GFTN and Qatar Development Bank to Establish Global FinTech Centre in Doha

Doha, Qatar – The Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) and Qatar Development Bank (QDB), represented by Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH), have entered a strategic partnership to create a Global Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Finance and Technology and an annual Qatar Forum in Doha. The collaboration is aimed at strengthening the financial corridor between the Middle East and Asia and deepening links with Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem. 

Background: Two Ecosystems, One Corridor

GFTN is a global non-profit platform, created by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to expand Singapore’s FinTech ecosystem internationally. It focuses on four main lines of activity: convening global fintech forums, providing advisory and research, building digital platforms for SMEs, and mobilising capital for technology-driven ventures.

Qatar Development Bank is the state-backed development finance institution tasked with supporting SMEs, entrepreneurship and innovation in Qatar. QDB launched Qatar FinTech Hub (QFTH), with the support of Qatar Central Bank, as a dedicated platform to grow the local fintech ecosystem and attract international innovators. QFTH programmes have helped nurture dozens of startups with a combined valuation in the hundreds of millions of dollars and are a core instrument of Qatar’s National FinTech Strategy. 

The new partnership positions Doha as a central node in GFTN’s global network, which already connects stakeholders across more than 100 markets, including regulators, investors and innovators. 

Scope of the Strategic Partnership

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed by QDB CEO and QFTH Chairman Abdulrahman Hesham Al-Sowaidi and GFTN Group CEO Sopnendu Mohanty on the sidelines of the Singapore FinTech Festival, establishes a long-term framework for collaboration in: 

• Global thought leadership and mindshare on the future of finance and technology
• Policy innovation and regulatory cooperation across emerging markets
  
• Ecosystem enablement, including startup support and cross-border market access
  
• Capacity building through training, leadership programmes and knowledge transfer

The alliance will act as a key pillar of Qatar’s national FinTech and innovation agenda, aligning with the Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan and the Qatar FinTech Strategy led by Qatar Central Bank, as well as the broader Qatar National Vision 2030 and economic diversification goals. 

Qatar Forum: Annual Global FinTech Platform in Doha

As part of the agreement, GFTN, QDB and QFTH will launch an annual Qatar Forum in Doha. The event will be closely integrated with GFTN’s existing global platforms, including the Singapore FinTech Festival and related international forums, to ensure year-round continuity of discussions and deal flow. 

The Forum is expected to:

• Convene policymakers, central banks, regulators, financial institutions, investors, startups, and academia from across five continents
• Focus on themes such as digital public infrastructure, financial inclusion, sustainable finance, payment innovation and AI-enabled financial services
• Provide a structured platform for cross-border pilots, co-investment opportunities and bilateral or multilateral partnerships

Doha’s selection as the home of the Forum reflects its emergence as one of the region’s fastest-growing innovation and FinTech hubs, supported by advanced financial infrastructure, an increasingly progressive regulatory environment and a maturing startup ecosystem. 

Doha Policy, Capacity and Innovation Centre of Excellence

The second flagship element of the partnership is the creation of a Doha-based Policy, Capacity and Innovation Centre of Excellence for finance and technology.

According to the partners’ outline, the CoE will: 

• Provide research and strategic insights on transformative technologies shaping financial markets from Africa and Central Asia to the GCC, while acting as a bridge to Asia and the Americas
• Connect regulators, supervisors, and market participants to support more harmonised, inclusive and forward-looking regulatory frameworks
• Design and deliver capacity-building programmes, including leadership academies, policy labs, technical workshops and secondment opportunities
• Serve as a regional hub for experimentation around topics such as digital assets, open finance, RegTech, SupTech, Islamic FinTech and SME financing tools

By anchoring this Centre in Doha, QDB and GFTN intend to create a platform that links capital, policy and technology with local and regional talent, turning Qatar into a reference point for regulatory cooperation and applied innovation in emerging markets. 

Alignment with Qatar’s National Strategies

The partnership is closely tied to several national and sectoral strategies:

• Third Financial Sector Strategic Plan – which emphasises the development of a competitive, innovation-led financial system and a more diversified funding base for SMEs and new economy sectors.
• Qatar FinTech Strategy – led by Qatar Central Bank and implemented through initiatives such as QFTH, sandbox frameworks and targeted investment funds. 
• Qatar National Vision 2030 – particularly the pillars on economic diversification, human capital development and knowledge-based growth. 

Within this context, the GFTN–QDB collaboration is designed to complement existing infrastructure rather than duplicate it, by providing new international channels for knowledge exchange, investment and market access.

Deepening the Middle East–Asia FinTech Corridor

The agreement also strengthens ties between Qatar and Singapore, both of which have positioned FinTech as a strategic lever for competitiveness and cross-border connectivity. GFTN, which evolved from MAS’s earlier Elevandi initiative, already plays a central role in convening global actors around Singapore’s major forums and using them as launchpads for collaboration. 

By embedding Doha into this network through the Qatar Forum and the Centre of Excellence, the partnership aims to:

• Increase two-way investment flows between the Middle East and Asia in FinTech and digital infrastructure
• Facilitate co-development and scaling of solutions focused on inclusion, SME finance, regtech and green finance
• Position Qatar as a preferred base for global FinTech firms looking to serve GCC, MENA and adjacent emerging markets

Outlook

With the MoU now signed, GFTN and QDB are expected to move into implementation planning for the first edition of the Qatar Forum and the initial programmes of the Doha Centre of Excellence.

If executed as outlined, the collaboration is set to reinforce Qatar’s role as an international FinTech hub, while giving GFTN a strategic base in the Gulf to advance its mission of building more resilient, efficient and inclusive financial systems worldwide.