(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
Doha: Through a number of incubators, Qatar has succeeded in creating conducive environment for the growth of innovative businesses in the country.
The Government Communications Office (GCO) has also highlighted Qatar’s efforts to foster technological transformation.
“The State of Qatar is home to a number of incubators that foster digital transformation. This encouraging environment supports enterprises and innovative businesses, as well as the wider Qatari economy,” the GCO said in a tweet with a video highlighting the role of Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) and Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC).
It said that Qatar has launched many programmes to support technological innovation. The Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) was founded to encourage research and technological entrepreneurship.
“QSTP’s Product Development Fund has provided over QR1m to various projects since its launch in 2016. QSTP’s Tech Venture Fund provides investments ranging from QR1.8m to QR11m to support local and international startups,” it added.
The GCO said that QBIC helps entrepreneurs to start or grow their businesses. QBIC provides financing and loan opportunities reaching up to QR4m, it added.
It is to be noted that Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), part of Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI), recently announced a pioneering new partnership with Qatar Development Bank (QDB) which aims to enhance Qatar’s economy, boost RDI within the private sector, and support the nation’s start-up community.
The partnership – which is targeting start-ups, entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – will see QSTP and QDB leverage both organizations’ incubator and accelerator initiatives through specialised workshops, bootcamps, hackathons and investor pitching sessions.
Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), also this month, announced a new partnership with global technology giant Microsoft that will enhance the working environment for startups in Qatar and enable them to supercharge their productivity levels.
According to 'Qatar Venture Investment Report 2020’, released in July this year, the venture capital (VC) ecosystem in Qatar has demonstrated resilience despite the challenging situation created by the COVID-19 outbreak as startups in Qatar have raised QR22m in 2020, more than the QR21m deployed in 2019. Qatari startups continued on the positive trajectory established last year as they raised 41 percent more capital in the first half of 2021 than in full-year 2020.
It is to be noted that Qatar had secured top rank in the GCC region in the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Index, showing that the country has created an environment which is conducive for entrepreneurs.
Yosouf Al Salehi, Executive Director of QSTP, in a recent interview, said that in recent years, Qatar’s tech-savvy decision-makers have built upon this foundation to ensure that our unique, technology business-focused park has become the place for global tech companies, industry leaders and innovators to call home.
“Over the years, our acclaimed incubation and accelerator programs have helped a whole host of new and upcoming firms grow and expand. Since 2016, over 20 local companies run by more than 66 entrepreneurs have been incubated at QSTP, whilst our XLR8 program has produced over 400 graduates,” said Al Salehi.
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