Back

A gala awards ceremony for the Qatar IT Business 2016 Awards was held last night at the St Regis Doha. The prestigious awards celebrate Qatari companies’ contribution to the IT sector and are an initiative of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The winners were announced in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications and HE. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Minister of Economy and Commerce.

The award included seven categories: Service Provider of the Year, Cloud Service Provider of the Year, Tech Startup of the Year, Best Mobile Application of the Year, Best IT Adoption in the SME Sector and Smart Solution of the Year.

The winners were Malomatia for Service Provider (Software), Mannai Infotech for Service Provider (Hardware), Meeza for Cloud Service, Meddy for Tech Startup, Oordeoo for best Mobile Application of the Year, Riyada Trading for best IT Adoption in the SME sector and QMIC for Smart Solutions.

Judging was conducted through an online portal and included the following leading industry experts: Hamad Khamis Al Kubaisi, Executive Director of Advisory Services, Qatar Development Bank; Dr. Munir Tag, Director, ICT - Qatar National Research Fund (Qatar Foundation); Marwan Mahmoud, Consultant; Mohammed Al Daou, Head of Research and Development, Hamadan International Photography Awards; Mohammad Zebian, Innovation Manager, QSTP; Juha Perälampi, Business Incubator at the Center for Entrepreneurship Qatar University and Mahmoud Raef Haggag, Country Manager, PayFort Qatar.

Qatar IT Business Awards are a worthy initiative by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and provide a recognized platform to showcase IT business-related achievements in the country. The awards invited companies to submit projects that have demonstrated great innovation, best practice and inspirational ways developing new ideas to drive a connected society.

As part of the Qatar National Vision 2030, Qatar is transforming itself into a global, knowledge-based economy, focusing on knowledge and expertise rather than natural resources. Under the stewardship of The Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Qatar IT Business Awards recognize, reflect and support this dynamic vision.

Speaking at the event gala dinner, His Excellency Mr. Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Transport and Communications, highlighted the value of the awards: “Initiatives such as the Qatar IT Business Awards help to build understanding, generate interest and perhaps more importantly, recognize those people who are at the forefront of information and communications technology in Qatar.”

During the event, HE Minister Al Sulaiti announced the launch of the “Qatar ICT Directory” in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Commerce. The Directory is part of MoTC’s efforts to enhance private sector’s footprint in the market by ensuring their competitiveness regionally and globally, as well as helping public and private sectors and business community find best ICT service providers and products.

The Qatar ICT Directory has developed a database of ICT companies in the State of Qatar that will help government and businesses select suitable ICT companies. It also helps better understand Qatar’s ICT landscape.

The Directory has a fast search feature where users can search for companies, services and products. Users can also smoothly review a list of all ICT companies, let alone the advanced search to find specific results.

By understanding the ICT sector’s actual volume and needs, the Directory could effectively help dialogue the factors that hamper SMEs and startups.

Reem al-Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society at the Ministry of Transport and Communications, added: “Initiatives like these allow us to create awareness of the importance of IT Businesses in the rapid growth and economic development of Qatar. We congratulate the winners and wish to support them with an IT business friendly environment to achieve great success for the IT Business sector of Qatar.”

Sponsors of the Qatar IT Business 2016 Awards included leading Qatari organizations, with Qatar Development Bank (QDB) as Platinum Sponsor, Vodafone as Gold Sponsor, and Microsoft and Qatar Rail as Silver Sponsors.