Rio de Janeiro – The Qatar Chamber of Commerce & Industry is one of five finalists for the Best Unconventional Project award, one of the categories in the World Chambers Competition taking place at the World Chambers Congress, which began this Wednesday (12) in Rio de Janeiro. The Qatari project is the National Home-Based Business Program (NHBBP), whose goal is to help small, youth- and women-run businesses thrive. The winner will be announced during the congress wrap-up dinner on Friday (14).
The projects were introduced this Wednesday afternoon. Finalists also include the Pará state chapter of the Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (Sebrae-PA), the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, in Russia, the NSW Business Chamber, in Australia, and the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce in Turkey.
The latter’s Syria Desk project has three in-house staff to cater to Syrian refugees and help them get jobs in Turkey’s labor market. Guidance is provided on business and entrepreneurship, as well as training, vocational steering, Turkish lessons and meetings with interested parties.“The center works to integrate Syrian refugees, helping them join the Gaziantep labor market, and it’s working out great. The next step is to focus on Syrian women as workforce,” said Gaziantep Chamber secretary-general Hasan Baran Uçaner. The executive said the project is geared towards integration and peace across the region. “This is a very new situation in Turkey. We had never welcomed refugees before, and all sectors have been impacted, so we must find a common ground. We must know one another and cooperate to incorporate these people into society,” he argued.
Nora Zeidan, gerente de eventos da Câmara do Catar, apresentou o NHBBP. “Começamos em 2015 e, desde então, atendemos 400 pessoas. Destes, 18% foram até o fim do processo, e estamos muito felizes por poder ajudar estes empreendedores”, disse. Segundo Zeidan, geralmente as pessoas interessadas são mulheres e jovens que querem trabalhar de casa. “Nós facilitamos a entrada dos pequenos negócios no mercado, mas às vezes as pessoas desistem, porque o processo todo pode levar entre 12 e 15 meses”, revelou.
They are entrepreneurs that don’t have the money it takes to start a business and need guidance. She explained that, to start a business, one needs money in the bank, a physical space and employees, so a home office may be an economically viable way.
“We support them to become independent small and medium businesses. Therefore, they can grow and impact the economy, diversifying it and having new ideas, which is line with Qatar Vision 2030 (the country’s development plan),” she said.
The project comprises the whole country, which has only one chamber of commerce. Every citizen may participate. Information technology, graphic design, mobile apps, foodstuffs, and cosmetics are some of the business sectors of the entrepreneurs registered in the program.
Other projects
The Moscow chamber competes with the project, B2B Market World Platform, a business facilitation software. The Australian chamber’s project is a career platform for millennials called Skills Road, featuring advices, events, and job vacancies.
And Sebrae-PA’s project is Feira do Empreendedor, an event to foster entrepreneurship and business creation, with lectures, workshops and exhibitors.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum & Guilherme Miranda
