The 2025 edition of Web Summit Qatar wrapped up last month, drawing over 25,000 attendees from more than 120 countries. Building on the success of the previous year, the event’s second edition expanded its reach, setting new benchmarks—particularly in startup participation.
More than 1,520 startups across various industries took part, seizing the opportunity to present their innovative solutions to investors and industry leaders worldwide.
Junaid Wahedna, founder of Wahed, a global fintech company specializing in Islamic investments, praised Qatar’s supportive environment for the sector. He remarked, “We could have set up anywhere in the world, but we chose Qatar because of its strong backing for fintech, research, and Islamic finance. The alignment was truly ideal.”
Martin Schulze, CTO and co-founder of BlueBox, a German supply chain visibility startup, acknowledged the region’s potential for business expansion, stating, “The market here is filled with opportunities. It’s a dynamic region with a young, innovative population. I believe this aspect is often underestimated in Europe, and it’s something I want to explore further.”
By Kids to Kids, a Finnish company originally launched in Brazil, presented its educational platform designed to help students create their own learning content.
Alloma Moretti, Business Development Director, shared her perspective: “We hadn’t considered the Gulf market before—it felt distant from our reality. But after seeing the potential, we thought, ‘Why not?’”
From South Africa, Artfundi, an art management technology company, also found value in the summit, particularly in networking opportunities.
Werner Botha, multimedia storyteller at Artfundi, noted, “For me, the biggest highlight is meeting new people and discovering how well I function in this environment. The networking alone is a gold mine. I even ran into a competitor who turned out to be a great potential partner, along with others working on virtual gallery technology and event organization.”
For many international startups, Web Summit Qatar 2025 became an entry point into the MENA region. The Startup Qatar pavilion played a key role by offering immediate business registration and showcasing funding opportunities, entrepreneurial initiatives, and available resources.
The web summit led to 1,634 new company registrations in Qatar, along with the issuance of 156 business licenses.
Raiser Olwande, Global Product Sales Representative at Flick, a Nigerian open banking infrastructure startup, described the summit as a defining moment. He stated, “This summit has unlocked incredible growth opportunities for us. We’ve already begun the paperwork to establish an entity here, and the process—from travel to business registration—has been seamless.”
Web Summit continues to solidify Qatar’s position as a hub for technology and entrepreneurship, aligning with the country’s National Vision 2030 and Third National Development Strategy. The event highlights Qatar’s ongoing commitment to fostering international business partnerships, advancing technological innovation, and driving long-term economic diversification.
