The 2nd edition of Web Summit Qatar, taking place from Feb 23-26 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre will have over 25,000 participants, it was announced Wednesday. "Demand for Web Summit Qatar 2025 continues to surge with over 25,000 tickets sold. The event will welcome over 1,500 startups, of which 46% are women-founded. In addition, Qatari startup participation has surged to 140% compared to last year,” disclosed HE Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour bin Jabor al-Thani, director of the Government Communication Office (GCO) and chairman of the Permanent Web Summit Organising Committee.The details of the upcoming summit were announced Wednesday at a press conference held in collaboration with GCO and Web Summit and the founder and CEO of Web Summit, Paddy Cosgrave was also present at the media briefing. "The 2nd edition will welcome more than 300 speakers, 600 investors, 150 partners, and 600 media representatives from across the globe. These figures underscore Web Summit Qatar's growing momentum, solidifying its status as a key meeting point for the world's technology and business leaders,” explained, Sheikh Jassim.He noted that thousands of entrepreneurs, investors and technology leaders from around the world will gather for the region's largest tech event, reinforcing Qatar's position as a global hub for innovation."Last year, we hosted the 1st edition of Web Summit Qatar, the largest tech event in the Mena region, and a valuable addition to Qatar's achievements. Our primary goal of hosting this event centres on developing the tech sector in Qatar and reinforcing the Qatar's standing as a leading regional hub," he highlighted.Sheikh Jassim added: "We firmly believe that investing in innovation and technology will contribute to sustainable development and economic growth, in line with Qatar's National Vision 2030. We are confident that this year's edition will surpass expectations, as these figures reflect strong interest from major tech leaders and entrepreneurs from across the world who are eager to participate in Web Summit Qatar 2025."Cosgrave noted that 85% of the startups participating in the Web Summit 2025 are international and highlighted the event's accelerated growth and importance as well as Doha's prominent standing as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. "In just the space of a year, the number of startups participating in our programmes has grown by more than 50%. The number of investors travelling from around the world has also increased sharply in a single year by around 50% with roughly 90% of the investors flying to Qatar from around the world," he pointed out."More than 200 Qatari startups who will also be on the floor are a huge measure of how vibrant and rapidly the ecosystem in Qatar is changing. Web Summit Qatar is not just a regional event. It may be happening in the Middle East, but it is a global gathering of companies and investors that I think will play a very prominent and important role in the future," he added.The Web Summit 2025 will feature high-profile speakers, including the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani; Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani among others.
February 20, 2025 | 12:39 AM