Qatar has ‘global appeal’ as hub for fintech growth, says QDB executive

The Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH) has been witnessing an increase in the number of local and international fintech startups participating in its acceleration and incubation programme, a top official of Qatar Development Bank (QDB) has said.
“Since its inception, the Qatar FinTech Hub has graduated 57 fintechs with a cumulative valuation portfolio of startups worth $500mn. We have also managed to successfully localise 26 fintechs from the US, India, Bangladesh, the UK, and more countries.
“This goes on to further demonstrate Qatar’s global appeal as a hub for fintech growth and as a launch pad to expand in the neighbouring regions,” QDB CEO Abdulrahman Hesham al-Suwaidi stated during the recent launch of QFTH’s fifth cohort of its incubation and acceleration programme.
For the fifth cohort of its incubation and acceleration programme, al-Suwaidi said QFTH received 290 applications, out of which 21 applications were accepted from local and international startups in the fields of payment technology in partnership with Visa, insurance technology with Qatar Insurance Group, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ technology with Mastercard, and collective debt-based crowdfunding with QDB.
According to al-Suwaidi, QFTH, which is a subsidiary of QDB, has played a vital role in the growth of the fintech sector in Qatar and has contributed to the development of a group of local companies.
He stated that the launch event celebrates the “innovative spirit” and potential of Qatar’s entrepreneurs and partners that have been supporting the incubation and acceleration programme by collaborating with QFTH.
“Qatar FinTech Hub programmes have received more than 2,511 fintech applications from 76 countries over the year, and we are proud of our diverse portfolio originating from 22 countries.
“While we have new fintechs through our upcoming wave, we also continue supporting the ones that have been part of our programme since its inception. We are pleased and are always standing by our alumni who are leaping into regional and worldwide growth,” al-Suwaidi emphasised.
Citing “great examples” like Karty, al-Suwaidi, the Doha-based startup financial solutions provider has secured a partnership with Masraf Al Rayan to strengthen their fintech development.
Similarly, Pay2M, which joined QFTH in 2021, has advanced into a new partnership with finance and technology powerhouses while also acquiring the payment service provider license from the Qatar Central Bank (QCB), al-Suwaidi pointed out.
Al-Suwaidi emphasised that QFTH “has been a driving force” behind the growth of the country’s fintech industry through its incubation and acceleration programme, with an aim to diversify the economy in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.