Mr. Abdul Rahman Hisham Al Suwaidi, CEO of Qatar Development Bank, revealed the localization of 21 startup companies in 4 different sectors, during the next three months, with the aim of accelerating the business of these companies in the State of Qatar.
This came in a statement by the CEO of Qatar Development Bank, on the occasion of the launch of the fifth wave of the incubation and business acceleration program in the areas of financial technology, which is implemented by the Qatar Financial Technology Center, affiliated to the bank.
Al-Suwaidi said that the companies were selected according to the regulations of the Qatar Central Bank, in order to provide value-added services to the payments sector, insurance, and debt crowdfunding, in coordination with the financial technology and innovation management team at the Central Bank, and in cooperation with Visa and MasterCard. /, Qatar Insurance, Microsoft, and the Qatar Financial Center, in preparation for investing 7 million riyals in them.
He affirmed the bank’s support for financial technology in the State of Qatar, as it continuously works to develop and develop its fields, by providing the necessary support to male and female entrepreneurs and bold investment in their business, or through incubation and business acceleration programs, or through training and mentoring sessions, in an effort to develop the national entrepreneurship system.
The CEO of the bank added: With each new batch of startups, we present a range of innovative solutions and future opportunities, aiming to enhance the role of the State of Qatar as a center for effective financial technology in the region.
The launch of the cohort comes as a continuation of the efforts to support the entrepreneurship of emerging financial technology companies, through the programs of the Qatar Financial Technology Center and venture investment in them, as the center contributed to the growth journey of the previous four cohorts, and also contributed to the development of local companies, presenting 50 graduates from its programs, since its launch in 2020.
The center had received 290 applications to join the fifth cohort programmes, of which 21 were accepted by local and international start-up companies in the fields of payment technology, in partnership with Visa, insurance technology with Qatar Insurance Group, buy now and pay later with MasterCard, and debt crowdfunding. with Qatar Development Bank.
The companies will begin their journey of incubating and accelerating business for a period of 12 weeks, during which they will be able to develop and grow their business and obtain the required support to enable their business locally, in addition to the in-kind support they will receive, amounting to $70,000 for each startup.
It will enjoy a range of specialized mentoring and training services provided by the center and its strategic partners, in cooperation with a group of local and international mentors, in addition to bold and initial investments by the bank, which range from 40 to 100 thousand dollars for the startup.
The Qatar Financial Technology Center continues its journey in supporting male and female entrepreneurs, and sharing with them global experiences and expertise, as it constantly cooperates with stakeholders in this field, including financial institutions, technology service providers, payment solutions networks, academia and regulatory bodies, in addition to establishing partnerships with financial centers. Financial technology around the world.
The center recently oversaw the signing of a new partnership agreement between Visa and Pay2M, a graduate of the center and a payment service provider licensed by the Qatar Central Bank, in addition to the signing of a memorandum of understanding with ACO, to be a major customer in the field of insurance technology.
