Qatar Development Bank (QDB) launched yesterday its ‘Fintech Pitching & Coaching Day’ as part of its continuous efforts to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Qatari entrepreneurs.
QDB said the event is seen as a “new step towards achieving great strides” in the fintech sector and to create a technology-driven landscape for future generations. It is also aimed at developing Qatar and building a knowledge-based economy with a strong focus on some of the key sectors.
‘Fintech Pitching & Coaching Day’ was attended by guests from Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East to offer their significant contribution towards a unified cause of leading a fintech economy, QDB said in a statement.
It was also a great opportunity for representatives from the banking and investment sector to explore technology breakthrough trends and to meet young and aggressive entrepreneurs and foster relationships with them, QDB further said.
The event started with a keynote speech from international fintech entrepreneur, Lemon Way, a French payment startup, followed by a demonstration of existing local and international clients of QDB, including MaktApp, Qwallet, and QChain, who are all from Qatar; SoCash, which is from Singapore; Factris from the Netherlands; and International Start UP.
During the event, QDB signed a co-operation agreement with Finastra, one of the largest UK-based fintech collaborative platforms with representations in major hubs across the world.
By signing the MoU with Finastra, QDB will be contributing significantly to the development of the Qatar fintech ecosystem by enabling fintechs and financial institutions to change the way modern banking software is built and distributed. With Finastra’s Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) solution, QDB supports collaboration and encourages innovation.
QDB executive director of Business Finance Department Khalid al-Mana said, “We always seek enabling platforms where we can empower Qatari youth, and the launch of ‘Fintech Pitching & Coaching Day’ will open a new chapter for fintech startups and will offer them the newer global paradigms that they are looking out for.
“By inviting leading European fintech venture capital funds to participate in pitching sessions and coach Qatari fintech startups, as well as attracting leading fintech collaboration platforms to enter business relationships with QDB, we significantly contribute to strengthening country fintech focus. Through this event, we also aim to position Qatar as magnet for talents in fintech both locally and globally. QDB is committed to offering a significant contribution towards making our financial services sector more robust, more innovative, and more advanced.”
Al-Mana and other dignitaries during QDB’s ‘Fintech Pitching & Coaching Day’ held in Doha yesterday.
