Business forum official underscores need to empower women in tech

The Qatar-Ukraine Business Forum (QUBF) has taken a major step towards empowering women in technology and online businesses with the recent launching of the Wtech Qatar Chapter, an official has said.

“Wtech is an international community for women leaders involved in technology and online businesses, which united more than 5,000 founders of startups, as well as representatives of fintech, edtech, blockchain, cybersecurity, e-commerce, and other IT-related areas,” QUBF chairperson Dr Olga Revina told Gulf Times.

Wtech’s objectives are well-integrated with QUBF’s commitment to developing women’s leadership across diverse sectors. Revina noted that Wtech co-founder and founding partner of TA Ventures, Viktoriya Tigipko inaugurated the Wtech Qatar Chapter.

“With Qatar joining as our 32nd country and 46th chapter, we’re so overjoyed about this global expansion! We’re looking forward to witnessing the success of this new chapter,” Tigipko stated on her Instagram account.

Revina emphasised that the launch ceremony of the Wtech Qatar Chapter, chaired by QUBF vice chairperson Daria Revina, signals Qatar’s focus on diversity and inclusion as key enablers for its economic diversification and establishment as an international tech and entrepreneurship hub.

She also noted that the presence of Wtech, through its Qatar Chapter, is expected to provide more opportunities for women to take leading roles and drive innovation in Qatar’s rapidly growing technology ecosystem.

Revina said the launch of the Wtech Qatar Chapter is part of QUBF’s action plan for the year, which included the participation of 10 QUBF-hosted Ukrainian startups in the recently concluded Web Summit Qatar 2024.

“The summit, which attracted participants from 118 countries, was a truly international gathering with very insightful sessions, active discussions, and an indispensable platform for startups from around the world to meet partners, customers, and investors,” Revina pointed out.

She noted that the QUBF selected Ukrainian startups from numerous sectors to take part in Qatar’s Web Summit to explore opportunities offered by Qatar’s startup ecosystem.

“We were able to host these 10 promising startups in collaboration and with the support of Qatar’s Government Communications Office (GCO) and our Ukrainian partners, such as the Ukrainian Startup Fund, UNIT.City, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine,” Revina said.

She said the Ukrainian Startups represented at Web Summit Qatar 2024 included Melt Water Club, Mantis Analytics, Uspacy, GetOrder, Knopka, ShareSpot, Gigawatt, DEV Challenge, Rising UA Startups, and Ukrainian Tech Ecosystem Overview.

“Despite the difficulties Ukraine is facing in the ongoing war, the country is still able to create an outstanding startup ecosystem that is both scalable and global. This attests to the country’s talented and resilient workforce. Some examples of impressive startups turned unicorns that originated in Ukraine are People.ai, Grammarly, Gitlab, Genesis, Bitfury, and Firefly Aerospace – all with massive global member bases,” Revina emphasised.