Qatar ranked sixth globally in 2025 for its national entrepreneurship ecosystem, scoring 6.0 on the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor’s national context index, according to the report cited in the announcement.
The country received scores above the sufficiency threshold in 12 of 13 framework conditions. It ranked first globally for the quality of entrepreneurship education in schools, while its physical infrastructure received a score of 7.9. The report also found that 47.8% of established business owners expect artificial intelligence to become central to their future operations.
Qatar’s startup activity has been supported by Web Summit Qatar and the Startup Qatar programme. The permanent committee overseeing the summit said 69 startups had secured a combined QAR 750M in investment since the 2025 edition. Startup Qatar also received 10,000 international applications and helped localise 45 international startups with $39M in funding.
The Qatar Investment Authority added $2B to its Fund of Funds, bringing total commitments to $3B and attracting five new global fund managers. Separately, Qatar reduced fees for more than 90% of Ministry of Commerce and Industry services, while Qatar Financial Centre cut company licensing and incorporation fees by 90%.
Despite the ecosystem’s institutional progress, early-stage entrepreneurial activity among individuals fell to 2.4% in 2025 from 7.7% in 2024. The report attributed much of the decline to fear of failure. Meanwhile, MCIT and Tasmu helped startups secure 130 commercial opportunities worth more than QAR 430M.
Source: Msheireb
