• Around 4,000 beneficiaries had tapped the NRGP Program with guarantees exceeding 3 billion Qatari riyals
  • All outstanding loans at partner banks waived
  • QDB launches NRGP ‘Support’ program to finance working capital at zero profit rates and fees for active companies that have settled 75% or more of their loans.
  • 6-month deadline for companies to apply before June 1, 2025

Doha, Qatar: In line with the Amiri grant and the directives of the esteemed Council of Ministers on waiving outstanding loans for companies that tapped the National Response Guarantee Program (NRGP), Qatar Development Bank has officially announced the conclusion of the program, four years after it was launched to support the private sector and empower companies during the Covid pandemic. QDB said all outstanding loans under the program have been waived and settled in collaboration with partner banks, enabling beneficiaries to collect and retrieve all relevant documents and personal guarantees from partner banks.

The national initiative covered the needs of around 4,000 beneficiaries including private companies and entrepreneurs who had benefited from financial guarantees exceeding 3 billion Qatari riyals. This has enabled most beneficiaries to overcome challenges during the pandemic, maintain their activities in the Qatari market in the following years, and pursue their expansion plans to this day. The success of the program reflects the resilience of Qatar’s private sector as well as its readiness to navigate challenging circumstances and pursue its growth journey.

In line with the Amiri grant and the directives of the Council of Ministers, QDB remains committed to empowering the local business ecosystem with the launch of its ‘NRGP ‘Support’ program. The program offers short-term financing at zero profit rates and fees to boost the working capital of active Qatari companies, which previously benefited from the NRGP program and repaid 75% or more of their outstanding loans. The program, which covers employee salaries and rent expenses for a six-month period, offers a one-year grace period and a two-year repayment term. Those interested may visit QDB’s website to apply for the program within a 6-month deadline before June 1, 2025.

Over the years, QDB has developed and updated the NRGP program several times, extending the grace period and increasing the financing ceiling for beneficiaries according to the changing needs of the private sector and the evolving dynamics of the domestic and global economic landscape.

The completion of the NRGP program marks a new milestone in QDB’s journey of supporting the private sector and empowering Qatar-based entrepreneurs during one of the most challenging periods for the global economy, demonstrating the resilience of the national business ecosystem and its ability to weather challenges through collaboration and national partnerships that foster sustainable economic development. For more details and to register for the new program, please visit Qatar Development Bank’s website www.qdb.qa

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About Qatar Development Bank

Qatar Development Bank (QDB), previously known as Qatar Industrial Development Bank, was established in Qatar in 1997 by Emiri Decree No. 14 as a developmental organization with the primary objective of fueling industrial growth and driving the private sector’s economic diversification. Over two decades of transformation, QDB has reinvented itself to become the main supporting arm for Qatar’s private sector and a powerful catalyst for socio-economic development through three access-based pillars to SME and private-enterprise support: Access to Finance, Access to Markets, and Access to Capability.

The Bank’s whole-journey support system covers various financing schemes and consultation services that include marketing, legal advice, booking, mentoring and development, grants and accreditation, and capacity-building platforms. This has allowed QDB to become the SME’s growth partner from ideation to fruition, meeting their aspirations at every stage in order to compete at the national and global levels, while improving the economic development cycle and bringing the country closer to realizing its national vision for 2030.

Today, the Bank and its subsidiaries are building on Qatar’s rich legacy of socio-economic achievements by taking a brave leap into the future and focusing on the digital transformation of the country’s SME and business ecosystems to usher entrepreneurs and SMEs into the new economy, embrace emerging opportunities, and steadily transform QDB into a digital bank of the future and a lighthouse that leads the way for financial and developmental institutions across the region and beyond. For more information, please visit www.qdb.qa