‘Leveraging private capital, AI key to future development gains’

Doha, Qatar: As governments and global institutions race to harness artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and innovation driven invest...

Doha, Qatar: As governments and global institutions race to harness artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, and innovation-driven investment, last week’s Doha Forum offered a pointed reminder that technology alone cannot close widening gaps in peace, climate resilience, and economic opportunity.

The event, held under the theme ‘Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress,’ brought together leaders shaping the future of development finance, digital governance, and conflict-resolution strategies, an agenda strongly reinforced by United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Alexander De Croo, who spoke during a high-level panel.

He called for leveraging private-sector innovation and capital, particularly in fields such as digital infrastructure, AI-enabled public services, and green technology, by outlining two top priorities for the Qatar–UNDP collaboration.

“First, we want to deepen our joint work on innovation and systems transformation,” De Croo told The Peninsula. “Qatar’s visionary angel investment in UNDP’s Accelerator Labs Network was a game-changer in surfacing over 6,500 grassroots development solutions across the world, everything from climate action and clean energy to opening up new livelihood opportunities.”

The official noted that renewed funding is powering the transition into UNDP’s Digital, AI and Innovation Hub and the soon-to-launch Transformation Accelerator Network platforms designed to test, scale and fund breakthrough solutions to challenges like extremism, displacement and poverty.