How does a UK business find clients and investors in Qatar?
Mostly by being brought in by someone already trusted there. Qatar is a small country with a close knit business community, so reputations travel fast and personal recommendations count for a great deal. A British firm referred by a known person gets a hearing. One that writes in cold usually does not. Below is why, and how to find the person who can bring you in.
Why is the first door in Doha the hardest?
Because the market is small and well connected. A relatively small number of families, government entities and large companies sit behind much of the buying, and their senior people already know each other. They have little reason to answer a stranger, and plenty of trusted contacts to ask instead. Once you are known, things can move quickly. Before that, very little happens.
What does the majlis tell you about business there?
That conversation comes before contract. The majlis, the sitting room where Qataris receive guests, is where relationships are built over coffee and time. You are not expected to pitch there. You are expected to be introduced, to listen, and to come back. A British firm that understands this, and arrives through someone the host already respects, starts on the right foot.
What are Qatari clients and investors looking for?
Quality, discretion and staying power. Qatar invests widely in Britain, from property to education, and many Qatari decision makers know London well. They tend to expect British partners to be expert, reliable and in it for the long term, rather than chasing a single contract. Being vouched for by someone they trust answers most of those questions before the first meeting.
And Qatari firms looking at the UK?
The British market is large and open, but it rewards being known as much as Qatar does. A Qatari company looking for a UK adviser, supplier or partner can save months by being introduced to two or three of the right people, instead of meeting twenty of the wrong ones.
Does the Bridge pass on referrals?
It does, one at a time. Tell the host what kind of client, investor or partner you need, on either side, and he looks for one person he genuinely knows and would put his name to. The referral arrives as a short note to both of you, explaining what you have in common. Nobody buys contact lists, nobody chases a referral target, and introductions that would not suit both people are never made.
Where the UK-Qatar Business Bridge comes in
The UK-Qatar Business Bridge was set up to make exactly these introductions. It is part of My Most Trusted, a network in which two people only ever meet through someone who knows them both.
This Bridge has a single host, standing between the two countries rather than on one side. Abdur Rahman Ilott, known as AR, works from the United Kingdom and is Chief Commercial Officer of REG-1, a legal and regulatory technology company, with a career of deals and partnerships across the UK, Africa and the Gulf.
If Qatar is on your list, or the UK is, start by naming the one person you would most like to meet, and then ask who could bring you into their majlis.
The UK-Qatar Business Bridge
The sitting room where Qataris receive guests, talk things through and settle matters face to face.
Take a tour of the UK-Qatar Bridge