This report, in collaboration with Qatar Development Bank (QDB), presents the state and progress of the venture capital and startup ecosystems in Qatar as it stood in 2020. It tracks the evolution of venture investments and transactions over the past five years and closes in on 2020’s top deals and investors in the country.
Venture investment in Qatar has seen steady growth over the past few years and withstood the impact of COVID-19 to grow by 9% between 2019 and 2020. Unlike other geographies in the MENA region, Qatari startups continued to receive support from accelerator programs in 2020 when a third of all deals were closed by accelerator-backed startups. The E-commerce sector benefitted from digital adoption in the year and received 40x more funding YoY. The year also witnessed one startup record an exit.
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REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:
- Between 2016 and 2020, VC investment in Qatar grew at a CAGR of 67%, finishing at QR22M in 2020
- Fintech startups closed the highest number of deals while the F&B sector secured the largest share in funding
- One F&B deal accounted for 23% of all capital deployed in 2020
- All 24 deals in 2020 were in favor of early-stage startups
- 33% of all startups who registered transactions in 2020 graduated from accelerator programs
This report was created with data from MAGNiTT, which is a comprehensive directory of emerging tech and new business strategies through tools like:
• Investment directories, a comprehensive list of all startup venture funding across the Middle East, North Africa, Pakistan and Turkey
• Market sizing tools to visualize investment growth and trends across industries, geographies and stage
• Startup resources including a deal flow tool for applications to leading Venture Capitalists for investment
• Exit comparisons, looking at Mergers & Acquisitions from across the region