Papercut Factory founder Ghanim Al Sulaiti
With Qatar increasingly becoming a hub for startup entrepreneurs, a number of startups here see the growing potential in the local and even international market and are now on expansion drives notwithstanding the ongoing blockade.
Speaking to The Peninsula yesterday, Papercut Factory founder Ghanim Al Sulaiti, said after restructuring the startup company in 2017, Papercut has grown from a 150sqm office space to a 3000sqm office space this year.
The company, which is commonly referred to as the first sustainable packaging solutions business in Qatar and has been incubated by the Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC), has already increased its workforce and expanded its portfolio of products and services.
Al Sulaiti is a social entrepreneur who also founded the vegan skincare brand Botany, and co-founded the Evergreen Organics, the first 100 percent vegan café in Qatar. “With Papercut, we just wanted to provide a local alternative to a growing demand for more sustainable packaging. We see big companies now switching to more eco-friendly habits, and this gives us a lot of hope and motivation. And we’re proud to be part of achieving a national goal of becoming a sustainable country by 2030,” he added.
Al Sulaiti said Papercut currently owns 15 percent of the market share in Doha compared to not having any market share two years ago. He said: “There’s still a lot that needs to be done but we’re feeling confident that we can compete in local and international market. We’re currently working to produce the first paper straws in Qatar that are completely compostable, biodegradable, and eco-friendly. And we’re going to start pushing that into the market, and make no one here have an excuse to use a plastic straw from the day we start production”.
The company also plans to produce 5m paper straws per month and is also gearing up to export to neighbouring countries.
Alfaytri Home Maintenance, a 100 percent Qatari company, is also seeing its better days. The company provides AC repairing, plumbing, electrical maintenance, and other home maintenance services.
Co-founder Ahmed Sulaithi said Alfaytri started with only one team answering to eight job orders per week with a revenue of QR2000 per week. Later on, the company expanded and introduced tank washing services.
Today, Alfaytri has grown to a home maintenance company with six teams of 16 employees answering to 50 job orders per week with a revenue of QR44000 per week. The startup company, which was also incubated at the QBIC, now aims to be the leading company in home maintenance services in Qatar.
Speaking to a crowd of aspiring startup entrepreneurs in Doha recently, Ahmed said: “We have now cleaned about 1200 tanks and serviced 3900 ACs. One year ago, I was also sitting in your seats, presenting my idea to be incubated. And now after one year, I’m actually at this stage sharing my success story. All of that because we put all our efforts together. We have the right people putting the right input on the table, and all of that was done through dedication”.
According to a report, the startup ecosystem in the Mena region is growing as 64 percent of working age respondents prefer to start their own businesses and more than 70 percent of entrepreneurs have already taken the first steps to establish their business in the last five years.
The QBIC, which is fully owned by the Qatar Development Bank, has also incubated more than 160 companies since its establishment in 2014, with total revenues exceeding QR55m.
