A view shows the Qatar Petroleum headquarters, which is under construction, in Doha February 21, 2013. To match QATAR-PROJECTS/ REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad
Reuters/Fadi Al-Assaad
Qatari start-ups will drive the country’s digital economy and boost job creation in the field of technology, the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) announced recently at SAP’s first Start-up Focus Event in Qatar, hosted by start-up enabler and technology company SAP.The MOTC and its Digital Incubation Center (DIC) is supporting the launch of the global SAP Startup Focus Programme in Qatar.
Startup Focus, which was launched in the Middle East in 2015, is now debuting in Qatar to help eligible start-ups, whose product ideas are based on areas such as Big Data or predictive real-time analytics, to accelerate the development of their innovations and assist in bringing them to market.
With start-ups helping to drive nationwide digital transformation, Qatar could increase its GDP by $8bn by 2020, according to the Accenture report “Digital Disruption: The Growth Multiplier”.
“The Qatar Ministry of Transport and Communication’s Digital Incubation Centre is committed to supporting Qatari entrepreneurs to transform their innovative ideas into viable businesses, and drive job creation for entrepreneurs. Startup Focus shows how public-private partnerships can improve Qatar’s capacity for innovation and global economic competitiveness, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Reem Al-Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary for Digital Society Development Sector.
Selected start-ups in Qatar now have the chance to develop their solutions on the SAP HANA real-time analytics platform, Participating start-ups have access to a community network of entrepreneurs, partners, investors, thought leaders and industry experts. Once validated, start-ups can pitch to SAP’s ecosystem of more than 320,000 customers worldwide.
“Qatar has the vision, strong educational foundation, and robust ICT infrastructure to develop the next generation of Digital Economy tech start-ups. SAP is committed to providing mentorship to start-ups to help them avoid pitfalls, exchange best practices with fellow startup leaders, and bring Qatari innovations to a global scale,” said Marita Mitschein, Senior Vice-President and Managing Director, SAP Training and Development Institute.
Worldwide, Startup Focus has engaged with more than 3,750 start-ups across 59 countries and 22 industries, bringing more than 225 of their validated solutions to market since 2013.
“Qatari start-ups in Internet of Things and Big Data analytics, from transportation to sports, will drive Qatar’s nationwide digital transformation, to 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar and Qatar National Vision 2030 and beyond. Startup Focus leverages global best practices and Qatari government vision to support entrepreneurs in creating successful start-ups,” said Gergi Abboud, Managing Director – Gulf, SAP.
