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Qatar Development Bank (QDB) added to its list of prestigious awards two new accolades from Global Finance magazine.
The publication named QDB as ‘Qatar’s Best SME Bank and Trade Finance Provider for 2024’ in recognition of its achievements in supporting Qatari small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and offering diverse financing programs to foster the private sector.
QDB CEO Abdulrahman Hesham al-Sowaidi said: “We are pleased with this international recognition, which represents the outcome of our efforts in developing services and financing solutions to empower SMEs and entrepreneurs. At QDB, we are committed to providing integrated services to entrepreneurs in terms of financing and development solutions both domestically and overseas through our general and specialized programmes.”
He added: “Through these programmes, we ensure diversification in priority economic sectors, provide a pioneering and appropriate investment environment for businesses, and transform Qatar into an innovation and investment hub under Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy.”
Global Finance’s Best SME Bank award is considered one of the most prestigious honours when evaluating the performance of financial institutions around the world. Participating institutions were assessed during the April 2022-March 2023 period in terms of knowledge of SME markets and their needs and the breadth of the bank’s products and services, as well as its market position and innovative offerings.
Other secondary evaluation criteria covered the institution’s international reach, its partnerships, its employees’ expertise, the quality of its customer service, and how it managed risks and harnessed technology in its operations.
According to the magazine, QDB was able to serve SMEs through more than 40 financing programmes tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs, disbursing around QR1bn in direct loans between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, raising QDB’s total financing to SMEs to approximately QR6.7bn, in addition to investing QR74.84mn in SMEs during the same period.
QDB was also recognised for its digital initiatives in support of Qatar’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the launch of the QDB Digital Portal and the bank’s various programmes to finance digitisation solutions.
The bank also launched several initiatives in the field of sustainability, including its Green Financing Programme to support companies with sustainable business models through local and international partnerships and established the National Guarantee Programme to help companies mitigate the negative repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
These initiatives reflect the bank’s commitment to accelerating the private sector’s adoption of emerging technologies and supporting the digital transformation of SMEs per Qatar’s National Development Strategy.
QDB was named as the Best Trade Finance Provider in Qatar in recognition of its excellence in supporting export-oriented businesses during the first nine months of 2023. The award underscores the bank’s pivotal role in terms of providing access to financing solutions and international markets, its share of total outstanding loans, the volume of financed transactions and the extent of its commitment to expanding its technology investments, the scope of its operations, and its suite of products and financing solutions.
The bank’s efforts enabled over QR1.21bn in exports in the first nine months of 2023 with 215 companies benefiting from the bank’s export development and promotion initiatives and programmes. The bank also offered training programmes to equip businesses and entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and expertise to access global markets, leading to an increase in export-oriented businesses. Today, 70% of the bank’s customers leverage its digital services.
QDB continues to develop and diversify its services and financing solutions in co-operation with local financial institutions and is pursuing new initiatives in the field of digital transformation while expanding its operations to support the private sector.
© Gulf Times Newspaper 2022 Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).The publication named QDB as ‘Qatar’s Best SME Bank and Trade Finance Provider for 2024’ in recognition of its achievements in supporting Qatari small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and offering diverse financing programs to foster the private sector.
QDB CEO Abdulrahman Hesham al-Sowaidi said: “We are pleased with this international recognition, which represents the outcome of our efforts in developing services and financing solutions to empower SMEs and entrepreneurs. At QDB, we are committed to providing integrated services to entrepreneurs in terms of financing and development solutions both domestically and overseas through our general and specialized programmes.”
He added: “Through these programmes, we ensure diversification in priority economic sectors, provide a pioneering and appropriate investment environment for businesses, and transform Qatar into an innovation and investment hub under Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy.”
Global Finance’s Best SME Bank award is considered one of the most prestigious honours when evaluating the performance of financial institutions around the world. Participating institutions were assessed during the April 2022-March 2023 period in terms of knowledge of SME markets and their needs and the breadth of the bank’s products and services, as well as its market position and innovative offerings.
Other secondary evaluation criteria covered the institution’s international reach, its partnerships, its employees’ expertise, the quality of its customer service, and how it managed risks and harnessed technology in its operations.
According to the magazine, QDB was able to serve SMEs through more than 40 financing programmes tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs, disbursing around QR1bn in direct loans between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, raising QDB’s total financing to SMEs to approximately QR6.7bn, in addition to investing QR74.84mn in SMEs during the same period.
QDB was also recognised for its digital initiatives in support of Qatar’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, including the launch of the QDB Digital Portal and the bank’s various programmes to finance digitisation solutions.
The bank also launched several initiatives in the field of sustainability, including its Green Financing Programme to support companies with sustainable business models through local and international partnerships and established the National Guarantee Programme to help companies mitigate the negative repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.
These initiatives reflect the bank’s commitment to accelerating the private sector’s adoption of emerging technologies and supporting the digital transformation of SMEs per Qatar’s National Development Strategy.
QDB was named as the Best Trade Finance Provider in Qatar in recognition of its excellence in supporting export-oriented businesses during the first nine months of 2023. The award underscores the bank’s pivotal role in terms of providing access to financing solutions and international markets, its share of total outstanding loans, the volume of financed transactions and the extent of its commitment to expanding its technology investments, the scope of its operations, and its suite of products and financing solutions.
The bank’s efforts enabled over QR1.21bn in exports in the first nine months of 2023 with 215 companies benefiting from the bank’s export development and promotion initiatives and programmes. The bank also offered training programmes to equip businesses and entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and expertise to access global markets, leading to an increase in export-oriented businesses. Today, 70% of the bank’s customers leverage its digital services.
QDB continues to develop and diversify its services and financing solutions in co-operation with local financial institutions and is pursuing new initiatives in the field of digital transformation while expanding its operations to support the private sector.
