Rahul Preeth
Doha
In a move to spur a startup culture, the Qatar Development Bank (QDB) is planning a two-year leave programme for government employees establishing startups in the country.
The objective is to spur the local entrepreneurship culture, which the bank finds is being restricted by an abundance of high-paying government jobs.
Nearly 81 percent of working-age Qataris are employed in government entities or state-owned companies. According to details from a first-of-its kind strategy workshop that discussed ways to foster the startup ecosystem in Qatar, these high-paying jobs reduce the incentive for Qataris to become entrepreneurs.