QSTP TECHtalks get Doha talking about business innovation

With a great turn-out of key players in business, technology and finance, the event achieved its goal of connecting people who are shaping Qatar's knowledge economy.

As guest speaker Khaldoon Tabaza, Chairman and Managing Director of Riyada Ventures and recently selected as a Young Global Leader, shared his experiences and lessons learned from building and investing in knowledge-based ventures. He is a pioneer of entrepreneurship in the middle east, being the first to obtain publishing rights for the Arabic edition of BYTE Middle East Magazine while at university and founding Arabia.com which gained the distinction of "Yahoo! of the Middle East".

"While at university I discovered I had choices; I could either drive my career or have my career drive me," relays Tabaza of his early years. Turning his career from medicine to business he found economic independence in developing and shaping his own career. "I discovered that by shaping my own career and becoming independent I was suddenly in control of my own destiny," he continued.

It is with this attitude that Tabaza has gone on to develop many entrepreneurial ventures. As chairman and managing director of Riyada Ventures he heads up a firm specialising in providing venture capital services for knowledge-based industries such as technology, communication, healthcare and education.

"The work that Tabaza does through Riyada Ventures mirrors perfectly what we are trying to achieve here at Qatar Science & Technology Park," said Ben Figgis, Marketing Manager, QSTP. With access to top-ranked universities, research-friendly premises and venture-capital funds, QSTP provides a conducive environment for research and commercialisation. "More specifically," continues Figgis, "his work is developed in the region, for the region, and as such his expertise is invaluable to Qatar businesses."

The QSTP TECHtalks continue in March, with a focus on how technology is influencing how companies communicate with customers and stakeholder.