Doha: Qatar is an incredible testing ground and launchpad for startups. The strong backbone of entrepreneurship ecosystem in the country acts as a catalyst for incoming startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), discussed experts addressing a virtual event.
The US Chamber of Commerce in association with Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) organised a webinar entitled ‘Emerging Opportunities in Qatar’s Digital Economy Sector’ in which experts highlighted the country’s world-class business infrastructure. The opening remarks were delivered by Khush Choksy, Senior Vice President for Middle East, US Chamber of Commerce.
Sheikha Alanoud bint Hamad Al Thani, Deputy CEO & Chief Business Officer, QFC said, “US has been our largest source of imports and Qatar deeply appreciates the tremendous contributions American business community has made to help in transforming the country into what it has become today and will continue to become in the future. As strong as this relationship has been with Qatar, we see even greater potential ahead of us as the economy of Qatar is transforming.”
“Through the services we provide we put our member countries in optimal position to capture not only the remarkable opportunities within Qatar but in the broader region as well. We give our members a world class legal, regulatory, tax and business environment. Companies are increasing leveraging QFC as safe and friendly hub from which to access nearby markets representing more than 2 billion consumers,” she added.
Qatar has the highest per capita enterprise IT spending in the Mena region, she said. “We are home to young and highly diverse tech savvy population and at QFC we were an early stakeholder in this transformation and have worked hard to create an ideal environment for digital companies succeed. As the country is hosting the first FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in the region, we are excited to showcase Qatar’s hospitality and friendly environment to the world,” Sheikha Alanoud said.
Omar Ashour, Cofounder and CEO of EButler shared his success story. “We have 300 offerings such as cleaning, maintenance, beauty, health, travel, restaurant reservations and several others, connecting to reliable providers and platforms. Our market size is humongous, with a serviceable market of $25bn in the GCC alone. For startups, Qatar is an incredible testing ground and launchpad for fruitful and vibrant Mena region and the GCC area. Qatar has great Internet infrastructure and support from entities like QFC,” he said.
Addressing the event, Majed Al Amari, Business Development Associate gave an overview of the digital economy and opportunities in Qatar, focusing on how it plays a role and being developed in Qatar. Also, how it will become a legacy in future of the digital sector in the local market.
Speaking about Qatar being an attracting destination he said, “Qatar has a strong economy and is an influential state in the Middle East region with a robust brand recognition. It has one of the highest GDP in the world that is expected to reach $217bn by 2026.”
Qatar’s digital spending in 2019 was $2.3bn and we see it to rise up to $3.2bn by 2023 which is just a year away. So, there is a lot of opportunity and support towards this sector, and we are seeing interest not only from the local market but internationally as well.
Al Amari also discussed about the assistance QFC provides for expanding business in Qatar. Sharing the success stories of the digital companies registered under QFC platform, he cited examples of ‘Robosoft Solutions’ a leading IT consulting and software company established in QFC; ‘Sponix’ a UK based innovative sports technology start-up with headquarters in QFC and ‘Talabat’ a leading food delivery services company.
