Dima Wahbeh, deputy country manager, Qatar at Web Summit, shared her insights on the significance of Web Summit Qatar:
“Web Summit Qatar represents the opportunity for Web Summit to convene technology’s leaders in an already fast-growing tech scene, as it brings together and empowers a new generation of startup founders across the Middle East, Africa, India and beyond. Hosting Web Summit’s first event in the Middle East in Doha reflects Qatar’s rapid rise as a global hub for innovation, technology, and entrepreneurship, and the country’s strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa makes it an ideal meeting point for innovators from diverse regions.
The inaugural Web Summit Qatar in February 2024 firmly positioned Qatar as a premier global event destination. Surpassing expectations, it attracted over 15,000 attendees from 118 countries–more than double the forecast–and hosted 1,043 startups, the highest ever for a first-year event. This diverse startup cohort connected investors and partners from around the world, including nearly 200 from Africa and over 100 from the Impact programme, which promotes tech for good. Impressively, almost a third of the startups were founded by women.
Web Summit Qatar has laid a strong foundation for future events, fostering an environment for collaboration and growth. We are excited to continue this journey and look forward to returning to Qatar for the next edition in February 2025.”
