Why network marketing is thriving

JR Mayer (Column) / 10 November 2013

The world body for the direct selling industry, the World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA), recently issued its annual statistics on global growth and trends, reporting that global direct sales increased 5.4 per cent from $158.3 billion in 2011 to $166.9 billion in 2012. 

The report also showed the revenues generated in Middle East for 2012 are approximately $109 million.

Globally, network marketing (NM), a popular method of direct selling, has been around for more than 50 years and in most first world countries, it is a highly regulated industry, recognised by governments as a legitimate business that contributes to the local economies.

Regionally, it is interesting to note that the direct selling business is making inroads into many emerging economies, especially in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. This is also confirmed by the WFDSA report that states that the industry is seeing a strong growth in emerging markets around the world, demonstrating the solid economic and entrepreneurial opportunity direct selling offers to people from all walks of life.

Success in network marketing is neither easy, nor quick. Just like in any other entrepreneurial opportunity, it is dependent on each individual’s hard work, commitment, knowledge about the products and services of the company and adherence to policies and procedures. For nearly a decade, QNET has been offering a wide range of life enhancing products and services along with a unique network marketing business opportunity from the UAE, to approximately two million entrepreneurs in the Mena region.

Unfortunately, many unscrupulous operators running pyramid schemes under the guise of network marketing business opportunities has resulted in people losing a lot of money. This has led to scrutiny into genuine NM companies because the industry itself is so new in these markets and there are no guidelines or legislations for regulation.

Dr Fareed Mohammed Hadi, an eminent Islamic scholar from Bahrain was recently appointed to QNET’s Mena Advisory Board to advise on matters of Shariah-compliance in the region. An Assistant Professor at the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Bahrain and Director of a new Bachelor’s programme in Shariah for Banking and Finance, Dr Fareed is also a member of numerous Shariah supervisory boards of Islamic banks, scientific councils and financial institutions.

“After extensively reviewing QNET’s business model and studying the selling and buying contracts that are agreed upon between independent representatives, I conclude that these opportunities are valid and Shariah compliant,” he said.

QNET is at the forefront of advocating for legislation for the NM industry and initiating efforts to adapt to the unique needs of the Mena region and this is why we appoint scholars that are well versed and qualified to provide fatwas to reassure our distributors that they do not need to compromise their values to pursue their business goals and a happy and fulfilling life they aspire towards.

QNET has grown and flourished in many countries in Asia, Middle East and Africa since it was founded in 1998 and thanks to a strong set of core values – one of which is integrity – QNET is now a prominent name in the Asian direct sales industry with approximately five million distributors, known as independent representatives (IRs), in more than 100 countries.

 With our focus on providing high quality products and services to enhance the lives of our customers, we hope to contribute positively to the region.

The writer is QNET’s managing director. Views expressed by the author are his own and do not reflect the newspaper’s policy

Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=opinionanalysis&xfile=data/opinionanalysis/2013/november/opinionanalysis_november11.xml