Qatar Islamic Bank
Small and medium-sized enterprises have long played a key role in Qatar Islamic Bank’s drive for innovation. The bank aligns itself closely with the country’s Vision 2030 plan, which is underpinned by a desire to diversify an economy long dependent on a handful of big corporates, and revenues earned from gas sales.
QIB’s popular Aamaly (‘My business’) programme is expressly designed to provide tailored products and services to small businesses in Qatar, offering entrepreneurs financial benefits, advice and guidance.
Aamaly features several benefits designed expressly to support SMEs, including dedicated relationship managers, special SME-centric banking centres, 24-hour banking, payroll services, cash and cheque collection, and overnight vaulting and time deposits.
Smaller firms can also lean on QIB to enjoy more of the basic pre-requisites of banking, from free debit and credit cards, to complementary cheque books and discounted fees on transfers.
During the awards period, Qatar Islamic Bank unveiled several new services aimed at SMEs including a point-of-sale offering called Merchant Acquiring Services, an automated monthly payroll-processing platform called Wages Protection System and a new co-branded corporate credit card designed in collaboration with the telecommunications firm Ooredoo.
QIB focuses heavily on promoting small and young firms emerging in the country’s still-nascent private sector. Its Al Dhameen programme works with SMEs to determine which financial services suit their specific needs.
A long-standing development initiative called Jahiz supports smaller enterprises involved in some of Qatar’s faster-growing industries, including chemicals, plastics and electronics. The bank supports smaller firms involved in the programme by financing up to 70% of the total value of a project, up to a maximum of QR15 million ($4.1 million).