Female entrepreneurs: Our wise leader inspires us to be more innovative & support Qatar's market

Taking a leaf from the recent speech of the Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani urging Qataris to be more enterprising and engaging in activities that will take the country forward, a group of Qatari women has come up with innovative homemade products for the local market.

The women entrepreneurs were showcasing their homemade food items at the recent Made in Qatar Food Market organised as part of Mall of Qatar's summer festival to ensure that more and more people get to taste their delicacies from their own recipes and homemade products. The participants, in fact, said that HH the Emir's speech served as a source of inspiration and motivation for them to be more productive.

Most of the women, who have just ventured into businesses, have been selling their items on social media. They saw the exhibition at the Mall of Qatar as an opportunity to introduce their products to a larger clientele. One of the participants was Dana al Tamimi whose business name is ND Choco Color, producing miniball pancakes with chocolate or cheese, Arabian coffee, among other items. "This is the first time I am displaying my items in public. I do it only online. After the speech of HH the Emir recently calling on women to do something for the country, I decided to come up with a productive idea which led to this business about a month ago. I do everything here by myself," she said.

Another Qatari Sheikha Issa al Kuwari, owner of Ninety-Four business unit, makes sumptuous pasta delicacy using homemade sauce and za'atar as well as Italian flavours."I got motivated to embark on this project because I got support from different quarters and all customers who tasted my food liked it. They asked me to open a restaurant so that more people can have a taste of the delicacy," she said. For Moza Abdulla al Abdul Jaber who runs Goody Maker venture, they help children make the design they want on cakes and then take the final product home. Though she primarily does her business on Instagram, she gets to work with children during different occasions.

Another entrepreneur Johara, who is tending her sister's business, Lazaza, sells pistachio cakes, cheese cakes, pasta and mojito, among others. "My sister does her business on Instagram. This exhibition gave us, the Qatari women, a chance to show and sell our products as well as promote our culture. We are very grateful to Qataris and expatriates for supporting us," she said. The case of Shams al Qassabi is different. She has been in the market for the past 18 years and she is the owner of Shay Al Shoomos caf` at Al Bidda Hotel in Souq Waqif. 

Her presence at the exhibition was to inspire up-and-coming young entrepreneurs. "I felt honoured to be selected to participate in the exhibition. It's a good thing because I am old in this business. The other exhibitors here are new so I am here to support them. It's a good idea to support my country and the young generation," she said. Qassabi said she was moved by HH the Emir's speech to support the locals and the local products. Qassabi started her business of making spices, pickles and cheese almost 18 years ago. Since then, she has moved from one product to over 400 kinds of spices.

As the unjust and inhumane blockade fails to affect the local market, there are so many other Qatari women who feel encouraged and inspired to contribute in their own way and take the country forward.

source: Qatar Tribune