The ongoing Shop Qatar Festival, organised by Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), lends strong support to local entrepreneurs through the pop-up shops located in a number of participating malls.
A total of 30 pop-up shops are taking part in the first edition of the festival, ten of which are located in Mall of Qatar, while Ezdan Mall, Landmark Mall, The Gate Mall and Lagoona Mall have five pop-up shops each.
“As an important element of the festival, we have started 30 pop-up shops in participating malls featuring local entrepreneurs and start-ups for them to have a venue for their products. This is part of our commitment to develop the community, providing them the platform to showcase their creativity,” said Saif Al Kuwari (pictured), Director of PR and Communication at QTA.
While the majority of the pop-up shops are selling clothing, kids’ fashion, abayas, jewellery and accessories, others are offering art, furniture and chocolate.
One of the pop-up shops is Kaafe Chocolatier, a local brand which has been attracting many visitors for its unique chocolate concept. “We have been in the market for more than five years now starting off by selling our products online until we opened our first shop two years ago. Now we are planning to open our second shop soon,” said Maryam Al Sulaiti of Kaafe Chocolatier, one of the ten pop-up shops in Mall of Qatar.
“What makes us unique is our Arabic chocolate concept mixed with other cultures. For instance, we combine Belgian chocolate with Arabic flavours such as cardamom and saffron. Everything is handmade which enables us to customise the flavours as well as the colours and other elements to suit the theme of the occasion,” said Al Sulaiti.
She lauded QTA’s initiative to include Qatari entrepreneurs and small businesses in Shop Qatar Festival and other events.
“We are honoured to be chosen as one of the participants in Shop Qatar Festival. QTA is doing a great job giving full support to us entrepreneurs and small Qatari businesses in this festival and other events it organises,” she said.
Allowing them to participate in festivals such as Qatar International Food Festival and Qatar Summer Festival helps them expand their reach, she stressed.
“We are now working with our franchise programme with support from QDB. We are targeting to sell our first unit in five months time and by the end of the year sell five units in the GCC region. Our five-year plan includes extending our reach internationally in cities such as London and Tokyo,” she said.
With regard to the response of visitors to the pop-up shops, she said, “It has been a pleasant surprise for people to see that there are local businessmen and women behind this. It has been very well received.”
