QRDI Council named a Startup Ecosystem Star

Doha - Qatar Research, Innovation, and Development (QRDI) Council has been named a Startup Ecosystem Star for 2025, an international recognition awarded annually by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and innovation advisory firm Mind the Bridge. 

The award places QRDI Council among 54 global winners recognised for their role in strengthening startup ecosystems through initiatives that accelerate innovation, expand collaboration between startups and larger institutions, and create measurable value for entrepreneurs and the wider economy.

Background: what the Startup Ecosystem Stars programme is

Startup Ecosystem Stars (often shortened to SES) is a global programme run by ICC and Mind the Bridge that highlights organisations shaping innovation ecosystems in cities, regions, and countries. The organisers describe it as an annual gathering and awards platform focused on best practices in ecosystem-building. 

In the 2025 edition, ICC and Mind the Bridge said 54 organisations were selected worldwide, with winners grouped into “Stars” (recognising sustained impact and leadership) and “Rising Stars” (recognising strong momentum and promising results). 

The 2025 winners were announced at a ceremony hosted at ICC headquarters in Paris, held in collaboration with organisations including the OECD and the European Commission, with support from Microsoft, according to Mind the Bridge. 

Why QRDI Council was recognised

According to Qatar News Agency (QNA) and local reporting, the recognition reflects QRDI Council’s role in building Qatar’s innovation ecosystem by strengthening collaboration across government, industry, academia, and startups, and supporting the country’s shift toward a knowledge-based economy. 

QRDI Council’s mandate, as presented in its official materials, focuses on funding and enabling innovation, research, and talent development aligned to national priorities, using tools such as grants, challenges, and partnerships to help translate ideas into scalable solutions. 

QRDI’s ecosystem-building model: partnerships, testbeds, and commercial pathways

QRDI Council’s approach has increasingly centred on challenge-driven innovation: framing real problems with “opportunity owners” (often government entities or large local organisations), then inviting innovators to propose solutions that can be piloted in Qatar through access to partners, data, and test environments. 

One public example is the Qatar Open Innovation programme ecosystem, which provides a route for innovators to develop and pilot solutions with local partners, and in some calls has referenced funding levels up to around $150,000 per proposal for early phases. 

In parallel, QRDI Council positions QRDI 2030 as a national strategy framework that defines priority areas for research, development and innovation and outlines ecosystem transformation elements intended to build capability and concentrate RDI efforts where national challenges and opportunities are greatest.

How this Fits Qatar’s National Economic Direction

QRDI Council explicitly links its programmes to Qatar National Vision 2030, which sets an ambition to develop a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy as part of broader economic diversification. 

In QNA coverage of the award, QRDI Council’s recognition is framed as supporting Qatar’s longer-term goals around innovation-led diversification, stronger industry–startup collaboration, and human capital development. 

What happens next

QRDI Council said it will continue strengthening the foundations of the startup and innovation ecosystem, building on the momentum of the international recognition. 

More broadly, ICC and Mind the Bridge have positioned the SES awards as a platform for sharing ecosystem best practices across countries and regions, suggesting that winners are expected not only to run effective programmes locally but also to contribute to international learning on what works in ecosystem development.