The success of a young Nigerian digital product designer at this year’s Hackathon highlights the growing opportunities in Qatar’s tech space.
At this year’s Qatar Innovation Hackathon, Ajiri Omafokpe used his six years of fintech experience to drive product creation through an intense competition.
Candidates were challenged to use digital technologies— such as machine learning and augmented reality — to develop innovative business models in six industry-specific themes.
Omafokpe played a key role in the success of Amanah, the GCC’s first Takaful aggregator, which became one of the winners in the Fintech category. The team, made up of four dynamic professionals with unique expertise, worked to innovate in the field Islamic insurance space using cutting-edge solutions.
Amanah’s triumph not only showcased the possibilities of digital solutions, but also highlighted Doha’s potential as a hub for a thriving startup ecosystem.
“My career in the fintech sector started with Yellow Card, where I covered product design, UX design and marketing design,” Omafokpe told Doha News.
Her time at the pan-African fintech company was a particularly proud moment in her career, where she contributed to the growth of the company.
“By the time I arrived, I was their seventh employee, and now they operate in 20 countries across the continent,” she said.
Building a community
While the main objective of the Qatar Innovation Hackathon is to attract innovative entrepreneurs from the Gulf States to create solutions to address specific industrial themes, in the case of Omafokpe, the impact of the experience has extended beyond the competition.
“Coming from the strong tech community I was part of in Lagos, where there is ample access to like-minded people and mentors, I felt a gap in Doha,” explained the Nigeria native. “The city lacked space for tech enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to connect and collaborate. »
To fill this gap, Omafokpe, alongside fellow Nigerian and co-founder Michael Ifeanyi, created Builder Tribe, a platform dedicated to helping startups grow and succeed across the Middle East.
“We launched the project in July and it’s been amazing to see the response from the community. Small businesses are realizing that collaboration, rather than competition, is key to sustaining and growing the ecosystem,” Ifeanyi said.
Inspired by the goals outlined in the government’s Qatar National Vision 2030 to create a knowledge-based economy characterized by innovation and entrepreneurship, Omafokpe and Ifeanyi’s platform aims to support technology startups through mentoring.
“I was at a stage where I was just getting started and it was the community and mentorship that guided me,” explained Omafokpe, discussing the rapid evolution of the sector and the importance of upskilling initiatives , especially for young people in Qatar.
Additionally, Builder Tribe connects innovative ideas with potential investors, bridging the gap between startups and the funding they need to bring their ideas to life.
The importance of storytelling
“Qatar hosts important international events like Web Summitand the February event was great for making new connections,” Ifeanyi said. “But after that, we knew there were so many incredible stories going untold, and we wanted to help by creating a platform where entrepreneurs could connect, share their stories, and collaborate to build something impactful.” »
The Builders Tribe co-founder added that local startup entrepreneurship can be drowned out by the noise of larger, more established companies.
“Sometimes it can seem like the scene is not that dynamic,” Ifeanyi said. “But we have seen that this is not the case. We found that even though there were so many talented innovators in Qatar, their stories were not being told or connected in a meaningful way.
To bridge this gap, the platform has so far hosted two in-person community events to connect the country’s innovators.
“During our last event, we gave five startups the chance to take the stage and share their ideas in front of an audience of at least 70 people. Many had never had the opportunity to do this before, and it was amazing to see the impact,” Ifeanyi said.
For his part, Omafokpe explained that these events constitute the highlight of his journey so far, noting that “technology can be a lonely and difficult space to navigate.” She added that Qatar is poised to position itself as a global leader in innovation and technology.
“We need to create a local culture where these strong community ties are strengthened so that an ecosystem of freely flowing information and opportunities is shared,” Omafokpe said.