Qatar Investment & Innovation Conference 2025 convenes 700+ delegates in Doha

Doha, Qatar - Held on 3 November 2025 at Barahat Msheireb, the second Qatar Investment & Innovation Conference: Driving GCC Entrepreneurial Growth gathered more than 700 founders, investors, and policymakers to map opportunities in entrepreneurship, innovation, and digital transformation across the Gulf. The event was organized by The Business Year with Msheireb Properties, with MCIT as Strategic Partner.

Program at a glance

The agenda combined a pre-event insight session with two high-level panels and a startup challenge, reflecting the region’s push for diversification and private-sector growth. Themes included policy design, capital formation, public-private collaboration, and routes to scale for high-growth companies.

Key panels:

1. Entrepreneurship and GCC growth: Discussion focused on policy enablers, institutional leadership, and cross-border collaboration to improve conditions for founders. Contributors included Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, Qatar Science & Technology Park, and TechInvest.
2. Financing the future: Investors and ecosystem builders examined how venture capital, private equity, and government-backed funding are evolving to support emerging companies, with participation from Nama Ventures, 500 Global, Phoenix Venture Partners, and the QRDI Council.

AI for Good Innovation Challenge

Ten pre-qualified startups pitched SDG-aligned solutions in the AI for Good Innovation Challenge run with the YAILs Doha chapter. CLARRIO won the competition, securing participation at the AI for Good Global Summit 2025 in Geneva and fast-track access to selected accelerator programs. The challenge highlighted Qatar’s emphasis on responsible AI and the exportability of solutions validated in Doha.

Pre-conference insight session

HEC Paris in Qatar hosted “The Architecture of AI: Energy, Capex, and Capability,” led by Dean Dr Pablo Martin de Holan, outlining infrastructure demands, cost curves, and capability trajectories. Alumni attendees included senior leaders from MEEZA, the Civil Services and Government Development Bureau, Ooredoo Qatar, and QRDI.

Why it matters

The conference strengthens Doha’s role as a convening point for regional deal flow and policy alignment. By linking policy frameworks, capital providers, and pilot pathways, it supports scale-up routes for Gulf startups and deepens collaboration across the GCC in line with national strategies for digital transformation and diversification.