Web Summit, formerly known as Meo Arena, is one of the world’s largest tech conferences and exhibitions and attracts more than 60,000 visitors, 2,500 journalists, and 1,200 speakers, in addition to a host of experts and decision-makers from across the globe.
Its participants come from as many as 170 different countries. Held annually since its maiden edition in Ireland in 2009, Web Summit is an amalgamation of more than 25 different conferences held during the four-day period and sees a speaker list comprising a mix of heads of states, chief executive officers of multinational corporations, as well as founders of tech startups.
This year, QDB held a national pavilion at the Web Summit where it hosted 12 Qatari startups and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). They are A101, Ebdaa Digital Technology, eQatar, E-Emdad, Fine Posture, iHorizons, Maven Technology, Osool Media, Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC), Shoura Business Group, Subol and Wafra IT Solutions.
Tasdeer executive director Hassan Khalifa al-Mansoori said: “Our participation at Web Summit 2017 is part of our dedicated effort at QDB to support our nation’s MSMEs and startups working in the field of information and communication technology. Software companies and technology solutions firms abroad have proven their efficiency and success in stimulating national economies.
“Hence, the successes of other similar companies abroad serve as a motivating drive for Qatari tech-based enterprises, especially so during a time in which our nation undergoes an unjust and regionally counterproductive siege.”
He added: “Our national success in the future will lie in the ability to embrace the fast pace of development in the world of technology, strengthen our connectivity with one another and the international markets around us, and truly immerse ourselves in the digital age.”
Tasdeer’s participation in Portugal comes as the latest in a series of export support-related initiatives taken by QDB. In the recent past, the development organisation has held a series of workshops to raise the awareness of MSME-owners on the mechanisms involved in international trade to enhance their capabilities and ensure commercially successful trade dealings with global clients. Some of their trade support to local businesses has included information sessions on the Harmonised System Nomenclature and single-window systems.
Notably, this year, initiating a new chapter of commercial diplomacy for Qatar, QDB through its export programme, Tasdeer, enabled the nation to become the first country among the Gulf Cooperation Council states to acquire full membership of the Enterprise Europe Network. The European Commission finalised the country’s new status making Qatar the 67th country in the network.