Qatar’s premier hub for applied research, technology innovation, incubation, and entrepreneurship, Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), has partnered with American multinational technology corporation, Microsoft to enhance the working environment for startups in the country and improve their productivity levels.
Under the partnership, startups that are incubated at QSTP will become eligible for the Microsoft for Startups program which offers cloud resources and industry mentorship for businesses throughout their journey.
Further, it offers a host of benefits tailored to the individual developmental stage of the participating company and it includes the use of the Microsoft Azure platform. Azure enables entrepreneurs to accelerate innovation and build projects through an easy-to-use portal experience that provides the cloud services they need most.
As part of the partnership, Qatari startups will also be granted use of the suite of Office 365 programs and software support system GitHub, as well as access to global Microsoft events, such as Microsoft Reactor sessions and workshops with strategic partners and industry experts.
Yosouf al-Salehi Executive Director QSTP
“One of our principal objectives at QSTP is to ensure that innovative tech startups in Qatar are given the best guidance and support possible as they begin their journey towards becoming successful businesses. In addition, we remain focused on advancing applied research, technology development, innovation, and entrepreneurship in Qatar, and we view this partnership with Microsoft as being the best fit for achieving the aforementioned goals. QSTP is proud to play an important part in transforming Qatar into the destination of choice for a broad range of technology entrepreneurs and innovators.”
The Park and Free Zone at QSTP, with leading global corporations under its roof, has been home to Microsoft in Qatar since 2007. The partnership will see QSTP and Microsoft host workshops once a month on a range of relevant topics like ‘Advanced Analytics on Azure’, ‘Azure Blockchain Services’, and ‘Artificial Intelligence on Azure’.
QSTP will also play host to experts from Microsoft for startups program through virtual panels or sessions to engage with the startups based in the hub and share their experiences and expertise. The collaboration will also contribute to the ongoing development of Qatar’s startup ecosystem, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.
“Startups play an important role in digitally-driven economies, they disrupt and innovate by bringing new ideas to life, and Qatar has become a promising launchpad for them. Working together, we believe we can provide the ideal platform for Qatar-based startups to accelerate their growth by creating business opportunities for them with our customers, removing entry barriers, and enabling them to reach regional and global markets,” said Microsoft Qatar’s general manager, Ms. Lana Khalaf.
