Qatar Chamber and the UN Industrial Development Organization are developing an entrepreneurship and innovation model focused on supporting women and young founders, according to an announcement reported in late October.
The model is expected to provide training, incubation, acceleration, finance and market access through Qatar Chamber’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center. A related training-of-trainers programme brought together 30 experts. Eligibility and application details have not yet been published.
The initiative comes as Qatar shows strong female participation at the startup stage but a significant drop-off as businesses mature. The GEM Qatar National Report 2024/2025, published by Qatar Development Bank, puts early-stage entrepreneurial activity at 7.0% for women and 7.9% for men. Established business ownership is 0.9% for women, compared with 4.0% for men.
Women accounted for at least one founder in 38% of the 1,637 startups participating in Web Summit Qatar 2026, while Qatar Chamber figures cited by Gulf Times indicate that around 7,000 Qatari women have full or partial ownership of companies. The latter figures are described as indicative because a primary Qatar Chamber publication was not identified.
Existing support includes HBKU’s 18-month ECIEP programme, which gives priority to women entrepreneurs, as well as digital-skills training and mainstream funding routes such as QDB’s Startup Qatar Investment Program and QRDI grants.
Source: Falak
