In collaboration with Qatar Chamber, NAMA Center and the Ministry of Administrative Development Labor & Social Affairs

Doha, Qatar, 14 October 2018 -   Under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), in collaboration with Qatar Chamber, NAMA Center and the Ministry of Administrative Development Labor & Social Affairs flagged off the 2nd edition of the “Made at Home” Exhibition on October 14, 2018. The seven-day event is being hosted at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, and it was inaugurated by HE Dr. Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Administrative Development, Labor and Social Affairs.

This exhibition offers home-based businesses a unique opportunity to display and sell their products, create new marketing and distribution channels, exchange experiences with other home-based business owners who are involved in a range of specialized fields, and showcase their projects on a wide scale. The exhibition was attended by 185 exhibitors from 5 different sectors: crafts, fashion, food and perfumes. Service providers were also included in this year’s edition, such as printing, design and logistics.

QDB also launched the “Dirwaza”, a new marketing service for the home-based projects. This service was offered to 10 home-based businesses, which participated in the first edition of the “Made at Home” Exhibition, to help develop its visual identity, product packaging and to showcase it in the domestic market.

These businesses have been selected due to the added value they offer to the local market, with the aim to diversify the national products. QDB is committed towards the continuous support its offers to home-based businesses that play a key role in accelerating the local economic growth and contribute effectively to the sustainable development of Qatar. 

Commenting on the occasion, Saleh Majid Al Khulaifi, Executive Director of Intelligence and Localization at Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Said:“The 2nd edition of Made at Home exhibition met with a huge success with good visitor turnout on its first day. Home-based businesses are recently finding greater impetus and this is our endeavor to help them grow by offering such a platform where they can showcase their capabilities to the prospective buyers. This exhibition aims at empowering the individuals by providing them the economic and social stability. These five days are expected to be filled with lot of business deals and immense opportunities for the participants.”

He added: “Due to the pivotal role the Home-based business play and the significant impact they have in contributing to the development of the national economy, QDB will continue to support and empower these businesses, enhance entrepreneurs’ skills, improve levels of production and provide them with market access opportunities to transform these businesses into larger enterprises in the near future.”

As part of the National program initiative for developing Home-based businesses, the “Made at Home” exhibition was launched by Qatar Development Bank in 2015 to support this sector, which will in return will contribute effectively to the local economy. The exhibition aims at encouraging and supporting Qatari home-based entrepreneurs to develop their abilities and capabilities by offering them a unique opportunity to display their products and services to the local market by creating new marketing windows, which will contribute to the diversification of the national economy. This approach will support the SME industry, encourage new entrepreneurial pursuits and empower micro businesses.

The “Made at Home” exhibition, in its 2nd edition, is launched after the remarkable success of its 1st edition, which witnessed the participation of 144 local home-based businesses. The event targeted a variety of sectors which were art crafts, technologies, food & beverage, jewelry with total sales reaching QAR 2.5 million. The exhibition was attended by more than 15,000 visitors across several nationalities.