$100m investment fund aims to kick-start entrepreneurship in Qatar

Amid a national push to encourage entrepreneurship across Qatar and diversify the economy, a government-backed agency plans to launch a US$100 million (QR364.15 million) investment fund to help startup companies prosper.

Enterprise Qatar (EQ), which supports small and medium-sized businesses in the country through several programs, is likely to make investments of between roughly QR500,000 and QR2 million ($137,306 to $549,224) once the fund becomes operational in June, said Khaled Sadeddin, the agency’s manager of incubation programs.

Compared to other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, Qatar businesses attracted virtually no venture capital in 2012.

Local entrepreneurs have said it is difficult to find Qatari lenders willing to make long-term investments, and business observers in the region have argued there is minimal appetite for risk among Middle East venture capitalists.

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$100m investment fund aims to kick-start entrepreneurship in Qatar