Doha, 16 June, 2014 –QNB, “The World’s Strongest Bank”, recently signed a two year partnership agreement with the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Development Company ‘Enterprise Qatar’ (EQ) as a conventional Funding Partner for its new online portal businesspulse.qa. This initiative is in partnership with Thomson-Reuters and operated by Zawya Internet Content Provider LLC.
The agreement, which was signed at QNB’s head office by Hamad Al Jamali, Acting Assistant General Manager SME at QNB Group, follows QNB’s participation as the Official Bank at the recent QITCOM 2014 exhibition - Qatar’s largest Information and Communications Technology (ICT) event.
Businesspulse.qa, a national portal and semi-government entity established in support of entrepreneurs and SMEs in Qatar, provides a comprehensive set of databases containing valuable information and knowledge. Its purpose is to facilitate a well-integrated business environment to serve and support entrepreneurs and business owners seeking to develop their operations, while assisting various governmental administrations, businessmen and entrepreneurs to make informed decisions.
QNB’s objective is to enable Qatari entrepreneurs and SME owners, the driving force of tomorrow’s economy, to make important decisions by providing credible, reliable, timely, accessible and relevant data through a coherent eco-system that supports budding SMEs within the Qatari market.
This agreement further emphasises the significance of the new online portal as QNB will now offer a comprehensive range of financial products and services including a ‘Financial Health Check’ tool to help SMEs and entrepreneurs manage their money better. Other services include the ‘Apply Online for QNB Funding’ assistant, an ‘Ask the Expert’ and ‘Live Chat’ tools.
Additionally, all QNB events will also be communicated online through BusinessPulse.qa, while SME customers can now find financial and enterprise market ‘Thought Leadership’ articles provided by QNB.
Commenting on the importance of the sponsorship agreement Hamad Al Jamali, Acting Assistant General Manager SME at QNB Group said: “QNB is proud to support SMEs through this innovation and will continue to provide leadership in the banking sector through our partnerships with EQ, government bodies and leading private sector organisations such as Thomson-Reuters. Our support for businesspulse.qa further enhances QNB’s strategic offerings to the SME market”.
Commenting on the establishment of businesspulse.qa Ali Al Khulaifi, Executive Director of Business Support Services at EQ, said: “As the preferred destination for local business, EQ promotes and supports the prosperity of Qatari SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs. At EQ we nurture SME projects by identifying skills that will help drive economic development by offering assistance to a new generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders at both the local and global levels. Therefore, the new businesspulse.qa portal, with the support of our various partners, enables EQ to consolidate its efforts into an easy-to-use online platform accessible to budding and established entrepreneurs.”
Nadim Najjar, Managing Director for the Middle East, Africa, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States at Thomson Reuters, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with EQ for the launch of businesspulse.qa, in partnership with QNB. This supports our role as a key contributor to the growth of local markets by enhancing transparency, offering quality content, helping company efficiency, and assisting professionals to make informed business decisions across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) markets.”
Jean Marc Paufique, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Product Management at Zawya - Thomson Reuters, said: “We are pleased to collaborate with EQ to launch businesspulse.qa. This supports our role as a key contributor to the growth of local markets across the MENA region. Moreover, we trust that the strong commitment shown by QNB as the main banking partner for businesspulse.qa will be a key factor in the strategic success of this initiative.”
QNB works closely with its SME customers to anticipate challenges and identify opportunities. Positioning itself as more than just a bank, QNB is a financing partner supporting the growth and prosperity of startups and established companies within the ICT sector.