Ooredoo roadshow enables start-ups, entrepreneurs in Qatar

to reach 'next level'

01/02/2018 07:40 AST

Ooredoo recently underlined its commitment as one of Qatar's leading innovation enablers, thanks to the strong success seen at the first-ever 'Ooredoo Innovation Roadshow'.

During the roadshow, Ooredoo brought together hundreds of entrepreneurs and start-ups, business leaders, technology experts, and futurists. Together, they exchanged best practices and catalysed breakthrough new ideas in Qatar. They were joined by Ooredoo's ecosystem of start-up incubators, accelerators, and channel partners and customers.

Innovation Roadshow attendees were enthralled by the wide range of innovations, covering animal trackers, blockchain and Bitcoin, the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions, remote health monitoring and eHealth services, robotics, and virtual reality gaming.

One of Qatar's leading entrepreneurs, Mohamed al-Jefairi, presented a keynote on developing 'see-do'. The world's first sign-language communicating robot, 'see-do', showed how Qatar is an early adopter of innovation. Al-Jefairi also inspired members of the audience to become innovators.

Ooredoo COO Yousuf Abdulla al-Kubaisi said: "Innovation is key for both companies and people in Qatar to evolve and reach their full potential. Ooredoo is one of Qatar's biggest supporters of innovation and entrepreneurship. Our Innovation Roadshow saw Ooredoo join forces with our innovation partners, start-ups, and incubators. We are bringing to life technology innovations, and nurturing Qatar's next generation of business leaders."

Connected healthcare solutions are seeing strong momentum in Qatar. Innovation Roadshow exhibitors included Nexj Health's remote health monitoring, Prodea's smart home elderly care using Ooredoo TV, IntriHEALTH's unified imaging and patient management mobile App, and TPP's electronic medical record system for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Additional solutions being showcased included A101's augmented and virtual reality gaming technologies, Assistive Technology developed in collaboration with the Mada Assistive Technology Centre and OTTA, a Bitcoin concept developed by Qatar University's Business College, MSQ's IoT solution that can track camels and falcons during competitions, and Q3Smart, an M2M automotive App.

"Our Innovation Roadshow highlighted how homegrown Qatari innovations and start-ups can transform citizen and customer experiences, and enhance our daily lives. With every one of Qatar's industry vertical undergoing digital transformation, organisations that are early adopters of innovations will be the ones that gain a first-moving competitive advantage," al-Kubaisi added.

Digital and Beyond, a joint venture between Ooredoo and the Qatar Business Incubation Centre, also showcased its start-up incubator. Their start-ups included BuyGather, an App that provides deals and offers for consumers and businesses; Eyefly, a platform for airlines to minimise empty seats on flights; Game of Brands, a digital marketing and gaming app; and Kashif, a platform that tracks and analyses Arabic sentiment on social media.

Gulf Times