Why Qatar — The Gateway to Business and Innovation in the Middle East

Qatar provides a supportive business and tax environment and world-leading digital infrastructure, making Doha the ideal place for the media of the future to start new ventures and partnerships.

• Qatar offers up to 100% foreign ownership, 0% income tax, 10% corporate tax, and is placed 1st globally for tax policies by the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking.
• Startup Qatar Investment Program offers funding for both seed and growth stage companies, alongside incentives and support services (up to $500k to start in Qatar and up to $5 million to grow in Qatar).
• That is just one of many initiatives supporting local and international start-ups and technology companies through a smooth journey for international startups to develop their digital solutions in Qatar, and fostering collaborations with key industry players like Google and Microsoft.
• Qatar has state-of-the-art production facilities and infrastructure, making it an ideal location for high-quality film production, for which subsidies and grants are also available.
• Qatar has the third-highest score globally in the International Telecommunication Union’s ICT Development Index (2023)
• State-of-the-art mobile and fixed connectivity infrastructure provide approximately 96% of the population with 5G and nearly 99% with fiber connectivity; and Qatar was listed 1st globally by the Internet Speed Index 2024.

With a unique blend of historic and 21st century culture, world-class educational, health, and leisure facilities, Qatar caters to everyone, from solo travellers to families wishing to make Doha their home.

• Qatar’s healthcare has been ranked first in the Arab world, and fourth globally for health and well-being.
• Ranked “safest country in the world” for five consecutive years.
• Home to a wide array of outstanding international schools and local colleges, and six leading International universities with established campuses in Qatar’s Education City.
• Accommodation and life style to suit every budget.
• A vibrant Media, arts and culture sector, showcasing both Qatar’s historic traditions and the fruits of cross-cultural collaborations in a variety of galleries, spaces, and museums, including several designed by the world’s greatest architects.

Qatar offers seamless market access and connectivity, located at the gateway between East and West – with $8.5 trillion in combined GDP all within 3,000 km, and 80% of the world’s countries reachable within eight hours of air travel.

• We are home to Hamad International Airport – voted “World’s Best Airport” – and Qatar Airways – voted “World’s Best Airline” – in the Skytrax Awards 2024. We’re also home to Qatar Airways Cargo, which was voted 2024 “Cargo Airline of the Year”.
• Exceptional infrastructure, including roads, a metro and tram system, one of the world’s top container ports, marinas, and a range of public parks, elevate quality of life and connectivity. (Time from Hamad International Airport to central Doha: 15 minutes.)
• Proven capacity to host global events, such as the FIFA World Cup 2022, welcoming over 1.4 million fans from around the world to the first World Cup in the Middle East.
• The State of Qatar is also itself a perfect location for media – with an enormous variety of scenery, from the gleaming towers on the Corniche, the new city of Lusail, the traditional architecture of Souq Waif, historic forts, the Inland Sea, and desert dunes, to the cliffs and wild beauty of the Zekreet Peninsula (where there’s also Film City, a movie set of a traditional Arabic village).

Storytelling has been at the heart of Arab culture for centuries, as we enter the digital age, Qatar has the fundamentals for a vibrant media sector with its distinct culture and heritage, government investments, engaged population, and unmatched internet penetration.

• A deep bench in the media landscape, with global brands including the Al Jazeera Media Network, beIN SPORTS, and Miramax (co-owned with Paramount Global), as well as renowned institutions and events
• In partnership with Microsoft, Qatar has launched the Digital Centre of Excellence, which aims to create a highly skilled workforce for a rapidly growing, diversifying, and technologically advanced economy.
• Qatar ranks third globally for external openness in welcoming foreign talent and eighth for brain gain (Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2023), and INSEAD has ranked it as the world’s most attractive country for international students.
• Qatar provides comprehensive training and educational opportunities across the media ecosystem, including degrees in journalism, film, and design at Northwestern University Qatar, as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Kinetic Imaging with a focus on interaction and game design at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts Qatar.