Doha is well placed in fintech development in terms of access to capital and focus on innovation compared to the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, according to Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH).
"Qatar performs well in terms of the availability of capital since several venture capital (VC) vehicles are available, and Qatar Development Bank (QDB) actively participates in the funding of companies," said QFTH's white paper on the state of the fast-developing fintech industry in Qatar and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
In terms of innovation, while Qatar is performing better than its peers, it can do even better by launching a fintech innovation division and an inter-university fintech body to develop talent, apart from creating awareness on fintech.
Comparing Qatar’s fintech landscape to those of mature fintech hubs in the US and the UK , the report reveals that Qatar still has much to do to nurture its fintech capabilities.
However, there are demographic differences between Qatar and US or UK markets but that presents an opportunity for Qatar to create a smaller but highly innovative and effective fintech footprint on the world stage, the paper said.
Highlighting that there is a momentum building in Qatar, with opportunities in digital payments, money management, lending, loyalty and rewards, remittances, and investments and advisory; Qatar Central Bank governor Sheikh Abdulla bin Saoud al-Thani said for all of these fintech opportunities, "we have to measure the impact financially and strategically, as well as how it relates to the customer, to assess whether we should pursue each opportunity."
He stressed the need for a proactive approach to be adopted by the QCB to face the local and regional economic challenges, making the Qatari financial market ready-made for any scenario, challenge or pressure, and properly qualified to support the private sector.
"The QCB has put in place a transformational strategy to promote the growth of fintechs in the local banking sector," its governor said in the white paper.
"Qatar has been working hard to gain traction with globally trending technological developments and is shaping up as a technology-led economy. Fintech offers a significant opportunity to drive Qatar’s economic diversification, one of the four pillars of Qatar’s National Vision 2030," said Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa, chief executive of QDB and chairman of QFTH Taskforce.
It also provides a massive opportunity for the small and medium enterprises or SMEs in the GCC countries, particularly in Qatar, to gain greater access to funding, one of the major challenges they face globally.
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