In recent months there has been a lot of interest and discussion regarding the development of Entrepreneurial skills to enable the necessary development of a locally grown SME market.  The role of angel investors in aiding the development of business success has been proven in different parts of the world to be integral to the overall success.

So what is an ‘Angel?’

Business angels tend to be wealthy individuals who have already been successful in business. Some are entrepreneurs who have sold their
businesses, while the remainder are often former senior executives of major organisations, or business professionals such as accountants, lawyers, or management consultants.
Business angels invest with the primary motive of making a financial return, but non-financial motives also play an important part. Research
suggests, for example, that business angels often enjoy being involved in growing a business and may also harbour altruistic motives, such as wishing to help budding entrepreneurs or wanting to make a contribution to the local economy. (Macht S, The Post-Investment Period of Business Angels: Impact and Involvement, pp 14-15 – www.eban.org – July 2007

Can this model work in this region?

Within the GCC region there is the practice of local sponsorship of Nationals to business owners, enabling businesses of different sizes from outside of the home country to do business.  The partnership is based on the 51:49 % ownership principle, but separate contracts exist to cover profit share.  As the basic premise of the ‘Angel Investor’ model is that the Angel takes a percentage of the equity of the business, the business owner may feel reluctant to dilute their 49%.  However, many of these companies are underfunded and therefore not resulting in much of a profit share for either party.  Some flexibility and creativity in drawing up acceptable contracts with all parties is possible and worth pursuing.  When individuals agree on the bigger purpose they all have in common, then agreement is easier.

Grow local talent

The biggest opportunities exist in the encouragement and development of locally grown business ideas from all nationalities. Rather than import an existing franchise or brand, there is plenty of talent around us in Qatar and increasingly more organisations available to support this talent.

Why be an ‘Angel’?

Qatar has an ambitious vision and even in the past 12 months, the excitement and possibilities for new businesses have accelerated. Many individuals want to be part of the process of building a sustainable economy which is no longer dependent on the hydrocarbon sector but develop new sectors in ICT, the Arts, Health and Education – all extremely exciting and rapidly changing sectors.

The benefits cited by both men and women angels include the desire:

• for an above average rate of return on investment
• to engage in the high-passion, high-energy world of entrepreneurship
• to not only invest in but mentor emerging companies
•  to seek a “second career” that is challenging, but allows them to participate in other interests

There are opportunities in the region for both business owners and ‘Angels’ -for further information on the subject, check out www.angelsden.com

This week Eid ends and schools will be starting back here and in most countries during September.  I suppose it is because of all those years spent in school and college, then working in Education for a while, and then seeing 2 children go through the annual ‘Back to School’ rituals,  which means that  September always equals the start of a New Year for me.

After the summer holidays I always feel ready to make a new start in September.  I find an ‘Academic Year Diary’ the most useful spanning through to the promise of next Summer and bridging those months from December to January.   Electronic diaries just don’t give the same satisfaction as having a new, clean, blank diary,  bursting with the promise of all those appointments and meetings.

Living here in Qatar there is a particular sense of excitement around for this final quarter of 2011.  There has been much talk since last December when Qatar won the 2022 World Cup Bid of the major infrastructure projects which will be the result.

Not just the stadiums, but the roads, railways, metros, hotels and accommodation which will need constructing.  Then there is the massive increase in personnel who are needed to build, run and manage these initiatives, all to be balanced with the support and development of the local community.  Quite a challenge!  So after a few months of letting the reality of winning the bid set in, Ramadan and Eid, there is a sense that this final quarter of 2011 (or this first semester of the New Year) will be busier than ever.

So after Eid, I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year!

I’ve been a fan of the work of Guy Kawasaki for some time – so have no problems with sharing this great visual:

In this last week there have been many blogs, tweets, and posts about the horrific sights of the rioting in the UK.  Well, I can’t resist one more, but perhaps observing the situation from a distance I can bring a different perspective.  One of my very wise consultancy colleagues always said ‘there is no perception without contrast’.

I was in the UK up until a few days ago.  Over the last 3 years I probably visit at least once a year.  Before I left the UK I lived in middle class house in a middle class county town, yet in the year before leaving I had to call the police a couple of times to complain about drunkenness, excessive noise and disturbance – was I getting ‘middle aged’ or was there a problem with deteriorating behaviour?  Walking into the local shopping area I frequently had to steer past pools of vomit from the excesses of the night before, and when driving home through the town late at night at the weekend, we had to be careful to avoid the staggering drunken youths crossing the streets.  Each year when I return I see further evidence of respect for others and basic good manners being diminished.

Now switch to Qatar – no riots here, even in the heat of the Arab Spring, all has remained calm – ok, things are not perfect and some people are treated worse than others, but my observations on the culture here might be indicators on what’s wrong with the UK.

In Qatar there is:

• very strong family relationships – families eat together, meet together, have fun together
• controlled drinking laws
• strong religious faith
• high employment
• strong economy

Ok, the UK may not want to ‘import’ a wholesale change of culture, but there are elements from which the UK can learn – for me the priority would be parenting.  Strengthen the role of the family and give teachers and police back the authority to discipline bad behaviour.

So, personally rant over – the good news to come out of this is the strengthening of community spirit in those areas who got together to clean up their streets.  Hopefully this unity and communication will continue – if 2012 Olympics are to be a success, the UK will need to encourage these initiatives!

riots in London

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Just a few weeks ago Qatar held the second “Qatar International Business Women’s Forum” organised by The Qatar Business Womens Forum, the two day conference drew over 600 women from across the globe. The conference was opened by HE Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Emiri Diwan Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah opened the Second Qatar International Business Women Forum. HE Al Attiyah expressed his confidence that Arab women, having contributed towards the economic progress of Arab economy, would have a greater role to play in the coming stage since they have the capabilities to lead institutions, corporations, take strategic decisions, ensure its implementation and achieve their goals.

This message was continued by Dr Ibrahim of the General Secretariat for Development Planning, where he outlined that in the Qatar National Development Strategy there will be specific goals to advance women. Qatar women can look forward to initiatives aimed at providing them with high quality training, and the removal of constraints inhibiting their contribution in decision making and in the workforce.

Having worked for more family friendly working practices in the UK, I am personally encouraged to hear that Qatar is looking at the issues of:
- long hours
- work placed nurseries
- gender sensitised legislation
- the promotion of women in business
In 2009 only 3% of women are in leadership roles but the target is to have increased this figure to 30% by 2016.

Qatar is changing in many ways, and as an ex-pat I feel we have an obligation to respect the desire for change, but also the desire to retain a highly respected and valued culture. On this site there are many posts mentioning the various women’s network and training events which seek to support the empowerment of women in a wide range of cultures and backgrounds.

As Qatar moves towards the realisation of it’s 2030 Vision, there is no doubt that the role of women will be critical to its success.

For further information on Qatar’s National Development Strategy you can access the website here.