Qatar unveiled its startup funding program on the latest Net Summit via its improvement financial institution. This system goals to draw seed and growth-stage tech corporations searching for to ascertain or broaden operations throughout the nation. TechCrunch has discovered that this system, often called the “Startup Qatar Investment Program,” is backed by a Qatar Growth Financial institution (QDB)-managed $100 million fund.
In a press release, QDB revealed that this system will supply funding of as much as $500,000 for early-stage startups seeking to set up a presence in Qatar, and as much as $5 million for growth-stage corporations searching for to broaden their operations within the Center Japanese nation. Moreover, the event financial institution highlighted that aside from monetary help, it would present portfolio startups entry to markets and experience. As acknowledged on its website, this system targets startups in over fifteen sectors, together with fintech, cleantech, agritech, B2B SaaS, healthtech, marketplaces, proptech, AI & ML, and robotics.
“QDB is intensifying its efforts to position Qatar as a major hub for startups across various industries, particularly the tech sector due to its strategic importance,” mentioned QDB CEO Mr. Abdulrahman bin Hesham Al Sowaidi. “Through these efforts, we aim to attract and retain talents in various fields to support our entrepreneurship ecosystem, foster innovation and accelerate technology adoption across all domains in a bid to contribute to a sustainable and business-friendly economy,” Al Sowaidi mentioned.
Qatar’s startup program aligns with fashions employed by enterprise companies like U.S.-based Alpha Wave Global, which manages a $300 million early-stage fund (Alpha Wave Incubation) anchored by ADQ, certainly one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds. Throughout the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comparable enterprise funds stipulate that startups from outdoors the area set up a “second” headquarters or workplace of their areas (which function bases for increasing operations throughout MENA and GCC) in return for funding and extra enterprise benefits.
Like most enterprise ecosystems, a number of of those necessities are mandated by restricted companions, primarily sovereign wealth funds, within the Gulf upon these enterprise capital companies. Simply final week, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund unveiled a $1 billion venture capital fund of funds devoted to worldwide and regional enterprise capital funds.
For Qatar, launching its fund of funds and startup program signifies a vital step towards growing its tech ecosystem to rival its neighbors, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The urgency is clear, as knowledge from rising markets knowledge tracker Magnitt reveals that Qatar represented solely 6% of offers throughout the MENA area final 12 months, with enterprise capital funding in its startups amounting to a mere 43 million Qatari riyal (~$11 million) in 2023. In distinction, Saudi Arabia accounts for 52% of the area’s offers, whereas the UAE dominates when it comes to deal quantity.
With that mentioned, extra competitors contributes to the area’s benefit. Final 12 months, the MENA area skilled a 23% decline in enterprise capital exercise in comparison with the worldwide common of 42%. In opposition to this backdrop, Qatar’s heightened engagement in enterprise capital, spearheaded by its sovereign wealth fund and improvement financial institution, affords a promising outlook for the broader area, the place 55% of traders concerned in backing startups final 12 months have been native.
