Qatar’s efforts to digitalise its economy and provide more services online is opening a huge range of opportunities for citizens and businesses alike. The world is undergoing digital revolution and electronic commerce has become indispensable due to the spread of high-speed broadband, the availability of advanced Internet infrastructure and Internet-ready mobile devices.
In a boost to support the local e-commerce sector, the Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti said the Ministry has issued comprehensive guidelines for e-commerce, a first of its kind in the Arab region. Al Sulaiti said the Ministry is working on an innovative project, to be launched by year-end, aimed at boosting consumer confidence in the e-commerce sector. The Ministry is also working to create strategic partnerships with local and international entities to help local SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) expand their markets and access the latest technology.
“In Qatar, the e-commerce market has shown healthy growth consistent with global rates, with the market now estimated at $1.3bn. The use of e-commerce among consumers has increased from 14 percent in 2016 to 20 percent last year. Now, more and more companies are seeking to provide e-commerce locally, especially in the service sector, and the pace is growing,” he added.
Qatar has clear plans for digital transformation and the enhancement of the role of technology in the different state sectors, in order to realise the goals of Qatar National Vision of building a knowledge-based society. The Minister, earlier this month, said that all the government services will be made available online by 2020. “Currently there are more than 2,400 digital services available, including more than 1,000 online services and more than 600 mobile services. By 2020 all government services will be made available on the Internet,” the Minister said.
Qatar now has some of the world’s most developed IT and communications infrastructure, be it the abundance of fiber-optic communications, data centers or cloud-based computing services. It must be mentioned that the Ministry, in 2015, had launched the first national e-commerce roadmap.
It implemented several projects on the national scale and held workshops aimed at increasing the adoption of e-commerce and its best practices, as well as the launch of the first e-commerce portal, in addition to a number of e-commerce surveys, and the issuance of reports that provided valuable information to decision-makers in the field of e-commerce. The efforts made by Qatar echoed globally which saw the state rise to 15 in ranking in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) report.
This is a clear proof of Qatar’s reputation as a centre for technology and innovation. SMEs need to develop innovative solutions and adapt to the challenges to expand trade and push the spread of e-commerce across the country. The efforts by government will ensure that the country will soon become a model for world in the field of information technology and e-commerce.
