Ooredoo declares recent QBIC Demo Day 12 a great success

Ooredoo announced the recent Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC) Demo Day was a great success, with two new start-ups selected to join the incubation programme devised jointly by QBIC and Digital & Beyond, the specialised incubator powered by Ooredoo.

The event offered the opportunity for start-ups in the region to showcase their offerings and demonstrate the benefits their start-ups would provide.

The grand finale of the Lean Start-up Programme offered participants the opportunity to pitch for a space on incubation programmes devised by QBIC and Digital & Beyond. In total, 12 start-ups pitched for QBIC General and Digital & Beyond, of which only two have pitched to be incubated by Ooredoo’s Digital & Beyond programme.

As a result, the following two have been incubated by Ooredoo and will move to the next development phase:

• AY Tech: A drone that can fly itself for days
• Alternative Operations: An integrated fibre optics management system

Ooredoo, as a supporter of start-ups, is playing a major role in Qatar’s economic diversification, building and supporting a robust entrepreneurial eco-system and targeting potential start-ups to capture financial benefits through access to its superior technology and innovation, employee motivation and faster time from inception to market.

Manar Khalifa Al-Muraikhi, Director PR and Corporate Communications at Ooredoo, said of the event: “We were delighted to see so many interesting, innovative start-ups pitching for the opportunity to be incubated under Ooredoo’s Digital & Beyond programme, and we’re excited to see what’s next for the two start-ups chosen. We see initiatives such as the incubation programmes as vital to our future development; they allow us to identify new business opportunities and improve and develop the industry ecosystem, as they help us to reap the benefits of evolving technology and ensure this new technology is faster to market.”

Hamad Al Qahtani, General Manager at QBIC, said of the incubations: “We’re delighted to be working with Ooredoo to offer opportunities to innovative start-ups, as there are benefits on both sides; the start-ups clearly get a phenomenal opportunity to work with industry leaders, gain experience and let their ideas fly, while industry-leading businesses such as Ooredoo get access to innovations that could potentially prove incredibly beneficial to the future of their business. It’s a win on both sides and we’re honoured to be involved.”

For more information on the incubation programme, potential entrepreneurs can visit qbic.qa or ooredoo.qa.