Qatar concluded its participation at Web Summit Lisbon 2025 with strong interest from visitors and participants at the national pavilion, which highlighted the country’s investment opportunities and its efforts to strengthen innovation and support emerging companies.
The pavilion recorded more than 4,000 visitors over the course of the event, including investors, entrepreneurs and technology experts, who explored national initiatives advancing the digital economy, along with incubation and acceleration programs that foster innovation and support emerging companies. The pavilion also received extensive coverage from international media, which highlighted the growth of Qatar’s technology and startup ecosystem and its rising position as a regional hub for innovation.
The pavilion was visited by HE Dr Ali bin Saeed bin Samikh Al Marri, Minister of Labour, who toured the summit to learn about the key features of Qatar’s participation. His Excellency was briefed on national initiatives that highlight Qatar’s efforts to support innovation, entrepreneurship and the attraction of foreign investment.
Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office, Chairman of the Permanent Web Summit Qatar Organising Committee, and Head of Qatar’s official delegation, said: “Qatar’s participation in Web Summit Lisbon reflects its commitment to maintain a strong presence at major global platforms for technology and innovation, and showcase the factors that make the country an attractive place for business and investment. The summit also provides an important opportunity to learn from leading international experiences and supports Doha’s preparations to host an exceptional edition of Web Summit Qatar next February.”
He added: “The summit offered an important opportunity to strengthen partnerships with leading global players in technology and entrepreneurship and to exchange expertise on the latest trends in the digital economy. The meetings held by the delegation with investors and experts will help open new avenues for cooperation in the coming period.”
The pavilion also highlighted major national initiatives, including the Startup Qatar program launched last year by Invest Qatar as part of broader efforts to empower local talent and attract top global talent. It featured inspiring success stories from startups that have chosen Qatar as their base due to the supportive and innovation-friendly business environment.
Qatar’s participation in Web Summit Lisbon reflects its commitment to maintain a strong presence at major global platforms for technology and innovation, and showcase the factors that make the country an attractive place for business and investment. The summit also provides an important opportunity to learn from leading international experiences and supports Doha’s preparations to host an exceptional edition of Web Summit Qatar next February.
Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office
During the summit, the Startup Qatar program attracted interest from nearly 300 requests from startups submitted to join the program, while around 100 companies confirmed their intention to register with the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) and join the country’s growing investment landscape. This reflects the competitiveness of Qatar’s economy and its growing appeal as a destination for entrepreneurs and innovators from around the world.
Programs such as the Tasmu Accelerator — a digital initiative launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) to drive innovation and accelerate startup growth — also received strong interest from global companies. Meanwhile, the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council took part in the summit by presenting its initiatives to support research projects and technological innovation and explore future collaboration opportunities with international institutions participating in the event.
Qatar’s delegation to the summit comprised of 17 government and semi-government entities, including the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Qatar Investment Authority, Invest Qatar, Qatar Financial Centre, Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Qatar Free Zones Authority, Media City Qatar, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and a number of Qatari startups.
Duha Al Buhendi, Director of the Digital Society and Digital Competencies Department at MCIT and Deputy Chairman of the Permanent Web Summit Qatar Organising Committee, said: “Our participation with partners at the Startup Qatar pavilion aims to reinforce the country’s position as a global centre for technology and innovation by highlighting programs that empower digital entrepreneurs, foster partnerships that shape the region’s technological future, and support our national ecosystem in expanding to global markets. We also seek to attract creative technology companies to participate in Web Summit Qatar.”
Yousef Fakhroo, Chief Marketing and Corporate Communications Officer at QFC, expressed his satisfaction with the strong engagement witnessed at the Qatar pavilion from visitors and startups, noting the growing interest in opportunities available in the Qatari market. He explained that the previous edition of Web Summit Qatar recorded more than 600 company registrations with QFC and expressed his confidence in achieving further growth in the upcoming edition.
Mubarak Al Hetmi, Manager of Incubation and Acceleration at QDB, said: “Our participation reflects our commitment to supporting this national initiative, which aims to attract technology startups by offering an integrated package of financing solutions, incentive programs and other key support services. We are pleased to showcase three startups supported by the bank, highlighting their successful entrepreneurial journeys.”
Hamad Al Hajri, Founder and CEO of Snoonu, the first Qatari tech startup to surpass a valuation of one billion Qatari riyals, emphasised that the company’s presence within Qatar’s delegation aims to promote advanced Qatari technologies and demonstrate the country’s ability to develop leading digital solutions. He noted that Snoonu is preparing to unveil new technologies to be showcased for the first time in the Middle East during Web Summit Qatar 2026.
Qatar’s participation at Web Summit Lisbon for the third consecutive year, which was attended by more than 71,000 people, comes as part of the country’s preparations to host the third edition of Web Summit Qatar in Doha from 1 to 4 February next year, the region’s largest technology event.
Source: GCO Qatar
