Acting Undersecretary for Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Saleh bin Majid Al Khulaifi.
The Qatari government is committed to cut red tape in a bid to support the country’s growing entrepreneurship ecosystem, an official has said.
Speaking at a panel discussion held during the opening ceremony of the Qatar Entrepreneurship Conference 2020, the Acting Undersecretary for Trade Affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Saleh bin Majid Al Khulaifi (pictured), said the government has implemented a number of policies to develop the country’s ease of doing business.
“We try to do our best to reduce all red tape that challenges entrepreneurship and innovation and to advance the ease of starting businesses. We also develop policies to protect intellectual property, especially since most of the innovations entering the market are from the design and technology sectors."
"Also, we make it easier for buyers to procure and access the technologies available in the market, as well as to make it easier for the private sector to offer their innovations to the market. And we’ve seen especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, how the private sector has moved more easily to cover logistical issues,” Al Khulaifi said.
The Single Window portal is one of the most successful programmes implemented by the Qatari government to cut red tape. The digital system acts as a one stop shop for starting businesses in Qatar.
It serves as a single point of contact for investors to improve the ease of doing business and enhances government transparency.
He added: “For example, establishing a nursery used to take 35 days and require 13 visits, nine applications, and six payments. Now, there are just three interactions. Once the application is completed, it is returned to the applicant, and the entire process takes 14 days. Establishing a nursery is considered one of the most complicated applications and strictest licenses in Qatar due to safety requirements. For other sectors, the simplified
process takes less than one hour now”.
The panel discussion also highlighted the importance of collaboration between the government, industries, and academia. Al Khulaifi went on to say that multiple incubators are being established in various univerities in order to simplify processes for students to establish their own startup ventures.
He said: “There are multiple success stories, and we need to encourage collaboration between the industries and the academia in Qatar to develop more technologies and innovation and compete on a global scale”.
Dr. Marwan Khraisheh, Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), who moderated the panel discussion, added: “Regions and nations known for their innovations and entrepreneurship power like the Silicon Valley in the US, as well as countries like Singapore, Germany, and others, have developed synergetic relations between the academia and industry”.
