Zoho has announced a strategic partnership with the Kerala Business Forum (KBF) in Qatar. KBF is an organisation that supports business owners and entrepreneurs of Kerala heritage in Qatar to promote learning, collaboration and innovation in business.
The partnership will enable members of KBF access to Zoho Wallet credits to get access to the comprehensive suites of cloud-based applications for their businesses. Including Zoho CRM, Zoho People (HRMS), Zoho Books (VAT-compliant accounting software), Zoho Workplace (enterprise collaboration), and more.
Members will be able to use the Zoho software to streamline operations, enhance customer engagement, and make data-driven decisions. Zoho has a wide range of applications that suit all sizes and types of organisations. With competitive pricing for the market and localisations.
Prem Anand Velumani, Strategic Growth Director, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Zoho Corp, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Kerala Business Forum to support the thriving business community in Qatar. KBF members represent a dynamic group of entrepreneurs, and we believe that Zoho’s cloud solutions can provide them with the tools they need to scale their businesses and achieve their goals.”
Aji Kuriakose, President KBF, commented, “The Kerala Business Forum is a vibrant community of entrepreneurs of Kerala origin. We strive to keep our members informed and trained on the latest technology to navigate the changing business world.
“The key for every successful business unit is to have a well-structured and process-driven business system along with the power of automation. Our partnership with Zoho aims to explore opportunities by providing training and preferred commercial terms, enabling our interested members to effectively use Zoho’s products to scale up their businesses.”
It is unclear how many credits are set aside for KSA members. But it could be in the region of credits worth US$2,500. However, like other schemes, there are likely to be some restrictions. Most credits can only be used in the first year, for example.
Zoho continues Middle East growth
This is just the latest partnership in the Middle East that Zoho has forged. It has also created these partnerships in UAE, KSA, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. Within KSA, Zoho partnered with Monsha’at. Thus enabling SMEs enrolled in Monsha’at’s Mazaya Programme to gain access to Zoho’s 55+ cloud-based business solutions with a wallet credit worth USD 2,500.
This latest partnership signals the desire by Zoho to widen its footprint in the region. Zoho will also host Zoholics in Doha, Qatar, on September 4th. Giving customers and prospects the opportunity to network and learn more about the firm and the applications it offers.
Zoho has invested heavily in application localisation for the region. It supports right-to-left Arabic across its portfolio. Localisation exists for applications including Zoho CRM, Zoho Creator, Zoho Books and others. It supports VAT for Qatari businesses with Zoho Books, and the Qatar version has other localisations. The localisations ensure that the software supports Qatari businesses of all sizes. In providing these localisations within its solutions. Zoho believes it offers solutions that will meet the needs of entrepreneurs launching and building their businesses in the area without having to find a workaround or develop manual processes.
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Another partnership for Zoho with a business community in yet another country. Zoho has a tried and trusted process for expanding internationally. It ensures that its software is localised for the country to meet the local regulations. Zoho finds partners in the region, it has seven consulting partners, three of which, 1 Cloud Consulting, Gulf Infotech LL and Solutions to Success, have over ten years of experience working with Zoho Applications.
It also supports the local business community through partnerships such as that with KBF. Zoho also introduces initiatives to support its transnational localism mission as it spreads across the world, helping those who are worse off. It also forms partnerships with educational establishments sometimes. Finally, it holds Zoholics events in the country to bring together the Zoho Community to share, learn and network.
