For Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour Al Thani, the Chairman of the Web Summit Qatar Organising Committee, the upcoming conference will be a prime platform to showcase his country’s innovative prowess.
Web Summit Qatar is expected to host at least 12,500 visitors – almost double the initial target of 7,500.
The event, which will take place at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center on February 26, is set to be the region’s first-ever Web Summit and has already attracted hundreds of big names from the tech world.
The conference will treat the array of visiting innovators, investors and partners to a plethora of exhibitions from 1,000 startups.
After being inundated with thousands of applications, Web Summit Qatar selected 1,000 startups hailing from 80 different countries, including Qatar, the United States, Egypt, Brazil, Italy, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and India – making it “the most global representation of startups ever for a first-year Web Summit event.”
Microsoft, Qatar Investment Authority, Deloitte and Palo Alto Networks are expected to be in attendance, while trade delegations from countries such as Canada, Turkey, Bahrain, Pakistan, Nigeria and Kenya, will also be present at the four-day long conference.
Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Mansour Al Thani, the Chairman of the Web Summit Qatar Organising Committee, said that the conference being hosted for the first time in the region will showcase the innovative prowess Qatar has to offer.
“We believe emerging technologies will transform the world of work and business, as well as across education, government, public services and the private sector,” Sheikh Jassim added.
Breaking barriers for women
This year’s summit will stress the need for levelling the playing field for women to be able to make headway in the global tech industry.
The Women in Tech Lounge, which will feature a series of masterclasses and interactive panel discussions, will run throughout the conference.
The exclusively women-only sessions will advise fearless female innovators on matters such as sustainable consumerism, the AI landscape and, among so much more, adapting to marketplace competition.
Speakers who will be convening at the Women in Tech Lounge include the United Arab Emirates’ Huda Al Lawati – the founder and CEO of Aliph Capital.
Qatar’s Thuraya Nasser Al-Mulla, who is the co-founder and CEO of Receipts, will also be chairing a session to inspire women to break through in the global tech sector.
However, as proudly announced by Web Summit Qatar, tickets to the women-only sessions have now sold out.
Web Summit’s CEO, Katherine Maher, is especially looking forward to the discussions to be held during the Women in Tech sessions.
She said she is, “excited to celebrate women’s empowerment at the Women in Tech lounge and look forward to meeting the Women in Tech community from around the world.”
