Investigations on Entrepreneurship Needs, Challenges, and Models for Countries in Transition to Sustainable Development from Resource-Based Economy—Qatar as a Case

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive and comparative investigation into the needs, challenges, and potential roles for entrepreneurship in transforming resource-rich countries into sustainable economies. It explores the role of entrepreneurship to help transition from a resource-based economy, mainly through increasing the number of entrepreneurs and enhancing private-enterprise-led and small and medium enterprises to achieve economic diversification. This study focuses on the case of Qatar, considering its current policies, mechanisms, and institutes, and how they are working together to help diversify the economy and ultimately transition from its current resource-based economy. It begins with a comprehensive review of the literature, including a discussion of the significance of economic diversification globally and examining the role of government and other actors in developing entrepreneurship and the private sector. The methodology and conditions are set out, followed by the findings of the qualitative interview study with key and representative stakeholders within the existing entrepreneurship arena, such as entrepreneurs (successful or failed), those wanting to be entrepreneurs, policymakers, investors, and supporting agencies. The interviews are thematically analyzed to identify apparent challenges, their root causes, and initial recommendations. Three barriers in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Qatar are identified: (1) lack of a conducive and transparent legal, regulatory, and governance environment, (2) lack of access to risk-based financing for entrepreneurs, and (3) lack of locally relevant entrepreneurial mentorship and guidance. Finally, the authors used the literature review and interview results to develop a progressive, locally tailored, dynamic preliminary framework for Qatar, and similar countries, to increase the number of entrepreneurs and small businesses to achieve economic growth and diversification.

1. Introduction

According to the UN, diversification of the economy is “the process of shifting an economy away from a single income source toward multiple sources from a growing range of sectors and markets” [1]. Economic diversification has, for the last several decades, been the focus for developed, developing, and underdeveloped countries. However, for developing countries with significant reliance on natural resources, such as those of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), data and information about their economic diversification progress are very scarce, even though these countries have long aimed to diversify their economies [2,3]; around 47 countries worldwide remain heavily dependent on hydrocarbons or minerals in building their economies, with many looking at diversification as a primary economic objective [4]. Some countries, such as Chile [5] and Norway [6], have managed to lower their dependency on natural resources, while others have yet to make significant progress. Almost all the GCC countries in the Middle East are still in the early stages of their economic diversification efforts [7], even after decades of intention.

There are many examples of successful innovation and entrepreneurship; private enterprises have displayed the power and potential of entrepreneurial activities in building a sustainable, healthy, and diverse knowledge-based economy and society. Through their local and dynamic entrepreneurship, private enterprises have been acknowledged as among the most significant contributors and means to achieve economic diversification; these enterprises can significantly impact economic and broader sustainability dimensions [8].

In 2018, Apple, a single corporation founded by entrepreneurs in 1976 that is one of the largest technology exporters in the world, had gross revenue of USD 265.6 billion [9]. Amazon, another technology giant and a service provider founded by entrepreneurs in 1994, had a gross income of USD 232.8 billion in 2018 [10] By contrast, in that same year, Qatar, the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) [11] and a prominent exporter of oil [12], had a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 192 billion [13]. The revenue of each of these companies exceeds the GDP of Qatar, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with the highest GDP per capita [14]. This shows that entrepreneurs have the potential to create a very robust private sector that greatly contributes to the economy. It also shows that even the wealthiest countries with significant natural resources can substantially benefit from a strong private sector. That is why the UN has identified entrepreneurship as a critical element in addressing the challenges of sustainable development through innovation [15].

There is increasing recognition of entrepreneurship as a driver of sustainable economic development. This study investigates the conditions and mechanisms for promoting entrepreneurship, particularly in resource-rich economies where necessity-based drivers are largely absent. The study considers the main challenges and drivers of entrepreneurship and how entrepreneurship can be encouraged to increase the entrepreneurial private sector’s contributions to the economy and society. The main argument here is that drivers of entrepreneurship and its outcomes are very different in wealthy resource-based economies than in others. In resource-rich countries such as Qatar and all GCC countries, there is a high level of social welfare, and the government provides all public necessities (e.g., infrastructure, free education and healthcare, and a high income). However, the high level of social welfare has become a barrier for the entrepreneurial private sector, particularly for small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs), to the extent that it places the future development of such countries at risk. There is a need to identify the barriers, challenges, and drivers for these kinds of economies. This study takes a thematic approach to identify challenges and their root causes and to make initial recommendations. Thereafter, a preliminary progressive, locally tailored, dynamic framework is proposed for Qatar to promote entrepreneurship and increase the number of entrepreneurs and small businesses, which will ultimately increase economic diversification.

The remainder of this article is structured as follows. Section 2 presents a review of the literature on entrepreneurship and economic diversification. Section 3 explains the methodology followed in conducting this research. In Section 4, the interview results are analyzed and compared to the results in the literature. Finally, the conclusions, limitations, and recommendations for future study are presented in Section 5.

2. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework

This section addresses the following themes in detail: the role of private enterprise in developing and diversifying the economy; the role of the government and policy in developing the private sector; specific entrepreneurship needs, challenges, and drivers; and the status of the economy, private sector, and entrepreneurship in Qatar and similar countries.

2.1. Role of Private Enterprise in Developing and Diversifying the Economy

The private sector has a considerable part to play in economic growth and diversification. Successful private businesses drive economic growth, create job opportunities, and pay taxes on financial services and investments [16]. They also ensure that wealth is distributed equally across the country, segments of the population, and industry sectors for a healthy society and economy. In Australia, for example, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade reports that in developing countries in the Indo-Pacific region, the private sector generates 90% of job opportunities, funds 60% of all investments, and provides more than 80% of government revenue [17]. The private sector also provides a substantial share of these countries’ essential services, such as telecommunications, education, banking, and health [18]. Between 1981 and 2010, around 700 million people rose out of poverty as a result of their nation’s sustained economic growth achieved by the private sector [19]. Countries with strong, sustained economic growth, such as China, have had the greatest success in decreasing the number of people living in poverty. Most of these countries are on the verge of transforming into high-income countries, mainly due to the contributions of the private sector [16]. The contribution of SMEs (as entrepreneurs) to the GDP of EU members is 55%, while their contribution in GCC countries is as follows: KSA 22%, UAE 30%, Qatar 17%, Kuwait 20%, Oman 14%, and Bahrain 28% [20]. This shows that entrepreneurs can play a significant role in economic diversification and in contributing to the economy. Thus, the role of the private sector is vital in developing the economy.

2.2. Role of Government and Policy in Developing the Private Sector

While the private sector has a significant role to play in developing and advancing the economy and society, the government also plays a vital role in guiding, incentivizing, and regulating the private sector and other actors and in creating the conditions for a healthy and conducive business environment. The primary role of government can be seen as setting up the right policies for ensuring security and safety through laws and regulations, building an enabling business environment; providing common public goods and services, such as health and education; developing the proper infrastructure, such as transportation, communication, energy, water, and food for the general needs of businesses and citizens; allocating the right resources to the right sectors and actors at the right time; addressing the constraints on growth in specific markets and sectors; maximizing the development impact of individual businesses; and promoting entrepreneurship and equality among business sectors [19,21,22]. In Section 2.5, we will discuss Norway as an example of a resource-based economy which is successfully transitioning to a more sustainable knowledge-based economy through effective governmental policies and decisions.

2.3. Entrepreneurship Needs, Challenges, and Drivers

Necessity is the most influential driver in many growing economies, such as those of China and India. Necessity-driven entrepreneurs are those driven to try entrepreneurship because of an urgent need for income. They are usually represented as people who, before starting their business, did not have a job or an income [23]. Necessity-based drivers produce the most persistent entrepreneurs since, when driven by the need to provide for themselves and their families, those who fail on the first try have no option but to try again and again until they succeed. A study comparing the number of new necessity-driven entrepreneurs and the unemployment rate in the United States between 1996 and 2015 concluded that there is a strong correlation between necessity-based drivers and the unemployment rate [24]. It has also been demonstrated that as the unemployment rate increases, the necessity drive becomes more potent, and the number of necessity-driven entrepreneurs increases [25,26,27].

Opportunity-driven entrepreneurs are those who engage in entrepreneurship because they see an opportunity for increased income, recognition, or prestige, or they have identified a need in the market that they could easily address. They are usually those with an existing job or income before starting their business. The opportunity driver is usually the strongest for entrepreneurs in developed countries, such as those in Scandinavia [24,27,28]. The statistics show a weak correlation between the opportunity-based driver and the unemployment rate since unemployment is not a motivator for these entrepreneurs. Instead, these entrepreneurs are driven by reform policies, innovation breakthroughs, business environment, and market opportunities [24,26]. Studies have also identified a strong link between high levels of entrepreneurial capabilities, cognition, and education and opportunity-based drivers; this means that people who have the required skills and knowledge are more likely to make use of opportunities for entrepreneurship [29,30]. Opportunity-based drivers also yield the most competition among entrepreneurs; those who are opportunity-driven identify and compete for the same opportunities for growth in the market.

When it comes to competencies needed for an entrepreneur, Krueger and Alan [31,32] divide the competencies into two main types cognitive and non-cognitive competencies. Cognitive competencies are competencies related to the mental state of entrepreneurship; for instance, declarative knowledge, which is the knowledge of how to generate ideas, take opportunities, and create values, is a type of cognitive competency. On the other hand, we have non-cognitive competencies; those are mainly attitude-related competencies such as passion [33], proactiveness [34,35], resilience [36], and perseverance [37]. Furthermore, there is a set of competencies that is a mix of cognitive and non-cognitive. This set is related to skills such as marketing skills, interpersonal skills, and strategic skills [38].

Table 1. Competencies needed by entrepreneurs [32,33,34,37,40,41,42].

Cognitive Competencies	Main Theme	Subtheme	Explanation
	Knowledge	Mental models	Knowledge about how to do things with limited resources.
		Declarative knowledge	Knowledge of entrepreneurship, idea generation, opportunities, value creation, technology, marketing, etc.
		Self insights	Self-understanding, evaluation, criticism, and improvement.
	Skills	Marketing skills	Ability to conduct market research, assessment, persuasion, convincing people with your ideas, etc.
		Resource skills	Creating a business plan, financial plan, obtaining financing, securing resources.
		Opportunity skills	Recognizing and acting upon business opportunities, product/service/concept development skills.
Non-Cognitive Competencies		Interpersonal skills	Leadership, motivating and managing the team, resolving conflict.
		Learning skills	Active learning and adaptations to new situations and uncertainty.
		Strategic skills	Objectives setting, defining a vision, and developing the strategy.
	Attitude	Entrepreneurial passion	Need for achievement.
		Self-efficacy	Belief in own ability to perform.
		Entrepreneurial identity	Role identity and having values.
		Proactiveness	Action-oriented and proactive.
		Uncertainty/ambiguity tolerance	Comfortable with uncertainty.
		Innovativeness	Novel thoughts/actions, visionary, creative.
		Perseverance	Ability to overcome adverse situations.

shows the themes, subthemes, and explanations for each subtheme depending on the level of cognitive or non-cognitive competencies. On another note, while those sets of skills are competencies that are highly beneficial and increases the entrepreneurs’ chance of success when available, Ahmed A. highlighted that those competencies can also be developed throughout the entrepreneurship journey [39].

2.4. Qatar—Status of the Economy, Private Enterprise, and Entrepreneurship

Qatar is one of the world’s wealthiest nations measured by per capita GDP. Its economy is highly dependent on natural gas, more precisely on LNG revenues [43]. Qatar primarily exports LNG to East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and India. It imports technology and other products that require expertise, mainly from the US, China, Germany, and the UK. Qatar is clearly well-connected along eastern and western trade routes and needs to become more reliant on national competitive technology products [44]. Qatar’s proven natural gas reserves are predicted to maintain the economy for the coming few decades. However, this is heavily dependent on market conditions and fluctuations, which, in turn, depend on a range of geopolitical, economic, trade, and technological factors. Unpredictable and fluctuating oil and gas prices periodically affect the economy and society. Hence, Qatar already recognizes that it needs to diversify its economy in the long term to become sustainable. This requires that it further develop export-oriented, valued-added petrochemicals; its financial, health, sports, and tourism sectors; and entrepreneurial-based private enterprises and SMEs [45,46]. According to the literature, economic diversification is essential and required for rentier nations such as Qatar to achieve sustainable development goals [47,48].

Thus far, Qatar has invested significantly in its basic infrastructure and developed its transportation, communication, energy, water, food, education, and healthcare sectors to establish a solid foundation for the transition to a knowledge-based economy [49,50,51]. The quality of the nation’s human capital and its educational structure must be further developed to provide Qatar with a competitive advantage outside the hydrocarbon framework. There is a need to first develop institutional and government capacity to effectively design and implement policies before any benefits from education and R&D investments can be realized [52]. Expanding the private sector, especially export-oriented entrepreneurial SMEs, is also needed.

Entrepreneurship in Qatar is a growing and developing aspect of the economy, and significant effort and resources have been spent on improving the number of programs, entities, entrepreneurs, and private enterprises. Nevertheless, there remains considerable room to enhance the ease of doing business in Qatar; it ranked 77 out of 190 countries in the 2020 World Bank rankings. Qatar did not achieve high scores for any of the areas scored, including procedures and time required to start a business, requirements to obtain utilities for the business, the policies and laws protecting investors and businesses, and the enforcement of contracts [53].

Qatar has a low unemployment rate (less than 1%), which is one of the lowest in the world and mainly the result of government-provided public sector jobs. Qatar’s unemployment rate and high per capita income shows that the main entrepreneurship driver will be opportunity [54].

Table 2. Institutes and programs that support entrepreneurship in Qatar [55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66].

Institute	Program	Objectives and Activities	Started
Qatar Development Bank	Financial services	Improve the economic development cycle by providing entrepreneurs and SMEs with a wide range of financial and advisory products under one roof:	1997
	Advisory services
Qatar Science & Technology Park	Financial services	- Support tech-based entrepreneurship - Accelerate product innovation - Create an environment that fosters innovation	2009
	Advisory services
Qatar Business Incubation center	Incubation	Training	2013
	Acceleration	Financing and loans
	Manufacturing	Consultation and services
	Fashion brand creation	Networking
Injaz Qatar	Entrepreneurship programs	Educating, courses, training, and networking	2007
Bedaya	Advisory services	Advisory services	2011
Silatech	Financial services	Financing and loans	2008
	Advisory and training services	Capacity building and training
Nama	Sama Nama (social entrepreneurship program)	- Training - Networking	1996
	Advisory services
Qatar University, Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE)	ERADA (training program)	- Raise awareness through seminars and workshops - Provide training - Provide consultation services - Conduct research	2013
	From innovation to commercialization
	Business incubator
College of North Atlantic, Entrepreneur Center	Al Ruwad	- Raise awareness - Increase understanding - Competitions and prizes	2015
Carnegie Melon	Young Entrepreneurs	Raise awareness and training	N/A
Al-Faisal Holding	Sheikh Faisal Center for Entrepreneurship	Connect entrepreneurs and training	2014
Innovation Academy	Qatar Innovation Academy	Training	N/A

below lists the institutes and programs that support entrepreneurs through training, funding, or other services. As seen from Table 2, there have been more than 12 organizations [55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64,65,66] supporting and promoting entrepreneurship in various ways for over a decade. Yet, the level, depth, and breadth of the entrepreneurial private sector are lower than expected. There is a consensus among many of the economy’s actors that government regulations are the main constraint on entrepreneurial activities in Qatar [67,68]. More than a third of the experts point to constraints such as a lack of proper financial support, complex and multi-stage regulations, and other less significant factors, such as lack of capacity, labor cost, and overall contextual conditions [67,68].

2.5. Norway—A Successful Example of a Country in Transition from a Resource-Based to a Knowledge-Based Economy

Brief economic history: With a population of 4.6 million on Europe’s northern side, Norway is one of the world’s wealthiest countries, calculated as GDP per capita and in capital stock. For some years, Norway has been among the top three nations on the United Nations Human Development Index, and the top country for several years. Sizeable natural resource supplies combined with skilled labor and modern technologies made Norway a prosperous nation in the 19th and 20th centuries [69,69,70].

The production of oil in the early 1970s was the beginning of the Norwegian economy’s golden age. The Norwegian economy saw consistent growth, mainly attributed to the successful Nordic model that ensured the even distribution of wealth and social security, and the large public sector. This stability helped Norwegians significantly after discovering the oil and allowed them to properly manage their oil resources [69,71,72,73].

Post-oil discovery, the Norwegian economy has had a few negative waves and slowdowns due to the global economy and changing oil prices, but it generally remained positive and flourished in the last few decades due to the development of entrepreneurship, private sectors, and economic diversity. This was possible because of the excellent management of the oil revenue, educated workforce, stable and reliable institutions, business friendly policies, the adoption of advanced technology, and democracy [69,69,71,72].

Entrepreneurship model: Norway is one of the best examples in the modern world of how entrepreneurship can transform the economy and how a nation can change from a raw material-dependent economy to a knowledge-based economy with the right policies and systems in place. However, many argue that the Norwegian model cannot be applied to other developing countries, mainly due to the requirements of a highly homogeneous population, socially and culturally. For example, one of the most effective systems in place that helped push the Norwegian economy’s boundaries is the centralized wage compression system. This system limits the wages in high-productivity sectors of the economy to prevent the capture of the productivity differential into wages, while at the same time, increasing the minimum wages to force the businesses operating in low-productivity sectors to move to higher-productivity sectors to be able to pay those wages [74,75]. In this section of the paper, the purpose is to discuss the Norwegian entrepreneurship model and learn from it, while keeping in mind the cultural and social differences between Qatar and Norway.

Most of the developing countries nowadays are aiming to, or already working toward, the following goals: diversifying the economy, decreasing their dependence on natural resources, or empowering entrepreneurs and encouraging entrepreneurship. However, what is different in Norway is the robust decision-making platforms to ensure the best and most efficient utilization of natural resources, and the focus on developing the private sector through enabling mechanisms. For instance, Norway discovered oil in 1969 [76]. In 1970, and before the first oil production started, the Norwegian government was already aware of the issues that could arise from such great wealth, especially since it was not ready for it. They were aware of concepts such as the Dutch disease and how it could bring much harm to their economy.

To prevent the Dutch disease and develop other sectors of the economy, Norway has created a list of systems and principles to ensure the proper utilization of this new resource. Those systems and policies are summarized below [77]:

• Establish a national governmental company to determine the state’s commercial interests, take control of all the decisions related to the oil industry, and give priority to the nation’s energy supply.
• Focus on creating new opportunities using oil-based investments and engage the other national industries in various oil operations.
• Protect the environment and prevent natural gas burning.
• Set the balance between national and international goals of oil production and enhance Norwegian activities at the international level and their role in the oil economy of the world.

Norway has also developed a solid foundation for decision-making in relation to how to use the revenue of the oil. They have decided to take the following actions to maximize revenue and develop other sectors of the economy [6,74,75]:

• Collect and audit the oil revenue with accuracy and honesty in order to protect the public interest.
• Undertake comprehensive development planning while considering economic and social sectors to use some of the oil revenue to create new industries and develop sustainable projects.
• Establish a fund for development planning.
• Establish a fund to finance and protect the national economy from oil market variations.

With those systems and principles in place, Norway ensured the proper utilization of its raw materials to build a strong, diversified, and sustainable economy, but that was only the first step.

The second step was to ensure that the right systems are in place for the population to start to contribute to the economy and help build these new sectors with the support of the increased revenue from the newly discovered oil sector. They established the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world to help diversify the economy [78]; developed a healthy education system that ranks sixth globally, with a teacher–student ratio of 1:10 [79]; and set up enabling policies and attracted foreign talents and know-how to develop its own entrepreneurs and private sector [80]. This led many to call Norway a paradise for entrepreneurs to express a healthy environment [81]. By 2020, only about 10% of Norway’s GDP and state revenue came from the oil and gas industry compared to almost 40% in the early 2000s [76]. This shows that the steps Norway took to transform its economy from a resource-based economy into a more sustainable knowledge-based economy were effective.

In summary, the following are Norway’s success factors that helped develop its non-petroleum and private economic sectors [82]:

• Developed human capital stemming from the education system and the importation of know-how.
• Strong policies and decision-making platform to regulate businesses, create a stable environment, and control the oil revenue and use it to diversify.
• Highly homogenous culture and high quality of life.
• Largest sovereign wealth fund.

Upon looking at the Norwegian success and conducting the literature review, this study was formulated around the following main research questions:

• What is the status of entrepreneurship, and what are the relevant challenges, underlying issues, and barriers in resource-dependent economies such as Qatar?
• What are the critical improvements that could be made to improve entrepreneurship in Qatar as a resource-based economy?
• What alternative, practical, and suitable entrepreneurship frameworks, models, and mechanisms are available for a resource-based economy such as Qatar?

It is hypothesized that by offering a suitable framework that focuses on tackling barriers and challenges to entrepreneurs and improving the business environment, resource-based economies, such as Qatar, would see a significant increase in the number and quality of its entrepreneurs. This would ultimately lead toward a greater contribution from SMEs to the economy, and a more diversified, sustainable economy that is less dependent on natural resources.

3. Methodology

This study followed a mixed methodology (exploratory and qualitative) to answer the research questions. In the first stage, the literature review, the focus was on learning from global and local examples, history, and models of diversification, economic sustainability, and entrepreneurship. The second phase focused on understanding the current state of entrepreneurship in Qatar through interviews with various local actors. In the last stage, the focus was on the design of a preliminary framework for entrepreneurship for Qatar based on the literature review and interviews, given its larger developmental and cultural context and future prospects.

3.1. Exploratory Research Approach

Exploratory research is helpful in understanding and analyzing the effectiveness of Qatar’s current entrepreneurial models, policies, practices, and results. This approach required collecting data related to the economy, supporting agencies, challenges facing entrepreneurs, and their contributions to the current economy. The data, once collected, were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the current entrepreneurial systems in Qatar and the effort spent promoting entrepreneurial activities relative to the results. The findings are summarized in graphical form for ease of understanding.

This approach helps bring focus to existing systems and policies, allowing an examination of the barriers and constraints to entrepreneurship in Qatar as an example of a resource-based economy. The exploratory analysis covers the following:

• The role of economic diversification in building a robust and sustainable economy;
• The current barriers and constraints to entrepreneurship in Qatar;
• The key improvements and opportunities to develop entrepreneurship in Qatar;
• A tailored entrepreneurship framework for Qatar based on these various factors.

3.2. Qualitative Approach

The qualitative analysis consisted of interviews with all relevant stakeholders (entrepreneurs, potential or failed entrepreneurs, policymakers, industry and business representatives, program managers, and investors) to develop a deep understanding of the current context, challenges, issues, needs, and opportunities for entrepreneurship within Qatari society. These interviews allowed a direct stakeholder assessment of the effectiveness of existing policies, mechanisms, and programs in driving, supporting, and promoting entrepreneurship in Qatar, as well as identifying what is lacking and not working. A total of 34 interviews were conducted with the following stakeholders:

• Successful entrepreneurs;
• Unsuccessful entrepreneurs;
• Entrepreneurs to be;
• Representatives of industry and business;
• Policymakers and government agencies;
• Staff members of entrepreneurship education and training programs and institutes;
• Staff members of entrepreneurship support and promotion programs and agencies;
• Academics (faculty and students).

For the list of questions that were used, please refer to Appendix A.

The qualitative data obtained from interviews were subjected to analysis using the thematic method, which involves identifying, analyzing, and reporting patterns in the data. This approach entails creating thematic categories by classifying data and comparing and accounting for the indicators within each theme. By identifying patterns in the data, themes are established to provide a better description of the phenomenon under investigation. The primary objective of the interviews was to gain insight into existing issues and collect stakeholder ideas to develop a preliminary model or framework, in combination with the knowledge obtained from the expiatory approach [83,84].

Description of Interview Preparation, Planning, and Conduct

The interviews were initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic between Q4-2020 and Q2-2021, and the early meetings were made possible through online and phone communication. After the lockdown was relaxed, face-to-face meetings were possible, allowing for an enriched interaction with the interviewees. The interviewees were mainly contacted through emails, direct calls, WhatsApp messages, or referrals from other interviewees. The participation rate was relatively high due to the fact that the researcher is an entrepreneur and has many entrepreneurs in his social network. Around 50 people were contacted, with a response from 34; the highest response rate was for non-entrepreneurs (100%), followed by entrepreneurs (90%), and the lowest response rate was that of government agency representatives and policymakers, with rates of 36% and 44%, respectively. Most of those who did not join the study did not respond to the initial communication. Of those who responded, some said they were busy currently and kept postponing indefinitely and were therefore labeled as non-respondents.

Table 3. Communications and responses.

	Non-Entr.	Entr.	Policymakers	Investors	Support Agencies
Communicated	5	20	9	5	11
Responded	5	18	4	3	4
Response %	100%	90%	44%	60%	36%

shows communication and responses to interviews with the response rate according to stakeholder type.

Table 4. Demographics of the participants.

Age	18–29	30–39	40–49		50+
	5	15	8		6
Type	Non-entrep.	Entrepreneur	Policymaker	Investor	Support agency
	5	18	4	3	4
Education level	High school	BS/BA	MS		PhD
	3	10	16		5
Marital status	Married			Single
	28			6
Employment	Self-employed	Employed		Both
	2	15		17
Children	0	1–2		3+

shows the demographics of the participants.

The time, date, method, and location of interviews were based on the interviewees’ preferences. Most were conducted mainly in English, with only three interviews conducted primarily in Arabic. For those conducted in Arabic, the overall meaning was translated into English and was confirmed by the interviewees. An email or message explaining this study’s purpose, conditions, confidentiality, and interviewee rights was shared with each interview invitation. With the agreement of the interviewees, the interview was conducted, and written notes were taken to be analyzed after the discussions.

4. Results Analysis and Discussion

This section presents a detailed analysis of current entrepreneurship challenges, needs, examples, initiatives, and support systems in Qatar. It also suggests steps for different stakeholders based on the interviews and a comparison with the findings of the literature review.

4.1. Current Status

Studies have shown that crippling policies and legal systems and financial, market, and interpersonal factors are the main reasons developing countries such as Qatar have been unsuccessful in promoting entrepreneurship [85,86] This is largely in line with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2020/2021 Global Report. The report highlighted that government regulations not conducive to entrepreneurship, a lack of proper financial support, and a lack of quality and targeted entrepreneurship education at schools were the most critical constraining factors for entrepreneurship in Qatar [87].

The literature review showed that many governmental and semi-governmental organizations support and promote entrepreneurs (see Table 2). These organizations have been offering various support and training services for over 10 years, with large budgets allocated by the government directly, or indirectly allocated. However, the impact on the entrepreneurial system has been minimal. The number of successful entrepreneurs and their potential has not been realized in proportion to the investment and the time spent. This can be attributed to a lack of proper and quality efforts, planning, and execution. Our qualitative analysis offers in-depth insight into these various constraints. We then compare our results to those of the GEM report and use those findings to develop a progressive, locally tailored, and suitable entrepreneurship framework for Qatar that could accurately tackle and resolve these constraints.

4.2. Interview Results and Findings

4.2.1. Government-Related Challenges and Needs

Procedures and processes: The majority of the entrepreneurs (14/18) emphasized that the current processes and procedures in Qatar are significant obstacles to starting any entrepreneurial or business activity there. For almost all stakeholders, the processes are unclear in many respects. When a person wants to open a business, they must undergo a trial-and-error or learn-along-the-way approach, and the process involves many ministries and government agencies with varying processing and paperwork complexity. Interviewee #8 (Entr.) mentioned that “having a friend who works in the ministry and a Mandoob is a must for anyone trying to start a business”.

In fact, other studies on entrepreneurship in the country have highlighted that although the government aims to promote and develop local entrepreneurs, Qatar is still ranked very low on the ease of doing business index [88,89]. Another significant challenge is the lack of a single processing window involving all ministries and agencies; for instance, an entrepreneur who wants to start a marketing company will need to receive approvals from the Ministry of Culture, and one who wants to start an educational business will need permissions from the Ministry of Education. It would greatly help entrepreneurs if all those approvals could be obtained from the same place, ideally online. This is in line with findings from other studies on entrepreneurship in Qatar [90,91]. Such studies have concluded that providing streamlined processing through a single-window service and/or digital platform would facilitate the process of business entry and increase the quantity, quality, and endurance of entrepreneurs with limited resources, as highlighted by Al-Qahtani [91] and Al-Mulla [92].

Legal system: The issues with the legal system, laws, and regulations underly the problematic processes and procedures already noted. However, these are seen as separate, and perhaps different, by interviewees. This is probably because policies, laws, and regulations in Qatar and GCC countries are not made in consultation and with input from the public at large. Hence, their involvement and knowledge of laws and regulations might be limited until this encounter with end effects, such as processes and procedures. In the interviews, issues with laws, regulations, and the legal system were the second most cited challenge for entrepreneurs (7/18) and one which leads to significant insecurity for entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs alike; this is mainly the result of the prolonged processes to start, operate, exit, and even dispute resolutions for any business activity.

Interviewee #17 (Entr.) noted, “I sued one company for not paying me after a relatively big request for our service; a year later, I was broke and closed my company before getting the court to give me my payment”. There is also complexity, and an unnecessarily large number of requirements, for a starting entrepreneur to sue more prominent companies in cases of contract infringement, and large companies have lawyers at their disposal. In contrast, a starting entrepreneur cannot spare the budget to hire a lawyer to follow their case for long periods, while without a lawyer, the process might be too complicated. These findings are in line with the GEM 2020/2021 Global Report, which gave Qatar’s legal system a low rank, with a score of 5.4 out of 10 [87].

Lack of affirmative laws and enforcement: A lack of support in this area for SME participation in tenders and contracts was cited by entrepreneurs, who argued that they needed affirmative support to participate with a priority in tenders. Most tenders are monopolized by large corporations, which gives SMEs almost no chance to participate or compete. Interviewees indicated that while there are some legal provisions to ensure SME priority for a specific percentage of tenders, enforcement and monitoring are not performed with diligence, creating an unresolved obstacle for SMEs to flourish and offer good examples of entrepreneurship.

Lack of education in schools and universities: Education and training focused on entrepreneurship were highlighted as important for developing knowledge and cognitive and non-cognitive skills for entrepreneurship. While these can be gained through special training and short courses, integrating entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial education into the schooling system will significantly increase the pool of people with the necessary educational background to start a business. This is in line with other studies in the field showing that integrating entrepreneurship into the education system is one of the most significant predictors of entrepreneurial implementation [93,94].

4.2.2. Industry- and Business-Related Challenges

High rent: The third most cited challenge for entrepreneurs (6/18) was high rents for office space and housing. They state that the very high rents in Qatar add a high overhead cost to their business, significantly diminishing their income, long-term competitiveness, and even survival. Interviewee #18 (Entr.) said, “I am paying 50% plus of my business income on my shop rental, even though I am not in a central part of Doha, I will not risk moving to a central area and going broke”. Furthermore, the official application process requires that a business rent an office or building, even if it does not need one, further complicating startup finances and operations. Interviewee #34 (Non-entr.) pointed out, “Starting up a business nowadays is very expensive, especially with the high rent. If you fail, you impact your budget and your comfortable lifestyle. In my opinion, it’s not worth it”. The findings are in line with the GEM 2020/2021 ranking of Qatar’s office space availability as low, with a score of 6.3 out of 10 [87].

Expertise and skilled labor: Some of the entrepreneurs (4/18) cited the absence of organizations and individuals who can bring expertise into the country; most of the human resources companies only bring laborers, housemaids, or drivers with very little focus on the high-level expertise needed, for example, mechanical engineers or programmers. This pushes the owners of small startups to travel to find experts even though they might lack the knowledge or experience of the process of doing so. This also aligns with Mohammed et al.’s findings on human development in Qatar; the authors highlighted that Qatar has little tendency to provide skilled workers with permanent residency on the basis of their professional expertise and talent [95,96].

4.2.3. Supporting Agency Challenges

Lack of proper, locally relevant, and continuous mentoring: Entrepreneurs, especially those who have dealt with supporting agencies, mentioned that instead of the basic consultation services (e.g., quarterly meetings) provided to guide them, they would prefer more significant and timely help in the form of locally relevant and driven mentoring services with more frequent meetings and increased involvement. They noted that low-frequency consultations with outside mentors offer “shallow” guidance since the consultants mostly have an incomplete, if not wrong, sense of the idea and business and are not involved in critical startup issues. Interviewee #20 (Entr.) said, “I see my mentor only once every month or two; it is rarely helpful outside of generic advice that I can find everywhere on the internet”. Existing studies show that mentoring and knowledge transfer significantly increase the survivability of startups in the first few years. Proper mentoring has also been shown to be a significant factor in startup success stories [97,98].

Lack of proper, progressive, and continuous training: Many entrepreneurs mentioned that while they might have the required technical expertise, they lack the business-related knowledge and insights, such as marketing or financial training, to manage their startup. They pointed out that it would help if the supporting agencies could provide basic training on how to market or manage business financials. Another study of entrepreneurship in GCC countries highlighted that training significantly impacts the performance of entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs [99]. Another issue raised in the interviews was that although many intermediary entrepreneurship agencies offer some kinds of training, the timing, level, and depth of this often do not match the progressive conditions and needs of entrepreneurs in the field. Hence, entrepreneurs mostly end up with little help.

Lack of financing for startups/scaleups: The majority of entrepreneurs self-funded their startups, citing difficulties and unclear criteria from the supporting agencies as the main reasons for not obtaining loans or grants. This is counterintuitive to developing entrepreneurs in Qatar—the literature emphasizes that efficient funding is one of the main drivers for entrepreneurs’ success [100,101,102]. Furthermore, as expected, grants were the preferred funding method. The reason cited for this was the “risk-free” nature of these. Entrepreneurs choosing partnership as their preferred approach cited guidance and networking support as the main reason for their choice. These findings are in line with the GEM 2020/2021 Global Report, which gave Qatar’s funding system a low ranking, with a score of 5.1 out of 10 [87]. Interviewees also stated the lack of venture capital financing for entrepreneurial activities, although it is well-known that there are a significant number of individuals with very high wealth and assets in Qatar. Furthermore, Qatar has one of the highest GDP per capita rates in the world. These two facts indicate a mismatch between available resources and financing needs. This was also mentioned by Al-Mulla et al. [92] as a significant research issue and an opportunity to improve.

Lack of knowledge and awareness of available services: All four supporting agencies interviewees highlighted that, while they provide a lot of business services, such as auditing, financing, and accounting services, to entrepreneurs, they can still see that a considerable number of people needing such services are completely unaware of them. They highlighted that multiple marketing campaigns were launched to spread awareness, but the gap remains.

4.2.4. Social Challenges

Market trends: A few entrepreneurs (3/18) also cited market trends as a challenge, explaining that, in one year, people would be all about cycling, and all bicycles would run out of stock. This will lead entrepreneurs to identify bicycle manufacturing as a market opportunity and start a business. However, the next year, the market focus would shift from, say, cycling to kayaking, rendering the cycling business obsolete.

High income and reluctance to take risks: A few non-entrepreneurs said that high income and good living conditions were the primary reasons they were unwilling to take financial risks that might impact their livelihood. As Interviewee #33 said: “why would I leave my work which is more than enough to give me the best life, just to start a business that might end me up in prison”. This is in line with studies from the literature highlighting that the absence of income and the need for financial independence are the most significant drivers for entrepreneurs [103,104].

4.3. Recommendations

In addition to addressing entrepreneurship issues, challenges, and needs in Qatar based on their perspectives, experience, and expectations, the interviewees offered suggestions to improve the ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship. These suggestions were made for entrepreneurs and those wanting to be entrepreneurs, policymakers and other government representatives, and staff from supporting agencies. A summary of their recommendations is provided below.

4.3.1. Recommendations for Government

Integrating entrepreneurship education: Integrating entrepreneurship into the academic curriculum at different levels positively impacts the development of a culture of entrepreneurship and the overall business environment. It has the potential to create future leaders that add significant value to society and the economy. Such education will give entrepreneurs an edge in tackling business challenges by providing them with the required skill sets. It will also increase the drive for non-entrepreneurs to pursue entrepreneurship by providing them with the entrepreneurial knowledge to start their business. The significance of integrating entrepreneurship education into academia is well-studied in the literature and is supported by multiple studies [105,106,107,108].

Increased access to information on the business environment: Information on, for example, the country’s imports and exports, business needs, future direction, average salaries, and rentals will help entrepreneurs make more informed decisions regarding their business development. It will encourage the efforts of non-entrepreneurs by giving them the data to better identify market opportunities. This is in line with the findings of Florek et al. [109].

Simplification and streamlining of policies and procedures: Policies and procedures were highlighted as one of the significant obstacles to entrepreneurship in Qatar. Multiple suggestions were made for improvements, including the following: publish a detailed how-to guide on starting a business for different business types; provide detailed, easy-to-access, and transparent information on policies that affect entrepreneurs; further train staff at customer service sections to provide more accurate information and be able to support entrepreneurs; establish a streamlined, simple, and easy digital online process to start, establish, operate, and exit a business. Provide a one-window platform to complete all relevant paperwork for different business types.

Development of the legal system: Interviewees recommended having a unique commercial legal process to settle commercial disputes in a much more urgent fashion. Another recommendation was to provide legal support to small businesses suing a large business, mainly because large businesses have expert lawyers readily at their disposal.

Free zones: The government was also urged to provide additional free zones for businesses with controlled rents to allow easier access to entrepreneurs with lower overhead costs and a better overall ecosystem.

4.3.2. Recommendations for Supporting Agencies

Clarity and transparency are needed in financing selection criteria and processes to support ideas, startups, and scaleups. Entrepreneurs argued that their applications were frequently rejected from support initiatives without clear reasons. They underscored that selection criteria should be clear and transparent to avoid nepotism and abuse and allow entrepreneurs a fairer opportunity for financial support. Existing studies found that ensuring adequate funding is critical in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship [110,111].

There should be a careful selection of members of the committee judging entrepreneurs’ ideas. Interviewees recommended selecting entrepreneurs for those committees to determine the feasibility of startup ideas. Interviewee #10 (Entr.) noted, “Entrepreneurship is all about taking the risk and realizing unutilized opportunities; how can you expect someone who is not an entrepreneur and perhaps doesn’t even have business experience to judge startup ideas? To him, it will look more like a gamble”. Interviewee #4 (Support agency) made the same point, mentioning that they sometimes misjudged entrepreneurs due to the lack of entrepreneurial knowledge on the part of service providers.

Networking events: Additional and frequent networking events and channels allow entrepreneurs, mentors, and investors to connect and support each other. Entrepreneurs and investors both highlighted that those events were beneficial for finding the right partnerships. Interviewee #28 (Investor) said, “Having something like the Shark Tank TV program will help us investors find the right people and ideas to invest in”. Research has shown that networking plays a major role in promoting entrepreneurship and expanding a business at the national and international level [112,113,114].

Mentoring and training: Locally tailored, continuous, and progressive mentoring and training in entrepreneurship should be provided. This should cover important entrepreneurial skills and knowledge requirements, allowing more entrepreneurs to find success in the economy.

4.3.3. Recommendations for Entrepreneurs

Right connections/networks: Seven interviewees highlighted that having personal connections in critical business areas (e.g., supporting agencies) will significantly help in establishing new businesses. They recommended networking and forming the right relationships with the right people. Interviewee #25 (Policymakers agent) stated, “If you have the right connections here, rules and process will not matter”. This shows the importance of having the right connections.

Family member with experience: Five participants noted that having a family member with entrepreneurship experience is a significant asset in terms of both knowledge and financial support. They advised new entrepreneurs to use or identify such resources. This is also supported by the literature, which highlighted that having an entrepreneur as a family member has a substantial positive effect on the motivation and success of an entrepreneur [115].

Passion and field of study and expertise: Some entrepreneurs also mentioned that looking for a business field that aligns with their expertise and passion is always the best starting point.

4.4. A preliminary Framework for the Qatar Entrepreneurship Model

Based on the discussions above, Figure 1 illustrates the interview findings as push-or-pull factors. Figure 2 depicts a preliminary policy framework developed for the Qatar entrepreneurship model (QEM), taking account of overall needs and challenges, drivers, stakeholders, and goals drawn from the interviews and the literature review and noting potential impacts on Qatar’s diversification, sustainable economy, and development goals.

Considering Qatar’s current social and economic condition as a resource-based economy and its needs and goals for sustainable development, we propose two ideas to promote entrepreneurship, tackle the challenges and needs, and ultimately help diversify Qatar’s economy and develop its private sector: (1) a geographic constraint-free zone for innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors (Ent-Q free zone; Figure 3), and (2) a digital platform named “Ryadah” to facilitate, speed up, and ensure efficiency and effectiveness in establishing and running entrepreneurial businesses and SMEs. This will also provide networking and mentoring opportunities and attract entrepreneurial financing (Figure 4).

4.5. Ent-Q: Special Free Zone for Entrepreneurs

Establishing an “entrepreneurial free zone (Ent-Q)” in Qatar will bring a range of benefits to individuals with great ideas, proofs-of-concept, and prototypes to start or scale their business in an internationally competitive and conducive environment without any location restriction. Ent-Q will be a distinct business environment with dedicated policies, processes, and legal system support. This should create an environment where entrepreneurs can flourish without facing existing legal, business, and cultural constraints. Furthermore, Ent-Q will focus on matching entrepreneurs to companies and ministries to provide solutions to national and business-specific challenges while funding entrepreneurs through the “community services budget” clause and investor platforms. Startups in Ent-Q will have privileges and access to the following:

Tax incentives and low rents: Startups in Ent-Q should have access to low-cost or free office and industrial space to minimize initial overhead costs and ensure high business continuity.

Tendering support and other agency services: Ent-Q, with support from decision-makers, should have a list of all open tenders. It will exercise its assigned authority to ensure that startups have a quota (e.g., 5%) in tenders. Furthermore, companies operating in Qatar will need to purchase a certain quota from those startups. This will help these startups grow and scale up. Ent-Q should also provide its startups with services from all supporting agencies (through collaboration). This will ensure all businesses in Ent-Q are fully informed and guided on the available services.

Progressive policies and procedures for startups: Starting a business in Ent-Q should be through a fast-track, digital process outside the current complex and debilitating requirements. However, frequent monitoring will be required to ensure all businesses comply with current laws and regulations.

Innovative financing options and transparent selection criteria: Startups in Ent-Q will have access to multiple financing options with transparent selection criteria. Financing options should include grants, partnerships, and direct investment from the industry through the community service clause. The community service clause can be met in accordance with business needs; for instance, a company in the oil and gas sector will fund a startup to fulfill its requirement for a specific technology in the oil and gas business.

Dedicated commercial, legal, and technical committees, mentors, and support: Ent-Q will have its own dedicated commercial and legal committees to help its startups in their legal or commercial disputes. Ent-Q will also provide its startups with the required mentorship by pairing startups with experts from various industrial sectors.

Investor-relationship section and investment platform: Ent-Q will have a funding platform for investors to find businesses and partners that suit their investment requirements. Furthermore, Ent-Q, with support from decision-makers, will receive a certain percentage of the industrial companies’ income tax toward investment. It will also provide a committee-managed fund to invest the money of investors who do not have specific investment requirements. Multiple studies have shown that free zones and technology parks have a very positive promotional effect on entrepreneurship in both developed and developing countries [118]; Figure 4 shows the main characteristics of Ent-Q, and

Table 5. Ent-Q benefits and challenges.

Ent-Q Benefits	Ent-Q Challenges and Requirements
Provide a fertile environment for entrepreneurs in Qatar to flourish with a supportive legal system and a simplified, streamlined process.	Significant support is required from the government and decision-makers. → Agreement from decision-makers.
Support entrepreneurs through low rent and tax incentives and provide them the opportunity to focus on expanding their business.	Collaboration is necessary from supporting agencies and ministries. → Support from decision-makers.
Create a collaboration so that national companies support the local entrepreneurship environment and entrepreneurs help find tailored solutions to companies’ challenges.	Risk of misuse of services. → Independent audit committee.
	Requirement of a high budget. → Support from the government.

sets out its main benefits and challenges.

4.6. Ryadah: Digital Entrepreneurship Platform to Facilitate, Grow, and Connect

The creation of an all-in-one online entrepreneurship platform (Ryadah) will complement and facilitate the broader, more rapid, and longer-term application of Ent-Q to nurture, grow, and connect entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, government, and intermediary agencies. It will provide entrepreneurs with a single window for all business-related services and needs. The purpose is to streamline all processes, services, and data for entrepreneurs to increase service accessibility and efficiency. The platform should support the following:

• Online completion and follow-up of government-related processes (registrations, renewals, visas, tax cards).
• Payment of company bills (Kahramaa, Ooredoo, salaries, fees, taxes, rents).
• An e-check system for payments and a quick legal follow-up system in case of non-payment.
• Bank services integration to ease and facilitate loan requests, changes in monetary authorities, and transfer of salaries.
• Notifications, reminders, and alerts for deadlines, expiry dates of legal documents, new tenders, and payments.
• Business-related information and data repository (size of market, new companies, and average salaries).
• Business-related services (transferring sponsorship, exit permits, and request service).
• Agency-related services (courses, funding, accounting, investor relations, and events). All supporting agencies will be available through a single interface. Entrepreneurs should be more focused on service availability and details rather than on which agency provides the service.
• Tendering interface to apply and participate in tenders. The tenders can also be tracked and audited by the government to ensure support for local startups.
• Tutorials, FAQs, and online support.

Figure 4 is a flowchart for Ryadah, depicting how the platform should integrate different functionalities and services.

Table 6. Ryadah benefits and challenges.

Ryadah Benefits	Ryadah Challenges
Automation, clarity, simplicity, and efficiency.	High-level, continuous, and productive collaboration between ministries is needed, which requires consensus, agreement, and support from decision-makers.
Tackles most business environment needs from all angles.	Supporting agencies will need to work as a team. → Agreement/support from decision-makers
Documentation of transactions and data.
Marketing and easiness of doing business.	Users will need to be accustomed to online services. → Education and time.
Easier communication with supporting agencies.
Environmental advantages and time savings.	Security concerns. → Hire world-class cybersecurity experts.

shows the main benefits and challenges of Ryadah.

4.7. Expected Economic and Social Impacts and Benefits from Ent-Q and Ryadah

Promoting entrepreneurship, economic diversification, and the building of a knowledge-based economy is a popular direction for countries reliant on natural resources. These countries have realized the importance of these issues following the financial crises of recent years, which illustrated that oil prices could fluctuate significantly, and if a person relies on oil as a primary source of income, their economy could also experience significant fluctuations. Having realized that, GCC countries, in particular, have implemented major reforms to decrease dependence on oil and gas.

This study’s findings from the literature review and interviewees, along with the proposals of Ent-Q and Ryadah, are intended to promote entrepreneurship in Qatar and other resource-dependent countries with similar contexts.

It is expected that upon successful implementation of the recommendations from this study, the following broader impacts might be seen: an increase in the efficiency of entrepreneurship-related policymaking and in the number and quality of entrepreneurs, a decrease in unemployment rates, and increased diversification of the economy.

5. Conclusions and Limitations

In conclusion, economic diversification is vital for a robust, resilient, sustainable economy. Many resource-based countries, such as Qatar and other GCC countries, strive for economic diversification with resources directed toward improving the environment for entrepreneurship and creating a strong private sector; however, these efforts have, until now, not yielded results. This study examined the current state of entrepreneurship in Qatar as an example of a resource-based economy and highlighted the main barriers to entrepreneurship.

Given that in wealthy resource-based economies, the population has few necessity-based drivers, a unique framework should be proposed to develop their entrepreneurial drive. This framework was developed based on the literature review and a method of qualitative analysis that put the authors in direct contact with multiple stakeholders in the entrepreneurship and business community. The framework involves increasing the ease of doing business, offering suitable opportunities, providing transparency, and removing policy obstacles.

During the interview phase, many challenges and needs were highlighted that align with findings from the literature and other regional studies. Those challenges and needs are summarized as follows:

• Complicated and unclear policies and procedures;
• A slow legal system;
• Access to business information;
• High rents;
• Shortage of available expertise;
• Absence of full mentoring;
• Need for contracting opportunities;
• Lack of training;
• Insufficient funding and/or difficulty in accessing risk-based funds.

The stakeholders interviewed also made multiple recommendations to policymakers, supporting agencies, and potential entrepreneurs. Those recommendations were used as a basis for creating a framework and proposing solutions to improve the entrepreneurship system and environment.

We propose two main programs offering multi-faceted solutions to almost all the needs and challenges identified through the literature review and interviews. First, we propose the entrepreneurial free zone (Ent-Q) to tackle many system-related challenges while creating a fertile environment for entrepreneurs outside of the complicated processes and procedures currently required. The second solution, Ryadah, is an online platform to address the other part of the system’s challenges and help increase the efficiency and accessibility of necessary services, data, and processes. The solutions to address the challenges and needs are highlighted in the literature and the qualitative analysis of Qatar as a resource-based economy. Both solutions are prepared with Qatar’s context in mind, but both can be adapted to other resource-based economies with similar economic structures and issues.

This study has several limitations, driven by the following factors. First, there is limited available research on entrepreneurship in Qatar. Second, researchers were not given ready access to governmental data due to confidentiality concerns. Third, the limited number of interviewees might lead to an incomplete picture of the status, barriers, and needs of entrepreneurship in Qatar as a resource-based economy. Fourth, while resource-based economies have many similarities, each has a specific context, and what applies to Qatar might not be fully compatible with other countries.

Given the design-thinking methodology used in this research, the authors plan to validate their proposed framework through a second round of interviews and surveys. The authors also plan to work with governmental or semi-governmental organizations to conduct a pilot study on the recommendations and proposals and monitor their implementation for further improvements. The ultimate purpose is to further modify and enhance the framework and identify possible gaps overlooked in the development of the current framework.