The world’s largest tech event, Web Summit Qatar 2024, made its debut in the Middle East and Africa, concluding successfully with the signing of 24 memorandums of understanding. These agreements, which took place on March 1, 2024, forged between Qatari institutions and leading international technology companies, aim to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship in Qatar.
Worthy of note among the memorandums is an agreement between QN Bank and the Web Summit, which includes the bank’s sponsorship of the summit for the next four years. Another significant partnership was established between Qatar Development Bank and Ooredoo, among others.
Hosting the Web Summit aligns with Qatar’s efforts to achieve the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030, marking a key phase in realizing the Qatar National Vision 2030. The summit aims to launch initiatives that enhance the country’s technological ecosystem, stimulate innovation, and develop competencies to support economic diversification.
As the inaugural edition in Doha concluded, the event achieved several milestones. Over four days, the summit attracted 15,453 attendees from 118 countries, showcasing innovations from 1,043 companies across 81 nations.
About 10 percent of these participants were from Qatar, and 20 percent hailed from Africa. The diverse international audience included 401 investors, 148 partners, and 380 speakers, with women representing 30 percent of the speaker lineup. Additionally, 37 percent of attendees were women, and 31 percent of startups were founded by women. The record-setting event captured global attention, with around 900 tech journalists and media representatives in attendance.
Commenting on this occasion, HE Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor Al-Thani, Director of the Government Communications Office (GCO) and Chairman of the Web Summit Qatar 2024 Organizing Committee, said: “We are proud of Qatar’s achievements across all domains. The exceptional organization of such a celebrated global event and the huge turnout we have recorded for a first-year edition showcases our country’s capacity to further its role as a leading destination for technology and innovation in the region and in launching initiatives that advance the digital and IT sector in Qatar and beyond.”
He went further to add: “Throughout its four-day run, we worked tirelessly to bring to our international audience a distinguished lineup of sessions, activities, and engagements that build on Qatar’s track record of hosting global major events. As the summit’s inaugural edition in the region, we were excited to welcome thousands of startups, investors, and tech leaders, while opening doors to networking and growth opportunities for young and aspiring entrepreneurs in Qatar and the region.
“With AI and other emerging technologies and business development trends dominating discussions at the summit, the event has instantly proven its ability to serve as a platform that effectively contributes to Qatar’s digital transformation and accelerate the establishment of a knowledge-based economy.”
For his part, HE Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai discussed the latest developments in this domain and provided an overview of the Digital Agenda 2030, which was launched during Web Summit week.
His Excellency noted that the Digital Agenda 2030 supports digital transformation across various sectors and outlines a comprehensive digital transformation plan for Qatar, emphasizing the importance of adopting green and clean technologies to promote a knowledge-based digital economy.
His Excellency stressed the importance of the Digital Agenda 2030 in positioning Qatar as a global technology center that embraces the latest digital technologies, including 5G networks, artificial intelligence, digital twinning, cloud computing, and big data, to achieve the goals of the National Vision 2030 and its national development strategy. This initiative aims to develop a diverse and competitive knowledge-based digital economy that encourages the private sector’s role and relies on innovation and entrepreneurship.
Web Summit CEO Katherine Maher highlighted the event’s record-breaking attendance and participation from tech companies and startups, showcasing Qatar’s renowned hospitality. She expressed her eagerness to return to Qatar year after year, predicting that future editions of the summit would see even larger attendance and record numbers of startups from around the world, contributing to the growth of the technological business environment in Qatar and the region.
On the closing day of the summit, the winner of the Best Startup Award was announced, recognizing the largest award of its kind in the technology sector globally. The award went to Breshna IO, which aims to enable users to create, share, and monetize their video games without requiring prior knowledge of programming or game design.
The inaugural edition of the Web Summit, hosted by Qatar until 2028, recorded the largest gathering of startups in the Middle East, with 1,043 startups from 81 countries participating. Among them, 104 Qatari startups represented 10 percent, seeking to leverage this opportunity for partnerships, investor connections, and sharing knowledge and experiences with international companies
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