Opportunities abound for US SMEs in Qatar, says USQBC official

The Qatari market offers many business opportunities for American small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a US-Qatar Business Council (USQBC) official has said.According to USQBC managing director Mohamed Barakat, a wide range of US companies and corporations are already engaged in different business ventures with Qatar."And we can see this advancing to the next level. However, there is also a big piece of the pie for SMEs that need more assistance and support in accessing the Qatari market,” Barakat told Gulf Times in an interview.He said the Qatari market offers investment opportunities to American SMEs "either on a bigger scale” or even partnerships with other small Qatari business enterprises in different sectors."There are many programmes that support small and medium businesses in the US. These projects, in collaboration with Qatari initiatives for SMEs in Qatar, such as those being implemented by Qatar Development Bank (QBD), among others, will help connect US and Qatari SMEs together through the network of Qatari entities and the access of the US to a wide range of its SMEs."One of the key roles of the USQBC is to work closely with these enterprises regardless of the size of the company and connect them with programmes and initiatives to help them find potential partners and access, as well as the opportunity to explore other markets,” Barakat explained.He said, "Some companies may not understand the market yet, while others may be knowledgeable of it already but they need someone to provide access to specific markets, and this is where USQBC plays an important part of their journey."During the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, it was emphasised that achieving these goals is a collaborative effort between all authorities and entities from both the public and private sectors of Qatar and the US. In partnership with these different entities, we hope to see this segment growing rapidly in the next couple of years.”Barakat noted that while these programmes are catering to a wide range of sectors, several "red hot sectors” were discussed during the strategic dialogue, such as agriculture, agri-tech, the advancement of fintech in Qatar, Information Technology (IT), and cybersecurity, among other growing sectors in Qatar."USQBC will focus on sectors that are based on the priorities in Qatar and what they match in the US, which is active in all sectors. We will adjust to having more companies focus on whatever sector becomes hot,” Barakat stressed.Post-World Cup, Barakat said, there is a new focus on sectors, such as agri-tech, fintech, and e-sports, among others, as well as tourism and facility management."Sustainability and the environment are also hot sectors in Qatar. USQBC has actually worked with a couple of medium-sized companies and helped them enter the Qatari market, so we’d like to see more of that growth. We adjust based on the priorities here,” he said.According to Barakat, USQBC will also be looking at the Qatari entities that would be participating in the ‘2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit’ slated in the US from May 1 to 4."This would also give us a better understanding of the shifting sectors that Qatari companies are looking for. And we’re always going to find the sectors that match their respective businesses,” he noted.