Measures taken by Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) to attract FinTechs have begun yielding results. Many FinTech companies from across the world looking to enter Qatar and several have registered with QFC, reflecting the vibrancy of FinTech ecosystem in Qatar.
FinTech (or Financial Technology) is the term given to financial service firms whose product or service is built upon technology, often resulting in highly innovative, pioneering services.
“Qatar Financial Centre, a partner in developing Qatar’s FinTech sector, has set a priority to attract FinTechs operating in digital payments, Islamic FinTech, RegTech, InsurTech, PropTech and SME-enabling FinTech,” said a report on FinTech sector released by QFC, recently.
“It introduced the FinTech Services Provider License that classifies FinTechs under QFC’s platform as non-regulated FinTech Service Providers and, by the end of 2020, a total of 39 FinTechs have been registered with another 20 in the licensing pipeline,” noted the report.
FinTechs established on the QFC platform, enjoy several incentives during their first year, including the waiver of application and first-year registration fees in the first year and rent-free workspace.
Qatar has made considerable progress towards developing a sustainable and globally competitive FinTech ecosystem in recent years, starting with the formation of the Qatar National FinTech Taskforce in 2017.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry also issues licenses for non-regulated FinTechs, while those that handle client funds must be licensed by QCB. QFC also offers qualified FinTechs incentives including the waiver of the application fee and the first-year annual registration fee, as well as free access to its FinTech Circle free-of-charge for the first year.
Early in 2020, Qatar witnessed the launch of the Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH) by Qatar Development Bank (QDB), mandated with supporting development and growth of the FinTech industry led by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB).
In the first editions of its incubator and accelerator programs, QFTH received over 750 applications from new and established FinTechs from 73 countries including Qatar, the US, the UK, Australia, India, Singapore, Turkey, Nigeria, Germany, Russia, and Indonesia.
A total of 24 FinTechs were selected to participate in both programmes -11 for the incubator and 13 for the accelerator. Both programs are supported by a $100m VC fund-of-funds managed by QDB, in collaboration with eight local and international funds, including Iris Next Capital, SpeedInvest Fund, Romulus Fund, ERA Fund Accelerator and Alchemist Accelerator.
FinTechs in Qatar can also seek VC funding from QFC-based Doha Tech Angels (DTA) — Qatar’s first private angel fund. The fund specialises in seed funding for early-stage technology start-ups, particularly FinTechs, in Qatar and the rest of the world.
