(MENAFN- The Peninsula) By Lani Rose R Dizon | The Peninsula
Total Venture Capital (VC) investment in Qatar rose by 41 percent to QR31m in the first half of 2021 compared to the QR22m capital raised by startups and SMEs in the full-year of 2020, according to the Qatar Development bank (QDB).
QDB, in collaboration with Refinitiv, a London stock exchange Group business, concluded the annual Investment Forum yesterday under the theme“Transforming Economies Through a New Investment Paradigm”.
Speaking during the event, QDB's Acting CEO Abdulrahman Hesham Al Sowaidi reiterated the stable growth of VC funding in Qatar despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.“Total VC investment in Qatar grew by more than 40 percent in the first half of 2021, compared to the full year of 2020. With this in view, every edition of the Investment Forum carries a set of new realities and greater opportunities,” Al Sowaidi said.
He added:“The fourth edition of the Investment Forum complements and builds on the successes of its predecessors by introducing highly relevant and pivotal topics that aim to explore new horizon for the next generation of SMEs to collaborate with Angel and venture capital investors towards transforming industries and enhancing the investment environment in Qatar, which today ranks as the third safest country in the world in the Global Finance Safety Index 2021.'
'Furthermore, the forum aims to advance the country's status as a prominent investment destination globally”.
Speaking to The Peninsula (on the sidelines of the event, QDB's Head of Angel Investment Mohammed Al Emadi said VC investment in Qatar, valued at over QR30m in the first half of 2021, had already exceeded the QR22m VC funding raised for the full-year of 2020.
“The venture capital investments were mostly in scalable technology companies across different sectors and verticals, with the participation of QDB and other investors in the ecosystem, including government and non-government sectors. As the awareness on VC investments and technology further increase, hopefully more people will start to see technology as an asset class in their portfolio. We're also positive in terms of investment for next year, based on what we've seen this year, and also how the ecosystem is responding in Qatar and the region, especially the Mena region,” Al Emadi added.
According to the Qatar Venture Investment Report, since 2016, the VC ecosystem in Qatar, valued at QR31m in H1 2021, grew at a CAGR of 67 percent, which was considerably faster than the 4 percent growth rate noted across the Mena region.
In his speech, Al Sowaidi also reiterated that QDB has invested about QR108m in over 100 SMEs both directly and indirectly in the last five years. The Bank has also launched the Fintech Fund last year with a value of $6m.
During the event, and as part of its ongoing collaboration with national partners and stakeholders, QDB has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) that aims to promote investment in SMEs, advance Qatar's status as an investment hub, enrich the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and contribute to the growth of the national economy. The MoU was signed by Al Sowaidi and QFC's CEO Yousef Mohammed Al Jaidah.
The forum also witnessed the launch of a purpose-built, integrated digital platform that enables fast-growing companies to present relevant information on their ventures and target raise amounts to investors looking for promising new ideas and up-and-coming companies, and allows them to organise virtual meetings, explore investment opportunities, and establish mutually beneficial collaborations. The platform is accessible via investment.qdb.qa .
A special panel discussion by renowned industry experts from Qatar and around the world also discussed 'Accelerating economic transformation through venture capital', which explored the opportunities available in innovative companies in their early stages.
General Partner at pan-European early-stage tech fund Speedinvest Stefan Klestil said:“Through Speedinvest, QDB is already part of a very successful European ecosystem.
And I'm a hundred percent convinced that it's only a question of time until Qatar will have its first unicorn. If you look around the world, unicorns are happening everywhere.
In Europe, we have 65 cities that now host unicorns. And sometimes these are extremely small cities with much less capital available than Qatar has”.
The forum concluded with a pitching session, which featured representatives of 10 companies who showcased their businesses to participating investors with the aim of raising funds for their ventures. The presentations were followed by a series of over 30 meetings between investors and participating startups to network, and navigate investment opportunities together.
This year's Investment Forum was organised under the strategic sponsorship of Qatar Investment Authority, the platinum sponsorship of Qatar Free Zones Authority, the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar, and QFC, as well as the gold sponsorship of QInvest.
The forum witnessed the participation of more than 350 attendees including angel investors, investment banks, private enterprises, and professionals interested in the investment domain. Participants also included a number of business accelerators, venture capital funds, and various entities interested in exploring and connecting with startups across different sectors and growth stages.
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