Dubai signs pact to build $1 billion technology hub in Ghana

Dubai has agreed to establish a digital incubator and international economic zone in Ghana as the UAE continues to deepen its strategic presence in Africa.

The initiative aims to accelerate the West African country’s transformation into a regional technology powerhouse, according to WAM.

The Dubai state-owned Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation signed an initial agreement, reported to be worth $1 billion, to develop a 25 square kilometer zone near Tema Port on the outskirts of the capital Accra, where it will lead operations to attract global technology companies.

Ghanaian media outlet Graphic Online reported that the tech hub would target more than 11,000 foreign companies, including tech giants Microsoft, Oracle, Meta, IBM and Alphabet.

MBS tells Trump in Riyadh he’ll try to invest $1 trillion in U.S.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told President Donald Trump and a solid portion of the world’s business elite on Tuesday that he hopes to fulfill his pledge to invest $600 billion in the U.S. and might even hit the $1 trillion mark sought by the White House.

In turn, Trump praised MBS as a visionary leader and hailed the U.S.-Saudi alliance as a profitable enterprise for both sides as the two spoke at a business conference in Riyadh and the president kicked off a four-day swing through the Gulf that will also take him to Qatar and the UAE.

“Today we hope for investment opportunities worth $600 billion, including deals worth $300 billion that were signed during this forum,” the Saudi leader said in a speech at the capital city’s King Abdulaziz International Conference Center. “We will work in the coming months on the second phase to complete deals and raise it to $1 trillion,” he said.

A good chunk of that commitment will come from an agreement to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, which the White House called “the largest defense cooperation agreement” that the U.S. has ever signed.

Trump beamed as he followed MBS onstage to address an audience that included Tesla founder Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser, Saudi Public Investment Fund Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan and hundreds of other corporate leaders, investors and government officials from the two countries.

The President thanked MBS for setting the $1 trillion goal and talked for close to an hour about his affection for the kingdom, ticking off several of the deals signed by the two countries during the day.

“So, number one, I like visiting with you, and we’ve known each other very well, and I really believe we like each other a lot and, number two, for the United States, we’ve brought tremendous investment in and tremendous jobs, and we continue to service your great country very well,” Trump said.

The U.S. leader also said he maintains a “fervent hope” that Saudi Arabia will join the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Israel, as the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco did in 2020, though he added, “you’ll do it in your own time.”

Earlier in the day, the Saudi Crown Prince took the unusual step of greeting Trump in person when the president landed on a flight from Washington at King Khalid International Airport outside Riyadh.

Unlike former President Joe Biden’s tense visit and cautious fist bump in 2022, MBS stood on the tarmac and patiently watched Trump descend from Air Force One onto a royal purple carpet. The two shook hands and Trump gave the prince a warm shoulder tap before they strode together to the waiting motorcade.

The greeting underlined the intentions on both sides to make Trump’s first regional trip in his second term a public success and broadcast the closeness of the U.S.-Saudi alliance.

Inside the Al-Yamamah Palace where a lavish reception and lunch were held, both leaders were accompanied by top Cabinet ministers and a roster of business leaders, with Trump’s entourage including Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.

Conversations at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum – held at the same site beside the marble-lined Ritz-Carlton Hotel as the annual Future Investment Initiative conference – were focused on concrete dealmaking and illustrated the seriousness in both countries to make the most of the rare event, said Tally Zingher, Managing Director of the U.S.-headquartered boutique advisory firm Blue Laurel.

“Being here allows me to listen and observe firsthand how the Saudis are articulating their priorities and how those priorities have already manifested into concrete opportunities for U.S. companies,” Zingher told The Circuit.

Among the headliners addressing the conference were Khalid Bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Minister of Investment; Mohammed Al-Jadaan, Minister of Finance; Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Minister of Energy; Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry and Minerals and Faisal Alibrahim, Minister of Economy & Planning.

The U.S. delegation was headed by Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury; Howard Lutnick, U.S. Secretary of Commerce; and David Sacks, the White House Special Advisor on AI and Crypto.

From the Saudi business world, the conference featured Muhammad Al Jasser, Chairman, Islamic Development Bank; Nabeel Koshak, CEO of Saudi Venture Capital; Marc Winterhoff, Interim CEO of Lucid; John Pagano, Group CEO of Red Sea Global; Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power; Tony Douglas, CEO of Riyadh Air and Jerry Inzerillo, Group CEO of Diriyah Co.

U.S. financiers at the forum included Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, Franklin Templeton’s Jenny Johnson, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and Bridgewater’s Ray Dalio, LionTree’s Aryeh Bourkoff and BDT & MSD Partners’ Dina Powell McCormick.

From the U.S. tech industry, Palantir’s Alex Karp joined the forum as well as Alphabet/Google’s Ruth Porat, Amazon’s Andy Jassy, IBM’s Arvind Krishna and Qualcomm’s Cristiano Amon.

With planemakers and defense contractors set to reap billions in Saudi deals, the conference featured Boeing’s Kelly Ortberg, Lockheed Martin’s Michael Williamson, Honeywell’s Ken West and Halliburton’s Jeff Miller.

Among other speakers at the summit, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is a perennial fixture at the FII conference and hosted a spinoff conference in his city last February, where Trump spoke. Also appearing was Gianni Infantino, President of world soccer’s governing FIFA organization, after Saudi Arabia was picked to host the 2034 World Cup.

Trump takes off for Saudi Arabia to start Gulf deal-making tour

U.S. President Donald Trump departed on Monday for a Middle East tour that will take him to the glittering palaces of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, with the stated mission of generating trillions of dollars in business for American companies.

After he arrives in Riyadh on Tuesday, the President will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who pledged in January to invest $600 billion in the U.S. over the next four years.

Trump countered that Saudi Arabia should be good for at least $1 trillion, a figure that could be unrealistic given the kingdom’s falling oil revenue and budget shortfalls.

On the sidelines of the palace meeting, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is convening a Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum that promises to bring more than 1,000 corporate executives, bankers and investors to the capital for a daylong conference modeled on the annual Future Investment Initiative conference.

The U.S. leader is also due to meet the rulers of all six Gulf states together on Wednesday for a summit hosted by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

When Trump arrives in Qatar the following day, he will make a decision on whether to accept a gift offered by the royal family of a Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet that would be converted into an upgraded version of the president’s Air Force One plane.

The trip concludes in Abu Dhabi, where Trump will meet with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, along with his Cabinet ministers and prominent business figures, and work out details of the government’s pledge to invest $1.4 trillion in the U.S. over the coming decade.

UAE names Crescent’s Jafar as business & philanthropy envoy

The UAE is tapping an oil company executive to integrate private sector business and philanthropic activities more deeply into its foreign policy.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, the UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, announced the appointment of Badr Jafar on Monday to a newly created post as Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy.

Jafar, 45, a Cambridge-educated native of the Sharjah emirate, is CEO of Crescent Enterprises – which has broad interests in energy, ports, logistics and finance – and President of its Crescent Petroleum unit.

“By fostering significant partnerships and unlocking new avenues for investment and innovation, this role [for Jafar] reinforces the UAE’s position as a dynamic hub for economic diplomacy, sustainable finance, and social progress,” the government said in a statement.

Creating the new post is part of an effort to strengthen the UAE’s diplomatic influence by embedding business and philanthropy into its international engagement, the government said.

“By bridging the efforts of government, business and philanthropy, we can accelerate sustainable development and create lasting prosperity for all,” Jafar said.

The Weekly Circuit: How Apollo, Blackstone and BlackRock are now wooing Gulf sovereigns

This week we’re looking at the tight squeeze on top-tier office space in Riyadh, ADIA’s growing interest in business deals with India, ADQ’s acquisition of a $1 billion stake in Sotheby’s and Saudi fashion designer Honayda Serafi’s breakout at Saks Fifth Avenue. But first, Wall Street firms are learning new strategies for tapping Gulf sovereign wealth.

A new level of assertiveness by sovereign wealth funds is changing the way some of the world’s biggest money managers are seeking investment from the Gulf.

Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock and others are being urged and sometimes compelled to set up local offices in the Gulf, hire and train Gulf nationals, arrange investor gatherings and bring more expat professionals to live in the region’s financial capitals, Bloomberg reports.

Among the funds advocating for these upgrades are the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Qatar Investment Authority.

With the total pool of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund assets estimated to reach $7.6 trillion by 2030, these funds want to co-invest, get a larger share of deal profits and strengthen their local economies that are largely built on oil through diversification, according to the news agency.

The largest sovereign wealth funds are focusing on fewer asset management firms, which in turn are doing away with their usual management and performance fees in order to secure commitments for their funds, Bloomberg reports.

Welcome to The Weekly Circuit. Read on for the stories, deals and players at the top of the news across the MENA business landscape. Please send comments and story tips to [email protected].

DESK SHORTAGE

Quality Saudi office space tough to find as firms flock to Riyadh

Saudi Arabia’s pressure on international companies to establish their regional headquarters in the kingdom has been so successful, it has eaten up virtually all the top commercial real estate in Riyadh, The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger reports.

No Vacancies: Prime and Grade A office spaces are fully occupied while Grade B occupancy has hit 99.4%, according to a survey by international property firm CRBE cited by Daily News Egypt.

Spillover Effect: Jeddah and the Eastern Province cities of Dammam and Khobar have also recorded rental growth and increased occupancy rates.

Click here to read the full story.

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DELHI DEALS

ADIA ramps up investments in India, as UAE leverages ties

From energy, infrastructure and pharmaceuticals to iconic snack brands and baby products, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has been pumping funds into India over the past six months, The Circuit reports.

Betting Billions: Across five deals with Indian businesses, the sovereign wealth fund invested $1 billion during the first half of 2024 as the UAE pushes to increase non-oil bilateral trade with its second-largest trading partner.

Special Connection: ADIA has been able to leverage relationships with India’s biggest conglomerates, including Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and Gautam Adani’s Adani Group, to grow its presence. 

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💲 Sovereign Circuit

Public Investment Fund: PIF-owned Riyadh Air awarded a $400 million contract to Saudi Ground Services Co. to oversee the new carrier’s operations at King Khalid International Airport. Saudi Investment Recycling Co., a subsidiary of the PIF, has expanded its export to the U.K. of recycled polyethylene terephthalate flakes, known as PET, following successful shipments to Spain earlier this year. 

ADQ: The Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund signed an agreement to take a $1 billion minority stake in Sotheby’s alongside controlling shareholder Patrick Drahi. ADQ is in talks to buy midsize Turkish lender Odeabank from Lebanon’s Bank Audi SAL, Bloomberg reports. 

Kuwait Investment Authority: A London court has ruled that the KIA can be sued in the U.K., enabling employees to launch legal action against the unit that has previously asserted diplomatic immunity, Bloomberg reports.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: ADIA-backed Indian eyecare retailer Lenskart Solutions has revived its sales operations and posted a 34% increase in FY2024 revenue, VC Circle reports.

Mubadala: Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras does not see the repurchase of the Mataripe refinery from Mubadala as a priority, CEO Magda Chambriard said during an earnings call on Friday. The firm is wrapping up its due diligence process and is yet to decide if reacquiring it would be advantageous, Chambriard said.

↪↩ Closing Circuit

📈 High Profile: Adnoc Drilling’s stock has been selected for inclusion in MSCI indexes as of August 30, giving it more visibility among global investors.

🛢️ Oil Finance: Bapco Energies, Bahrain’s state-owned oil company, secured a $500 million financing package from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, known as EXIM, to expand operations in southern Bahrain.

🕌 Sustainable Sukuk: Nasdaq Dubai has listed $500 million in sustainable trust certificates issued by Kuwait’s Warba Bank and compliant with Islamic law. The sukuk issuance, the first of its kind in Kuwait under Warba Bank’s sustainable finance framework, is part of a broader $2 billion trust certificate program.

🚙 Servicing EVs: Lucid Group, the Saudi-backed electric vehicle manufacturer based in California, opened its new Lucid Studio, an integrated retail, delivery, and service center for its flagship Lucid Air four-door sedan, in Jeddah.

💰 Startup Fund: Boston-based Flint Capital announced the closing of a $160 million venture capital fund to invest in early-stage Israeli and European startups in fields including cybersecurity, fintech, digital health and enterprise software.

🗣 Circuit Chatter

💎 Wealth Havens: The UAE, Singapore and other low-tax financial capitals are competing to attract the world’s super-rich with Europe’s traditional enclaves such as Switzerland and Monaco, the Financial Times reports.

🔭 Space Base: Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla and the California-based SETI Institute have agreed to collaborate on developing the AlUla Manara Observatory as a leading facility for space research and astro-tourism.

💸 Young Investors: Thndr, an Egyptian fintech startup whose mobile app aims to help young people across the MENA region invest in securities, said it plans to launch in Saudi Arabia by the end of the year after it obtains the necessary licensing.

🏡 Tight Market: Abu Dhabi’s increasing attractiveness for expat professionals has created high demand for rental housing and made finding affordable accommodations much more difficult, The National reports.

✈️ Building Ties: Israel Aerospace Industries is proceeding with a plan to establish a presence in Abu Dhabi, where it will convert Emirates aircraft into freighters, an indication of the UAE’s commitment to growing its ties with Israel even amid regional tension, Bloomberg reports.

🌍 Power Circuit

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman chaired a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, following a royal decree issued by King Salman last week allowing the Cabinet to convene in the absence of the king or crown prince. The king and the crown prince offered condolences to Sheikh Mishal Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, following the death of Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah, 98, who was Chief of the National Guard for six decades.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi held a meeting with Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly and Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk on Tuesday to discuss measures aimed at achieving tax stability and spurring outside investment. On Sunday, Madbouly led a government meeting to discuss plans for cultivating a mobile phone manufacturing industry in Egypt and expanding hotel room capacity as ways to attract foreign investment and boost economic growth.

Princess Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the U.S. and International Olympics Committee member, spoke out against bullying and harassment of female athletes, including Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, at the 2024 Paris Olympics. “I offer my full support to every female who has been subjected to unnecessary criticism in what should be their time to shine,” she said.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a phone call with Constantinos Kombos, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, on Sunday to discuss developments in the Middle East.

➿ On the Circuit

Hend Al Otaiba, the UAE Ambassador to France, held a lunch reception at the Emirates Olympic House in Paris to support the French Solidarity with Women Association, which is dedicated to combating domestic violence.

Saad Al-Sadhan was named acting CEO of Zain KSA following the death last week of Sultan Al-Deghaither, who led the Saudi mobile telecom company for six years.

Vinicius Jr., a star soccer player for Real Madrid, is considering a five-year contract worth $1.1 billion to play in the Saudi Pro League and also promote Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the 2034 World Cup, Reuters reports.

Juan Suarez, Group CEO of SUAREZ, told Arab News Saudi Arabia is a “pivotal market for silent luxury.” The high-end Spanish jewelry label has opened its first Middle East store in Jeddah’s Khayat Center.

James Craven, President of Live Nation Arabia, said the concert promoter’s deal to manage events in AlUla’s Maraya performing arts center will turn the mirrored building into one of the most unique and must-see venues in the region.”

🎶 Culture Circuit

🎮 Game On: Two video game players from Abu Dhabi are the only competitors from the Middle East to make it to the finals of the “Street Fighter 6” tournament at the Esports World Cup in Riyadh. Adel “Big Bird” Anouche and Amjad “Angrybird” Al Shalabi, will compete in the tournament starting tomorrow for the top prize of $300,000. The Esports World Cup, launched this year with the goal of putting Saudi Arabia on the international gaming map, runs until August 25.

👑 Royal Connection: A collection of the personal effects of Saudi royals has been put on display at a restaurant in Jeddah’s Al-Rawdah district. The treasures acquired by Umm Mohammed over 20 years of collecting include the late King Abdullah’s sunglasses and a travel bag that belonged to King Salman.

🏄 New Wave: An artificial wave park on Hudayriyat Island, which was designed in collaboration with world champion surfer Kelly Slater and features the world’s largest barrels and longest ride, will open to the public in October. Surf Abu Dhabi will have the capacity to host international surf competitions, a novel concept in a city known for its calm mangrove-fringed waters. 

👗 Cosmic Couture: Luxury New York department store Saks Fifth Avenue has debuted its first Saudi woman designer, Honayda Serafi, founder of eponymous label Honayda. Her spring/summer 2024 Cosmos collection, now in store, is inspired by women in space exploration, features sky blues and bright pinks shimmering with sequins and crystals.

📷 Photo of the Week

🗓️ Ahead on The Circuit

Aug. 12-15, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Food Expo. One of the kingdom’s largest trade shows for the food & beverage industry. Riyadh Front Exhibitions. 

Aug. 24-25, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. New Global Sports Conference. Uniting top players to showcase how esports can create new global opportunities. Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh.

Aug. 31-Sept. 8, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX). The premier event for hunting, falconry and equestrian enthusiasts in the Middle East. ADNEC.

Sept. 1-7, Dubai, UAE. Dubai Fashion Week. Promoting Dubai’s creativity and fashion businesses to a worldwide audience. Dubai Design District.

Sept. 10-11, Dubai, UAE: Global Vertical Farming Show 2024. Annual event brings together investors, growers, and executives in the vertical farming industry from around the world. Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre.

Sept. 15-19: Abu Dhabi. Loop Beyond Borders. Luxury travel fair brings together hotel owners, tour operators, travel agents and government officials. Saadiyat Rotana Resort & Villas and Anantara Qasr Al Sarab.

Sept. 24-25, Dubai, UAE: ACT Middle East Treasurers Summit. Corporate treasurers and financial professionals from across the region gather for policy discussions on issues ranging from cash management to sustainability. Grand Hyatt Dubai.

Sep. 30-Oct. 2, Dubai, UAE: Future Hospitality Summit. The global conference for leaders in the hospitality industry expands this year at a new location with dedicated space for ESG planning, country pavilions and a larger exhibition area. Madinat Jumeirah.  

The Weekly Circuit: Saudi splash at Cannes adfest + Lunate’s strong debut

This week we’re looking at Lunate’s first six months as an Abu Dhabi power player, anticipation building up for the Gulf’s first casino, ADIA’s backing for Texas-based Fisher Investments and the passing of Lebanese chocolatier Nizar Choucair, the founder of Patchi. But first, Saudi dealmakers are popping up in Cannes and Rio de Janeiro. 

Saudi Arabia is making a splash at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the South of France this week, sending a delegation from its tourism authority to rub elbows with titans of advertising and communications.

The linen-clad creative class are plying La Croissette, the main drag where the festival’s sponsored talks and parties take place through Friday along the yacht-dotted French Riviera. Saudi Arabia’s Cannes attendees are among executives from digital ad giants like Meta, LinkedIn and Google, big spenders from the Fortune 500, as well as art directors, set designers, PR fixers and ad execs. 

Saudi Tourism Authority CEO Fahd Hamidaddin stood in the Forum, the site of the conference’s main stage, delivering his opening keynote on Monday before a screen that read, “Saudi transformation is a challenging act of creativity.” 

He spoke about how Saudi Arabia is putting creative work at the center of its economic diversification efforts and how the industry can play a role in shaping global perceptions of Saudi Arabia. “If you think you know Saudi, think again,” Hamidaddin said. “Even Saudis don’t recognize it amid the changes and transformations happening every day.”

Saudi Arabia’s drive to lure international visitors and investors spread as far as Brazil last week, where Tourism Minister Ahmed Al-Khateeb addressed 1,500 delegates attending the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit. Speaking at the Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Al-Khateeb said his nation is committed to sustainable tourism in its sprawling $1.5 trillion Neom mega-project.

“The kingdom’s doors are open for business,” the Saudi minister said at the summit, a spin-off from the annual “Davos in the Desert” conference in Riyadh that is backed by the Public Investment Fund. “We are keen to provide a favorable environment for international investors, and the investment facilities aim to make doing business in the kingdom in the most efficient and the least expensive way.”

As temperatures soar in the Arabian Gulf – the mercury regularly rises beyond 100 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August – the events calendar is set to quiet down in the region. But decision-makers will continue to pop up in places like Cannes, or the Mubadala-sponsored Sail Grand Prix getting underway in New York City this weekend. These make for important items on the calendar, keeping the pace of conversations and dealmaking alive even through the dog days of summer. 

Welcome to The Weekly Circuit. Read on for the stories, deals and players at the top of the news across the MENA business landscape. Please send comments and story tips to [email protected].

ABU DHABI INC.

Lunate’s $50 billion launch made it an overnight MENA powerhouse

Nearly six months after its New Year’s Day launch, Abu Dhabi-owned Lunate has emerged as a major player in the MENA investment landscape, Omnia Al Desoukie reports for The Circuit.

Rapid Growth: Starting as a $50 billion alternative investment manager with a pedigree from the upper reaches of the Royal Court, the firm has more than doubled its assets under management and now deploys $105 billion in capital.

Japan Connection: Most recently, Lunate announced the launch of the Chimera S&P Japan UCITS ETF, an exchange-traded fund to track Japan’s top 30 equities, listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange as of May 29.

Click here to read the full story.

HIGH STAKES

Gulf’s first casino resort sparks building boom in Ras Al Khaimah

Anticipation of the Gulf’s first sanctioned casino complex has sparked a development boom in the UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, with five-star resorts and multi-million dollar villas rapidly springing up from the desert sands, The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger reports.

Island Dream: Las Vegas casino operator Wynn Resorts last year announced plans for a $4 billion resort on the artificial Marjan islands, about one hour’s drive north of Dubai, which had been all but abandoned since they were completed in 2013.

Skyline of Cranes: Now, more than 20 developers are busy at work with Marjan, the owner of the islands, planning to build 9,000 new hotel rooms and as many villas, Bloomberg reports.

Click here to read the full story.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: ADIA and Advent International have agreed to invest between $2.5 billion and $3 billion in money-management firm Fisher Investments in a deal that values Plano, Texas-based Fisher at about $13 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. ADIA has acquired a minority stake in India-listed Paras Defense and Space Technologies Ltd for more than Rs628 million ($7.5 million). Meanwhile, a private equity consortium led by CVC Capital Partner and ADIA subsidiary, Platinum Ivy, has made a revised bid for the UK-based Hargreaves Lansdown valuing it at £5.4 billion ($6.9 billion).

Mubadala: The Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund acquired a $37.4 million stake in Chicago-based software developer Thoughtworks and a $54 million stake in German drug discovery startup Evotec. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, a $1.65 billion joint venture between Mubadala Capital and Florida-headquartered investment company Alpha Wave Global, has invested in U.S-based technology-focused private equity firm Haveli Investments to fund its expansion by opening its first office outside of North America in Abu Dhabi. Mubadala also invested almost $1.5 billion in New York-based Aquarian Holdings, which counts Redbird Capital Partners among its largest backers, Bloomberg reports.

Qatar Investment Authority: The Qatari sovereign wealth fund is backing Warburg Pincus in the private equity firm’s buyout of an Indian housing finance company, VC Circle reports.

ADQ: AD Ports Group, which counts ADQ as its largest shareholder, will invest $4.7 million over the next 15 years to operate three cruise terminals in Egypt. The deal with the Red Sea Ports Authority will see the ports operator develop, operate and manage the terminals at Safaga, Hurghada, and Sharm El Sheikh ports, expected to be operational by 2025.

The Sovereign Fund of Egypt: E-Z International, TSFE’s health-focused subsidiary fund, has acquired about 20% of Care Pharmacies for $1.6 million, Asharq Business reports, buying 45 of the company’s 220 branches nationwide.

Citizens Fund: The Israeli sovereign wealth fund has received more than $1.8 billion from government levies on profits from natural gas exports pumped in its offshore fields.

↪↩ Closing Circuit

🇲🇦 Gas Buyout: U.K. gas company Sound Energy sold its subsidiary, Sound Energy Morocco East, to Morocco’s largest mining company, Managem, for $45 million.

🛰️ Qatari Acquisition: Kazakhtelecom will sell MT-S, one of its two mobile communications subsidiaries, to Qatar’s Power International Holding for $1.1 billion, the Kazakh government said.

🏡 Rental Hub: Qstay, a Dubai-based hospitality and rental property management platform, has raised $4.6 million in a pre-Series A funding round.

🏙️ City Vision: Zencity, an Israeli developer of smart city platforms for local governments, raised $40 million in a Series C financing round led by StepStone Group.

🪴 Climate Finance: Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management said it is looking to raise $5 billion for a new climate fund backed by the UAE’s Alterra fund, adding financial details to plans announced in December at COP28.

🗣 Circuit Chatter

🎒 Lesson Plan: A consortium led by Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management is investing some $2 billion in GEMS Education, a Dubai-based family business founded by Indian immigrants that has become one of the world’s largest private education providers, Bloomberg reports.

🤝 Pariah to Partner: The transformation of U.S. President Joe Biden’s relationship with Saudi Arabia, from its contentious beginning when he took office in 2021 to the blossoming strategic and commercial ties evident now is explored in the Financial Times.

🔌 Connecting Grids: A new direct link between the electricity grids of Oman and the GCC Interconnection Authority is under design and expected to be completed by the end of 2026, the Oman Observer reports.

💥 Arms Race: Israel’s defense exports reached a record $13.1 billion last year, up $500 million from 2022, as escalating conflicts in Ukraine and other hotspots sent global weapons sales soaring.

🏅 Keeping Competitive: The UAE cracked the Top Ten list of most competitive world economies, placing seventh in the annual ranking by the Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development (IMD). Among Middle East states, Qatar came in 11th place, Saudi Arabia 16th and Bahrain 21st. Singapore, Switzerland and Denmark earned the top spots on the IMD honor roll.

🌍 Power Circuit

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed attended the G7 summit of global leaders in southern Italy on Friday, where he was greeted by the host, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and participated in talks on artificial intelligence and energy transition. Though invited to the G7, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sent regrets, citing commitments connected to the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he held “productive and energetic” talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on June 12, focusing on last week’s “Peace Summit” in Switzerland and improving bilateral ties.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired a cabinet meeting in which ministers approved a new $458 million housing assistance package.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and prayed at the Prophet’s Mosque in the holy city of Medina. He was received by Prince Salman bin Sultan, Governor of the Medina region.

➿ On the Circuit

Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef is planning a July visit to Chile, the second largest supplier of lithium, which is needed for the kingdom’s budding electric vehicle business.

Nizar Choucair, founder of Lebanon’s Patchi chocolate shops, died in his eighties after turning his family confectionery into a global brand with 200 branches worldwide.

Arif Amiri, DIFC Authority CEO, said Dubai’s boom in IPOs underscores the city’s status as a thriving hub for capital markets, Zawya reports.

Roger Kempink was hired by Apollo Global Management as a partner in London to lead private credit strategies globally. He was previously head of investor relations and a partner at Park Square Capital.

🎶 Culture Circuit

🏝️ Desert Inspiration: UK design company Muza Lab’s design for Saudi Arabia’s new Six Senses Southern Dunes resort on the Red Sea was inspired by ancient Nabataean traders. 

📺 Saudi Survivor: Saudi actor Mohammed Elshehri will return to host the second season of MBC’s “One Million Dollar Land,” a desert survival reality TV show, which will be produced at Neom’s audiovisual production hub this year, along with the Netherlands version of the the show, “Million Dollar Island”. The Arabic version of the show will be produced by Dubai-based Blue Engine Studios, Deadline reports.

📷 Photo of the Day

🗓️ Circuit Calendar

June 22-23, New York City: Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix. Flying catamarans compete at SailGP’s two-day racing festival in New York Harbor. Governors Island.

June 23-26, National Harbor, Maryland: SelectUSA Investment Summit. The highest profile event in the U.S. to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations and industry experts to make deals. Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

July 10-11, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Global EV and Technology Forum. The inaugural summit in Saudi Arabia bringing together policymakers, companies and investors focused on sustainable urban mobility solutions. Riyadh International Convention & Exhibition Center.

July 15-26, Granada, Spain: ADIA Lab International Summer School. A course of lectures and case studies to explore the critical role of trust and safety in AI, examining the ethical, technical and societal implications of AI applications. University of Granada. 

Aug. 12-15, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Food Expo. One of the kingdom’s largest trade shows for the food & beverage industry. Riyadh Front Exhibitions. 

The Weekly Circuit: GITEX comes to Africa + Saudi esports crown

👋 Hello from the Middle East! 

This week we’re looking at ADQ’s $5 billion new infrastructure fund in Jordan, Saudi Arabia’s latest IPO, the expansion of indoor golf across the Gulf and the Esports World Cup this summer in Riyadh. But first, GITEX comes to Africa.

From the same people who bring more than 150,000 tech execs, founders and funders to Dubai each year for GITEX Global comes the mega-conference’s budding Africa edition in Morocco. The three-day event kicks off May 28 in Marrakesh, where startups, VCs and governments from across the continent will set up exhibitor booths and hand out swag.

Headlining the speakers list at GITEX Africa’s second annual conference are Ghitta Mezzour, Morocco’s Minister for Digital Transition; Pierre Celestin Rwabukumba, CEO of the Rwanda Stock Exchange; Microsoft Africa’s President Lilian Barnard; Babys Ogundeyi, Founder and CEO of Kuda in Nigeria; and Sarah Sabry, Executive Director of Egypt’s Deep Space Initiative.

From the Gulf, prominent GITEX Africa participants will be Dr. Mohammed Al Kusaiti, Director General of the UAE Cybersecurity Authority; Hamad Obeid Al Mansoori, Director General of Dubai Digital; and Ahmed Mohammed Alsuwaiyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Digital Government Authority.

Back in the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Energy Energy Center will play host on May 27 and 28 to the Make it in the Emirates Forum. Organized by the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC as a showcase for the country’s manufacturers, the conference’s leading sponsors include Mubadala, PureHealth, EDGE and TAQA.

As summer approaches, Saudi Arabia is getting set to put its stamp on the global gaming market when it hosts the Esports World Cup over eight weeks in July and August. Boulevard Riyadh City will be the venue for the competition’s debut from July 4 to Aug. 25. More than 2,500 players are expected to compete for a $60 million prize pool, the largest in esports history. German esports entrepreneur Ralf Reichert is CEO of the host organization, the Esports World Cup Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2023 and based in Riyadh. 

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said to be a devotee of the Call of Duty zombie military game, has earmarked $38 billion from the Public Investment Fund – with the aim of attracting 250 gaming companies and studios while creating 39,000 video game-related jobs in the process. The homegrown strategy builds on the kingdom’s credentials in the e-arena with investments in the biggest players like Tencent, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft. In March, Saudi Arabia’s National Development Fund and the Social Development Bank announced the establishment of two venture capital funds with a combined value of $120 million to back new esports companies in the kingdom.

One gaming executive who was attracted to the region is Will Dalio, the son of billionaire hedge funder Ray Dalio, who opened an outpost of his family office in Abu Dhabi last year. The young Dalio is using Abu Dhabi as a market to grow his educational game-making company, Endless Studios. He told The National’s Business Extra podcast that Gulf residents are some of the most active gamers in the world but have little hand in video games’ creation. “There’s no creation here. We believe that should be bridged,” Dalio said.

Welcome to The Weekly Circuit. Read on for the stories, deals and players at the top of the news across the MENA business landscape. Please send comments and story tips to [email protected].

BIG SWING

Five Iron Golf courts partners as it plans regional expansion of indoor golf venues

American indoor golf company Five Iron Golf is eyeing partnerships in the Gulf as it plans to open at least a half dozen locations across the UAE over the next several years, The Circuit’s Kelsey Warner reports.

Gulf boom: Golf is on the rise at both the pro and the weekend warrior levels. Elite events from the Asian Tour are now taking place in Oman and Qatar, Bahrain has joined the DP World Tour schedule and the Ladies European Tour has sanctioned Saudi’s Aramco Team Series.

Club vibes: Five Iron’s first UAE venue will open in August at the Westin Dubai Mina Seyahi Beach Resort, a five-star hotel. The sprawling 32,038 square-foot flagship location will have 17 golf simulators that offer swing analysis as well as four bars, a nine-hole mini golf course and a members-only lounge. 

Click here to read the full story.

COMING HOME

Why Man City’s fourth straight Premier League win is an Abu Dhabi victory

The Premier League Trophy is coming home… to Abu Dhabi. Manchester City, owned by UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, won a record fourth straight Premier League title on Sunday, beating West Ham 3-1 in the final game of the season. The Circuit’s Kelsey Warner reports.

Proud owner: The team to beat in the U.K. is in many ways the UAE capital’s soccer team as well – from a business perspective at least. City is part of a multi-club ownership structure under City Football Group (CFG), owned by Sheikh Mansour and chaired by Mubadala CEO Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

Kicking goals: Since coming under Sheikh Mansour’s ownership in 2008, when he bought the club for $254 million, City has become the fifth most valuable soccer team in the world, worth just shy of $5 billion — and notably had the highest revenue of any club last year, according to Forbes.

Click here to read the full story.

🤾‍♀️ Wellness Village: Emaar Properties began construction of a $15 billion residential project in Dubai devoted to health and wellness, which will be built around its Heights Country Club & Wellness center.

🇪🇬 Business Support: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development offered a $120 million loan to the National Bank of Egypt aimed at supporting small and medium-size businesses.

💰 Buy In: U.S. investment giant Carlyle Group said on Tuesday it had raised 430 billion yen ($2.8 billion) for its fifth Japan buyout fund, its largest investment vehicle for Japan. Strong demand and backing from domestic and global investors helped it raise nearly 70% more than its previous fund, Carlyle said in a statement.

🚑 Rescue Squad: Response Plus, which owns the largest fleet of private ambulances in the UAE, completed its acquisition of U.K.’s Prometheus Medical, paving the way for its expansion in the U.K. and Nordic region.

🌎 Global Push: ADNOC plans to acquire a 10% equity stake in a major LNG development in Mozambique for an undisclosed sum, its first push into the African nation amid international expansion for the Abu Dhabi oil and gas company. 

📈 Staff Recruiter: Saudi staffing company SMASCO set the final price for its upcoming IPO at 7.50 riyals per share as it seeks to raise as much as $240 million on Riyadh’s Tadawul exchange.

🔒 Identity Manager: CyberArk, one of Israel’s largest cybersecurity companies, signed an agreement to buy Venafi, which specializes in machine identity management, for more than $1.5 billion from Chicago-based private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

  Arabic Tutor: IBM will help the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority train its “AllaM” Arabic language model, enabling it to understand multiple dialects of Arabic, CEO Arvind Krishna told Reuters.

💺 Fasten Seatbelts: Oman is planning to build six new airports as part of an effort to boost business travel and tourism in the sultanate, Civil Aviation Authority Chairman Naif Al Abri told Alsharq.

💰 Fintech Fund: Riyad Capital launched the 1957 Ventures fund, a closed-end investment fund backed by Riyad Bank, to drive growth in the Saudi fintech sector.

🚁 Taxi Flyer: Archer Aviation, which plans to start operating air taxis in Abu Dhabi next year, signed an agreement with Etihad Aviation Training to recruit and train prospective pilots.

🪴 Medical Marijuana: Morocco has an opportunity to capture a 10-15% share of the European medical cannabis market, Mohamed El Bouhmadi, president of the Moroccan Federation for the Pharmaceutical Industry and Innovation, told Le360.

⚡ Charging Network: The UAE Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure agreed to form a joint venture with Etihad Water & Electricity for a network of charging stations for electric vehicles.

🖥️ Quantum kingdom: Pasqal, a Paris-based quantum computing startup, signed a partnership agreement with Saudi Aramco to install the kingdom’s first quantum computer at the oil giant.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to “reassure everyone” about the health of his father, King Salman, who is being treated for a lung infection, state television reported on Monday.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, was given a tour of Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport on Tuesday and reviewed the advanced facilities in its new Terminal A.

Asma al-Assad, Syria’s first lady, has been diagnosed with leukemia, her second bout of cancer after recovering from breast cancer five years ago, the Syrian presidency announced.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, witnessed the signing of an agreement on Monday between UAE defense conglomerate EDGE Group and Italy’s Fincantieri, one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world. The deal launches MAESTRAL, an Abu Dhabi-based shipbuilding joint venture between both companies.

Condolences to Iranian leadership on the passing of President Ebrahim Raisi and his delegation poured in from regional leaders. Among them were UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah and Ahmed bin Salman Al Musallam, Bahrain’s Speaker of the Council of Representatives.

➿ On the Circuit

Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met in the UAE on Tuesday with Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, President of the COP28 climate summit, Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology, and CEO of the ADNOC oil company. Dr. Al Jaber “expressed his appreciation” for Clinton’s contributions to the COP’s Gender-Responsive Just Transitions and Climate Action Partnership, according to a statement. Also present at the meeting was Ambassador Majid Al Suwaidi, the Director-General of COP28.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the UAE Executive Affairs Authority, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Group CEO of Mubadala, signed a collaboration agreement on Wednesday on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council with the French Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty to collaborate on AI development. The agreement was co-signed by Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty.

Klaus Schwab, the 86-year-old founder of the World Economic Forum, is to step down as executive chair in January after more than 50 years leading one of the most talked-about and lucrative business conferences in the world. Schwab will assume a new role as chair of WEF’s board of trustees. Børge Brende, president of the WEF executive board and a former foreign minister of Norway, will take over as chair. 

Dave Chappelle said he expects Abu Dhabi to be “a bit more buttoned up” than the Dubai crowd he performed in front of in 2018, his first show in the region. The American comedian was spotted sipping double espressos at a cafe on Saadiyat Island today, ahead of his sold-out performance tomorrow night at Etihad Arena for the city’s Comedy Week. “We’re excited to be here. We’re going to have fun,” Chappelle told The Circuit. 

Mohammad Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, received an honorary doctorate from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business over the weekend. Al Gergawi talked about the power of choices in his commencement speech, sharing a personal story about how one of his own decisions brought him into the path of the then-Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.

Jamie Dimon told investors on Monday that his replacement as CEO of JPMorgan Chase was “on the way” as he will look to step down within the next five years. 

Najwa Aaraj will succeed Ray O. Johnson as CEO of the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), the applied research arm of the government-backed Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) in Abu Dhabi. Aaraj was previously Chief Researcher in the cryptography and autonomous robotics labs of TII. Johnson, a former Lockheed Martin executive, was the institute’s first CEO. He remains an Operating Partner at California venture capital fund Bessemer Venture Partners, according to LinkedIn.

🎶 Culture Circuit

📽️ New Chapter: The inclusion of “Norah,” Saudi Arabia’s first movie in the Cannes Film Festival official selection is the start of a remarkable chapter in Saudi Cinema, according to Jomana Al Rashid, CEO of Saudi integrated media group SMRG and Chairwoman of the Red Sea Film Festival. Director Tawfik Alzaidi’s debut film was picked for Un Certain Regard, a category of the festival that showcases unusual, innovative and non-traditional films.

📷 Photo of The Day

🗓️ Circuit Calendar

May 18-26, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Abu Dhabi Comedy Week. Standup comics Dave Chapelle, Aziz Ansari, Bassem Yousef and Chris Tucker headline the first annual festival. Etihad Arena.

May 25-26, Dubai, UAE. Summer Blessings. Dubai festival celebrates the palm tree as the UAE’s national icon with live performances, date-themed events and artisan marketplace. Shindagha Museum.

May 27-28, Abu Dhabi, UAE: Make It In The Emirates Forum. Organized by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and ADNOC, the forum offers a networking and knowledge exchange platform for the industrial community, both locally and internationally. Abu Dhabi Energy Center.

May 29-31, Marrakech, Morocco: GITEX Africa. The second edition of the biggest tech and startup gathering in Africa. Place Bab Jdid. 

June 5, Hong Kong: Bloomberg Wealth Event. A gathering to bring actionable intelligence to portfolio managers and other dealmakers and analysts from asset managers and owners, family offices and hedge funds. Conrad Hong Kong. 

June 23-26, National Harbor, Maryland: SelectUSA Investment Summit. The highest profile event in the U.S. to facilitate business investment by connecting thousands of investors, companies, economic development organizations and industry experts to make deals. Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.

An accidental grocer has valuable lessons for doing business in the UAE

Jones the Grocer is a UAE institution. Favored by the President, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, it has served breakfast, lunch and dinner to a cast of famous faces, including Hilary Clinton and Tony Blair.

With locations now scattered around Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh and Doha, it began as a rare spot in Abu Dhabi that felt like a neighborhood café. Much of the food and beverage industry in the Gulf is dominated by fast-casual franchises in large shopping malls and high-concept restaurants inside five-star hotels. 

The Jones café-markets are, by contrast, airy, with blue-and-white tile and a pronounced lack of trendiness: upmarket but not designed for Instagram. The menu is comfort food-focused: grilled steaks, heaping sandwiches, hearty soups. Large open shelves display gourmet foodstuffs for sale like olive oils, jarred chutneys and marmalades and dark chocolate line the walls. Its charcuterie boards are the mark of a good dinner party in Abu Dhabi; their Thanksgiving turkeys are a favorite of American expats, while the Aussies and Brits lean on Jones to outsource their Christmas roasts.

With revenue of over $50 million across all stores, it’s one of the UAE’s local success stories that is about to go global.

Karachi-born Yunib Siddiqui tells the origin story. Flying from Vietnam on business in 2007, he spotted a double-page spread in the design magazine Wallpaper about an Australian restaurant chain with a produce shop and cheese room called Jones the Grocer.

“The last line ended with the owner saying, oh, he’s interested in growing the brand around the world. I faxed all the locations at the time, trying to get hold of him and he just wrote back to me saying, ‘Come and meet me in Singapore.’”

So he did. And despite not having any prior experience in the restaurant industry, Siddiqui liked what he saw at the Jones in Singapore and signed on the dotted line to open a franchise. 

On his way back to London, Siddiqui stopped over in Dubai, and though he’d agreed to open in the U.K. capital, two friends convinced him to do business in the UAE instead, promising to invest.

When he told his wife, she wasn’t keen on moving to the UAE, threatening “instant divorce,” he laughs.

Now, 14 years on from when Siddiqui opened his first outlet, Jones the Grocer has 31 stores across the Middle East, with eight more in the pipeline. In 2019 Siddiqui acquired the global rights to the brand from Louis Vuitton’s private equity arm, L Capital, which in 2015 bought a majority stake in what was then a distressed company. Today, nine of the UAE stores are company-owned and operated. The rest are franchises.

While he decided not to option the outlets in Australia and Singapore, and “ended up with a business that was predominantly in the Middle East,” 54-year-old Siddiqui has plans for global expansion. 

“We are opening at London Heathrow,” he said. “We’re opening two sites in Singapore, shortly. We’re already in India. You know, we have ambition to grow beyond the region.”

Jones the Grocer directly employs 195 people, with the franchise stores collectively employing 450 people. 

While the Gulf is often seen by outside investors as a potential goldmine, full of residents with discretionary income, Siddiqui says there are steep challenges.

“I think one thing is clear that the cost of doing business here, whether it’s asset prices, rent, whether it’s labor, whether it’s raw materials, it is expensive,” he said “And you know, it’s up there with most other countries.

It doesn’t help that the Middle East is often linked with crisis – most recently with the war in Gaza that has sparked travel advisories. 

“People have preconceived impressions, people think that we’re right next to Gaza, probably, but the truth of the matter is that you can’t really change preconceptions,” he said.

Siddiqui warns investors looking at the region not to lump the Gulf countries together, saying that even within countries there are different rules and regulations.

“Abu Dhabi has its own nuances. Dubai has its own regimens, quite different. 

“And then if you’re looking at the Gulf …Saudi is a tough, competitive market now. And a lot of people are just going in thinking it’s easy money. Probably it is easy money, but I think it’s very, very hard to get started.”

But when you crack the market, there are some definite advantages. 

Now trading in the UAE for close to 14 years, Jones the Grocer has been frequented since the early days by the country’s 62-year-old ruler, who continues to host meetings over breakfast with world players such as Clinton and Blair.

Sheikh Mohammed “was always a big fan,” Siddiqui says “He started coming in within the first two or three weeks of us opening, and he still comes fairly regularly. And then he brought everybody else along.”

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Remote work

Amid global slowdown, VC founder Elie Wurtman says Gulf can help in plugging Israel’s tech talent gap

Venture capitalist Elie Wurtman sees the Gulf Arab states as potential saviors for Israeli companies that can’t hire enough engineers. First, though, they’ve got to weather the global market crisis that threatens to dry up funding.

Time to be prudent:  “I don’t think it’s doomsday across the board, but companies that require substantial capital may be challenged,” Wurtman, co-founder and managing partner of Jerusalem-based Pico Venture Partners, said in an interview with The Circuit’s Jonathan Ferziger. “This is a good time to be more prudent with expense management.”

Funding tight: As the Nasdaq stock index has fallen almost 30 percent this year, many of Israel’s biggest tech companies trading on the New York exchange have seen their market values plunge and the economy is getting hammered. In turn, investors in the country’s more than 6,000 start-up companies, which range from cybersecurity firms to telehealth services for pet cats and dogs, are cutting back.

 Tax-free income: In the meantime, Wurtman is looking at Israel’s deepening ties in the Gulf to help solve the chronic shortage of software developers that plagues the burgeoning tech industry in a small country of 9.5 million. The pro-business policies in Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, including tax-free income and liberal work visa policies to fuel their oil pumping, expat-driven economies, should draw Israeli companies to set up remote operations in the two Gulf nations that normalized ties with the Jewish state through the Abraham Accords in 2020, he said.  “Within several years, you’ll have dozens, or even hundreds of Israeli companies with satellite development offices in the Gulf,” he said.

Read the full story here.

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Shifting environment

UAE climate minister says Israel offers Emiratis a model of collaborative, interconnected ecosystem’

When Mariam bint Mohammed AlMheiri landed in Tel Aviv last year, she didn’t know what to expect. A serial startup founder and environmentalist, AlMheiri is used to experimenting and exploring. But as the first United Arab Emirates minister to visit Israel after the Abraham Accords normalized ties between the countries in 2020, she was taking a leap of faith.

Stirring interest: Convincing Israeli entrepreneurs to come to the UAE is easy, but getting Emirati businesses interested in Israel is more challenging, AlMheiri, the UAE’s minister of climate change and the environment, told The Circuit’s Gabby Deutch at the Milken Institute Global Conference earlier this month in Los Angeles.  “I’ve seen more interest in Israel working in the UAE, but I think that’s because they are further down the line in their business mindset,” she noted. “The UAE is still coming along to this idea of being also a kind of ‘startup nation’ as well.”

Dynamic hub: The Abraham Accords provided Israeli businesses with an unexpected and lucrative opportunity: access to one of the most dynamic business hubs in the world. And the new relationship gave the UAE a model of how to build a collaborative, interconnected tech ecosystem. What Emirati companies are looking for, AlMheiri said, is “technology partners more than looking at market access.”

Read the full story here.

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