The local tech innovation community saw eleven groups of entrepreneurs pitch their ideas at the “Demo Day” of the 10th edition of the XLR8 programme of Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP).

Despite of the limitations and restrictions with Covid-19, QSTP and the partners were determined to deliver their XLR8 programme and the final pitching day was held virtually for the first time.

It marked the conclusion of the 10-week online training and mentorship programme which now boasts a network of thirty mentors with relevant expertise and experience.

Nine of the eleven finalists were selected in QSTP’s highly competitive process and the other two were chosen from a popular television programme known as Stars of Science.

Industry experts, investors, entrepreneurs and members of the public participated in the online event by observing pitches before voting for their favourite start-up. As usual the standard of the participating teams, their dedication and innovative ideas were extremely high and three winners were selected – namely ‘Karty’, ‘Lease’ and ‘Sahatech.

‘Karty’ is a financial technology start-up which aims to improve the spending experience of daily users by utilising technology and transaction data to provide a bespoke financial experience.

The XLR8 programme of QSTP started in 2015 and is very well established by now (with more than 150 groups and 400 entrepreneurs since inception). 26 groups have launched their start-ups from the XLR8 programme and nine of them have secured further investment and entered international markets.

These success stories include Meddy, Stellic, MaktApp, Bonocle, EasyBroadcast, and WakeCap.

Please click on the link and reach out to learn more about QSTP’s XLR8 programme as well as other initiatives of the most relevant stakeholders in the State of Qatar and Business Start Up Qatar.