Qatar Development Bank partners with Commercial Bank to guarantee small business loans

Qatar Development Bank's (QDB) CEO Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al Khalifa recently signed a new Al Dhameen portfolio agreement with Commercial Bank’s CEO Abdulla Saleh Al Raisi.

The new agreement is intended to expand financing for small and medium-sized businesses in Qatar.

QDB’s Al Dhameen program works by covering a portion of the risk taken by banking institutes by funding business projects. If a small or medium-sized business that has taken out Al Dhameen loans fails to repay them, QDB takes on some of that loss.

The program has been shown to benefit Qatar’s smaller enterprises that show the ability to be successful but can’t provide the required collateral or accounting documents that prove eligibility for financing.

Speaking at the signing, Al Khalifa said Al Dhameen is a key program for ensuring Qatar’s small businesses are able of overcoming financing obstacles.

"The program is mainly targeting companies and startups, and we are delighted with this partnership with Commercial Bank, which asserts that all banks operating in Qatar to support and develop the SMEs sector, diversifying the private sector and build a knowledge-based economy," Al Khalifa said.

The new portfolio with Commercial Bank is for more than $27 million, and aims to facilitate and speed up loan approvals for those small and medium-sized businesses that lack sufficient guarantees.