• Venture capital investment in Qatar reached a record QAR 214 million, representing an 81% year-on-year increase.
  • In line with the objectives of the Third National Development Strategy 2024-2030, there has been exceptional activity from the private sector and both local and international investment funds in venture capital across strategic priority sectors, accounting for 86% of the total investment value in 2025.
  • QDB’s investment arm was the largest investor by number of deals in Qatar, participating in 11 of 33 deals nationwide.

Doha, Qatar: Qatar Development Bank has released the sixth edition of its annual Qatar Venture Capital Report for 2025, developed in collaboration with the research platform MAGNiTT. The report aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of Qatar’s investment landscape, promote transparency, and offer reliable data on the venture capital sector, including the latest developments in investment funds supporting entrepreneurship and empowering the private sector to drive national economic development.

Commenting on the report’s significance, Mr. Abdulrahman bin Hesham Al-Sowaidi, CEO of QDB, said “This annual report is a key milestone for showcasing the most important data related to investment and venture capital in Qatar. It also provides investors, partners, and stakeholders across Qatar’s entrepreneurship ecosystem with a precise and detailed view of the sector’s transformations and trajectories.” He added: “Qatar Development Bank continues to play its leading enabling role in the Qatari venture capital landscape. Total direct and indirect investments, alongside investment commitments made through our investment arm, have reached approximately QAR 390 million since its inception. We take great pride in the private sector’s remarkable progress; its participation, together with international investors, accounted for 86% of the total venture capital value in the country. These efforts, coupled with the sustained engagement of the private sector and international funds, serve to safeguard the achievements required to reach our national sector targets under the Third National Development Strategy.”

Regarding the Bank’s initiatives in this context and its future vision, Al-Sowaidi added: “We aim to continue our efforts to strengthen Qatar’s regional and global position as an attractive hub for international investors and investment funds. This will help expand venture capital investment, particularly within priority economic clusters, in line with the Third National Development Strategy 2024–2030. Through our initiatives, most notably the Startup Qatar Investment Program under the umbrella of the Startup Qatar platform, we also seek to increase investment volumes and reinforce private sector participation by forging high-impact partnerships that advance Qatar’s investment ecosystem.”

Philip Bahoshy, CEO and Founder of MAGNiTT, said: “We are pleased to publish our 2025 report in collaboration with QDB. The report highlights the progress of Qatar’s venture capital ecosystem in 2025 and showcases its year-on-year development to regional and global investors and entrepreneurs, through both data and major ecosystem events hosted in Qatar, anchored by Web Summit. Qatar Development Bank’s role in advancing the ecosystem is clear, having played a leading part in supporting venture activity nationwide.”

The report clearly demonstrated the growing role of Qatar as an attractive investment hub in the MENA region. Venture capital investment in Qatar increased by 81% year-on-year in 2025, reaching a record high of QAR 214 million. Venture capital activity was concentrated in early-stage deals, which accounted for 61% of total funding.

Additionally, the report also notes that Qatar ranked fourth in MENA in 2025 for deal count and venture funding value, accounting for 5% of total regional deals. Pre-seed and seed rounds represented 93% of total deal count, consistent with the stage of Qatar’s ecosystem, supporting entrepreneurs in turning innovative ideas into real ventures.

QDB’s investment arm stood out as the largest investor in Qatar by number of deals, participating in 11 out of 33 nationwide in 2025. The report also highlighted FinTech as Qatar’s most active sector by deal count, accounting for 33% of the total number of deals in Qatar for 2025, representing a 22% increase over 2024. This growth underscores the success of distinguished initiatives within the sector, most notably those implemented by the Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH), a QDB affiliate. These efforts are part of achieving the objectives of the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan, led by the Qatar Central Bank. Meanwhile, Transport and Logistics emerged as the most funded sector, raising QAR 80 million, up 716% year-on-year, driven by a small number of high-value transactions.

QDB reaffirms its commitment to developing the venture capital sector with partners in Qatar and the region, attracting innovative startups to localize their operations, and developing products that enable the private sector to increase its participation in venture capital.

About Qatar Development Bank

Established in 1997 as a government-affiliated development institution, Qatar Development Bank aims to strengthen the national business landscape, fostering and driving the economic diversification of the private sector in Qatar.

Throughout more than twenty-five years of economic development, Qatar Development Bank has achieved notable successes, cementing its position as a major contributor to the national entrepreneurship ecosystem, the private sector and a diversified and knowledge-based economy.

Qatar Development Bank’s strategy is aligned with Qatar National Vision 2030, the Third National Development Strategy, and the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan, with a focus on building a promising future for businesses in Qatar and empowering entrepreneurs to lead a sustainable and prosperous future.

Qatar Development Bank anchors its support framework on three interconnected pillars, beginning with the promotion of innovation by embracing and accelerating entrepreneurial ideas and investing in startups, developing local businesses by providing financial and advisory support, and enabling the export ecosystem to bolster Qatari exports and raise the competitiveness of Qatari products in global markets, in collaboration with partners from the governmental entities.

The bank's efforts are centered around diversifying support mechanisms to foster social and economic development, leveraging available resources to advance environmental, social and institutional governance and digital transformation efforts, and promoting innovation and creativity, with a focus on forging impactful local and global partnerships.

For more information, visit QDB website