The Qatar Financial Center witnessed record growth in 2024, welcoming 836 new firms to its platform, a 156 percent growth compared to 2023. This remarkable growth brought the total number of firms to 2,489 and the combined assets under management to over $33 billion. It also supported the growth of the Qatar Financial Center community to over 11,700 employees from 153 nationalities.
The new firms that registered in 2024 came from 90 countries, with the largest number of firms coming from the United Kingdom, India, the United States, Jordan, Turkiye, France, Lebanon and Qatar. These firms operate in a wide range of sectors and industries, including fintech, consulting services, media, IT and wealth management.
“The exceptional growth witnessed by the Qatar Financial Center in 2024 reflects our commitment to provide a developed and attractive business environment for local and international companies,” stated Yousuf Mohamed Al Jaida, CEO of Qatar Financial Center.
Tech firms drive growth
The active participation of the Qatar Financial Center in the Web Summit Qatar last year was instrumental in attracting a substantial number of technology firms to its platform, which accounted for the largest share of firms registered in 2024 at 26 percent.
The center also offered compelling incentives to companies that opted to register their business during the Web Summit, attracting foreign investments and contributing to economic diversification. With that participation, it also advanced the state’s efforts in positioning Qatar as a leading technology hub in the region.
“Over the past year, we have continued to enhance innovation and support economic growth and diversification in Qatar, and we aim to achieve more successes in the coming years,” Al Jaida added.
The business growth at the center coincides with Qatar’s improving economic conditions. Qatar’s real gross domestic product will gradually pick up to 1.75 percent in 2024-2025, according to the latest statement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In 2023, Qatar’s real GDP growth was estimated at 1.3 percent as post-World Cup growth normalization continued. The country’s medium-term outlook is more favorable with the IMF expecting growth to reach close to 4.5 percent.
The IMF also expects Qatar’s non-oil output to grow with strong public sector investments, tourism and ongoing LNG expansion projects.
Center expands reach with key partnerships
As part of its ongoing efforts to foster a dynamic and appealing investment ecosystem that enables businesses to thrive, Qatar Financial Center signed 24 memoranda of understanding in 2024, including agreements with prestigious financial institutions such as Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB), Masraf Al Rayan, Dukhan Bank, the Hashgraph Association, and the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.
The center also established other significant partnerships during the year, including a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Media City and a collaboration agreement with Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), aimed at facilitating business set up in Qatar.
Moreover, the year saw significant progress in one of Qatar Financial Center’s forward-thinking initiatives, the Digital Assets Lab, which commenced activities with 29 participants, developing unique digital solutions and services based on distributed ledger technology.
To support the program, the center issued the Digital Assets Framework to regulate digital assets, which includes comprehensive and clear legal guidelines for digital assets creation and regulation, including processes related to tokenization, legal recognition of ownership rights of encryptions and underlying assets, custody arrangements and transfer and exchange transactions.
These initiatives align with the Qatar FinTech Strategy and reinforce the country’s position as a regional leader in financial innovation.
