The Qatar Fintech Center, which was co-founded by the Qatar Development Bank to support the growth of the financial technology sector in Qatar, has announced that it will join the first batch of the Fintech Incubator and Accelerator programs. Both programs will start on October 14 and will continue until December. Last April, the Qatar Financial Technology Center unveiled the two intensive first-installment programs, which span over a period of 12 weeks, designed to meet the needs of local and international entrepreneurs and startups looking for a platform from Qatar to World, and to accelerate its growth on the international map.
During the past two months, the Qatar Financial Technology Center has received more than 750 applications from emerging as well as mature financial technology companies in Qatar and from 72 countries around the world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Singapore, Turkey, Nigeria, and Germany. Russia and Indonesia.
After a thorough and rigorous evaluation process, the top 55 fintech companies were invited to present their ideas and solutions during the presentation days. The fintech companies selected covered a variety of areas such as payment services, mobile payments, small and medium enterprise solutions, customer identification solutions, corporate-level payments, IoT-based payments and digital wallet, among others.
On the presentation days, the jury included a group of Qatar Financial Technology Center stakeholders and strategic partners. The committee included Qatar Development Bank, Qatar Central Bank, Qatar Financial Center, Ernst & Young, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Visa, MasterCard, Microsoft, Qatar Islamic Bank, Al Rayan Bank, Dukhan Bank, Qatar International Islamic Bank, Doha Bank and Qatar National Bank. The committee’s evaluations of each of the selected financial companies were based on the strength and uniqueness of the proposed solutions, their attractiveness to the public, the team’s capabilities, and their potential to influence the Qatari market.
The eleven fintech startups selected for the incubator program are: Seawallet, Qatar, Da Vinci Payment Solutions, Australia, Debito, Qatar, Fateh, Qatar, Maqadid, Qatar, MyBook, Qatar, BayRing, Russia, and Remit Radar, United Kingdom, SkipCash, Qatar, TS Payment Solutions, Qatar, Hassab, Qatar, and the thirteen mature fintech companies selected for the accelerator program are: Ariba, Qatar, VomoPay, Singapore, Voo, Lebanon, Payments, Jordan, Maya Eye, Singapore, and Manim. For finance, Turkey, MyCashMoney, Singapore, NEOM, Singapore, Newley, India, Oscar Business Center, Canada, Pay Face, Brazil, SinkMoney, UK, and U Payments, Kuwait.
Commenting on the upcoming start of the two programs, Mr. Abdulaziz bin Nasser Al Khalifa, CEO of Qatar Development Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Financial Technology Center, said: I would like to congratulate all the innovative entrepreneurs who will join the two programs, for they deserve to succeed well and benefit from one of the most promising initiatives in Region. This installment will pave the way for the rising entrepreneurs who will lead the next generation.
The Qatar Financial Technology Center program reflects the Qatar Development Bank’s strategy that supports Qatar National Vision 2030, which focuses on developing the private sector in key economic areas, with the aim of building a diversified and sustainable economy. It is strong evidence of the confidence that the QFTC is rapidly gaining in the global fintech community. The launch of the first batch of the incubator and accelerator programs at the Qatar Financial Technology Center will definitely mark the beginning of a new era for all participating fintech companies, and I look forward to seeing the positive impact that the two programs will have on the growth of selected companies in Qatar and around the world.
Financial support
Each participating fintech company will receive financial support, in addition to the customized mentoring and training services provided by the Qatar Financial Technology Center, its strategic partners and its elite mentors. Licensing in Qatar, in addition to the benefit of exemption from fees upon registration.
In addition to the opportunity to obtain a license from the Qatar Financial Center, in addition to cooperation with more than 16 local financial institutions and with local authorities specialized in regulating financial activities, and a range of business development opportunities on a global scale.
