Qatar Living, the most popular local website in Qatar, marked its ninth anniversary on November 5th at Grand Hyatt, in the presence of some its clients and partners.

Qatar Living was founded in October 2005 as the first social networking portal for people living in Qatar, and also for those looking to relocate to the country.

Bilal Randeree, Managing Director of Qatar Living, kicked off the night’s events with a presentation on the website’s nine years of evolution.

He used this opportunity to highlight three of the first users who signed up nine years ago, two of which are still active today.

“We got three sign-ups on this day exactly nine years ago – and today we get up to 300 new users joining Qatar Living daily."

At the event, Qatar Living announced the launch of a newly improved job portal within the website, developed in partnership with Bayt.com, a leading jobs portal in the Middle East.

“We are excited to partner up with Qatar Living, an institution that continues to empower its users, and this new job search service will only add to that value,” said Ibrahim Badreddeen, Country Manager of Bayt.com.

Qatar Living also launched a new payment gateway service that will open up new e-commerce opportunities for the local market.

This was done in partnership with QPAY International, a global payments company that is based in Qatar.

Through this service, SME’s can upgrade to the Premium Classifieds account on Qatar Living, making it easier for them to grow their businesses and customer bases.

Qatar Living also gave the attendees a sneak-peek into its ongoing mobile app developments, as well as the latest trends in online advertising.

“Every business or organization in Qatar, no matter how big or small, can benefit from Qatar Livings reach and access."

“We are willing to innovate and experiment in this regard, and look forward working closely with all stakeholders to keep improving the quality of our service.”

Industry professionals present at the event had the chance to win some exciting prizes from the sponsors, Grand Hyatt Doha and Turkish Airlines.

The prizes included a pool pass and weekend stay at the Grand Hyatt, and two return tickets to Istanbul from Turkish Airlines.

After nine wonderful years, the website’s forums have now become indispensable in the lives of many individuals living inside and outside Qatar.

As part of ongoing celebrations, we are giving away lots of cool prizes. Keep checking here for details!