QBIC kicks off 10th wave of LeanStartup Programme

The Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC), owned by Qatar DevelopmentBank (QDB), yesterday launched the 10th wave of the LeanStartupProgramme during the latest ‘Speaker Series’ session, which hostedKickstarter co-founder Charles Adler.The LeanStartup Programme focuses on empowering entrepreneurs andproviding them with the tools, hands-on experience and knowledge on howto successfully bring their business ideas to life. This year, QBIC, for the second wave in a row, broke a new record byreceiving over 800 applications, witnessing an 84% year-on-yearincrease. More than 60 startups were chosen to take part in this 10-weekjourney.QDB CEO and QBIC chairman Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said, “We areso proud of how far QBIC has come. We have had an incredible four years,helping over 120 startups come to life and today, we launch the 10thwave of our flagship LeanStartup Programme, from which over 330 aspiringentrepreneurs have graduated. “We are genuinely looking forward to what exciting ideas this new wavewill bring, and we hope to empower hundreds of additional startups andlocal entrepreneurs over the next four years and beyond.”QBIC continues to empower promising local entrepreneurs with innovativeideas from all sectors, as well as provide them with coaching,financing, and the office space they need in order to establishsuccessful startups.During the ‘Speaker Series’ event held at the Msheireb Museumsyesterday, Adler, who was named as ‘one of the 12 most disruptive peoplein business’, gave an overview of Kickstarter and also shared hisinsights on the importance of adopting an innovative and disruptivemindset to jumpstart an idea into a reality.QBIC CEO Aysha al-Mudahka said, “Charles co-founded Kickstarter in 2009and turned it into the world’s largest funding platform. Kickstarter hasfunded over 138,000 successful projects, and raised over $3bn. We arehonoured to have him here with us today for this special event, and I’mconfident that our aspiring entrepreneurs will leave with somethingvaluable that they can inject into their businesses.“We have incubated over 120 companies to date and it’s been a privilegeto watch them grow over the past four years and develop into successfulbusinesses. I can safely say that we are well on our way towardsdeveloping Qatar’s next QR100mn companies.”The entrepreneurs will learn through this 10-week, hands-on programmehow to transform their ideas into viable startups. At the end of theprogramme, they will get a chance to earn incubation by pitching theirrefined business ideas to a judging panel and potential investors,marking the beginning of their journey during Demo Day, which will takeplace in mid-May.