The Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH) is working to create a positive impact on the country’s economic development through the Qatar Central Bank’s (QCB) National FinTech Strategy, a top official of Qatar Development Bank (QDB) has said.
“Keeping in mind our role as a sector developer and the executor of the National FinTech Strategy orchestrated by the Qatar Central Bank (QCB), this year, we are focusing on new themes that target emerging trends and market demand, which are paytech, insurtech, buy now, pay later (BNPL), and collective debt-based crowdfunding,” QDB CEO Abdulrahman Hesham al-Suwaidi stated earlier in an event.
In a speech, al-Suwaidi summarised QFTH’s ambition to enable the digital transformation of Qatar’s financial services ecosystem, promote economic diversification and attract industry partners, and build financial services skillsets of the future.
“One of the goals behind the Qatar FinTech Hub programme is to develop an ecosystem for the fintech industry to thrive in Qatar. As part of the same, we are honoured to be partnered with the likes of Qatar Central Bank, Qatar Financial Centre, Microsoft, Visa, MasterCard, Qatar Insurance Company, Meeza, and Blockchain Research Institute,” he said.
Over the years, al-Suwaidi said QFTH has also made significant investments in the fintech portfolio, committing a total of “$6.5mn,” out of which more than “$4mn” inclusive of cash and in-kind value has already been dispersed.
“Qatar FinTech Hub has created a legacy through our fintech innovation and solutions introduced in the prior waves of our incubation and acceleration programme, focusing on thriving areas, such as payment solutions, emerging technologies, embedded finance, techfin, and next-generation banking,” al-Suwaidi explained.
He emphasised that QFTH is committed to contributing to achieving economic impact by creating new jobs and diversifying the economic implementation of various strategic initiatives, such as localising new fintech services and the adoption of emerging technologies.
“We have always maintained that Qatar FinTech Hub attracts and sustains entrepreneurs that are ready to embrace the future with innovative and cutting-edge technology and fintech ideas. Now, more than ever, there is a need to embrace disruptive technologies with the adoption and expansion of Artificial Intelligence and other tools at our disposal to bring ideas to life and discover solutions to problems in the payment and finance domains.
“As we prepare to embark on another impactful and rewarding journey with our next cohort of fintechs, we are looking forward to seeing positive technological disruption within the fintech sector through the active participation of our representatives. Qatar FinTech Hub remains committed to enabling your journey and providing you with the technical, financial, and regulatory support from your reception to maturity,” al-Suwaidi added.
QDB CEO Abdulrahman Hesham al-Suwaidi.
