Web Summit draws startups to Qatar in search for fresh funds
The tech extravaganza kicked off with news that Facebook Co-Founder Edouard Saverin's B Capital and five other VCs are opening offices in Qatar
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar’s Prime Minister (Web Summit)
More than 25,000 participants are milling around Doha this week for Web Summit Qatar as the Gulf state competes with neighboring Saudi Arabia and the UAE to attract promising tech startups.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the Qatari Prime Minister, kicked off the four-day extravaganza at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center on Sunday by announcing that six prominent venture capital firms are opening offices in the country.
The VCs – which include U.S.-based B Capital and Human Capital, and London’s Utopia Capital – are partners in the Qatar Investment Authority’s Fund of Funds program that was set up last year to spur growth of the country’s startup ecosystem.
The QIA said it is evaluating eight more VC firms for inclusion in the program.
“Being a small state like Qatar is similar to being a startup in this exciting digital age, where an entrepreneur with a brilliant idea can change the world,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
Among the headliners at Web Summit are Mozilla CEO Laura Chambers, Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour, B Capital Co-Founder and Co-CEO Eduardo Saverin – a Co-Founder of Facebook – writer Malcolm Gladwell, and actor Will Smith.