Qatar Development Bank Partners With Rubix Holding And Rasmal Ventures To Launch Corporate Venture Studio

Qatar Development Bank (QDB) has partnered with Rubix Holding, a Qatar-based venture-building platform, and the Doha-headquartered venture capital firm Rasmal Ventures, to explore the launch of Rubix Studio, Qatar’s first corporate venture studio. The announcement was made during Web Summit Qatar 2026. 

Once finalized, the partnership aims to support more than 400 venture concepts and to co-develop at least 40 startups over the next five years. It aims to move ventures from ideation to investment readiness, expand founders’ access to customers and early revenue opportunities, and broaden the pipeline of high-growth small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

In a statement, Mohammed Al-Emadi, Executive Director of Incubation and Venture Capital Investment at QDB, said, “This strategic partnership with Rubix aligns with our strategy to increase the private sector’s contribution to the venture capital landscape and to support startups headquartered in Qatar, by enabling pathways that connect founders and entrepreneurs to markets and real demand. This step also represents a new phase in our collaboration with Rasmal Ventures, strengthening investment integration across different stages of company growth and providing a broader pipeline of investment-ready opportunities. This approach is aligned with the objectives of Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy, which aims to diversify the national economy, enhance competitiveness, increase private sector investment, and strengthen the national innovation ecosystem.” 

Tareq Berkdar, CEO of Rubix Holding, added, “We are launching the first corporate venture studio to address one of the most critical gaps in startup ecosystems: access to real customers and early commercial validation. By deeply integrating corporates, entrepreneurs, and investors, we aim to embed startups into corporate value chains and provide access to customers and revenue opportunities from the earliest stages. This platform can help position Qatar not only as a place to fund startups, but as a serious global hub for building them, strengthening the ecosystem by helping de-risk early-stage ventures, accelerating market traction and scale, and creating a pipeline of globally competitive companies anchored in the local economy.” 

Additionally, Dr. Shaikha Al-Jaber, Director and Partner at Rasmal Ventures, stated, “From an investment perspective, Rubix Studio startups benefit from early customer validation, real-world use cases, and integrated capital support, driving stronger capital efficiency and regional-to-global scalability.” 

Envisioned as a venture co-creation platform, Rubix Studio will pair founders with market opportunities by integrating new ventures into Rubix Holding’s subsidiaries and partner ecosystem. The model combines corporate assets, venture capital collaboration, and immediate market access within a single platform, enabling early validation and market traction, as well as early-stage de-risking.  

Rather than operating as a conventional accelerator or incubator, the studio is structured to serve as a repeatable venture-building engine, guiding startups through business model validation, faster revenue generation, and readiness for regional and global scale.  

Funding support—developed in coordination with QDB and Rasmal Ventures—will be embedded throughout the venture lifecycle, reinforcing governance standards and strengthening long-term growth prospects. 

Pictured in the lead image is a scene from the signing ceremony of the partnership during Web Summit Doha 2026. Courtesy of QDB.