Hamad Al-Hajri

Hamad Mubarak Al-Hajri is a Qatari technology entrepreneur with academic training in automation and control engineering and engineering project management. He built his business career around technology, innovation and the disciplined development of professional expertise.

Born in 1979, he spent his earliest years in Umm Salal before moving at five to Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia with his mother and uncles. He returned to Qatar at eighteen. School, football and cartoons filled an otherwise quiet childhood, although financial difficulty required ingenuity. Rather than spend birthday gifts or pocket money, he saved them, bought toys and resold them at a modest profit. With the proceeds, he purchased a gift for his mother, whose support and confidence nurtured his ambition and rational temperament.

His abilities were also recognised by his uncle Ibrahim Al Hajri, a known innovator. At six, the uncle gave him a computer and programming books intended for older readers. Hamad nevertheless learned from them and began programming games at seven, establishing an early identity as a technologist and inventor.

He performed strongly throughout primary and secondary education. A good secondary result was not enough, however, to allow immediate university study, so he sought employment. In 1999, he joined QatarEnergy as a technical assistant in marine operations. The salary barely met essential needs, particularly because he had assumed responsibility for his mother and younger siblings.

Qatar’s economic opening encouraged his first business in 1999: a computer shop in Al Rayyan combined with a company programming smart devices. Entrepreneurship developed alongside rally driving, his favourite sport. Three serious crashes that nearly took his life forced a reassessment. He abandoned the dangerous hobby, gave greater priority to family and concentrated his energy on education and professional ambition.

A night shift on Halul Island prompted a decisive question: was his modest technical role the end of failure or the beginning of success? He concluded that the missing university degree separated him from his objectives. Officials set out a long route of sixteen examinations, a qualifying programme and two years of study in Qatar before overseas education. He completed each stage and travelled to Australia in 2003 to study automation and control engineering. Returning with a bachelor’s degree in 2006 did not end the process. In 2008, he went to Britain for a master’s degree in engineering project management and returned to Qatar in 2009 after graduating with distinction.

Alongside QatarEnergy, he invested in the stock market and appeared in media as an analyst. In 2007, a major loss caused a heart attack, three weeks in hospital and a period of debt and grief.

To rebuild his finances and experience, he accepted QatarEnergy project work in Japan from 2010 to 2012. He learned Japanese, expanded his technical and cultural knowledge and improved his income. The period clarified his longer-term interests in technology, consultancy and business development, although he waited for the right conditions before acting on them in Qatar.

In 2017, while working for a marketing company affiliated with Qatar Petroleum, he received an offer that he felt did not reflect his contribution or ambition. Extended discussions with QatarEnergy ended in his departure. He treated the decision as an opportunity to gain new experience, overcame an initial period of instability and resumed pursuing plans he had postponed. That year, he founded three companies; two became highly successful. He later sold the first for forty times its original capital, a decisive step in building his wealth.

In 2019, he founded Snoonu as a local digital platform through which users could order food, groceries, electronics, clothing and other goods for delivery. Early demand fell below projections, and many people advised him to close. He remained convinced that the concept could make a substantial contribution to the Qatari market.

Analysis showed that the principal weakness was the team: experienced international specialists were reluctant to move to Qatar, while attracting them required salaries and investment the company could not yet afford. In April 2020, he approached five leading Qatari companies, but each judged the technology venture too risky and doubted that Qatar could build a platform at that scale. He sold one of his other businesses for thirty times its original capital, providing QAR4 million in liquidity. Qatar Development Bank also offered important support after its Chief Executive, Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, contacted him despite the absence of conventional guarantees. Within a year, Snoonu closed a US$5 million round at a US$50 million valuation—ten times the sum originally sought. Later rounds reached valuations approximately twenty times the proposal declined by the first investors.

Family has always been central. He sought to be a devoted son, supportive brother, considerate husband and present father.

His children are Najla, Maryam, Nour and Hadi. Their pride increases his responsibility to maintain the example they see in him. Encouragement from siblings reflects the trust built through years of remaining close to the family and accepting its responsibilities.

He regards his children as his most important achievement. He invested in strong schooling and higher education while giving equal attention to their moral and humanitarian development. He also sought to honour the confidence of those who believed in him, especially his mother, whom he made proud and continued to cherish. Within his family, he worked to remain a worthy example.

That example extends into community activity, particularly with children and young people. He has contributed to programmes at institutions including the Community College and Qatar Foundation schools, encouraging students to consider entrepreneurship. Seven university graduation projects had examined Snoonu by the date of the source edition. He seeks to provide a constructive alternative to online models built on conspicuous consumption and promises of effortless profit.

Academic achievement remains as important to him as investment and public recognition. He is satisfied with the progress already made but continues to learn. Responsibility for a team of 250 employees makes him study decisions, words and future steps carefully, especially in periods of uncertainty. He credits colleagues who believed in the idea and describes his leadership as emotionally aware, placing human needs before material measures and taking the Prophet Mohammed—peace be upon him—as an example of leniency, integrity and reasoned discussion.

Great character is not formed by an easy life; it is refined by challenges, decisive choices and the willingness to bear obstacles.

Entrepreneurship requires the necessary knowledge and practical experience.