Doha, June 07 (QNA) - Qatar Development Bank (QDB) reiterated its efforts to bolster Qatar's entrepreneurship ecosystem leveraging its various programs and services to serve as a partner for SMEs in their growth journey from ideation to export, empowering them to compete both locally and internationally in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.
The QDB successfully wrapped up its 2023 Business Incubators and Accelerators Demo Day, with the participation of 10 startups from various industries and domains.
Commenting on the importance of Demo Day, QDB Acting CEO Abdulrahman Hesham Al Sowaidi said this year's edition of Demo Day is unique because it brought together a diverse group of startups operating across various industries under the umbrella of QDB's business incubators and accelerators. "The event serves as a key platform for startups and founders seeking to secure access to venture capital, bringing representatives of investments funds, entrepreneurs and innovators closer together, which ultimately contributes to QDB's goal of empowering startups and SMEs to foster economic diversification." Senior Executive Vice President of Group Corporate and Institutional banking at QNB Group Khalid Ahmed Al Sada emphasized the importance of holding such events because of the pivotal role innovative startups play in contributing to the development of Qatar's economy and strengthening the country's position as an investment and entrepreneurship hub. "Such events offer new horizons and prospects for promising projects." Held in partnership with Microsoft as the strategic partner and Ooredoo as the incubation partner, Demo Day, which was hosted at the M7 building, was supported by QNB Group and the Investment Promotion Agency Qatar as Strategic and Gold sponsors, respectively.
The event served as a platform for startups to showcase emerging technologies that underpin their innovative business models across various fields including logistics, e-commerce, education and fashion among other industries, empowering them to contribute to the development of Qatar's entrepreneurship ecosystem and to raising efficiency and productivity.
Throughout the journey, QDB provided support and early-stage funding to empower participating startups to develop their business model before pitching to investors on Demo Day in a bid to access new investments that propel their growth. These include SkyStruct, Cleveric Solutions, Tiactro, Pronto LLC, Indelg, eArabic, Foodster, eHaris, Appomatory and My Pet World.
Founders and investors then engaged in a series of meetings to discuss future cooperation opportunities and potential investments. QDB later recognized investors for their active contribution to the development of Qatar's entrepreneurship ecosystem and for their interest in innovative ventures. (QNA)