Qatar is seen as an ideal environment to grow and develop startup ideas not only because of its entrepreneurship culture but mainly for its strong private sector and government support, a tech entrepreneur has said.
“I believe Qatar is a good place to launch a startup idea because of the incubation programmes it offers. It’s also a good place to look for investors, amid the government’s initiatives to promote a smart city, a cashless society, and promoting Qatar as a business hub to the world,” said Filipino national Michael Javier, the CEO and founder of cWallet Services.
With technology at the forefront since the start of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Javier noted however that there are still several challenges tech startups have to overcome to address the needs of the market.
“Based on my personal observation, Covid-19 has affected startups that were on their very early stages. On the other side, startups that were in the delivery, healthcare, and e-Commerce business had a huge surge in demand and sales.
“It was almost a good launch pad for us but we’re not ready with all features that we’re trying to promote, which includes cross-border payments and remittance,” Javier told Gulf Times.
Asked if there would be a continuous growth in startups in the coming period and what factors would sustain business operations, Javier stressed that in terms of competition a startup’s success would depend on how it meets the needs of its customers.
“According to a fellow startup owner, there was a 20% decline in their business as the country initiated Phase 4 of limiting Covid-19 restrictions, meaning individuals will still be going to shopping malls and buy on their own.
“And this is aside from the fact that there are now lots of players both local and international that will compete with each other, so it all goes down to customer satisfaction and customer retention in order to keep a bigger market share,” Javier explained.
Asked to identify startups in Qatar that have taken centre stage since the onset of the pandemic, Javier said: “I believe startups like AtHomeDoc and Meddy that focus on healthcare have taken centre stage. The plus factor is that they are ready to serve customers unlike other players that are in the early stages. They will be more attractive to investors, as well.”
