The Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC), owned by Qatar Development
Bank (QDB), yesterday launched the 10th wave of the LeanStartup
Programme during the latest ‘Speaker Series’ session, which hosted
Kickstarter co-founder Charles Adler.
The LeanStartup Programme focuses on empowering entrepreneurs and
providing them with the tools, hands-on experience and knowledge on how
to successfully bring their business ideas to life.
This year, QBIC, for the second wave in a row, broke a new record by
receiving over 800 applications, witnessing an 84% year-on-year
increase. More than 60 startups were chosen to take part in this 10-week
journey.
QDB CEO and QBIC chairman Abdulaziz bin Nasser al-Khalifa said, “We are
so proud of how far QBIC has come. We have had an incredible four years,
helping over 120 startups come to life and today, we launch the 10th
wave of our flagship LeanStartup Programme, from which over 330 aspiring
entrepreneurs have graduated.
“We are genuinely looking forward to what exciting ideas this new wave
will bring, and we hope to empower hundreds of additional startups and
local entrepreneurs over the next four years and beyond.”
QBIC continues to empower promising local entrepreneurs with innovative
ideas from all sectors, as well as provide them with coaching,
financing, and the office space they need in order to establish
successful startups.
During the ‘Speaker Series’ event held at the Msheireb Museums
yesterday, Adler, who was named as ‘one of the 12 most disruptive people
in business’, gave an overview of Kickstarter and also shared his
insights on the importance of adopting an innovative and disruptive
mindset to jumpstart an idea into a reality.
QBIC CEO Aysha al-Mudahka said, “Charles co-founded Kickstarter in 2009
and turned it into the world’s largest funding platform. Kickstarter has
funded over 138,000 successful projects, and raised over $3bn. We are
honoured to have him here with us today for this special event, and I’m
confident that our aspiring entrepreneurs will leave with something
valuable that they can inject into their businesses.
“We have incubated over 120 companies to date and it’s been a privilege
to watch them grow over the past four years and develop into successful
businesses. I can safely say that we are well on our way towards
developing Qatar’s next QR100mn companies.”
The entrepreneurs will learn through this 10-week, hands-on programme
how to transform their ideas into viable startups. At the end of the
programme, they will get a chance to earn incubation by pitching their
refined business ideas to a judging panel and potential investors,
marking the beginning of their journey during Demo Day, which will take
place in mid-May.