Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is adding Founders ​Circle Capital to its venture capital programme, making San Francisco-based FCC the seventh growth investor to ⁠take a share in the $1 billion initiative, the funds told Reuters on Tuesday.

The "fund of funds" programme ⁠was designed ‌to lure start-ups to the Gulf Arab state and support a years-long effort to diversify its economy away from the gas production that made it rich.

"Our ⁠main priority here is to ensure that there is a sustainable venture ecosystem," the QIA's head of funds Mohsin Pirzada said. "Could it mean ultimately unicorns being established and listed? Yes, absolutely."

The initiative represents less than 0.2% of QIA's holdings, which are ⁠estimated to be worth $526 billion ​and span an array of businesses in sectors including technology, infrastructure, energy and finance around the world.

FCC, which manages ‍funds worth about $1.5 billion, plans to open its first international office in Doha, although this was not a condition ​of inclusion in the programme, its co-founder Ken Loveless said. FCC's investments include delivery platform DoorDash, online trading platform Robinhood and fitness tracking app Strava.

The QIA has received more than 250 applications to participate in the venture project, Pirzada said. Fund managers provided details of their forecast commercial returns and what economic impact they thought they would bring to Qatar, he added.

Those proposals were graded and allocated capital depending on their score. "If you are, for example, an A-rated proposal, then we can be up to 50% of your capital requirements," Pirzada said. ⁠Funds received amounts of $20 million to $150 million.

Previous entrants ‌in the program include B Capital, which is jointly led by Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin.

QIA analysed "model cities" including London, Berlin, Singapore and San Francisco as part of its work ‌to attract start-ups, ⁠Pirzada said. He said he expected to bring in another four to five funds over the ⁠next few months.

(Reporting by Isla Binnie, Editing by Louise Heavens)