DOHA: Enterprise Qatar (EQ), the organisation tasked with promoting entrepreneurship and good business, yesterday announced the launch of its ‘SPX Portal’, the first stage in establishing Qatar’s Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange Centre (SPX).
The Subcontracting and Partnership Exchange Centre is the first project to be implemented as part of the Government Procurement and Contracting Programme.
The Minister of Business and Trade H E Sheikh Fahd bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Abdurrahman Al Thani (pictured) emphasised the significance of the SPX Centre: “Launching the SPX Qatar marks the first step in implementing the Government Procurement and Contracting Programme (GPCP), the first of its kind to be launched in the region. The GPCP is meant to provide support to small and medium enterprises through enhancing their opportunities for business expansion in the form of government procurement and contracting.”
Noora Al Mannai, CEO of EQ, said: “The problem in Qatar is by no means a lack of companies, investors or entrepreneurial aspirations… but lack of communication opportunities. Suppliers and SMEs have few ways to access available tenders, some may find it difficult to meet selection criteria, and often don’t know where to find support they need to expand their business”.
“Buyers and big clients, in turn, are eager to engage with Qatari SMEs, even resorting to yellow-page services or online searches — but often with only partial success. Qatar SPX services, starting with the SPX Portal, will provide consolidated information in one place about SMEs and tenders for all interested parties,” Al Mannai said. Ahead of establishing the exchange, the SPX Portal will help Qatari buyers, big clients, suppliers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) by offering company profiles for over 230 suppliers and between 20 and 30 buyers.
It will provide a collection of technical information on the manufacturing capabilities and capacities of their member enterprises, initially in five selected sectors — plastic, rubber, metal works, electric and electronics.
The SPX portal will also act as a match-making service to link subcontractors with contracting enterprises — in effect, acting as a clearing house between those seeking and those providing industrial subcontracting, supplies and partnerships.
The Peninsula
