An official of Qatar Research Development and Innovation (QRDI) Council has underscored the critical role of private sector-led innovation in economic diversification.
QRDI Council secretary-general Omar al-Ansari emphasised that an innovative private sector creates economic value. “Even globally, the wealthiest companies are the most innovative companies. All countries are racing to support incubation, hosting, and developing an innovative private sector,” al-Ansari stated in ‘The Business Year: Qatar 2024’.
Al-Ansari said, “To do this, you need an entire ecosystem approach to create the environment the innovative private sector seeks. Right now, Qatar is focused on creating that environment. We have all the pieces necessary to support and attract an innovative private sector, and QRDI is mobilising those pieces to come together to achieve this.”
Emphasising the value of public and private sector collaboration in driving this ecosystem, al-Ansari described industry, government, and academia as the “golden triangle,” adding that it is integral to ensuring that these entities “collaborate and work together effectively.”
He said, “An innovative private sector wants a place where they can test and pilot technologies, and the first thing we are doing is opening up Qatar for these companies to test their technologies. We are doing this through programmes such as the Open Innovation Platform, found on our QRDI portal.
“People are the key for private sector companies that are doing this work. This is our way of using complex infrastructure to attract the soft aspects, which is testing and piloting. We currently have 36 Qatar open innovation projects underway out of 923 proposals worldwide. This will expand significantly into many sectors and grow exponentially.”
Al-Ansari noted that sustainability is among QRDI’s priority areas, citing collaborations with shipping firm, Milaha; research calls with academia, and the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
To bolster Qatar’s position as a global hub for research and innovation, al-Ansari said QRDI’s priority is to develop its internal innovation and research capabilities to a competitive standard within a RDI global ecosystem.
“This will lead to products and services developed in Qatar and used globally, which would come naturally after those capabilities are developed. We want our technologies to be used globally in other emerging economies with similar challenges.
“Qatar has its unique challenges, but sustainability is a universal challenge. The more we can successfully develop our internal capabilities, the more we can contribute globally,” he said.
Al-Ansari added: “Additionally, we do all our work collaboratively. For example, last year, we launched the Qatar Spain Innovation Programme (QASIP), a joint effort between Qatar and Spain to jointly fund companies to tackle common challenges. We also have an agreement with Singapore and Enterprise Singapore, inviting Singaporean companies to develop solutions in Qatar.
“Historically, we have funded many international collaborations because RDI is a joint global effort. We need international talent to work with local talent to develop solutions for our common challenges.”