Qatar University and HyperThink Systems announce Qatar Entrepreneurship Awards as part of CEED 2022

THE first edition of Qatar Entrepreneurship Awards (QEA) is set to be held as part of the 5th Conference on Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (CEED 2022).

QEA is being hosted on behalf of Qatar University, by the Centre for Entrepreneurship, of the College of Business and Economics in partnership with regional consulting and technology firm HyperThink Systems.

While the activities of CEED 2022 are going to be held on 1 -19 May, the QEA awards ceremony is a pre-conference activity running on Tuesday, 1 May 2022, at Qatar University. The event and related awards aim to provide recognition to the growing startup ecosystem in Qatar and recognise the prominent local entrepreneurs and promising startups in the country. The awards are important to encourage more innovation and to realise the potential of entrepreneurs in Qatar.

QU Hyperthink entrepreneurship awards are spread across six categories- Best Entrepreneur of the ear, Best Woman Entrepreneur of the ear, Best Health-tech of the ear, Best Delivery E-Commerce of the

ear, Best Fintech of the ear, and Best Social Sustainable Entrepreneur of the ear. In addition to this, the event will witness Shark-tank style pitches by some of the inspiring startups in the country.

Professor Belaid Aouni, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, College of Business and Economics, mentioned that the College is keen to support various entrepreneurship activities and research through different means including conferences. This conference is a good opportunity to promote Qatar University as a hub of entrepreneurship research in the region and to attract international researchers in entrepreneurship to Qatar. As this helps to develop networking with well-known scholars and to exchange ideas and collaborate in new research projects.

Dr Mahmoud Abdellatif, the Director of Centre for Entrepreneurship, said that the event is an important pre-conference activity to shed light on a number of success stories among innovators and entrepreneurs in Qatar. “As we are keen to bring the 1st edition of the QEA to CEED 2022 along with our partner Hyperthink. The goal of bringing the awards to the conference is to strengthen the industry-Academia collaboration and to recognise the startups in Qatar and help them to gain visibility and recognition. We also aim to build the awards platform as an annual event at CEED and showcase the growing collaboration between academia, industry and startups in the country and beyond.”

Dr Boumediene Ramdani, is the CEED 2022 Programme Chair, said that the CEED is the leading entrepreneurship conferences in Qatar bringing a community of scholars and practitioners interested in entrepreneurship research, teaching and practice. He also said that the conference is a forum for sharing cutting-edge ideas to advance entrepreneurship research in the region with the objectives to foster research collaborations among our members; share experiences in entrepreneurship and innovation practices; and develop sustainable policies that address economic, social, and environmental challenges.

The three-day conference will witness renowned keynote speeches from many scholars in the filed including Dr Shaker Zahra who is the Chair of Entrepreneurship, University of Minnesota, USA, Dr Peter Kawalek, Director of the Centre for Information Management, Loughborough University, UK, and Dr. Wim Vanhaverbeke, Professor of Digital Strategy, University of Antwerp, Belgium. The conference will hold 14 sessions with diverse topics including Business Model Innovation, Smart Government, Digital Entrepreneurial Women, Digital Transformation through Blockchain, and Entrepreneurial Fintech among others. The conference will hold multiple panel discussions on The Future of Fintech; Entrepreneurship and Digital Transformation in the Arab World, Realities of Entrepreneurship Digitalisation in Qatar, and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in the Arab World.

Mr Awdesh Chetal, CEO of Hyperthink Systems emphasised that at Hyperthink, we believe that the future will be shaped by founders that master technology and innovation. Hyperthink wants the awards to be a platform for connecting, promoting, and showcasing the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Qatar and on the global scene through communication PR, a competition, and event activities.

Awdesh added that HyperThink Systems Venture and Incubation programmes support entrepreneurs in Qatar through its startup and venture support programmes including startup incubation, fundraising, training, mentoring, intrapreneurship, and connection to the regional and global tech innovation ecosystem. It helps top-quality startups, investors and global businesses discover and engage with each other, blending platforms, practices, and people. The firm works with government, corporates, and startups across verticals and industries including manufacturing, healthcare, fintech, B2C, consumer mobility, Deep Tech (IOT and AI) among others.