Press Conference with Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council Secretary General Eng. Omar Al-Ansari, Executive Director Nejoud Al Jehani, and Senior Director of Programs Nada Al-Olaqi

Qatar’s innovation ecosystem celebrated a significant milestone at Web Summit Qatar, with the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council announcing the first cohort of awardees for its Small Business Innovation Grant (SBIG). Eng. Omar Al-Ansari, Secretary General of the QRDI Council, expressed pride in launching and awarding this grant, which was initially introduced at the previous Web Summit event.

The SBIG grant addresses a crucial gap faced by small businesses in Qatar: their capacity to develop new technologies. This initiative is vital for fostering companies that create innovative products and solutions, not only for Qatar but also with the potential for global scalability. By supporting these ventures, the QRDI Council aims to cultivate a robust local innovation landscape.

Eng. Al-Ansari highlighted that SBIG de-risks technology creation within Qatar, ensuring that development teams are based locally and intellectual property (IP) is retained within the country. This local capability is expected to attract further investments from venture capitalists and private equity firms, bolstering Qatar’s economic value. The first cohort saw 20 companies selected from 200 applicants.

These pioneering companies have developed remarkable solutions across diverse sectors, including healthcare, logistics, mobility, and artificial intelligence. The Secretary General extended his best wishes to the awardees and expressed anticipation for the next cohort of recipients. This program underscores Qatar’s commitment to nurturing a dynamic and self-sustaining innovation economy.

Ms. Nejoud Al-Jehani, Executive Director of Strategy & Programs at the QRDI Council, elaborated on SBIG’s strategic design. She explained that the grant was specifically crafted to fill a critical void in the innovation lifecycle, where promising early-stage companies with strong technical ideas often struggle to translate them into market-ready solutions due to a lack of structured support.

SBIG acts as an upstream mechanism to the QRDI Technology Development Grant, assisting companies earlier in their developmental journey. It helps them de-risk technology, refine their value propositions, and gather the necessary evidence to scale, form partnerships, or attract subsequent investments. Ms. Al-Jehani emphasized that SBIG serves as a deliberate bridge, preventing strong ideas from being overlooked.

The program’s competitive, merits-based two-tier selection process rigorously evaluates technical strength, commercial viability, and alignment with Qatar’s national priorities. Designed specifically for Qatar’s unique context and ambitions, it has been benchmarked against leading international models. The first cycle focused on priority areas offering both economic and societal impact.

These key areas include medical and healthcare, logistics and transportation, smart cities, creativity, arts and tourism, and emerging digital technologies. Ms. Al-Jehani underscored SBIG’s broader strategic role in shaping the innovation ecosystem by fostering R&D-driven small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), attracting international founders, and encouraging companies to establish their headquarters in Qatar.

Anchoring company headquarters locally ensures that intellectual property, talent, and economic value remain within Qatar, facilitating local value capture through licensing, royalties, investment activities, and future exits. This approach also strengthens Qatar’s global innovation credentials. Beyond funding, the SBIG team connects startups with essential research infrastructure and testing environments.

Ms. Nada Al-Olaqi, Senior Director of Innovation Programs at the QRDI Council, provided further details on the program’s structure. She reiterated that SBIG supports early-stage startups developing novel, technology-driven solutions with significant R&D components. Eligible companies must demonstrate technical feasibility, innovation readiness, and a clear path to commercialization.

The program features two main tracks. Phase one supports early feasibility and proof of concept, with project durations of 6 to 12 months and funding up to 800,000 Qatari Riyal per project. Phase two focuses on advanced technology development and validation, extending up to 24 months with funding up to 2.2 million Qatari Riyal per project.

This phased structure empowers startups to de-risk their innovations, advance technology readiness levels, build robust technical and commercial foundations, and accelerate their market entry. The selection criteria for the first cycle emphasized technical excellence, scalability, commercial potential, and the ability to deliver tangible economic and societal impact within Qatar.

The awarded cohort showcases a wide spectrum of innovation across Qatar’s priority sectors. Many of these startups are already engaged in pilot deployments, proof-of-concept testing, and early commercial engagements. Others are utilizing the grant to advance core research, strengthen intellectual property, and prepare for market entry within the designated priority areas.

The technical diversity of this cohort highlights the depth and quality of innovation emerging from Qatar and the broader region, demonstrating the effectiveness of targeted, structured support in driving meaningful progress across multiple sectors. The first cycle awardees include Pronto, Trio Investments, Adapt, True Links, Maared, Mine XR, Sakina AI, Sports Victor, Skystruct, Cytomate, AC DC 12, Gino GMP, Capi Biotech, Circle Process, Camea, Vic AI, Monet, Digital Inc., Nopology, and RFX AI.

During the Q&A session, it was confirmed that the total investment for this first cycle of awardees amounts to approximately 30 million Qatari Riyal. A key eligibility criterion for the program is that all participating companies must be headquartered in Qatar, ensuring local economic benefit. The next cycle of the SBIG grant is scheduled to launch in April this year.

Regarding new scopes or areas for future cycles, Ms. Al-Jehani indicated that the QRDI Council is currently refreshing its priority areas as part of the QRDI 2030 strategy update. Specific priorities for SBIG and other programs will be announced within the next one to two months, guiding future innovation efforts.

Qatar’s Innovation Leap: QRDI Council Awards First SBIG Grants at Web Summit Qatar

(This article was generated with AI and it’s based on a AI-generated transcription of a real talk on stage. While we strive for accuracy, we encourage readers to verify important information.)