Qatar- QDB holds workshop on financing SMEs

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Qatar Development Bank (QDB) recently hosted its quarterly workshop with partner banks of its Al Dhameen indirect lending programme, during which it explained the risk mechanism used by the bank to study opportunities to help SMEs with no credit history or sufficient guarantees obtain lending.

Hamad Al Kubaisi, Executive Director of Strategy and Business Development at QDB attended the workshop in the presence of 14 partner banks and financial institutions operating in Qatar.

Al Kubaisi said: "We are pleased to once again meet with our partners to seek new ways to enhance Al Dhameen programme. This workshop is an important step in this programme, aiming to clearly identify the project risk management mechanisms adopted by QDB while studying any business, to realise our unified vision with partner banks to provide the financial and consultancy support SMEs in Qatar need. We are pleased with our achievements as we watch Al Dhameen become a key driver of SME growth in Qatar."

He added: "We constantly seek to enhance the efficiency of the programme by exploring the challenges and listening to proposals that will enhance its performance, helping us achieve our aim of diversifying the Qatari economy and reducing dependence on the hydrocarbon sector as a major source of income."

Al Dhameen programme was launched in 2010 by QDB to encourage banks to finance SMEs which have a short credit history or no collateral that can be used to borrow - breaking down obstacles to obtaining the necessary financing.

The programme does not provide direct finance to small and medium enterprises, but rather offers the business owner facilities to receive the required financing for a project from a partner bank, through issuance of guarantees in favour of that bank, under which Al Dhameen guarantees 85 percent of the finance value not exceeding QR15m.

QDB has organised a number of workshops for entrepreneurs and briefed them on investment opportunities available in the SMEs sector. The Bank has also organised training courses for customer relationship managers at Al Dhameen partner banks in order to help improve their skills in the field of credit and project evaluation.