The private sector, start-ups, banks and regulators will come together in Doha next week to discuss the fintech regulatory developments in Qatar, regionally and globally.

The symposium to be held on February 4, is set to focus on the emerging regulatory framework supporting the growth of fintech in Qatar and is co-hosted by Qatar University’s (QU) Centre for Law and Development, under the College of Law; the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) and DLA Piper Global Law Firm.

Experts from the UK, Australia and Hong Kong will share their perspectives and engage with Qatari fintech stakeholders to help Qatar move towards becoming a global leader in supporting innovation in the financial sector.

It will feature a special panel session on the new wave of regulatory technologies (RegTech) that is currently revolutionising the supervision of financial services and other compliance-focused sectors.

"QFC offers an extremely conducive environment for fintechs to do business in Qatar. Last year, we widened the rules and guidance of licensed firms on the platform to include fintech service providers, and also have a range of benefits and incentives tailored specifically to them. As a result, we are welcoming an increasing number of fintechs with unique propositions onto our platform," said Henk Hoogendoorn, managing director of the Financial Sector Office in the QFC Authority.

The event is part of a three-year project funded by the Qatar National Research Fund titled “Fintech and RegTech: Building a Resilient, Inclusive and Competitive Legal and Regulatory Framework for 21st Century Finance in Qatar”.

"The ability to express the priorities of enterprise directly to regulators is vital to building an effective and resilient fintech ecosystem,” according to Dr Andrew Dahdal, Centre for Law and Development Section Head of Law and Policy.

Frank Ryan, Incoming chair of DLA Piper, said technological innovation in the financial services arena is creating new opportunities globally, both for financial institutions and technology providers.


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