Qatar launches KAFA'A to coordinate financial sector training and competence

Qatar’s leading financial industry stakeholders and regulators have come together to celebrate the launch of KAFA’A, an initiative aimed at increasing competencies across all of the Gulf nation’s financial sectors.

Preparation for the initiative has been going on for more than a year, with the Qatar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) leading the way in developing a training and competency-development framework for the nation. The goal is to elevate and advance Qatar’s financial services industry.

KAFA’A began as a government mandate in 2013, when the need to evolve the nation’s financial capabilities and knowledge became clear. KAFA’A will serve to defragment training and development programs across Qatar’s financial institutions. It will also standardize qualification and competency benchmarks to match global expectations for a well-functioning finance sector. 

A daylong launch event held Sunday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Doha drew Qatar’s major financial industry and government players, including Qatar Minister of Finance Ali Shareef Al Emadi. Other guests included government officials and regulators, industry professionals and reporters who were eager to hear about KAFA’A’s vision, mission, and strategy.

“In the last five years, Qatar has been thrust into the international spotlight, led by a slew of mega developments and infrastructural projects that are ushering it into its next wave of transformational growth," QFBA CEO Abdulaziz Al Horr said. “But for it to continue its growth trajectory into more advanced and developed market levels, it must rise to world-class benchmarks and stature of competency, compliance and regulation.”