The Centre for Entrepreneurship (CFE) of the College of Business and Economics at Qatar University, in collaboration with Qatar Business and Incubation Centre (QBIC) and Qatar Development Bank (QDB), is launching the third edition of ‘Startup!’, an entrepreneurial matchmaking event slated in Doha on October 29.
Close to 700 startups, entrepreneurs, local partners, and other attendees have signed up for the event, which will be held from 5pm to 7.30pm at the St Regis Hotel, organisers said.
The event consists of five-minute pitching sessions and negotiation modules. After the pitches, there will be a networking session to allow these various groups of people to interact and find potential collaborators.
Last year, startups received “great attention” from the investors and people looking for employment opportunities. The networking session at ‘Startup!’ also served as a platform to match entrepreneurs from different groups of people.
Dr Khalid al-Abdulqader, dean of the College of Business and Economics, said the event encourages students and startups to thrive and grow, while enhance their skills and knowledge about entrepreneurship and business development in Qatar. 
He also pointed out the importance of providing innovative mechanisms to facilitate the necessary funding needs for startups, especially in the early stages by approaching the largest number of investors in one pool. 
CFE director Dr Mahmoud Abdullatif said the development of practical aspects and skills of entrepreneurship for startups plays a key role in the event. He said ‘Startup!’ focuses on the hand-on skills of entrepreneurship for all students who are interested in entrepreneurship and willing to establish new projects. 
Abdullatif said Qatar has an advanced business environment and is full of innovative and youthful ideas that should be reflected in the growth of new startups. He said ‘Startup!’ brings together all angel investors, funders, startups, students, and individuals looking for employment opportunities. 
QBIC CEO Aysha al-Mudahka said, “QBIC is proud to be partnering with Qatar University – one of the finest educational institutions in the Middle East – as we strive towards identifying and developing local talents. 
“At QBIC, we pride ourselves in being driven and determined to continuously work with local partners to contribute to the growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Qatar – a responsibility we all share.”
She added: “Events like this provide the ideal networking environment for local startups seeking talent, investors searching for promising startups, and promising talents wanting to be part of the next success story. The opportunities are out there, and we’ll continue through special partnerships such as this one to help local entrepreneurs grasp them.”
CFE Business Incubator manager Juha Peralampi said the centre is introducing two new features into the mix – Qatari partners and also small-scale investors (up to QR100,000) and matchmaking these groups with local and global startups. “One of our aims is to increase the business angels’ culture in the wealthiest state in the world. The business angels’ network in this region is still being developed and so far not been fully tapped on,” Peralampi said.