Entrepreneurship and Business |
Qatar Science
& Technology Park
“XLR8”
The XLR8 programme supports budding entrepreneurs to adapt their idea
or product to the market, capture interest from potential customers, and
pitch to investors for support.
O
ver three months, Qatar Science & Technology Park’s (QSTP) network
of mentors and coaches guide up to 30 teams of five entrepreneurs
as they assess the commercial potential of their idea, and transform it into a
viable product.
The programme not only provides guidance and mentoring, but also a
first-class working space for innovators to turn their idea into reality. XLR8
even provides financial support as teams work to create their commercially
viable product.
Based just outside the centre of Doha in Ar-Rayyan, QSTP is fast growing
into an international hub for scientific and technological innovation. The
park’s very environment is designed to foster innovation and collaboration,
with fully-furnished communal offices and dedicated buildings.
QSTP is not only a hub for research and innovation, it also houses Qatar’s
first-ever free zone, designed to attract investment and stimulate exciting
technological advancement. It already counts among its members global
technology companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Vodafone, and Mitsubishi.
QSTP and the XLR8 programme underline Qatar’s commitment to
encouraging fresh thinking, entrepreneurship, and cutting-edge innovation as
the basis for the country’s rapidly diversifying economy.
In the words of its Managing Director, Dr Maher Hakim, QSTP “enhances
the potential for Qatar to make significant contributions to the regional and
global technology industry through actively sponsoring the development of
viable, home-grown tech products and services.”
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