1. 09.010
MAGAZINE ISSUE
something for your mind
Making it in
the world.
Keeping it real.
Starting a business based on an idea
is brave and some would say foolhardy.
Digital Media
and SME’s
People often ask us why we are so
passionate about digital media.
Opening doors
Now, more than ever, SME’s are vital to fuel
vibrant, dynamic and innovative economies.
yeah, we did this!
KAIR: Peace of Mind
2009 Annual Report

2. 2 thoughts. 09.010
09.010 thoughts. 3
credits
Issue Writers
Editor
Designer
Photography
Cover Artwork
Anthony Ryman
Michael Tucker
Barry Flaherty
Michael Tucker
Jason Anonuevo
Jason Anonuevo
Jason Anonuevo
yeah,
we did this!
Digital Media
and SME’s
by Barry Flaherty
KAIR: PEACE OF MIND
People often
ask us why
we are so
passionate about
digital media.
Challenge
Creative response
The result
The challenge was to create
a distinctive annual report that
reflected the meaning of KAIR
throughout: wealth, prosperity,
good living and peace. We developed
a theme grounded on these factors
and designed the annual report to
ensure visual elements reflected
these aspects.
The cover of the annual report makes
use of large ‘KAIR’ letters as a visual
device to create a harmony between
the company’s activities and
who they are.
The result is a fresh corporate design
that distinguishes KAIR from other
insurance providers in Qatar and
clearly highlights the “Big Idea”
of peace, prosperity and wealth.
Carefully selected imagery inside
continues the developed theme,
with rich tones and landscapes.
Yellow is the dominant colour
throughout and chosen imagery
symbolises prosperity, peace and
wealth. Grey was used to compliment
the yellow for a corporate look & feel.
Note to editors:
grow is a refreshingly creative
Doha-based advertising and design
agency focused on brands. For more
information please visit our website
http://www.growqatar.com
grow@growqatar.com
The wonderful thing about digital media is the depth
and breadth it offers to every size of organization
in today’s world.
It can cater for all markets, budgets and all
nationalities. Qatar is no exception. It has never been
easier nor quicker to establish a digital presence
across an amazing array of platforms for SME’s.
Small businesses have to think deeper than just a
website. This can be achieved via crowdsourcing and
brainstorming business and creative ideas in online
forums, posting videos and photos of your products
on video sharing websites, establishing a blog, using
Linkedin for recruitment and establishing Facebook
and Twitter fan pages to drive awareness. Raising the
profile of your start up and small business has never
been easier.
Cross posting across these myriad of platforms,
using your branding, logos, identities, taglines and
messaging and listening, monitoring and tracking
sales orders or “the buzz” around your brand is also
exciting and should help you carefully tailor measurable
marketing campaigns for your desired target
market as a SME.
Customers out there are discussing your brand now,
can you afford not to be involved in the conversation?
Valuable business opportunities are waiting to be
grabbed and digital media is the easiest and most
accessible means at your disposal to drive real
measurable business growth. You can after all only
manage what you can measure and digital media
is inclusive, open and cost effective.

3. 4 thoughts. 09.010
09.010 thoughts. 5
by Michael Tucker
The term ‘enterprise’ has increased in importance. It can
be defined as “a project or undertaking, especially a bold
one” according to the Oxford English Dictionary. A Small
and Medium Enterprise (SME) is an organisation that is
typically defined within the parameters of headcount or
turnover. There are many variations but typically, an SME
is an organisation employing less than 250 people.
The pillars that create a thriving SME economy are core
to align government and economic policies. According to
a UK Government paper on ‘unlocking the UK’s talent’,
published in 2008, the ‘enablers’ for the development of
enterprise are:
Now, more than ever, SME’s
are vital to fuel vibrant, dynamic
and innovative economies.
The recession of 2009 drew
focus towards SME’s and their
contribution towards stabilisation,
innovation and economic
development in the West.
For years, the business landscape
in Qatar has been dominated by
large organisations. It is time for
new horizons.
Culture: creating a sustainable culture and raise
awareness of rewards obtainable from enterprise.
Reduce ‘fear of failure’; inspiring young people to
start new businesses.
Knowledge & skills: developing appropriate skills and
knowledge to support enterprise growth through
education and business support mentoring.
Access to finance: ensuring easy access to finance for
SME’s and better terms on loan guarantees.
Regulatory framework: improve the legal framework within
which SME’s operate and reduce the costs/barriers for
easier & cheaper compliance.
Business innovation: seeing innovation as the foundation
to SME development, promote enterprise through liaison
with universities.
‘Enterprise Qatar’ (EQ) was launched in April 2010
to support and develop local SME’s. “It will become
a leading voice and a pillar for SME’s within Qatar,
helping strengthen and diversify Qatar’s economy”
(Enterprise Qatar, 2010). EQ has a hill to climb but with
the right vision, and collaborative agreements with
industry, government and schools/universities provides
a good starting point to bolster the growth of SME’s.
It will develop the small business sector in Qatar in line
with the above factors – how do these factors
apply to Qatar?
EQ need to create a sustainable ‘enterprise’ culture.
At present, too little is done to encourage young,
aspiring individuals to create their own business.
Whether the culture here has groomed youngsters to
be risk adverse or that large companies are sucking up
school/university graduates with the promise of large
salaries and packages, it has created a culture, not
conducive to the development of SME’s. It won’t be
a quick fix solution, but in the long term, its vision will
create the pathway for a new course of action.
Education in Qatar offers traditional courses and
skills learnt are not always geared towards industry
demand. This has been recognised by some
universities in Qatar Foundation offering courses in line
with industry demand (e.g. Texas A&M offer degrees
in Petrochemical Engineering). But the stimulus for
‘enterprising behaviour’ needs to come much earlier
in the talent development cycle. In conjunction with
EQ, secondary schools should offer courses in small
business development and involve industry (through

4. 09.010 thoughts. 7
seminars, sponsorship). Whatever the solution,
Qatar should embrace the needs of industry and
re-evaluate the education on offer. Education needs
to promote “innovation.”
Access to SME-specific finance in Qatar remains limited.
Banks have not opened their doors to SME’s, probably
due to the (up until now) low demand and risk of
closure/bankruptcy. Doha Bank has made an effort with
their “Tatweer” account. However, one look at one of the
eligibility requirements – to have been in operation for 3
years and you start to wonder how a business, starved
of start up capital with great potential can make headway
and enter the market? This requirement is a barrier to
entry. Why can’t loans be granted on merit of a successful
/promising business proposal rather than pre-defined
conditions? Qatar needs to promote start-ups,
not drive them away.
The regulatory framework for business start-up remains
tight. Sponsorship law governs the set up and operation
of business. These are being loosened and should
create an environment conducive for SME development
and a freer movement of intellectual capital (people)
and resources. If businesses cannot benefit from the
resources they require, it will stymie business growth.
Qatar is beginning to stimulate an enterprise culture.
It is, I am sure, already looking at appropriate means
to stimulate and incentivise entrepreneurs and open
the doors for SME’s to build and thrive.
Governments, industry and education establishments
need to accept the risks of small business start-ups
and respond in meaningful ways to support them.
Enterprise Qatar has a role to push this agenda.
The success of the ‘Doha Debates’ has been well
documented for politics; couldn’t Qatar introduce a
localised version of the ‘Dragon’s Den’? I’m sure
there’d be a huge demand!.
Making it in the world.
Keeping it real.
by Anthony Ryman
Starting a business based on an idea is brave and some would say
foolhardy. All the fundamentals really need to be in place: research,
market analysis, business plan, funding, contacts, systems and
processes etc. to start you or your way.

5. 8 thoughts. 09.010
Not everyone can develop the killer-app or BIG IDEA
that will make you a Zillionaire by spotting a market
opportunity that changes the way people live,
making a fortune for you on the way. Not everyone
is Henry Ford or Steve Jobs.
But you can find a way to develop a business that
gives you huge job satisfaction and a means to
survive and prosper.
Everything depends on your belief and desire. You have
to believe in what you’re doing; not focused on the
outcome, the rewards or the fame, but focused on the
here and now, maintaining an ironclad and unwavering
belief in what you’re doing. The going will be tough and
possibly painful and your trust in humankind will be
stretched to say the least. It’s easy to say that cash flow
is king, or get sucked into ROI’s, CRM’s and KPI’s.
Most of these acronyms serve as mechanisms to build,
assess and run organisations. But the lifeblood is human
energy, desire, belief and commitment.
Being certain about who you are and what you
stand for - your true essence, is more important than
ever. This certainty of self gives one the courage and
confidence to overcome all obstacles and stay with
the real, dropping the superfluous.
If you have a good idea, even a great idea, that you can
believe in, that represents an expression of you in the
marketplace, then you’re partway there to creating an
enterprise that will stand for something, including the
test of time.
People generally say that there are 4 types of capital:
• human (college education, learning a skill)
• physical (a screwdriver, an asset)
• financial (money, everyone knows that one!)
• social capital (people networks)
Most people get hooked on the financial.
09.010 thoughts. 9
“Growing
your brand IS
growing your
business”
I would add a fifth: enterprise capital. In the words of
Captain James T Kirk and the Starship Enterprise…
“to boldly go where no man has gone before.”
The compelling urge of man to explore and to discover,
the thrust of curiosity that leads men to try to go where
no one has gone before is the DNA of an entrepreneur.
Even if the path is well trodden, there is always a new
insight, a better mousetrap, an Aha! moment or niche
opportunity to drive you into action.
At grow, we’re running a business based on intangibles.
Our ideas combine all the 5 elements of capital.
We’re distilling ideas over and over until we get to the
very root, the very DNA, the brand essence. From here
we create compelling and powerful communications.
We’re brand creators, design engineers, storytellers,
value generators and visionary thinkers.
We’re only ever as good as our next project. This keeps
us sharp. We create refreshingly powerful ideas and
make them real to grow your business and in this way,
we grow ours.
“Growing your brand IS growing your business”
- this drives us. And the desire to create powerful ideas
to achieve standout and differentiation that increase your
bottom line and reduce your customer acquisition costs.
But more than that, we want you to stand for something
real, something authentic and compelling. Something to
believe in.
And we do this through clear thinking and creativity.
Everything else is process.

6. 10 thoughts. 09.010
grow
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