Ramadan 2016 initiative aims to raise QR36 million for community development
 The initiative aims to encourage companies to donate a percentage of their profits to local charity projects.
 Charity projects include providing aid to families in need, funding of community training programs, the distribution of meals to workers and families, and contributing to the treatment of the low-income patients.
 
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce unveiled on Monday, May 30, 2016, the Al Baraka corporate social responsibility initiative, in cooperation with Eid Charity.
 
The Ramadan outreach programme is the fourth in a series of initiatives launched by the ministry to mark the holy month of Ramadan  under the theme “#Aqal_Min_Al_Wajeb”, meaning  “#the_least_we_can _do” in Arabic.
 
The initiative aims to increase the contribution made by institutions towards community development projects, and aligns with the objectives of the Qatar National Vision 2030 to promote social justice based on high moral standards and the Islamic values of peace, justice, social solidarity and charity work.
 
Through the Al Baraka initiative, the ministry aims to promote corporate social responsibility in Qatar by encouraging businesses to donate a percentage of their profits to charity projects which will be used to provide aid to families in need, fund community training programs, provide meals to low-income workers and families, and to finance the medical treatment of low-income patients.
 
Tariq Abdul Aziz Al Sada, Director of Public Relations and Communications at Ministry of Economy and Commerce, said: “Through this initiative, the Ministry of Economy and Commerce aims to encourage companies to contribute to community development and actively support sustainable programs which benefit the society and Qatar. The success of companies is no longer measured by their profitability alone, but also by their contribution to community development as part of their corporate social responsibility efforts.”
 
Nawaf Abdullah al-Hammadi, Eid Charity Executive Manager of Resources Development & Media, said the launch of the Al Baraka corporate social responsibility initiative is a major leap for institutionalised sustainable charity work through Al Baraka endowment fund, which contributes to Qatar’s cultural renaissance and achieves one of the pillars of Qatar vision 2030.
 
Al Hamadi said Al Baraka Initiative highlights the active participation of companies and institutions in one of the largest corporate social responsibility initiatives in Qatar, by offering a percentage of their corporate profits as donations to fund humanitarian and charitable projects in support of society.
 
The Al Baraka endowment fund will be established under the supervision of Eid Charity which aims to collect 36 million Qatari riyals in donations.
 
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce, along with Eid Charity, urge all companies to participate in Al Baraka corporate social responsibility initiative by filling in the online application available on Eid Charity’s website, or by visiting the headquarters of the foundation where they can make their donations with the Human Resources department and then obtain a certificate of registration for Al Baraka corporate social responsibility initiative.
 
The Ramadan 2016 initiatives forms part of the ministry’s efforts to provide community-oriented services designed to cover all aspects of the ministry’s activities in terms of organisation, partnership and support. These initiatives include sheep subsidies and price caps on consumer products in addition to the organisation of a number of awareness forums and campaigns on trade in Islam and “Halal livelihood” program on the ministry’s YouTube channel.
 
The ministry will also launch the “Iktisadi” bank card campaign as well as another campaign to bolster the productivity of bakeries and regulate gold and jewellery businesses.
 
The Ministry will also intensify its inspection campaigns to monitor markets and business activities among many other initiatives.
 
The ministry invites the public to follow its various accounts on social media platforms including Instagram, snapchat and YouTube under the name MEC_QATAR and to subscribe to its Watsapp account on the number: 66111400