While getting started in the world of Middle East business is largely about making personal connections, the inevitable question is: How?

What steps can investors, startup founders and entrepreneurs take to forge relationships and develop deals as they contemplate entering the MENA market? 

“Plugged In” debuts in the Daily Circuit today as a column that will regularly offer practical advice on approaching this dynamic and growing region – whether for the first time or through reigniting past conversations that were left by the wayside. 

On the heels of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s landmark visit to the White House last month, there is a growing worldwide focus on the GCC region to explore opportunities and create lasting ties. The fall is a particularly active season in the Gulf for both startup and broader investment conferences, which can be a useful and low-risk first foray into the Middle East market.

As the startup ecosystem continues to evolve, executives and investors can benefit from participating in these key industry events from October to the end of the year. They span from smaller get-togethers – like the Standard Chartered Women in Tech Demo Day with C3 on Oct. 10 that features 12 inspiring business founders – to massive conferences like GITEX, which welcomed over 180,000 attendees and 6,000 exhibitors in 2023.

GITEX (Oct. 14-8) is billed as the largest startup and investor connector events worldwide. It brings a diverse mix of personalities navigating the vast Dubai World Trade Centre, which can take 20 minutes to get from one end to the other.

Pre-planning is critical to leverage the full opportunity –  keeping logistics in mind is particularly important to meet as many people as possible within a day. The smaller workshops offer access to industry leaders from the region that provide practical insights for refining business models that have been successful in other markets. They will, of course, likely need to be tailored for GCC expansion. 

For those focused on global trends, the Future Investment Initiative (Oct. 29-31) – known as “Davos in the Desert,” – is a key event that attracted more than 7,000 participants last year. The forum at Riyadh’s plush Ritz-Carlton emphasizes economic diversification and investment strategies aligned with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030.

Engaging in discussions there can position participants as thought leaders and connecting with international investors may reveal new opportunities. FII has been a launchpad for significant investment, including the establishment of the Saudi Green Initiative, which aims to promote sustainability and climate-friendly technologies. In previous years, the conference attracted investments in technology startups such as e-commerce firm Noon.com and taxi-hailing app Careem, which have since grown into major players in the Middle East market.

Identifying sector-specific events with fewer attendees and more articulated outcomes can produce a more approachable first trip to the region. Healthcare entrepreneurs may find the World Innovation Summit for Health in Qatar (Nov.13-14) particularly relevant, as it addresses pressing global challenges in partnership with the World Health Organization. Startups in the healthtech space have opportunities to showcase their innovations, with past summits resulting in significant initiatives that support regional startups. Engaging with healthcare professionals and researchers can yield valuable insights and potential partnerships.

Anchoring the end of the year is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Dec. 5-8), which is sandwiched between the Milken Institute’s Middle East and Africa Summit (Dec. 5-6) and Abu Dhabi Financial Week (Dec. 9-12). Come for the dealmaking and stick around for the Formula One festival, which includes nighttime concerts by Eminem, Muse and Maroon 5, while providing even more opportunities for casual networking at the F1 racetrack.

Brittany McDonough is a Boston native who has been working in the Gulf region since 2014. She is the former Head of Innovation with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) and is now advising organizations on navigating GCC market entry. 

Three years ago, the pandemic-delayed Expo 2020 drew virtually every country on the planet to set up a pavilion at Dubai’s sprawling fairgrounds.

Now Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s largest real estate developer, is pouring half a billion dollars into the site and catering to the home crowd.

Known these days as Expo City and neighboring the newly expanded Dubai World Central airport, the location will soon sprout six towers filled with luxury apartments, corporate offices and specialty retailers, Aldar said in a statement on Wednesday.

The $476 million project, a joint venture with government-administered Expo City Dubai, will be built on a plot measuring 1.1 million square feet, and managed by Aldar through its completion.

The Expo 2020 site also hosted the COP28 climate conference last year.

Aldar is counting on the soaring demand for property in Dubai that has provided incentive for developers to reach beyond the city’s packed downtown area and led many residents to move to more affordable areas in the UAE.

Abu Dhabi, brimming with oil money and investment revenue, has become the city with the world’s largest accumulation of sovereign wealth.

Tallying up the combined assets of ADIA, Mubadala, ADQ and the Emirates Investment Authority, industry monitor Global SWF said Abu Dhabi has amassed $1.7 trillion, putting it ahead of Oslo’s $1.6 trillion, and funds in Beijing, Singapore and Hong Kong. Riyadh ranked No. 4 with $1.1 trillion in the Public Investment Fund.

Besides the sovereign funds, Global SWF notes Abu Dhabi’s growing prominence as a home for government-owned institutional investors, the world’s largest and most active deal makers. Among them are central banks, public pension funds and family offices linked to royal family members, the report said.

“All in all, we estimate Abu Dhabi’s public capital at $2.3 trillion and we project it to reach $3.4 trillion by 2030,” Global SWF said.

Saudi Arabia is taking concrete steps to accelerate construction of The Line, its planned trillion-dollar city of the future.

NEOM, which runs the project and surrounding development of the kingdom’s Red Sea coast, signed a partnership agreement with a Saudi construction company to build cement factories costing $187 million that will be used for the structure, which is planned to extend 110 miles across the desert.

The manufacturing facilities, which begin operations in November, will use carbon capture technology and a range of energy-saving innovations, NEOM CEO Nadhmi Al-Nasr told the Saudi Press Agency.

He said the deal illustrates “the critical role local partnerships play in delivering this transformational project efficiently and sustainably.”

Kuwait is under scrutiny amid concern that it’s being used by money launderers and terrorist organizations.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force issued a progress report today that both praised and scolded the Gulf state’s financial apparatus.

While Kuwait has adequate legal and supervisory framework to address money laundering and terrorism financing, it also has “serious shortcomings delivering effective outcomes,” the FATF said.

The UAE was removed from the group’s “gray list” in February after taking broad steps to crack down on money laundering.

Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, sees a grand opportunity as head of Dubai Holding Co. to capitalize on the city’s real estate boom.

The emirate’s government-owned conglomerate is in the early planning stages of creating a real estate investment trust, recruiting Citigroup, HSBC and Emirates NBD to manage a potential offering, Bloomberg reports. The company and banks declined to comment or didn’t respond.

In the UAE capital, meanwhile, institutional U.S. commercial real estate is fast becoming a game of “six degrees of Abu Dhabi,” The Promote reports, citing Mubadala’s $3 billion takeover of New York-based Fortress Investment Group in May, which has now received a regulatory go-ahead.

An emerging figure in Abu Dhabi real estate is Nick Candy, co-owner with his brother of London’s One Hyde Park development. Now Candy is focusing on the Middle East and promising to scale the heights of luxury in the UAE, Bloomberg reports.

Candy Capital has formed a joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding and plans to build a series of projects in the Middle East and North Africa, focusing on homes but also including hotels and offices, the news agency said.

Candy Capital has formed a joint venture with Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding and plans to build a series of projects in the Middle East and North Africa, focusing on homes but also including hotels and offices, the news agency said.

Wynn Resorts will spell out its plans in Las Vegas tomorrow for the UAE’s first gaming location, offering a progress report on the $3.9 billion venture that is under construction and set to open in 2027.

The briefing for investors follows the granting to Wynn last week of a commercial gaming operator’s license by the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority for its Al Marjan Island hotel and casino resort off the coast of Ras Al Khaimah.

The UAE has long been seen as a potential regional gaming center because of its oil wealth, its growing number of high-net-worth residents and its recognition of one of the Middle East’s top tourist destinations.

MGM Resorts International said last month that it had applied for a gaming license for a property it’s building in Abu Dhabi.

Saudi Arabia is slipping deeper into deficit spending mode amid slowing growth in revenue from international investment and cutbacks in oil production.

Finance Ministry figures released on Monday show the kingdom’s 2024 deficit growing by almost 50% to $32 billion from projections made last December and reaching 2.9% of GDP.

The forecast buttresses earlier government statements that some of the banner construction projects it plans will have to be slowed down because of revenue shortfalls.

Saudi Arabia is having trouble meeting its goals for foreign direct investment, which at $9.7 billion was roughly the same in the first six months of 2024 as in the same period last year.

The government has set a target of $100 billion in FDI annually by 2030, about three times more than its previous high.