F6S Middle East’s Post

Qatar has become an innovative hub in the Middle East for startups and entrepreneurs in recent years. The country offers a strategic location, a growing economy, business and investor-friendly policies and a vibrant ecosystem for technology startups, which can compete with technological hubs worldwide. Recently, central to the tech startup scene in Qatar was the annual Web Summit, which gathers entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators to showcase technological advancements, creativity and innovation opportunities. Qatar’s economic development and efforts to diversify have encouraged the growth of the tech startup ecosystem. Alongside longstanding infrastructure and business incubation programmes, they are combining to position Qatar as an enticing environment for aspiring tech startups to establish a presence in the region. Read the full article in the link below: https://lnkd.in/dbeQM9jb #gulfnews #TheSovereignGroup #Sovereign #SovereignGroup #uaebusiness #qatar #business #qatarbusiness #kuwait #egypt #qatarbusiness #techstartup #techbusiness #technology #websummit

StartupBlink has just released their Global Startup Ecosystem Index report 2024. Image attached below is a snapshot of Qatar as per the report. While we have gained alot of traction and advancement in ranking, I believe there is alot more to than reports generally show. Nothing to take away from the value of the report. The 2025 report will be very interesting to see, reflecting the many strides that Qatar took in 2023 and 2024 in many areas : 🚀 Web Summit Qatar being launched in 2024 🚀 Many positive policies in relation to fintech, ease of business, and Startup visa programs being launched by Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority وزارة التجارة والصناعة Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Qatar Central Bank 🚀 Many international VCs and Local VCs being launched. Golden Gate Ventures Rasmal Ventures 🚀 Government announcing a $1 billion Qatar Investment Authority investment in international and regional venture capital funds at the Web Summit Qatar. 🚀 Allocating a significant artificial intelligence (AI) incentive package worth QAR9 billion ($2.47 billion), announced at the Qatar Economic Forum 🚀 Qatar Development Bank Digital Incubation Center Qatar Science & Technology Park launching many programs to empower the ecosystem. 🚀 Media City Qatar launching media startup friendly programs 🚀 Ecosystem initiatives such as Startup Grind Qatar making the ecosystem come together. Great to see some of our Startup heroes Snoonu SkipCash KARTY At Home Doc CWALLET being mentioned. Thank you Marcel Dridje, one of our ecosystem enablers for sharing the full report. #Qatar #startup #ecosystem #innovation #funding

QIA’s US$1 billion investment in VC funds upped Qatar as a startup hub “For the second year, many of the biggest wealth funds and VCs in the world will be at Web Summit Qatar to connect with 15,000 attendees, 1,000 startups, 400 investors and global leaders in Doha.” In its inaugural year, Web Summit Qatar gathered the largest and most globally diverse cohort of startups to ever gather in the region – more than 1,000 startups from 80 countries – to connect with a new generation of investors and partners hailing from countries such as Qatar, the US, Egypt, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, the UK, India, and beyond, discloses Dima Wahbeh, deputy country manager, Qatar at Web Summit. Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/dzd94ama #WebSummitQatar #US1BillionInvestment #Funds #DimaWahbeh

So excited to be co-hosting the Qatar Innovation Hackathon next weekend in partnership with key ecosystem players in Qatar and beyond. This is the last chance for Entrepreneurs to apply (qdbhackathon.qa) and strike a chance to be one of the successful startups in Qatar. To give a quick inspiration, Spendwisor was one of the companies that initiated with us in the last Hackathon, from where they got directly into the FinTech Incubation and Acceleration Program Wave 5 while securing the Pre-seed Investment from Qatar Development Bank. And now within a year, they are one of the 5 startups who have got the greenlight to enter the BNPL Regulatory Sandbox. To me, this journey alone speaks volumes and shows the commitment of all stakeholders. Topping the last year's Hackathon, this year we are giving out more Pre-Investment Cash Awards in addition to numerous other perks with the likes of Direct Entry to the FinTech Incubation Program, Opportunity to secure Pre-seed investment of up to USD 110K and USD 170K (for FinTech Incubator and Accelerator, respectively), Access to 70+ Subject Matter Experts (20+ FinTech focused) as Coaches and Mentors, and a chance to Pitch to Investors and Partners to validate your solutions and potentially collaborate with them. Thank you to all the Coaches, Mentors and Partners who are extending their precious time and value to us and the ecosystem. Looking forward to seeing you all next week 🙌 Ps. FinTech Theme is open for local and international applicants, whereas other Themes are only limited to Qatar based entrepreneurs and the perks for them may vary. Henk Jan Hoogendoorn Aditya Kumar Sinha Gopal K. Hilal AL-kuwari Naman B. Sachin Dev Duggal Lana Khalaf Webster Tai Clay Susini Ahmed Shariefi Shashank Singh Dylan Kaloo Hanane SBAI Bryan D'Souza💡 Saed Ereiqat Iten Soliman Juha Perälampi Lanouar Charfeddine Ali Khadjavi Sunil Sharma Gaurav Sachddeva Sylia Khecheni Ramzan Al Naimi Rayane Fodil Indica Amarasinghe Khaled Sadeddin Marcel Dridje Georges Fouad Salem Rabia Ahmad Mughal Sophie Besitka Hani Khateeb Aysha Khalifa Al Romaihi Tahani AlHajri Aicha G. Aly Tufail Suteria #Qatar #Startups #Fintech #Entrepreneurs #Investment

Climate tech startups in Africa have received a significant 45% of total funding for tech startups in 2024, amounting to $325 million. This growth in climate tech funding has been steady over the past five years, bucking the trend of a broader downturn in overall funding for African startups. Meanwhile, fintech funding has slowed down dramatically, dropping from 50% to 22% of total funding, likely due to a combination of global economic uncertainty and a shift in investor focus towards sectors like climate tech. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gnDVg7FY #PrimeProgress #Investment #Climatetech #GreenEconomy

🏆 Get your startup funded! 🏆 🪽⚡️AngelSpark is hosting a live pitch event at Expand North Star, where investment decisions will be made in real-time. If you're a pre-seed or seed stage startup with big ambitions, this is your chance to shine. Apply now and show us what you've got! Link in the comments Gary Sheynkman Ahmed Arif Gaurav Dhar Veena Deepak Munganahalli Prashant K. (PK) Gulati Deepak Padmanabhan Will Hutson #ExpandNorthStar #GITEX #AngelSpark #startupfunding #pitchevent #seedfunding #preseedfunding #Dubai #GCC #angelinvestors

Our Country Manager in Qatar, Paulina Zalewska-Dzieciuchowicz, recently gave insight to Finance Middle East with regards to Qatar's technology startup ecosystem. Qatar has become an innovative hub in the Middle East for startups and entrepreneurs in recent years. The country offers a strategic location, a growing economy, business and investor-friendly policies and a vibrant ecosystem for technology startups, which can compete with technological hubs worldwide. Recently, central to the tech startup scene in Qatar was the annual Web Summit, which gathers entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators to showcase technological advancements, creativity and innovation opportunities. Qatar’s economic development and efforts to diversify have encouraged the growth of the tech startup ecosystem. Alongside longstanding infrastructure and business incubation programmes, they are combining to position Qatar as an enticing environment for aspiring tech startups to establish a presence in the region. Read the full article in the link below: https://lnkd.in/dbeQM9jb #gulfnews #Qatar #Investment #UAE #BusinessSetup #CompanyFormation #PRO #PROServices #PROPartnerGroup #VenturePartnerQatar #VPQ

Moniepoint Group has joined Africa's elite unicorn club after securing $110 million in equity funding, marking another milestone in the continent's evolving tech ecosystem. The funding round, led by Development Partners International (DPI)'s ADP III fund with participation from Google, Verod Capital, and Lightrock, values the company at over $1 billion. In a decade, we have seen the landscape of African startups grow exponentially with very little investment. Flutterwave, OPay, and Chipper Cash are now the continent's ten most valuable startups. Flutterwave is leading with $3 billion, followed by OPay at $2.7 billion and Chipper Cash at $2.2 billion. Top ten companies include Wave, Andela, Esusu, Interswitch Group, MNT-Halan, Moniepoint, and MOOVE, with valuations ranging from $1.7 billion to $750 million. This growth trajectory is particularly notable given that African startups attracted $3.3 billion in venture funding by 2022, with Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Egypt emerging as the primary tech hubs. Despite facing global economic challenges, these companies continue to demonstrate the maturity and potential of Africa's tech ecosystem, particularly in fintech, e-commerce, health tech, and agritech sectors. #AfricanStartups #TechUnicorns #VentureCapital #AfricanTech #DigitalInnovation

Southeast Asia tech funding declines by 59% in 2024, but Resilience and Innovation define 2024. Our latest report highlights key trends shaping the Southeast Asia's tech landscape: - Funding into the SEA Tech startups dropped 59% to $2.84B in 2024 YTD. - The number of IPOs nearly halved, 6 in 2024 compared to 13 in 2023. - Singapore topped city-wise funding with $1.9B. - FinTech, High Tech, and Enterprise Applications were the standout performers. To know more, visit >>(https://lnkd.in/gTFMtmxB) #Tracxn #InsightsByTracxn #SoutheastAsiaTech #startupfunding #startups