Aspiring tech entrepreneurs and startups in the GCC states will benefit from ‘500 Falcons’, a $30mn Mena seed fund from US-based venture capital firm 500 Startups and Qatar Foundation Research & Development (QF R&D).
“The market size is $30mn and that should allow us to invest in about 150 to 200 early-stage startups in the Mena region in the next three to four years. We already had a first closing at $15mn already and we’re having a second closing quite soon with a further $7mn,” 500 Startups partner Hasan Haider told Gulf Times.
Haider said 500 Startups forged a partnership with QF R&D and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) to expand a range of 500 Startups programmes to support fledgling entrepreneurs and their companies.
In Qatar, Haider said among the promising sectors for startups include e-Commerce, content, and ‘frontier tech’.
According to Haider, the region “still has a long way to go” in terms of payments and logistics. He noted that opportunities are rife to create an online payment platform that people can trust.
“There are a few areas that we would like to focus on and one of them is commerce or anything related to e-Commerce, marketplaces, or enabling e-Commerce,” he said.
In terms of content, Haider said: “I think around 2% of the Internet is in the Arabic language but 7% of the world speaks it; so there is a huge opportunity there. Within content, we will be investing in multi-channel networks, in education-focused content, and gaming, among others.”
On ‘frontier tech’, Haider said the region produces “a lot of innovation,” especially in organisations like QF R&D and QSTP, as well as other markets around the region, and even in academia.
“In universities, there are actually bright ideas that are now with unique technologies and so, the Mena region has been able to play at the forefront of a lot of technologies that are emerging like IoT (Internet of Things), drones, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence,” Haider pointed out.
Because Qatar is a small market, Haider said startups in the country tend to focus on expanding to other markets abroad rather than just focus on the local market.
“Because Qatar is a small market, it encourages startups to look towards a broader and wider market from day one. There’s a mistake that some startups do in other markets like the UAE where they’ll just focus on the local market and not really think of how to scale into the greater region.
“Startups in Qatar don’t have that luxury and so, they’re actually looking at how they could expand and grow into other markets in the region,” Haider said, citing Qatari startup Meddy, which created a doctor booking software and marketplace.
Haider said 500 Startups forged a partnership with QF R&D and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP) to expand a range of 500 Startups programmes to support fledgling entrepreneurs and their companies.
In Qatar, Haider said among the promising sectors for startups include e-Commerce, content, and ‘frontier tech’.
According to Haider, the region “still has a long way to go” in terms of payments and logistics. He noted that opportunities are rife to create an online payment platform that people can trust.
“There are a few areas that we would like to focus on and one of them is commerce or anything related to e-Commerce, marketplaces, or enabling e-Commerce,” he said.
In terms of content, Haider said: “I think around 2% of the Internet is in the Arabic language but 7% of the world speaks it; so there is a huge opportunity there. Within content, we will be investing in multi-channel networks, in education-focused content, and gaming, among others.”
On ‘frontier tech’, Haider said the region produces “a lot of innovation,” especially in organisations like QF R&D and QSTP, as well as other markets around the region, and even in academia.
“In universities, there are actually bright ideas that are now with unique technologies and so, the Mena region has been able to play at the forefront of a lot of technologies that are emerging like IoT (Internet of Things), drones, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence,” Haider pointed out.
Because Qatar is a small market, Haider said startups in the country tend to focus on expanding to other markets abroad rather than just focus on the local market.
“Because Qatar is a small market, it encourages startups to look towards a broader and wider market from day one. There’s a mistake that some startups do in other markets like the UAE where they’ll just focus on the local market and not really think of how to scale into the greater region.
“Startups in Qatar don’t have that luxury and so, they’re actually looking at how they could expand and grow into other markets in the region,” Haider said, citing Qatari startup Meddy, which created a doctor booking software and marketplace.
