Qatar launches ‘fund of funds’ for tech sector

With a focus on economic diversification and an ever-rising standard of living, Qatar has launched a US$1billion “fund of funds” to be invested in the tech sector across the MENA region. 

“It should be our collective goal to open access to [technological] advancement, especially for developing nations.” 

That’s according to the State of Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, speaking on Opening Night of Web Summit Qatar. 

Having recently launched Startup Qatar – a one-stop shop and online platform for startups – as part of the Invest Qatar foreign direct investment organisation, the prime minister announced that the sovereign wealth fund would invest more than US$1billion in international and regional venture capital funds. 

The prime minister highlighted the importance of “coming together to forge the future in a region with unlocked potential,” adding that “we’ll plant seeds from which the technologies of tomorrow will grow”.

Qatar is well positioned to be at the forefront of developing technology in the MENA region, which has “US$8.5 trillion in combined GDP within a 2,000-miles radius, and 80 percent of the world’s population within six hours of flight,” according to His Excellency.

Boasting “entrepreneurship leadership across the Middle East”, Qatar is “the perfect backdrop for Web Summit with its commitments to technological advancement, and its vibrant community of thinkers and creators,” he said. 

The Prime Minister also believes that there should be a moral dimension to this new fund, seeking to improve living standards and open access to previously ignored or technologically and economically underserved people across the region: “Innovation is not an end, but a means to an end.” 

The strategic investment programme’s fund of funds aims not only to foster innovation domestically within Qatar, but to build greater economic ties on a global scale.

“Let our goal be to ensure that technology is shared with all, and wielded with wisdom, enhancing the lives of people around the world,” concluded the Prime Minister.  

Main image: Web Summit Qatar/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)