Pic: Salim Matramkot/The Peninsula
DOHA: The Minister of Administrative Development, Labour and Social Affairs H E Dr Issa bin Saad Al Jafali Al Nuaimi, who formally inaugurated the second edition of ‘Made at Home’ exhibition yesterday, said that the expo has witnessed a remarkable development in all sectors and products, where over 185 participants are showcasing their products and services.
The Minister praised the growing work culture and creativity of the Qatari youth, especially the women, who are working to explore new business ideas and contributing to the country’s productivity and nation building through their innovation and creativity.
The expo will run until October 20 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC), where local micro-businesses and home-based manufactures are showcasing a wide range of products from different sectors, which include fashion, art & craft, food & beverages, perfume & jewellery. In addition, several service providers have also been included in this year’s edition, such as printing, design and logistics.
The exhibition, in its 2nd edition, was launched after the remarkable success of its 1st edition, which witnessed the participation of 144 local home-based businesses. The event targeted a variety of sectors which were art crafts, technologies, food & beverage, jewelry with total sales reaching QR2.5m. The exhibition was attended by more than 15,000 visitors across several nationalities.
The expo is being held under the patronage of H E Sheikha Al Mayassabint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums, and organised by Qatar Development Bank (QDB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Administrative Development Labor and Social Affairs, Qatar Chamber and NAMA Center, who have brought together these exhibitors from five different sectors.
The expo offers home-based businesses a unique opportunity to display and sell their products, create new marketing and distribution channels, exchange experiences with other home-based business owners who are involved in a range of specialised fields, and showcase their projects on a wide scale.
QDB also launched the ‘Dirwaza’, a new marketing service for the home-based projects. This service was offered to 10 home-based businesses, which participated in the first edition of the ‘Made at Home’ exhibition, to help develop its visual identity, product packaging and to showcase it in the domestic market. These businesses have been selected due to the added value they offer to the local market, with the aim to diversify the national products.
Saleh Majid Al Khulaifi, Executive Director of Intelligence and Localisation at QDB, said: “The 2nd edition of Made at Home exhibition met with a huge success with good visitor turnout on its first day. Home-based businesses are recently finding greater impetus and this is our endeavor to help them grow by offering such a platform where they can showcase their capabilities to the prospective buyers.”
