Doha Bank signs MoU with Karty to empower financial entrepreneurship, innovation in Qatar

Doha Bank has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Doha-based fintech startup Karty, in a strategic partnership aimed at promoting, improving, and elevating financial literacy and innovation in Qatar.
The virtual signing ceremony marks the beginning of a collaboration between Doha Bank and Karty under the startup’s Financial Literacy Campaign as part of the fintech fast-track programme in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA) region, in partnership with payment solutions provider, Visa.
Karty, the winner of the Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH) Hackathon and an awardee of the Innovation Coupon (IC), a funding programme under Qatar Foundation Research, Development and Innovation (QFRDI), has fast-tracked its growth in the Qatari market since its launch in 2021.
With the support of major public and private sector players in Qatar, including the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), and the Digital Incubation Centre (DIC), the startup is now extending its fintech expertise to the wider community.
Under its Financial Literacy Campaign, Karty aims to equip citizens and residents across Qatar with the knowledge and skills to make informed and sustainable financial decisions, tackling areas such as financial fraud and money management.
“The fintech innovation value chain thrives on information exchange and skills development, not only for startups and entrepreneurs, but also and more critically so, for the communities they serve and empower. In building a knowledge-based digital economy, the onus is on financial entrepreneurs, startups, institutions, and policymakers to work together and ensure that financial literacy is accessible to all.
“As an active member of QFTH, Doha Bank has anchored itself among the Qatari fintech ecosystem’s early adopters, first movers, and power partners. We are constantly unlocking products, services, and partnerships to drive the digital, tech-powered, data-driven transformation of our nation’s financial sector. We’re proud and excited to be joining forces with Karty in this direction,” says Doha Bank CEO Dr R Seetharaman.
“Since Karty’s launch, our efforts have always focused on bridging the gap between data, technology, and people so that residents and citizens are empowered with the tools they need to improve their everyday lives through better financial decision-making. We’re proud to be joining forces with Doha Bank, which has pioneered several digital innovations and solutions in Qatar’s financial landscape, and has led by example in supporting our country’s fintech industry and entrepreneurs.
“This campaign is merely the start of more ambitious initiatives and projects in our pipeline, as we continue to expand our operations, partnerships and customer base in Qatar,” said Abdulaziz Ali al-Marri, co-founder of Karty.
Over the past decade, Doha Bank’s portfolio has heavily focused on customer-centric, digitally-native, and financially inclusive products and services leveraging fintech collaborations and innovations.
The bank also actively engaged with and supported Qatar’s fintech ecosystem, providing payment gateway solutions to startups in this space. Doha Bank’s launch of the Doha Pay Wallet in January 2021 has been met with great success, customer adoption and engagement in the local market, and was recognised as the ‘Best Digital Payment App’ at the World Business Outlook Awards 2021.