents in advance to

allow the recorder time to gain familiarity with

terminology that might help them better capture

the contributions of participants. Finally, it is

critical to prepare participants for the session by

explaining the process of graphic recording, your

intentions for employing this service and your

expectations for participation. And that’s it – time

for the recorder to step in and work their magic!

Trying something new can inspire employees in a

way that brings forth innovation and investment in

a collaborative process, and continues to do so long

after the meeting has been adjourned. Find a GRP

in your area, and let the innovation begin!

Jenn Wicks is an Instructor in the School of Language Studies at College of the North Atlantic - Qatar. In addition to her teaching and graphic recording work, she is a musician and researcher. She has published her research in scholarly publications in the area of Sociolinguistics and is particularly interested in the reproduction of culture through discourse. For more information about Jenn’s graphic recording work, contact her through [email protected]. or check out her blog at www.jennwicks.wordpress.com.

About

37JuNE 2012

Graphic recording can inspire employees in a way that brings forth innovation and investment in a collaborative process.

Jenn Wicks

BuSINESS ADVICE

What is your take on the ICT market in

the region?

I really think this part of the world has a lot

of opportunities and gaps that startups and

entrepreneurs can fill through innovation. For

example, 5% of the online population speaks

Arabic. However, less than 2% of the content

online is Arabic. Yahoo! definitely thinks that

digital media and content is a very big area of

opportunities.

There are two things we need in the Middle

East to make entrepreneurs successful – the first

is to develop an ecosystem, and the second is a

cultural shift. The ecosystem has to develop on

its own, but in the meanwhile they can partner

with companies, such as Yahoo!, to help them

monetise and gain the reach and scale which they

are unable to do themselves. For instance, Yahoo

has an audience of about 56 million, so if they can

partner with someone like us, then they can drive

traffic towards themselves and also through our

advertisement tool. This will also generate revenue

and content for their companies.

From there on, at an individual basis, it’s about

culture shift. In the past, entrepreneurs were risk

averse and failure wasn’t really accepted. So, I

think, it is the fundamental shift in culture and

outlook which entrepreneurs and startups need to

achieve in this region – not to be afraid to take risks

and to accept that failure is not a bad thing. They

would then eventually succeed. Therefore, failure is

just a part of the experience.

Like I have mentioned many times,

entrepreneurship is like the Olympics – it’s not

about winning, but about participating. To

summarise, what we need in the region is an

ecosystem and a cultural shift.

If a startup wants to approach you,

what do they need to do? What are you

looking for?

We work very closely with startups and

entrepreneurs to integrate them into our projects

and to get their ideas. Therefore, we have

partnered with both individuals and companies

with an aim to deliver key projects. So, the first

thing startups can do is to identity a major market

need. We think digital content is a big one.

We work very closely with startups and

entrepreneurs to weave them into our projects

actively. Also, we work with leading organisations,

such as ictQATAR, which help us build that

ecosystem. Yahoo! is always looking to invest

or, potentially, acquire very promising startups.

So, we can pose as a viable exit strategy for such

a company, which is always important for an

entrepreneur. There are no specific criteria when we

look for companies to partner or acquire, but there

are areas from which we would want companies to

be. That would be the companies in the forefront

of innovation and which would fill the gaps and

interest to us. We can look at very different areas,

such as gaming and application, e-commerce,

mobile and tablet applications and so forth, in

addition to their very unique content propositions.

But, at the same time, it’s also on a case by case

basis. So, those approaching us would be startups

from these areas or peripheral areas. On top of that,

we also look at the quality of their technology and

how strong is their team regardless of geography. In

any case, we operate at MENA-wide level.

The startup has to be up and running. We

cannot collaborate solely on an idea basis. So,

we look for a startup with a functional product.

Within some of our partnerships in Qatar, we have

entertained some entrepreneurs and that’s part of

our mentoring and coaching programmes. But,

when it comes to investment and acquiring, it has

to be an operational startup which means that they

must have a team and a functional product.

What has been your experience in the

Middle East? What would you advice a

business which enters the region?

There are a few considerations. First of all,

when you look at the region, you can see a very

aggressive growth which makes it a very promising

region. Secondly, the IT sector is not as developed

as in the other parts of the world, and that is why

Yahoo! is not just competing in the market, it is

actually helping to develop the market.

NEvEr GivE up!ICT revolution is one of the biggest developments to have taken place in this era of globalisation. Aparna

Shivpuri Arya got talking to Christos Mastoras, Director of Business Development, MENA Yahoo! Maktoob,

about what is his take on it and what Yahoo! has been doing to promote ICT in Qatar.

38 JuNE 2012

BuSINESS ADVICE

With ictQATAR, we are looking to develop the

digital content and media ecosystem through the

incubation centre and digital cluster. When it comes

specifically to Qatar, we see that the country has a

lot of ambitious plans – Qatar National Vision 2030,

World Cup 2022 and many others. That creates

a very good dynamic and an opportunity for

companies like us through which we can partner

with the right people. That’s why we have such a

huge presence in the Middle East. We are looking

for other partners, across the region, which have

the same plans and approach to this aggressive

growth.

Tell us more about your partnership with

ictQATAR

In February 2012, we signed a strategic partnership

with ictQATAR to be their preferred partner for

digital and media content. The basic parts of

that agreement - the digital content cluster and

incubation centre to develop the ecosystem, are

based on the work with entrepreneurs through

mentoring and coaching. Basically, it as an over-

arching agreement and we are looking forward

to a number of projects. We are always looking

to expand our core business, which is, advertising

in Qatar. This partnership will help us gain visibility.

This is the beginning and ictQATAR is a very

important partner.

What is your perception of the ICT sector

in Qatar?

There are a lot of opportunities for SMEs and

startups in Qatar. IctQATAR is playing a key role in

facilitating them. There are various projects, such as

World Cup 2022, to promote entrepreneurs and

the government is focused on that.

Are there any exclusive services to the

region?

Yahoo! Website portal is in English and Arabic

and is customised to the region. Plus, our home

page has key verticals, such as a women’s

portal, games, news and so on. Therefore, we

have a dedicated offering for the Middle East in

both languages. We also have a lot of products

for the region in the pipeline. We also have a

regional product engineering and editorial team

and, by having that presence, we are able to

cater to the regional needs.

Are there any services that would benefit

businesses?

Our advertisement solutions are quite helpful. If

businesses start using that, they will have access

to our 56 million users which will give them

visibility. We have approximately 70 million people

online, out of which, 56 million per month visit

Yahoo! which provides a good visibility skill. This is

conditional upon the fact that the awareness and

traffic helps them monetise their presence in the

region. We have to help the market develop and

to make the pie bigger. In line with that, we have

a market development team which goes out and

educates companies about the benefits of digital

advertising. This is what we call share shift. That’s

the key difference – there is potential, but we need

to develop the market.

What are the dos and don’ts of doing business?

For companies that are looking for opportunities

to scale across the region, especially if it’s an

internet-based company, this region has a lot of

opportunities, in particular because of the common

language and common needs. So, the trick is to

go regional. It’s a case of calculated risk.

They have to identify opportunities and to go

about something they are passionate about. It

cannot be just about the money. For example,

if they are based here, they can partner with

key entrepreneurial centres in the country, work

with incubation centres or get into business

plan competitions. Reach out to the community,

connect with the right people. I have been

part of three startups and it’s good to talk

about stuff you have lived through. I think, as

an entrepreneur, that people are a bit hesitant

about sharing their idea while it should be the

opposite. They should be out there, sharing their

ideas and getting the word out there.

Don’t be afraid to take the risk, don’t be afraid

to fail – it’s almost like a badge of honour. I have

learnt much more from startups that have failed

than those that have succeeded.

Christos Mastoras is the Director of Business Development at Yahoo! Maktoob, where he leads strategic partnerships, M&A and corporate ventures for the company, across the MENA region.Prior to joining Yahoo!, Christos was an Engagement Manager in the Communications, Media & Technology practice of Booz and Company in Dubai. There he lead Corporate and New Business Development projects with telecom operators, media companies, broadband providers, ICT authorities, investment firms and governments, advising Board and C-level clients across MENA.Christos holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.S. in International Relations from the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University.

About

Don’t be afraid to take the risk, don’t be afraid to fail – it’s almost like a badge of honour. I have learnt much more from startups that have failed than those that have succeeded.

39JuNE 2012

Christos Mastoras

SMEs

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) play a pivotal role in growing, diversifying and

strengthening a country’s economic base. They create employment, enhance competitiveness, ensure effective utilisation of resources, contribute positively to socio-economic sectors and provide sustainability and innovation in the economy as a whole.

• The size and structure of SMEs allows them to be flexible and able to adapt to changing economic conditions.

• Being largely labour-intensive, SMEs have lower capital costs associated with the creation of jobs.

• SMEs improve the efficiency of domestic markets and make productive use of capital and resources, facilitating long-term economic growth.

• SMEs are the starting point of

development in the economies towards industrialisation. Most of the current larger enterprises have their origin as small and medium enterprises.

Why SMEs matter?Over the years, hydrocarbon sector has been the single largest contributor to GDP and revenues in most Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Hence, GCC economies were concentrating on the development of hydrocarbon sector by creating huge oil and gas production facilities and also developing industries around the hydrocarbon

value chain being that both upstream and downstream industries. Excessive dependence on hydrocarbon revenues makes these economies vulnerable to significant

price swings in petroleum products. Moreover, considering the finite nature of hydrocarbon resources, these revenues could decline and come to a standstill at some stage. For that reason, most regional governments have recognised this pressing need and have initiated efforts to strengthen the non-hydrocarbon sector with special focus on SMEs.

In the first of a two part series, Reji Cherian, Director, Investment Strategy for State Holding Group, highlights

the important role of SMEs in Qatar’s economic expansion and gives an overview of the various initiatives.

Globally, SMEs represent a large share of registered businesses and contribute from 35% to 45% to the global GDP. The GCC countries, including Qatar, are yet to tap the full potential of SMEs.

you ArE NoT ALoNE!

40 JuNE 2012

SMEs

Globally, SMEs represent a large share of registered businesses and contribute from 35% to 45% to the global GDP. The GCC countries, including Qatar, are yet to tap the full potential of SMEs.

Despite unprecedented economic growth over the past two decades, the Arab world still faces high levels of youth unemployment, underemployment and a shortage of opportunities for young people. While the situation varies significantly by country, over the past fifty years, the Arab region as a whole has experienced the world’s highest rate of population growth. Today, one-third of the region’s population is estimated to be below the age of fifteen and two-thirds under the age of thirty. Roughly 100 million new workers are expected to enter the labour market in the Arab region over the coming two decades.

The table clearly indicates that the role of SMEs in employment generation in the Arab countries has not been as pronounced as in more developed economies. This imbalance presents measurable opportunities for SMEs in the GCC region to play a key role in diversifying employment sources and overall economic expansion.

What is Qatar doing?Economic diversification and support for private sector development are the two central pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030. Qatar has recognised the need to develop the non-hydrocarbon sector and has initiated various efforts to strengthen the SMEs sector in the country to:• Maintain the economic growth• Mitigate the risk of oil and gas price fluctuation

and diversify from hydrocarbon sector

• Create more jobs for its rapidly growing young population, as oil and gas sector provides fewer new jobs

• Prepare the economy for the post-oil age when the technological advancement may significantly lessen demand for oil products

The socio-economic atmosphere in Qatar, at present, is very conducive for the establishment and growth of SMEs. A committed government, with its liberalised policies and massive support for SMEs, provides for a huge potential in Qatar for the growth of the SMEs sector. Some key industry friendly factors in Qatar include:• Electricity and natural gas priced at subsidised

rate• Industrial land at a nominal rent • Customs duty exemption on imports of

machinery, equipment and spare parts• No value added tax and export duties• No income tax on salaries of expatriates• Industrial loans at concessional rates of

interest• Stable currency - the Qatari riyal is freely

convertible at a parity of USD 1 = QR 3.64• Low taxes on corporate profits for foreign

partners• Up to 100% ownership for foreign investors

in selected sectors • No restrictions on repatriation of profits and

capital• Excellent telecommunication and transport

infrastructure

The Qatari government is seeking to diversify the country’s economy into the non oil and gas sector, with particular attention being paid to encouraging domestic and foreign enterprises to set up in the country. The initiatives of the Government of Qatar also focus on strengthening enterprises related to the basic industries in Qatar by producing some of the inputs needed by these industries,

or by consuming and transforming the various petrochemical and metal products manufactured locally in order to convert them into finished industrial products, adding value and benefiting from the available synergies and favourable business environment.

Support for aspiring entrepreneursThe following institutions provide support for aspiring entrepreneurs in Qatar:• Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is a fully

owned government financial entity set up to develop local industries and SMEs. QDB’s strategy is aligned to that of Qatar National Vision 2030 to promote and facilitate the development and growth of SMEs in the core economic sectors that will result in long-term socio-economic benefits to the people of Qatar. QDB offers industrial loans at attractive rates to new industrial projects and has also established the Al Dhameen Indirect Lending Programme (Al Dhameen programme) to offer a range of financing solutions to viable SMEs. Several private sector banks have partnered with QDB in the programme. The Al Dhameen programme is expected to result in an increase in the number of new SMEs by making access to finance easier for entrepreneurs at affordable rates. Additionally, it will also help existing SMEs grow into larger and more significant businesses by providing them with greater access to financing for investments and working capital. QDB recently launched an added service to provide export financing and business development and promotion support to Qatar based SME exporters. The bank also provides advisory support and guidance to SMEs on how to start up, grow and expand their activities, with the aim of developing a sustainable economy.

Today, one-third of the region’s population is estimated to be below the age of fifteen and two-thirds under the age of thirty. Roughly 100 million new workers are expected to enter the labour market in the Arab region over the coming two decades.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80 75%

Europe USA Singapore Malaysia Arab Countries

70%

62%

56%

33%

SME employment generation

41JuNE 2012

Reji Cherian

Reji Cherian is the Director-Investment Strategy for State Holding Group in Doha and is in charge of developing the SME investments of the Group. A private equity professional with more than 18 years of experience, he has held senior positions with the Industrial Bank of Kuwait and with the corporate finance division of Big 4 consulting firms in Singapore and Kuwait previously. He has been active in supporting SME projects in India and Kuwait and has served the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction in India in restructuring sick companies. He has a Bachelor in Commerce from Mahatma Gandhi University, India and is a Chartered Accountant. He can be contacted at [email protected].

About

• Enterprise Qatar (EQ) is an authority established exclusively to develop and promote the SMEs in Qatar. EQ’s aim is to chart a sustainable development path for SMEs in Qatar and empower the private sector to encourage entrepreneurship to create jobs and diversify the country’s economy by creating and expanding SMEs. EQ is expected to lead a new phase of development for this dynamic sector of the economy. EQ has initiated “SME Evolution Programme” which is a free Web-based training programme for SMEs aimed at supporting them in Qatar to improve their capabilities in areas, such as management, business development, human resources and online marketing. The Web-based training programme will help SME’s network with their colleagues throughout the Middle East and gain support from each other as well as from other mentors.

• Qatar Exchange Venture Market (QE Venture Market) has been formed by the Qatar Exchange as a new market for the country’s SMEs. QE Venture Market is designed with smaller companies in mind and represents more flexible disclosure and corporate governance regime. QE Venture Market provides a dedicated route for SMEs to the stock market, an entry route to public markets, and creates a universe of peer group companies which can

be beneficial to investor following research coverage and ultimately maximisation of valuation. Being publicly listed also brings benefits in terms of ability to raise capital and liquidity. With the recent finalisation of the Qatar Financial Markets Authority (QFMA) rules for the basis of market’s operation is now in place and Qatar Exchange looks forward to welcoming companies to this market.

• Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), a Qatar Foundation initiative, is home for technology-based companies from around the world and an incubator for startup enterprises. QSTP’s support programmes help organisations develop and commercialise their technologies.

• Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP) was established with the objective of creating a sustainable food security road map for Qatar. QNFSP aims to devise a holistic solution to food security by expanding the renewable energy, desalination and water management, agricultural production and food processing. The QNFSP plans to build an agro-industrial park as a designated area for Qatar’s food processing industry.

• Silatech was established to address the critical and growing need to create jobs and economic opportunities for young people in the Arab world. The initiative promotes large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship and access to capital and markets for young people. Its commitment is to mobilise interest, investment, knowledge, resources and action to drive large-scale comprehensive employment and enterprise development programmes. The strategic goals of Silatech are the following: » Improve society’s recognition and support

for young people’s contribution to economic and social capital

» Promote adoption of policies to stimulate increased employment and economic opportunities for young people and social inclusion

» Improve young people’s access to demand driven and market-oriented skills training and job placement services

» Improve micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ access to capital, business development services and markets

• Bedaya Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development (Bedaya Center) is a joint initiative of Silatech and QDB which provides a “one-stop shop” for young people in Qatar to find career guidance, mentoring programmes and a variety of workshops focusing on entrepreneurship- and employment-related skills development. Bedaya Center provides access to range of youth services, training programmes and activities in order to help development of skills and acceleration of entrepreneurial spirit.

To conclude with these initiatives, SMEs in Qatar have an amazing support system in place, which they can use to establish and flourish. In the next issue, we will look at the challenges the SMEs are facing, despite all this help.

The Qatari government is seeking to diversify the country’s economy into the non oil and gas sector, with particular attention being paid to encouraging domestic and foreign enterprises to set up in the country.

SMEs

42 JuNE 2012

LEGAL

Since 2002, Qatar has enacted new laws protecting intellectual property (“IP”) rights, with

respect to trademarks, copyright, registered designs and patents, and has acceded to various international treaties regarding IP law.

In addition, Qatar is a signatory to several

conventions and treaties that govern IP rights,

including the World Trade Organisation

(“WTO”). WTO is an umbrella to which most

of the other conventions and treaties fall under,

such as the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS), the Paris

Convention for the Protection of Industrial

Property and the Berne Convention for the

Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

How to file a patent application in Qatar?Law No (30) of 2006 (“Patent Law”) envisions

set up of a patent office within the Ministry of

Economy pursuant to implementing regulations.

However, to date no implementing regulations

have been issued and the patent office is not yet

functional. Currently, it is not possible to file a

patent application in Qatar, although there are

reportedly changes occurring which will allow for

applications in the near future.

Historically, patent applicants have

obtained protection in Qatar by filing for

patents with the Gulf Cooperation Council

(“GCC”) Patent Office in Riyadh, Saudi

Arabia. The GCC Patent Law operates on the

premise that the patents granted by the GCC

Patent Office apply to all GCC states with the

responsibility of enforcement being with the

individual states.

Qatar ratified the GCC Patent Law and

Regulations in 1996 giving to the system

operated by the GCC Patent Office a force

of law in Qatar. The legislation does not

deal with the enforcement of GCC patents,

therefore, there is no clear regime for

enforcing patents granted by the GCC Patent

Office within Qatar.

Qatar recently acceded to the Patent

Convention Treaty (“PCT”), with effect from

3rd August 2011. Rights owners with an

interest in Qatar may look forward to making

use of the international system offered by

the PCT in order to obtain protection in

Qatar, although it has not given rise to any

immediate change. Currently, the only option

for those seeking to secure patent protection

in Qatar remains the process through the GCC

Patents Office.

Is it a patent?In the Patent Law, a patent is defined as “the

certificate granted by the [Patent] Office

to the patent owner in order for his/her

invention to enjoy legal protection in line with

the provisions of this law and its executive

bylaws”. The government will protect the

patent for 20 years, giving the owner the

exclusive rights. This will mean that no third-

party can exploit the invention without the

authorisation of the owner.

A patent is given to a product or a process, but

first, it must meet several conditions:

• Novelty• Inventive step• Industrial application

Firstly, it is the novelty of the product or

process. The Patent Law is silent on whether

it implements the absolute or relative novelty

requirement. Absolute novelty means that

the product or process should not be part

of “known knowledge”. This means that it

should have not been disclosed to the public

in any form, whether through written or oral

disclosure or use or by any other means, prior

to the date of filing of the patent application,

whether in Qatar or abroad.

Nevertheless, in some countries an application

could still be validly filed and will be considered

novel despite the publication, provided that the

filing is made during the grace period following

the publication. This is known as relative novelty.

A grace period is not expressly mentioned in the

Patent Law, but is found in the GCC Patent Law

which gives a grace period of six months to the

owner of the invention who has publically disclosed

his or her invention prior to the filing date of the

patent application.

ENforciNG your riGhTLimited laws protecting intellectual property rights are part of Qatar’s history as the country progresses

towards enacting legislation and implementing practices to enable rights holders to protect their intellectual

property. As Qatar seeks to move away from its reliance on oil and gas and diversify, in line with its National

Vision 2030, Emma Higham, Senior Associate, Clyde &Co, explains to us which further reforms in intellectual

property protection will move Qatar towards its goal of becoming a knowledge-based economy.

44 JuNE 2012

LEGAL

Secondly, an inventive step means that the

product or process must have a significant addition

to the state of the art. The standard used is that the

inventive step would not be obvious to a person

with the ordinary skill in the art.

Thirdly, an industrial application a means a

patent can only be granted for an invention which

is susceptible to industrial application. In other

words, it should not be theoretical, but should be

able to be carried out in practice. Consequently,

the Patent Law will not grant patents to scientific

theories or mathematical methods.

Under the Patent Law, there are various

materials that do not receive a patent due to their

subject-matter. As previously mentioned, patents will

not be granted to scientific theories or mathematical

methods, while other examples include surgical

or therapeutic methods. A list of non-patentable

subject-matter is listed in Article 4.2 of the Patent

Law. Software programs are not protected under

Patent Law, but are protected under Copyright Law.

What to consider before filing for a patent application?There are conditions that need to be taken into

consideration when filing for a patent application.

Foremost, it should not contradict Sharia Law or

public policy. The Patent Law also states that the

subject-matter must not contradict public morality,

public order or national security.

The Patent Law does not define what is meant

by public order, but Article 4 of the GCC Patent Law

includes “the protection of human or animal or

plantation life and health, or to avoid serious damage

to the environment” as part of the public order.

Examples would include a machine that is invented for

forging money or a new process used to brew beer.

Compulsory licensing principle The Patent Law recognises the compulsory licensing

principle allowing the government to give a third

party the right to exploit inventions or processes

that are protected by patents, without the consent

of the inventor.

However, there are several conditions that must

be met. First of all, an interested third party may

only apply for compulsory licensing after three years

of the patent granting date. The third party may

only apply under three conditions:

• the owner of the patent has not been seriously or effectively exploiting the patent in the space of three years since the granting of the patent

• the owner has completely stopped exploiting the patent for two consecutive years without informing the Patent Office with legitimate reasons

• the owner refuses to grant contractual licensing to third parties, thus, impairing the development of Qatar economically as well as

commercially

Only in the event of one of the above listed

conditions mentioned, can an interested third party

apply for a compulsory licensing. In all cases, if the

owner of the patent provides legitimate reasons

(importing a product is not considered a legitimate

reason), then the application by the third party will

be denied.

The compulsory licensing

is only granted by the

responsible minister.

Under Article 7 of the

Patent Law the owner of

the patent has the right

to appeal against the

decision of granting the

compulsory license to the

Committee. Furthermore,

the third party must be

capable of carrying

out the necessary

requirements that

have led to the

initial request

for the

compulsory

licensing.

Emma is a corporate and commercial lawyer with over nine year’s experience. Having been based in Qatar for nearly seven years, Emma incorporates her extensive knowledge of the local law when advising both local and international clients. Emma advises on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, including local establishment by way of joint venture, banking and finance, and providing regulatory advice in relation to the establishment of businesses in the Qatar Financial Centre, advising on IPOs, pre IPO funding corporate restructuring and employment and immigration matters. While working in Qatar, Emma has spent six months on secondment to Qatar Telecom (Qtel) QSC, assisting in the start up of a Gulf Corporate Council telecommunications company. Emma joined Clyde & Co in October 2007, having previously worked for another international law firm for six years, both in London and Qatar. Prior to that Emma worked for Price Waterhouse for eight years in both audit and corporate recovery.Emma can be contacted at [email protected].

About

Qatar recently acceded to the Patent Convention Treaty (“PCT”), with effect from 3rd August 2011. Rights owners with an interest in Qatar may look forward to making use of the international system offered by the PCT in order to obtain protection in Qatar, although it has not given rise to any immediate change.

Note: Qatari Laws (save for those issued by the Qatar Financial Centre to regulate internal business) are issued in Arabic and there are no official translations, therefore for the purposes of drafting this article we have used our own translations and interpreted the same in the context of Qatari regulation and current market practice.

If the original reasons that qualified the granting of

the compulsory licensing ceased to exist then the

compulsory licensing will be terminated.

To sum up, Qatar has made significant progress

in enhancing its regime of intellectual property

protection in the last decade. Although the only

way to apply for a patent right in Qatar, at the

moment, is through the GGC Patent Office, it

is hoped that Qatar’s accession to the PCT will

result in a clear regime for securing and enforcing

patent rights until the Patent Office in Qatar is fully

functional.

45JuNE 2012

LEGAL

Why talk about the legal stuff when business is all about deals and relationships? Mark Hill and Fiona Robertson,

media lawyers, therightslawyers, have some thoughts on that matter that they wanted to share with us.

As lawyers, we do come across a lot of contracts. We hear plenty of views from people

about contracts, mostly when the deal is young and everyone is happy, which sound like:• We don’t really use contracts and just really

operate on a handshake.• We trust each other and know each other

well.• If we sign a contract, we just stick it in the

bottom drawer and hope it never needs to come out again!

Don’t leave it to a handshake Put simply, contracts always should be involved

wherever you are agreeing to do something

in a business context with another party and

whenever they do something for you or you do

something for them. They can take the form of

standard terms and conditions, as the kind of

things you often see on the back of invoices,

through to very specific contracts tailored to a

particular situation.

What does a contract do? The basics of

what a contract is there to do are really pretty

simple. It is there to say who is going to do

what, when, how much money is involved and

what is going to happen to the things that are

created or used, including copyright and trade

marks in particular. A contract should be a

simple, understandable, user-friendly document

which sets out how the parties are going to

work together as they do whatever it is that

they are going to do.

Contracts might also discuss commission,

including commission base, allowable

expenses and how long particular stages are

going to take. It may also include details on

inputs from each of the parties (what I supply,

what you supply) and might include approval

mechanisms and the way that deliverables

can be altered.

The contract should set out, in a way

that both parties understand, what is going

to happen, from day to day, during the

time that the parties are working together.

This should not be something that you

stick in the bottom drawer, but should be

something that reflects actually what is

going to happen. Then it can be followed.

For that reason, it has the added benefit of

telling the parties exactly how things will be

dealt with, just in case if things don’t work

out smoothly.

So, why don’t we leave it to a handshake or

a good working relationship? Why should we

bother going to the trouble of actually writing

down what everybody is going to do?

The answer to that is simple. If you don’t

write it down, it’s easy to forget what

everybody is supposed to be doing. That is

the fastest way of creating problems. One of

the parties may have different expectations

about what the other is supposed to

be doing during the course of working

together. Thus, it’s sensible to set out the

course of action that will be taken if things

turn for the worse.

Let’s be specificThese issues are all about risk assessment. We’ll

try to capture certain points that might be

required in your contract:

» What is the contract actually for?

Is it to govern the overall working relationship

between the parties, for example on the basis

of a general retainer?

If so, you probably still need to tie in

somehow what each job is going to be about.

Therefore, you can have an overall agreement

that can cover the relationship, but then you

will have specific projects from time to time.

Each of these projects can sit within the overall

retainer agreement on separate deal sheets,

with clearly defined deliverables that relate to

that project.

» Money obviously is the key.

How is the supplier going to be paid?

When? Is it related to stages or simply done

on dates?

If you don’t write it down, it’s easy to forget what everybody is supposed to be doing. That is the fastest way of creating problems.

46 JuNE 2012

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LEGAL

Too many people realise too late that stage

payments would have been better, or that the

stages did not reflect the work load that went

into the delivery of the stages themselves.

» Who decides if a particular goal has been

achieved?

Is there a clearly defined goal for the services

or materials that are to be delivered? If it goes

wrong, as regularly happens with creative

processes, what can happen then? Who pays

for what, in the process of fixing the mistake?

Is there an approval process that should be

followed?

If so, set it out in detail and make sure that

approvals are to be provided in writing. Too

many parties end up fighting over materials

that were apparently approved over the phone.

» Who is going to check if there are laws

relating to the materials or services that are

supplied and more importantly, ensure that

they are followed?

We have a whole range of legal and regulatory

controls over what actually can and can’t be

done across the Middle East in many areas of

commerce. Who has responsibility for checking

that? Is it the supplier? Probably only if you tell

them it is!

» What about the intellectual property rights?

Every time any creative work is done by a party

or by third parties on their behalf, intellectual

property rights, mostly copyrights and

trademarks, are being created. So, who owns

these? Is it the client? Often not, unless the

contract says so. What can each of the clients

do with the materials once they are created?

» What about confidentiality?

We see clients argue over non-disclosure

agreements (NDAs), but forget about

confidentiality in their actual deal contracts.

This is a kind of two way issue in that specific

provisions should be made to address the

supply of information from both parties,

ensuring it is kept confidential and returned

upon request. That way, parties can be

more comfortable about disclosing sensitive

commercial information to each other.

Otherwise, how can you be sure that it is safe

to tell them real specifics about what you are

trying to do? Remember that a supplier might

also work for your competition.

» And what if things go wrong?

Who will be legally liable if things go wrong?

This is partly a matter of making sure you clear

the legality of whatever you are doing before

you do it. But, there are also questions about

whether there should be indemnities from each

party to the other. This will often depend on

the type of services that are being provided.

In addition, a contract is a way for you to

pass on a risk that you might have taken on

in another contract. Perhaps you are doing

an event and your client requires you to take

risk in relation to the safety of the guests,

Fiona RobertsonMark Hill

Making sure that you are aware of risk is one thing, but managing risk properly is also essential and a key part of business success. To achieve it, learn to understand and manage your contracting processes.

therightslawyers is the first and only boutique TMT (Technology Media and Telecommunications) firm set up in the Middle East to cater exclusively for the creative industries, businesses that are driven by or reliant on intellectual property rights (including brand and other IP rights owners, companies facing counterfeiting and IP infringement issues, franchise operations, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and technology, IT and telecommunications Industries.For more information, please visit www.therightslawyers.com

About

you should then pass some or all of that risk

onto your venue. If the client requires you to

indemnify them for the music that you put in

a commercial, then you should pass that onto

your producer. Again, this will only work if you

put it in a contract.

Make friends with your contractA contract is not something to ignore or stick

in a bottom drawer. It is there to make what

you are doing easier, clearer and safer.

Most people don’t like risk, so finding a

way of properly being able to assess any risks

that might exist in the dealings between you

and all your commercial partners would prove

useful. Making sure that you are aware of risk

is one thing, but managing risk properly is also

essential and a key part of business success.

To achieve it, learn to understand and manage

your contracting processes. And get a contract

that says who is going to do what, when, and

for how much! Remember, the contract is

really your friend!

48 JuNE 2012

TRADE

The panel discussion was attended by 150 plus participants and included Qatari exporters, QDB officials and various dignitaries representing other countries attending the UNCTAD XIII.

The discussion was moderated by HE Hisham Badr, Ambassador, Permanent Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the UN. The panelists for the discussion were:• Mr. Hassan Khalifa Al Mansoori, Executive

Director of TASDEER• Mr. Pascal Lamy, Director-General, WTO• Mr. Jean-Marie Paugam, Deputy Executive

Director, ITC• Ms. Elham Aranki, General Manager,

Bloom, Jordan• Mr. Mohamed Saad Berrada, CEO, Michoc,

Morocco • Mr. Joseph Nkole, National Coordinator,

fTAs: proMoTiNG rEGioNAL TrAdE

Cotton Association of Zambia• Ms. Patricia Francis, Executive Director, ITC

Representatives from key export-oriented companies and related services, such as cables, iron steel and pipes, fibreglass products and so forth, were present for the discussion.

The discussion focused on trade impediments, including non tariff barriers, within the Arab region which has prevented the FTA to provide the required stimulus to promote the regional trade till now.

The proliferation of trade agreements around the world has changed the pattern of world trade flows and has brought mixed results in terms of trade integration, with meaningful integration in only some areas of the world, in particular in Asia

and Latin America. Empirical evidence shows that regional integration can have substantial direct and indirect employment creation effects on the economy

In the case of the Arab countries trade integration has not gone very far, despite deep cuts in tariffs. This is largely due to trade impediments including non-tariff barriers that represent major obstacles for exploiting the opportunities offered by the trade agreements existing in the Arab region. It is essential that urgent measures are taken to remove trade impediments affecting regional trade. This will help unleash the entrepreneurship potential of the youth and create jobs for an increasing number of highly skilled young people

The event addressed the following issues:• Do FTAs implicitly result in increased regional

TASDEER, along with ITC, organised a panel discussion on Arab regional trade, as part of the UNCTAD

XIII. We bring you a snapshot of the discussions.

50 JuNE 2012

TRADE

trade integration?• What are the main reasons for weak regional

trade integration in the Arab region – seen from a business perspective – and what lessons can one draw from this?

• What could be the economic impact of an improvement of the regional business environment particularly on welfare and jobs in particular for women and youth?

• How can ITC’s work in the Arab region provide some examples of creating jobs for women and youth through regional integration?

The removal of intra-regional trade obstacles could increase trade by 10% and create two million new jobs in member countries of the League of Arab States (LAS), according to new research by the International Trade Centre (ITC).The region has one of the lowest levels of intra-regional trade in the world despite preferential market access and significant cultural homogeneity. Trade potential exists but is as yet untapped.

In recent years the LAS has made efforts to largely remove bilateral tariffs. Compared to other regions, however, trade among the LAS members has remained low. For example, while more than 60% of the European Union’s (EU’s) total trade is with one of its member states, only 11% of LAS members’ trade takes place inside its region.

Overall, it has been found that despite the tariff privileges that LAS countries enjoy in each other’s markets, regional integration has been declining since the mid-1990s. Other (non-tariff) obstacles are in place, which prevent LAS members from taking full advantage of the preferential tariffs. ITC has found that reducing non-tariff obstacles to trade will result in lower prices of imported goods from LAS countries in other LAS countries. This will increase the purchasing power of consumers, resulting in a rise of welfare of at least 2% in 2025.

Key findings and recommendationsLAS countries enjoy preferential access to the LAS market. Based on the LAS’ import structure during 2006-2010, a weighted average of 0.4% tariff duty was applied among LAS members. By contrast, non-LAS members faced tariffs in LAS markets in the range of 5% to 6%.

In spite of ongoing efforts to cut tariffs and to sign and implement preferential agreements, regional trade integration among the member states of the Arab League is moderate compared to other common markets, such as the EU and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The share of total trade which takes place inside the LAS represents only a fraction of the trade conducted with the member states of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or with other developing countries.

The modest evidence of regional integration among LAS trading partners hints at factors other than conventional tariffs that seem to hinder the free exchange of goods across LAS markets. Trade agreements providing preferential market access do not insulate against problems related to non-tariff measures. A future reduction of these barriers could increase total trade by

10% and create over two million additional jobs, including 80,000 skilled jobs.

Barriers to trade in goods and services are heterogeneous; they are quite high in the food sector, rather low in textiles and clothing, and almost zero for oil. A further integration of LAS trade focusing on NTMs would mostly create new opportunities in sectors such as food or metals and machinery.

Given that currently most intra-regional LAS trade is in unskilled manufacturing, in order to maximise benefits to member states, targeted national development programmes favouring skill-intensive value-added sectors, and sectors where women and youth have a high participation like clothing and services, are recommended.

Simulations show that a reduction of non-tariff barriers to trade within LAS members would favour the sectors with already significant trade. As a consequence, these sectors would become more profitable and attract more investment.

The event was widely covered by the press and TASDEER has been greatly appreciated for promoting this discussion on a very relevant regional issue.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80

EU

ASEAN

ALADI

LAS

SADC

TASDEER is aimed at providing financial supportive solutions to back Qatari exporting firms, SMEs and startups for overtaking their financial obligations, to cater for their export- finance demand, and to guarantee their receivables against foreign buyers’ insolvency and/or political risks might occur in the importing countries.Providing trade information and market intelligence is an important part of any export development agency. As such, TASDEER provides trade information tools such as Trade Map and Market Access Map in coordination with the International Trade Centre and UNCTAD.For more information, please contact [email protected].

About TASDEER

Intra regional trade shares around the world

The removal of intra-regional trade obstacles could increase trade by 10% and create two million new jobs in member countries of the League of Arab States (LAS), according to new research by the International Trade Centre (ITC).

51JuNE 2012

Media provides a community service. It informs and updates us and does this with a passion

for its profession. Some people either don’t get this or decide to ignore this simple set of facts and seem to approach media in a manner and style that immediately irritates, or puts a journalist on the defensive.

In hearing some of the quite incredulous stories

in my 12 plus years in PR, a few of us have come

up with a classification system that is simple but

accurate: it’s called the two camp league.

The first camp which we shall call PR’aucrats,

follow the lazy approach of just forwarding or

mass distributing any news, invites, interview

pitches and more on behalf of their company to

all media. This camp is usually completely ignorant

about journalists’ areas of interest and its relevance

to their clients and target audiences.

The second camp which we shall refer to as

arrogant delusionists, follow a similar approach

to the PR’aucrats camp but are guilty of thinking

that any communications related to their company

or their client’s company must be of interest to

all media and in turn will be published by these

minions who stand between them and a titanic-

sized coverage report.

Unfortunately, both camps have failed in the most

basic forms of human interaction in the professional

world ie understanding who they are communicating

rELATioNShip ruLES

with and respecting the media profession, their

interests and their time or lack of it. Think about it, if

you worked in the IT industry and were approached

by someone looking to sell you fashion design

courses, what would you think of them?

If you are really serious about gaining the

journalist’s and reporter’s respect, then you

need to work hard at understanding them, their

publications, topics and issues they love writing

about. Provide the journalists with information

for that story in a timely fashion. Every company’s

media outreach approach needs to be defined,

targeted and mindful of each reporter’s

preferences and interests. You need to keep in

mind that the media is your main target audience,

who needs to engage with your brand and fully

understand it. Why? Simple, it is your voice to your

customers or key stakeholders.

Some rules of thumb:

• Do your homework, research and understand

who your target media is. By

doing so your approach

will be more targeted and

knowledgeable, yielding

respect from the reporters

and editors you approach

from the outset.

• Build relations with the

reporter or editor who

writes about your

particular industry

by monitoring their

articles in real-time to understand their specific

style, angles pursued. This way, when you pitch

them for content, you will have a better success

rate. Also, reading an article for a particular

reporter and then calling them with constructive

feedback shows you are really interested and

read the news all the time.

• Build a rapport on a personal level – don’t just

call media when you need them for something.

Contact them on a regular basis for an informal

chat and get to know what their interests, political

leanings, hobbies are. This way you build a solid

relationship rather than one based on needs.

• Be responsive – It’s a two way relationship, if a

reporter contacts you for commentary, direction,

feedback, you need to respond immediately.

This goes a long way in positioning your

company top of mind with that reporter. In turn,

when you approach the reporter for a pitch

or announcement or commentary they will be

more willing to listen as you’ve supported them

in the past.

• Give exclusives – Every now and then if you

have a big story to tell and want to make a big

impact in a specific Tier 1 publication, pitch it to

them as an exclusive.

Cultivating a relationship means you must be

willing to compromise, to understand the other

person. This means listening to them as much as

talking to them. That may sound simple but in this

industry it’s not always common practice. In a market

with the largest concentration of PR Agencies and PR

people, no wonder some journalists work so hard to

keep us at an arm’s length.

MARkETING

Public relations professionals must face the facts. They need the

media to get their message out to their clients and target customers.

To do this effectively, it’s essential to build mutual respect as the

basis of a productive relationship with journalists, says Sawsan

Ghanem, Managing Director, Active Public Relations.

Sawsan Ghanem is the Joint Managing Director of Active PR. She has lived in the Middle East region for the greater part of her life. Sawsan lived and studied in the UK for a few years where she gained her BSc in Chemistry & Management from Kings College, London University and MA in International Business, from Webster Graduate School (London Campus).Sawsan began her career in PR over 14 years ago, when she caught the PR & Communication bug. She founded Active PR in the summer of 2003 along with Louay Al Samarrai. Sawsan has in-depth experience in strategic PR campaigns, media relations, creative thinking, crisis management and more. She is the SMB Advisor Middle East winner [before the magazine was rebranded SME Advisor] in the category of Admirable Woman Entrepreneur (2008) and she won Arab Entrepreneur of the Year at the SME Advisor Stars of Business Awards 2011.

About

* This article was first published in SME Advisor Middle East, our sister publication.

52 JuNE 2012

partnership opportunitiesPrivate Sector (Al kitaa Al khass) is an Arabic and English magazine, presented and supported by Qatar Development Bank (QDB) and published by CPI. It is aimed at business owners and senior executives in the private sector in Qatar. Armed with practical advice, it highlights key issues for the business community.

The driving force for regional economies is the private sector – a catalyst for growth, development and job creation. With the world’s spotlight on Qatar’s development activities and the buzz being created around 2022, this sector is going to grow by leaps and bounds. That’s great news if you’re targeting the private sector, which spans across almost all industry verticals, but the problem you face is identifying the most dynamic and competitive companies amongst a sea of competitors.

A key answer for the past half decade has been CPI’s uAE-based magazine SME Advisor Middle East, which has delivered valuable business information to leading SMEs across the region, helping them develop their businesses, putting them in touch with valued partners and fuelling growth even in a stalled global economy.

For more information about advertising and other partnership opportunities, please visit www.privatesectorqatar.com/enFor marketing ideas and opportunities, please contact [email protected]

Now, with the support of QDB as our presenting partner, we have launched the same business values, tailor-made for Qatar in the form of the brand Private Sector. This will encompass magazine, events, online and several other initiatives to drive Qatari entrepreneurship and the private sector.

This is your chance!This is a market you cannot afford to miss. This is a market that you can reach in an intelligent, focused way, working with the expert team that brought you SME Advisor Middle East and has now launched Private Sector magazine in Qatar.

This year was by far the biggest yet for Qatar’s biggest construction exhibition. Now, in its ninth edition,

Project Qatar has come to represent the remarkable construction sector growth being witnessed in Qatar as local and foreign companies vie to win a slice of the USD 250 billion worth of projects being undertaken.

In the lead up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup,

Qatar is undertaking a variety of infrastructure

projects which will reshape the country and

prepare it to host the world, including: a

deepwater seaport (USD 5.5 billion), national

railway project (USD 42.9 billion), the New Doha

International Airport (USD 7 billion), the Qatar

North Gas Field Development (USD 20 billion) as

well as ongoing projects that are currently under

construction, such as USD 14 billion Pearl Qatar

real estate development.

With almost USD 126 billion in projects (out

of USD 250 billion) still in the concept phase of

development, opportunities for companies to win

new business are immense. As these projects get

set to enter the crucial tendering phase, Project

Qatar provides interested companies with the

platform they require to showcase their products

and services. All in all, the exhibition featured

2,083 exhibitors from 48 countries spread across

62,000 sqm of exhibition space.

A number of European firms were present

at the exhibition projects in the fastest-growing

construction market in the Middle East region

at present. Under the auspices of His Excellency

Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, Prime

Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar,

the exhibition has grown in both stature and size.

This year, Project Qatar was 25% larger than last

year which is a massive increase for an exhibition

that was already the biggest exhibition in Qatar.

Visitor numbers also increased by over 10,000

when compared to last year while the first day’s

figures indicated that the turnout would be

record-breaking once again.

The exhibition was inaugurated by His

Excellency Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bin Khalifa

Al Thani, Minister for Municipality and Urban

Planning in Qatar. Dubai Exports also participated

ABOuT TOWN

in the event in order to promote UAE-Qatar ties.

About 140 companies from the UAE took part in

Project Qatar.

Separate events were held on the sidelines of

the exhibition to promote trade and business and

help companies understand the legalities and

formalities of setting up a business in Qatar.

The exhibition was a very good meeting

ground for customers and businesses and

highlighted the booming construction sector of

Qatar – one of the fastest growing economies of

the region.

Grab theopportu ityThe ninth Project Qatar was held in Doha from 30th April to 3rd May and attracted 2,000 plus exhibitors.

Private Sector was present there and brings you the highlights.

With almost USD 126 billion in projects (out of USD 250 billion) still in the concept phase of development, opportunities for companies to win new business are immense.

54 JuNE 2012

QDB helpeD me take steps to grow my Business through al Dhameen.

Do you have a promising business or new business idea? But do you also have trouble finding the funding that you need? Ask us about Al Dhameen Indirect Lending Program from QDB. We will guarantee up to 85% of your business loan*, leaving you free to focus on developing your business. Click on www.qdb.qa or visit one of our partners listed below.

* Guarantees of up to 85% are for new businesses. Exiting businesses can get guarantees of up to 75%. Terms and Conditions apply.

QDB_Al_Dhameen_Steps_270x207mm.indd 1 25.01.12 14:24

private sector - en

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