The prime minister also announced that Qatar would roll out a 10-year residency program for entrepreneurs and senior executives (Image: QNA)
The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is expanding its venture capital program, Fund of Funds, by $2 billion, Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Sunday.
The $1 billion Fund of Funds initiative was launched to draw venture capital firms to Qatar, strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and support efforts to reduce reliance on oil revenues by diversifying the economy.
Speaking at the Web Summit Qatar conference, the prime minister also announced that Qatar would roll out a 10-year residency program for entrepreneurs and senior executives. The move mirrors steps taken by regional peers Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which have introduced long-term residency schemes in recent years to attract skilled professionals and investors.
Commenting on the fund’s expansion, CEO of Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) Mohammed Saif Al Sowaidi affirmed that the expansion of QIA’s Fund of Funds program and the allocation of additional $2 billion of funding to the program underscore the State of Qatar’s position as an attractive investment destination for global capital, particularly at the high end of the venture capital sector, whose firms are seeking to transfer their expertise and invest in promising local projects.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani had also announced that five new funds are joining the Fund of Funds program, representing specialisms across AI, fintech, blockchain technology, infrastructure and special situations. The Fund of Funds program now supports 12 regional and international fund managers in Qatar, demonstrating the significant growth of Qatar’s startup ecosystem and its increasing connectivity to global markets.
“With an aggregate AUM of nearly $10 billion, the new funds joining the program will support our efforts to develop Qatar as a regional hub for VC expertise. While Doha represents the first international office for many of our funds, these managers are also encouraging their portfolio companies to establish their regional HQ here – further positioning Doha as a hub for entrepreneurs,” added Al Sowaidi.
The latest funds to join QIA’s Fund of Funds program include Greycroft, which is a multi-stage, multi-strategy venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs building category-defining companies across software, sustainability and consumer brands. Founded in 2006, Greycroft manages over $4 billion in assets and has made more than 400 investments since its inception.
Ion Pacific is a leading venture capital structured secondaries and special-situations manager with approximately $700 million under management. The firm manages innovative strategies focused on risk-reward optimization for investors, and provides tailored solutions that unlock liquidity for founders, GPs and LPs in the VC ecosystem. Ion Pacific has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Zurich, Doha and Hong Kong.
QIA’s Fund of Funds program also includes Liberty City Ventures, which is a leading venture capital fund and incubator with $2.4 billion of assets under management. The firm invests in companies building and implementing blockchain technology solutions (Seed through Series C+) with a focus on financial services, AI and data, and infrastructure.
Shorooq, which is a tech-focused, multi-strategy investment firm from the GCC is also joining the program. Shorooq’s strategies span venture capital, credit, private equity and real assets through an integrated approach that allows them to invest across the capital stack in businesses reshaping their sectors, from fintech and software to AI, industrials and infrastructure.
Finally, Speedinvest will join. It is a globally active European venture capital firm with more than €1.2 billion in AuM and six offices across EMEA.
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QIA and Qatar Development Bank (QDB) have also announced that they are partnering to offer computing power provided by Qatar’s new AI company Qai, which develops and invests in advanced AI infrastructure and systems. Compute power will be available to startups and portfolio companies of the partners participating in the Fund of Funds program that are based in Qatar.
QIA’s Fund of Funds program, launched by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs at Web Summit 2024, has to date committed more than $1 billion to leading regional and international venture capital firms, contributing to the development of Qatar’s venture capital landscape.
The program enables startups and entrepreneurs in the region to have access to the capital they need to flourish, bringing new VC talent to Doha and strengthening the local ecosystem in partnership with other government and private sector entities.
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