HEC launches second edition of ‘Evolution of Qatar’s Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Pathways for Innovation’

The report was launched at an event in the Qatar National Library and attended by 100 guests, including aspiring entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and HEC Paris alumni.The event unveiled the updated version of two years of research by Dr Allan Villegas-Mateos, Senior Research Fellow, HEC Paris in Qatar.Welcoming the guests, the dean of HEC Paris in Qatar, Dr Pablo Martin de Holan, said the research was updated to map Qatar’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and provide stakeholders with tools to overcome the challenges in scaling it and driving transformation in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030.“At HEC Paris in Qatar, we believe in the importance of entrepreneurs and SMEs (small and medium enterprises) as engines of economic growth, innovation, and economic diversification and transformation,” he said.HEC Paris in Qatar is proud to support entrepreneurship and innovation in general in Qatar with relevant, actionable research that provides insights to entrepreneurs and decision-makers, and executive education which helps bridge the gap between ideas, implementation, and successful, high-growth entrepreneurial firms, according to him.Villegas-Mateos moderated a panel discussion with six panellists who outlined their experiences of navigating and supporting entrepreneurial ecosystems.This included Safi Qazi, co-founder and managing director of the Urban Point mobile app; Dr Richard O’Kennedy, vice-president (Research, Development and Innovation) at Qatar Foundation, vice-president (Research) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University and a member of the Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation Council; Abdulla al-Khenji, co-founder and chief strategy office of Flare Business Centre, a private incubator and accelerator for scaling up startups; Aysha al-Romaihi, head of Strategic Innovation and Business Collaboration and Program Manager of Scale 7, Qatar’s first fashion and design incubator; Mohamed al-Emadi, senior manager of Investment at Qatar Development Bank; and Marcel Dridje, a serial tech and telecoms entrepreneur and the business angel investor in 17 international startups.“Understanding entrepreneurial processes and entities is the key to creating ideal conditions to develop an innovative economy, which in turn helps provide long-term employment and economic development in a sustainable and responsible way,” said Villegas-Mateos. In its examination of Qatar’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, this research identifies key stakeholders, analyses the nation’s ability to support business development, and suggests avenues to improve the quality of the ecosystem, and the number and impact of entrepreneurial firms.