Qatar Foundation alumnus opens up career vistas for fellow EC graduates
Snoonu CEO Hamad Al-Hajri’s delivery company wants other QF alumni to be a part of its future
YEARS after his graduation, and after his studies gave birth to an idea that began as a Master’s thesis and has become a successful company,
atar Foundation ( F) graduate Hamad Mubarak Al-Hajri is giving back to his fellow alumni through a partnership designed to open up new job opportunities.
A collaboration was sealed between Snoonu, the delivery application founded by Al-Hajri in atar, and F to offer pathways to employment within the company to graduates of universities at Education City, with 50 job opportunities being provided annually for F alumni in various fields.
“During the development stage of Snoonu, I never moved away from Education City, because I participated in training workshops and programmes there to promote entrepreneurship,” said Al-Hajri, CEO of Snoonu and a graduate of F partner university HEC Paris in atar.
“I am pleased to create this partnership with F, which is my first home, with the aim of providing jobs and opportunities for graduates.”
Snoonu started as a graduation project while Al-Hajri was studying at HEC Paris in atar, being awarded its Best Project of the Year 2017, and since then it has become one of the fastest-growing startups in atar.
Through Snoonu’s new partnership with F – sealed through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding at this week’s first F Alumni Reunion – employment opportunities will be provided for F graduates in the fields of engineering, computer, Artificial Intelligence, marketing, product management and project management.
“F graduates have the skill of quickly acquiring information, continuous learning, sincerity, and passion for their work, which are important for the success of any pioneering project,” said Al-Hajri. “That is why we have great hopes for F graduates and the positive impact they will make.”
Since his graduation, Al-Hajri has trained and supported F students in entrepreneurship programmes, with Snoonu having a technical office at F’s atar Science Technology Park ( STP).
Snoonu entered the Omani market this month and aims to spread to 10 new markets by 2024, with Kuwait, Egypt and Saudi Arabia next on this list. It currently has 400 employees in the field of technology and IT, as well as 2,500 drivers and supports 4,000 entrepreneurs. It aims to employ 1,000 people by 2023.
Through his company, Al-Hajri says he wants to contribute to enhancing atar’s global position in the field of emerging projects and hopes that its success will “reinforce our belief in our ability to retain projects and startups within the country so they can contribute to developing our economy”.
Al-Hajri credits F with providing him with the knowledge to become an executive director capable of managing a group of companies, such as the skills of developing strategies and building investment plans – and says these are capabilities he wants to help other F students develop.
And his advice to entrepreneurs is: “In the field of entrepreneurship, there is no place for fear. Each graduate must first be brave and demonstrate the determination to implement their project and work hard to develop it. This is the key to the success of any project, and from here, the will is strengthened, and bigger dreams are born.”