Qatar Development Bank (QDB) launched the ROWAD Hackathon – a regional hackathon that will bring together entrepreneurs and startups from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to compete in five main challenges in digital transformation and its solutions.
Registration continues until October 22 in the competition, which aims to develop cutting-edge solutions to challenges across five categories, namely FinTech, Agri Tech, Health Tech, Edu Tech, and Sustainability Tech. The winning startups will receive a total of QR 400,000 in financial prizes.
The competition will enable QDB to identify innovative startups that can scale regionally and improve their investment readiness in collaboration with Gulf entrepreneurship ecosystems. It also aims to foster an entrepreneurial culture in the region, develop its capabilities, and prepare it for further investments.
QDB Director of Marketing and Partnerships Khaled Mohammad Al Boainin stated that the Hackathon complements the third annual Gulf Entrepreneurs Forum. He expressed the bank’s aspiration to welcome innovators from all the GCC countries and to celebrate and honor their projects, contributing to the creation of a regional cooperative space in line with the objectives of the ROWAD Conference.
Al Boainin emphasized the growing regional importance of the conference and the fact that it is not limited to a single country but has become a regional event, coinciding with Expo 2023 in its capacity as a partner in sustainable development.
Participating teams must meet essential requirements, such as citizenship or residency in one of the GCC countries for all team members, commitment to attend the training camp in Doha scheduled for November 18-19, if they qualify, and technical background of one team member related to their startup project’s technological qualifications or experience. Applications can be submitted through the competition’s website.
The bank encouraged innovative teams and founders of startups in the technology sector to apply promptly for the Hackathon, as it provides exceptional opportunities. The selected projects will be trained and supervised by experts and specialists from various industries and services.
Source: Qatar News Agency