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Ailyn Agonia
DOHA
QATAR Science & Technology Park (QSTP) aspires to continue to attract, support and incubate new companies, develop and support different entrepreneurs in Qatar and keep linking research with the needs of the market, said QSTP Executive Director Yosouf Saleh.
Addressing a press conference to announce the celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the establishment of QSTP in a special event titled ‘Catalysing The Future’ to be held on October 21, the official said Qatar’s innovation hub would continue to attract new companies and ideas through its different and diverse programmes.
He said that the anniversary event to be held under the patronage of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani would be graced by high profile guests and showcase the achievements of QSTP, what they intend to achieve in the future and also the system of research in general in Qatar.
“Over the past 10 years, the scope, scale and quality of QSTP’s partnerships with the biggest and best global companies along with the impactful outcomes of these partnerships, demonstrate QSTP’s pole position as a national and regional hub for technology development and innovation. Through QSTP, Qatar Foundation-Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI) is making great technology advancements and leading the way in developing the Middle East’s premiere ecosystem for Business R&D”, he said.
Talking about the achievements of QSTP, Saleh mentioned the institution’s investments in 115 startups in the region through its partnership with Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups and spending of over QR4.3 billion in research, development and innovation activities by international companies registered at QSTP.
He also mentioned that through the Technology Venture Fund, QSTP is going to invest QR50 million over five years on startups.
“Another equally important aspect of QSTP that we will be projecting is our role in attracting foreign investment, specifically in the technology sector. Accordingly, QSTP will be increasing our commitment to Business R&D activities as well as promoting private sector investments in our entrepreneurs. Our mandate is to continue to attract even more international partnerships, local partners, and innovation enablers, as we focus on increasing our capacity in Business R&D initiatives”,Saleh added.
Over 50 companies – including 20 international companies - are currently based at QSTP. Similarly, the institution’s investments and incubation efforts have helped to produce and commercialise 31 innovative products which have been taken into the Qatari market while 20 tech-focused Qatari startups have been incubated at QSTP.
According to Dr Richard O’Kennedy, QF RDI vice-president, a key announcement about the next chapter of Qatar’s RDI story will be made during the QSTP anniversary celebrations.
He remarked, “QF RDI is at the core of RDI in Qatar. We have an essential role in identifying not only challenges, but opportunities, across a range of areas – ICT, energy, environment, healthcare, food security – where RDI can generate solutions that strengthen Qatar’s sustainability and resilience, make their way into the global marketplace, and directly and positively impact people’s lives.”
Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) Research Director Dr Ashraf Aboulnaga said, “There was a vision for world class research to take place in Qatar, and this vision has been realised. We now need to be producers of innovation, and that is an effort that cannot be led by researchers alone. RDI is essential to the country, and we can all support whether by encouraging young people to study STEM, adopting research into our institutions, or investing in research, development and innovation.”
Also present at the press conference was QSTP Accelerators Programme Manager Mohammad Zebian. He manages two Accelerator programmes: an ideation accelerator (XLR8), which helps teams to transform their ideas into new tech startups, and a growth stage accelerator (MENA Dojo), which enables established tech startups to grow their businesses rapidly in preparation for Series A fundraising.
DOHA
QATAR Science & Technology Park (QSTP) aspires to continue to attract, support and incubate new companies, develop and support different entrepreneurs in Qatar and keep linking research with the needs of the market, said QSTP Executive Director Yosouf Saleh.
Addressing a press conference to announce the celebration of the 10 year anniversary of the establishment of QSTP in a special event titled ‘Catalysing The Future’ to be held on October 21, the official said Qatar’s innovation hub would continue to attract new companies and ideas through its different and diverse programmes.
He said that the anniversary event to be held under the patronage of the Amir HH Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani would be graced by high profile guests and showcase the achievements of QSTP, what they intend to achieve in the future and also the system of research in general in Qatar.
“Over the past 10 years, the scope, scale and quality of QSTP’s partnerships with the biggest and best global companies along with the impactful outcomes of these partnerships, demonstrate QSTP’s pole position as a national and regional hub for technology development and innovation. Through QSTP, Qatar Foundation-Research, Development and Innovation (QF RDI) is making great technology advancements and leading the way in developing the Middle East’s premiere ecosystem for Business R&D”, he said.
Talking about the achievements of QSTP, Saleh mentioned the institution’s investments in 115 startups in the region through its partnership with Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups and spending of over QR4.3 billion in research, development and innovation activities by international companies registered at QSTP.
He also mentioned that through the Technology Venture Fund, QSTP is going to invest QR50 million over five years on startups.
“Another equally important aspect of QSTP that we will be projecting is our role in attracting foreign investment, specifically in the technology sector. Accordingly, QSTP will be increasing our commitment to Business R&D activities as well as promoting private sector investments in our entrepreneurs. Our mandate is to continue to attract even more international partnerships, local partners, and innovation enablers, as we focus on increasing our capacity in Business R&D initiatives”,Saleh added.
Over 50 companies – including 20 international companies - are currently based at QSTP. Similarly, the institution’s investments and incubation efforts have helped to produce and commercialise 31 innovative products which have been taken into the Qatari market while 20 tech-focused Qatari startups have been incubated at QSTP.
According to Dr Richard O’Kennedy, QF RDI vice-president, a key announcement about the next chapter of Qatar’s RDI story will be made during the QSTP anniversary celebrations.
He remarked, “QF RDI is at the core of RDI in Qatar. We have an essential role in identifying not only challenges, but opportunities, across a range of areas – ICT, energy, environment, healthcare, food security – where RDI can generate solutions that strengthen Qatar’s sustainability and resilience, make their way into the global marketplace, and directly and positively impact people’s lives.”
Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) Research Director Dr Ashraf Aboulnaga said, “There was a vision for world class research to take place in Qatar, and this vision has been realised. We now need to be producers of innovation, and that is an effort that cannot be led by researchers alone. RDI is essential to the country, and we can all support whether by encouraging young people to study STEM, adopting research into our institutions, or investing in research, development and innovation.”
Also present at the press conference was QSTP Accelerators Programme Manager Mohammad Zebian. He manages two Accelerator programmes: an ideation accelerator (XLR8), which helps teams to transform their ideas into new tech startups, and a growth stage accelerator (MENA Dojo), which enables established tech startups to grow their businesses rapidly in preparation for Series A fundraising.
