The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Founder Institute (FI), an American business incubator, entrepreneur training, and startup launch program, in order to boost the startup business environment in Qatar.
The MoU intends to pursue areas of mutual collaboration, with a focus on the QFC’s target sectors of digital, technology, financial services, and professional business services.
Established in 2009, FI is a pre-seed accelerator comprising a global network of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and ecosystem leaders, with local chapters in over 200 cities and more than 90 countries.
Yousuf Mohamed al-Jaida CEO – QFC Authority
“The country actively encourages and supports entrepreneurship and the acceptance of smaller enterprises in keeping with its sustainable development goals. This agreement further strengthens QFC’s commitment to support the national economy and leverage potential opportunities for growth. Through the exchange of information and business best practices, this MoU would provide structural support to not only promote and nurture startups but also to help businesses thrive in a dynamic environment.”
As per the statement, FI startups that are licensed by the QFC can benefit from 100 percent ownership, a robust legal infrastructure, and a dedicated client affairs team to support their business needs.
Mr. Andrew Crawford, Head of Finance at FI said that, “The FI helps early-stage entrepreneurs get to traction and funding through a structured process. Together, with this agreement, we will be better positioned to support entrepreneurs in Qatar so that they can thrive in today’s economy.”
Last year, Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council and QFC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to incentivize and empower QFC-based local and international companies to conduct innovation as well as research and development (R&D) activities in the region.
