CDL-Doha is the 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.”
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 KerklohDevif, CDL-Paris Co-Site Lead Executive, Senior Executive Director at the HEC Paris Innovation & Entrepreneurship Institute: “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.”
Contact the CDL-Doha team at cdl-doha@creativedestructionlab.com