QFC partners with Unicorn Media to boost entrepreneurship and innovation in Qatar

The Qatar Financial Centre Authority (QFCA) and Unicorn Media have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop a framework aimed at strengthening Qatar’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem.

According to QFCA, this partnership will be realised through a series of innovation events, programmes, and projects across different business sectors.

QFCA, the legal and tax arm of the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), is a premier onshore financial and business hub in the region while its latest partner, a media services company, produces the ground-breaking business reality show ‘Unicorn Hunters’. This show provides a platform for entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to investors worldwide, offering them funding opportunities.

In a press statement, QFC CEO Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida underlined the importance of this collaboration, saying: “This partnership reflects QFC’s ongoing efforts in supporting Qatari entrepreneurs and empowering local startups and SMEs by providing a conducive business environment and an advanced innovation ecosystem that help them grow and expand.”

The MoU outlines the formation of strategic partnerships with business accelerators, incubators, and global innovation hubs, providing entrepreneurs the opportunity to establish their businesses in Qatar and take advantage of QFC’s competitive facilities and incentives.

The collaboration between QFCA and Unicorn Media aims to identify and nurture startups and innovative projects within Qatar, selecting the most promising candidates to participate in the “Unicorn Hunters” show.

According to QFC, this initiative will not only provide a platform for local entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas to a global audience but will also attract international attention to Qatar’s growing innovation landscape.

Speaking to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum 2024 yesterday (May 16), Unicorn Media CEO and co-founder Silvina Moschini said they want to integrate with Qatar’s innovation ecosystem and present the opportunities to global investors through ‘Unicorn Hunters’, allowing entrepreneurs to fundraise.

“We did the first one in Los Angeles in Hollywood. The show will bring Filipino, Argentinian, and African entrepreneurs (among others) to Qatar and they will be pitching to the world. So people from all over the world will see it... this will be a massive amplification of Qatar’s capabilities to showcase the incentives, programmes, and funding opportunities,” she said.

Moschini highlighted Qatar’s strategic position in fostering innovation, saying that “Qatar emerged as the perfect bridge connecting the innovative minds of the East and the West, fostering a unique blend of diverse perspectives and groundbreaking ideas”.

“As the driving force behind ‘Unicorn Hunters’, our mission is to propel innovation further by empowering high-growth companies through global crowd-financing. By partnering with the government of Qatar and QFC, our leading partner in ecosystem building and innovation in the East, we are not only strengthening our global network but also paving the way for a new era of collaboration and prosperity,” she said in a statement.