Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC) has officially announced a comprehensive revamp of its support ecosystem for 2025, introducing redesigned Pre-Accelerator and Accelerator programs with significantly increased capital deployment. As one of the largest mixed-use business incubators in the MENA region, QBIC is shifting its focus toward high-impact Go-To-Market and Soft-Landing strategies, opening its doors to both local and international startups with a promise of deeper financial backing and structured growth.
Major Funding Injection for Founders
The headline update for the 2025 cohort is a massive increase in direct funding, signaling Qatar’s aggressive push to attract and retain high-quality tech talent.
- Pre-Accelerator Funding: Increased from $27,000 (2024) to $75,000 (2025).
- Accelerator Funding: Increased from $27,000 (2024) to $100,000 (2025).
This near-quadrupling of available capital addresses a critical gap for early-stage founders in the region, providing the necessary runway to validate products and enter the market without immediate cash flow pressures.
The Pre-Accelerator: A Go-To-Market Engine
The revamped Pre-Accelerator is designed as a “Go-To-Market Program,” tailored for startups that need to refine their initial offering and secure their first traction channels. The 5-week highlight curriculum moves founders rapidly from theory to execution:
- Week 1: Problem/Solution Fit: Founders focus on refining their fit and identifying their target early adopters.
- Week 2: Activation: The focus shifts to offer design and triggering customer activation.
- Week 3: Traction: Startups engage in active traction channel testing to validate demand.
- Week 4: Systemization: Teams systematize their learnings and begin pitch preparation.
- Week 5: Investment Readiness: The program culminates in due diligence and investment readiness prep.
The Accelerator: Scaling and Soft-Landing
Targeted at more mature startups or international companies looking to enter the Qatari market, the new Accelerator is positioned as a “Soft-Landing Program.” It presumes a baseline level of product maturity and focuses on scalability and bridging the gap to Product-Market Fit (PMF).
- Week 1: PMF Gap Analysis: Defining the specific gap between the current product and true market fit.
- Week 2: Messaging: Sharpening the value proposition and Go-to-Market messaging.
- Week 3: Growth Engines: Building scalable engines for growth rather than just temporary spikes.
- Week 4: Fundraising: Structuring the startup for fundraising and advanced pitch preparation.
- Week 5: Due Diligence: Final preparations for investment readiness and rigorous due diligence.
Ecosystem Collaborators and Strategic Partners
The revamp is supported by a robust network of partners to ensure startups receive operational support beyond just capital. The program is organized by the Qatar Development Bank (QDB), with Digital & Beyond (Ooredoo) acting as the Incubation Partner and Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) serving as the Innovation Partner.
QBIC has also enlisted successful founders from the regional ecosystem to serve as program collaborators, ensuring that mentorship comes from operators who have successfully built and scaled in MENA. Collaborating startups include:
- Urbanpoint (Saif Qazi, CEO)
- SkyStruct (Irshad Jaleel, CEO)
- BuildHop (Mulham Alkabra, CEO)
- Growa.AI (Gabriele De Propris, CEO)
- Bookboll (Osama Safdar, CEO)
- Debito (Hijas Hassan, CEO)
- PMOBytes (Safi Ullah, Business Coordinator)
About Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC)
Qatar Business Incubation Center (QBIC) is one of the largest and most established business incubators in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Founded in 2013, it is an award-winning hub dedicated to developing the next wave of pioneering startups and entrepreneurs in Qatar. QBIC empowers entrepreneurs to start and grow companies through a range of programs, including incubation, acceleration, and investment opportunities.
