- What
- Tickets QAR 1.5–7M for small enterprises, QAR 3.5–18M for medium enterprises; equity under 50%.
- Who
- Qatari-owned operational companies with active Qatari management, under 250 staff, revenue under QAR 100M.
- Cost
- Equity — QDB takes under 50% stake
- From abroad
- Nationals or residents of Qatar — Qatari-owned operational company with active Qatari involvement in management All programmes open to founders from abroad →
- Status
- Active
Checked · September 2026 · qdb.qa/en/financing-and-funding/equity-and-inves · How we check ↗
In detail
QDB Istithmar - SME Equity is a direct equity investment (QDB investment) in Qatar. The direct equity programme of Qatar Development Bank for innovative small and growing medium enterprises in Qatar - separate from Ithmar, which is the seed tier. QDB publishes no dedicated product page: the terms sit on its Investment page, the government portal Hukoomi lists it as the Istithmar (SME Equity) Financing Program, and the 2024 QDB venture report calls it Istithmar (Growth Funding). The Invest Qatar directory spells it Estithmar, which matches no QDB source.
- Amount
- Fund size QAR 365M - tickets QAR 1.5-7M for innovative small enterprises and QAR 3.5-18M for growing medium enterprises - less than 50% stake - 8-10 year horizon (5 years deployment, 3-5 years holding)
- Terms
- Yes - less than 50% stake
- Eligibility
- Qatari-owned operational company with active Qatari involvement in management - under 250 employees - revenue under QAR 100M - assets under QAR 50M - innovative small enterprises under 3 years of operations, growing medium enterprises at least 3 years of financial statements
- Sectors
- Sector-agnostic with a preference for strategic sectors - construction, contracting and trade excluded
- Benefits
- Growth capital without a majority handover - QDB stays under 50% - long holding period of 8 to 10 years
- Status
- Active - selectable service on the QDB one-stop application form. No dated 2025 or 2026 deal announcement found, and the QDB year in review of January 2026 does not mention it
What the source says
“Qatari-owned operational company; Active Qatari involvement in management”
“Size: QAR 365 million”
“Ticket size: QAR 1.5-7 million”
“QAR 3.5-18 million for innovative small enterprises”
“Target shareholding: Less than 50% stake”
“Total turnover less than QAR 100 million”
Closing soon on the map
Cultural Development Fund (CDF)
Finspire
QSTP Incubation
More state equity in Qatar
QDB Ithmar
Startup Qatar Investment Program
Sources
Primary source · qdb.qa/en/financing-and-funding/equity-and-investment · LinkedIn · linkedin.com/company/qatar-development-bank · Checked September 2026