Qatar Development Bank (QDB) announced the winners of the ‘Entrepreneurship World Cup’ national qualifiers competition, which concluded Tuesday at the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic & Sports Museum in the presence of the most prominent names from the local entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The three winning startups, Sponix Tech, Fatora.io, and Droobi, were presented with prize money of $100,000 during the event, which marks the first time the national qualifiers were held in Qatar under the organisation of QDB.
This is the fourth Entrepreneurship World Cup since it was launched in 2019 as the largest entrepreneurship competition of its kind that celebrates prominent entrepreneurial ideas and innovative projects from various fields. The upcoming finals will feature participants from more than 200 countries and the attendance of the most distinguished startups from across the globe.
QDB is the national organiser of the competition, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, and sponsored by QNB, Doha University of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Sports and Youth.
The brightest Qatari startups competed for the opportunity to qualify and represent the State of Qatar in the finals of the global competition, which will be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman Hesham al-Sowaidi, acting CEO of QDB, opened the event with a speech, in which he pointed out the importance of these national competitions that help support and motivate startups to rise to the highest levels of competitiveness and professionalism.
In his speech, Global Entrepreneurship Network founder and president Jonathan Ortmans thanked QDB for organising the event, emphasising his admiration for the emerging projects that took part in the competition with the aim of reaching the final rounds of the competition.
Twelve participating companies presented their business ideas before a panel of judges and the audience. The pitches reflected pioneering and innovative ideas that are worth representing Qatar in various fields on a global stage, such as VR and AR technologies, sustainability, and solutions in the fields of SportTech, fintech, smart payment, and HealthTech.
At the end of the presentations and judges’ deliberations, QDB recognised the participating partners, sponsors, and judges in appreciation of their outstanding efforts toward making this competition a success.
Al-Sowaidi said, “We extend our congratulations to the three winners and wish them a successful journey in the global stages of the competition. We are confident in our entrepreneurs and their ambitious capabilities.
“This competition achieved a great turnout in its first edition in our country, a testament to the strength of the national entrepreneurial ecosystem, which we always seek to strengthen through many initiatives and programmes in line with our strategy and our country’s national vision. Hence the importance of competitions, such as the Entrepreneurship World Cup lies in its capability to motivate aspiring entrepreneurs to come up with innovative solutions.”
Heba Ali al-Tamimi, general manager Group Communications at QNB, said: “We would like to seize this opportunity to congratulate the winning teams for their success and contribution to the national development.
“As the strategic partner of these National Qualifiers, we are proud to witness the qualification of these start-ups as a testament to the advancement of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Qatar.”
The winning startups from Qatar, along with the rest of the winning ventures from across the globe, will attend an intensive virtual boot camp early next year. By the end of the boot camp, the top 100 startups will move on to the global finals, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in March 2023.
The three winning startups, Sponix Tech, Fatora.io, and Droobi, were presented with prize money of $100,000 during the event, which marks the first time the national qualifiers were held in Qatar under the organisation of QDB.
This is the fourth Entrepreneurship World Cup since it was launched in 2019 as the largest entrepreneurship competition of its kind that celebrates prominent entrepreneurial ideas and innovative projects from various fields. The upcoming finals will feature participants from more than 200 countries and the attendance of the most distinguished startups from across the globe.
QDB is the national organiser of the competition, in partnership with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority, and sponsored by QNB, Doha University of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Sports and Youth.
The brightest Qatari startups competed for the opportunity to qualify and represent the State of Qatar in the finals of the global competition, which will be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Abdulrahman Hesham al-Sowaidi, acting CEO of QDB, opened the event with a speech, in which he pointed out the importance of these national competitions that help support and motivate startups to rise to the highest levels of competitiveness and professionalism.
In his speech, Global Entrepreneurship Network founder and president Jonathan Ortmans thanked QDB for organising the event, emphasising his admiration for the emerging projects that took part in the competition with the aim of reaching the final rounds of the competition.
Twelve participating companies presented their business ideas before a panel of judges and the audience. The pitches reflected pioneering and innovative ideas that are worth representing Qatar in various fields on a global stage, such as VR and AR technologies, sustainability, and solutions in the fields of SportTech, fintech, smart payment, and HealthTech.
At the end of the presentations and judges’ deliberations, QDB recognised the participating partners, sponsors, and judges in appreciation of their outstanding efforts toward making this competition a success.
Al-Sowaidi said, “We extend our congratulations to the three winners and wish them a successful journey in the global stages of the competition. We are confident in our entrepreneurs and their ambitious capabilities.
“This competition achieved a great turnout in its first edition in our country, a testament to the strength of the national entrepreneurial ecosystem, which we always seek to strengthen through many initiatives and programmes in line with our strategy and our country’s national vision. Hence the importance of competitions, such as the Entrepreneurship World Cup lies in its capability to motivate aspiring entrepreneurs to come up with innovative solutions.”
Heba Ali al-Tamimi, general manager Group Communications at QNB, said: “We would like to seize this opportunity to congratulate the winning teams for their success and contribution to the national development.
“As the strategic partner of these National Qualifiers, we are proud to witness the qualification of these start-ups as a testament to the advancement of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Qatar.”
The winning startups from Qatar, along with the rest of the winning ventures from across the globe, will attend an intensive virtual boot camp early next year. By the end of the boot camp, the top 100 startups will move on to the global finals, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in March 2023.
