CDL-Doha is Creative Destruction Lab’s first site in the Gulf Cooperation Council and Asia. Operated in partnership by ESMT Berlin (CDL-Berlin), with the collaboration of HEC Paris (CDL-Paris), CDL-Doha provides a platform for science-driven innovation, connecting academic and entrepreneurial expertise from Europe with emerging innovation ecosystems in the region.
The program aims to accelerate science-based companies with the potential to create lasting economic and societal impact, support Qatar’s ambition to position itself as a global hub for innovation across the Middle East and beyond, and contribute to the development of a vibrant, internationally connected innovation landscape.
Featuring deep-tech streams in artificial intelligence, health, and agriculture & food, CDL-Doha will support more than 150 ventures over a three-year period. Participants benefit from international corporate, mentoring, and investor networks, drawing on established relationships across the wider CDL ecosystem.
For founders building solutions to address structural constraints in the global food system and thereby increase its resilience, improve human health outcomes, enable operating within planetary boundaries, and enhance resource and economic efficiency, especially under arid and climate-stressed conditions.
For founders developing solutions to make AI secure, efficient, and operationally reliable in high-stakes industrial environments.
For founders building the future of healthcare, where diagnostics are predictive, therapies are personalized, and decisions are driven by real-world evidence.
Eng. Omar Al-Ansari, Secretary General, Qatar Research, Development, and Innovation (QRDI) Council: “By joining forces with QIA, ESMT Berlin, Creative Destruction Lab, we will significantly strengthen Qatar’s role as a regional and global player in deep-tech innovation. Through these programs, we aim to attract leading global deep-tech companies, while accelerating the commercialization of the outstanding science emerging from our universities and knowledge institutes.”
Thorsten Lambertus, CDL-Berlin Site Lead & Managing Director, DEEP – Institute for Deep Tech Innovation at ESMT Berlin: “We are looking forward to empowering researchers and entrepreneurs in Qatar and beyond. Our goal is to translate groundbreaking research into viable ventures by driving the commercialization of new technologies in the area.”
Inge Kerkloh‑Devif, Senior Executive Director at the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute and CDL‑Paris Co‑Site Lead Executive: “HEC Paris welcomes the launch of CDL in Doha as an important step in strengthening the region’s innovation ecosystem and remains fully committed to contributing to its success. Looking ahead, as HEC Paris has been supporting human capacity development in partnership with Qatar Foundation since 2010, we hope this marks the beginning of Doha’s development as a leading hub for CDL streams. We look forward to additional opportunities for deeper collaboration in CDL-Doha, between ESMT and HEC Paris, as well as other strategic stakeholders in Qatar.”
Contact the CDL-Doha team at cdl-doha@creativedestructionlab.com