The Digital Incubation Center (DIC) of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) launched the seventh edition of IdeaCamp, in a ceremony attended by DIC’s distinguished partners, members of state institutions, the digital entrepreneurship community in Qatar, and the selected IdeaCamp entrepreneurs who will attend IdeaCamp sessions for the upcoming six weeks.

The opening ceremony of IdeaCamp featured a keynote speech from Dr. Latifa Al Darwish, Businesswoman, consultant & coach as well as the founder of Etlaqq Business Management (EBM). The keynote speech was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Majed Lababidi, Acting CEO of Rawi AlKotob, which was Titled “The Transformative Power of Incubation: Support and Benefits in the Startup Lifecycle.” The panel featured the following speakers: Mr. Hadi Alshakhori, Ecosystem developer at Saudi Aramco Entrepreneurship Center (Wa’ed), Mr. Mohammed Zebian, QSTP Program Manager, Mr. Saif Qazi, Founder & CEO of Urban Point, Mr. Mohammad Hammoud Computer Science Professor at CMU & Founder-CEO at Avey. Through this panel, IdeaCamp participants learned the benefits of the startup lifecycle.

Following the opening ceremony, the first workshop of IdeaCamp was held. IdeaCamp training workshops will run until the end of June 2023.  DIC will select 40 emerging ideas to compete on the Pitching Day before a specialized jury to determine the 25 winning ideas. DIC will support the 25 winning ideas throughout their incubation period; the startups will enjoy free office space for two years, and access to a free package of digital services, including but not limited to Oracle cloud services, Amazon Web services, and Adobe Creative Suite. The top three winners of the IdeaCamp will win a total cash prize of 300 thousand Qatari Riyal.

The IdeaCamp, launched in 2017, is one of the largest programs that attract entrepreneurs in the Digital Incubation Center. It targets entrepreneurs with promising digital ideas in the initiation phase of their journey.

The Digital Incubation Center received more than 1,300 applications during the past six editions of the Ideas Camp, of which more than 700 were accepted. More than 150 startups have been incubated over the past years.

The Digital Incubation Center was established in 2011 to build a supportive ecosystem for digital entrepreneurs in Qatar to enable them to achieve their dreams and make them active contributors to the diversification of the digital economy of the State of Qatar. Through its strategic partnerships, DIC seeks to raise the level of digital entrepreneurship in Qatar and empower the promising generation of innovative minds to harness emerging technology to overcome contemporary challenges.