A multi-faceted Dominican entrepreneur with a passion to promote her country through its products and culture

Natalia Mena, a multi-faceted and skilled national of the Dominican Republic, arrived in Qatar around four years before accompanying her husband Ahmed Zaidan and children. She was born in New York, the USA in a Dominican family. Although, she obtained her degree in Dentistry, her calling as an entrepreneur inspired her to obtain her Master’s in Marketing.Well versed with the Latin and Arabic culture and market, she decided to take full advantage of her skills. Her passion for reading and travelling strengthened her confidence and knowledge which helped her in bridging relations and developing networking necessary in trading and marketing.As she moved to Qatar, and seeing her dedication and passion in promoting her native country Dominican Republic, she was appointed as Honorary Cultural Representative at the embassy in Doha.To introduce and promote her country in Qatar and the region, almost 12,000 km away, the wise move was to import products from her country and Latin America to the Gulf, which helped her earnings too.She got a trading and consulting company registered in Qatar focusing on representing and distributing the best brands from Latin America mainly Dominican Republic products, thus establishing the first Dominican Republic products business house in the region."I decided to select major brands from Domimican Republic in food stuff, home accessories, fashion, jewellery, art works etc.,” she said."The reason for selecting these products was my extensive knowledge of the Latin America and the Middle East. We serve as a bridge to brands wanting to penetrate the Middle Eastern market. We position them, represent them, and help them grow always keeping our local clients’ needs and requests in mind,” she explained. "You can already find our brands in stores throughout Doha,” the Dominican brand ambassador said.