Payments giant Mastercard has teamed up with the Qatar Development Bank (QDB) in order to support the ongoing development of the nation’s Fintech sector.
Through the partnership, Mastercard and QDB will support the Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH), which is a technology ecosystem that aims to assist local and international financial technology businesses.
Mastercard will be working cooperatively with Fintech industry participants in Qatar via the QFTH in order to accelerate innovation and support the adoption of digital payments in the Middle Eastern nation. The Qatar Fintech Hub aims to bring together a community of entrepreneurs, industry professionals, regulators or policymakers, and strategic investors to develop and adopt emerging technologies.
Startups that are part of the QTFH will be able to access Mastercard’s technology, expertise, products, and services. This should help them with expanding their operations. The initiative will also focus on identifying relevant businesses that can take part in Mastercard’s startup engagement program, called Start Path.
Ibrahim Al Mannai, Executive Director (Advisory and Incubation) at Qatar Development Bank, stated:
“We aspire to offer the ideal launch pad for early-stage and mature Fintechs to scale up, revolutionize financial services and make a global impact. We hope that Mastercard’s extensive network of existing start-ups, experience in enabling digitization, and deep market knowledge will allow us to shape the future of fintech in Qatar and create further opportunities to grow and develop digital payments.”
Nadia Ghissassi, Director Country Business Development, Qatar, Mastercard, remarked:
“Together with our partners in the private and public sector, we are committed to accelerating digitization and [supporting] economic growth, creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing, and ultimately advance the payments infrastructure in the country.”
As covered recently, Qatar is supporting Fintech development with sustainable energy initiatives. Local firms are also using blockchain tech to streamline operations.
Fintech is now recognized as a key tool for attaining long-term development goals for Qatar’s financial sector.