Our October 15, 2026 issue is headlined by Sherif Beshara and his vision for rethinking healthcare leadership at American Hospital Dubai (@AHDubai)! Also in this issue: an exclusive with @simonsquibb on dreams, trust and risk; @WissamBreidy and Paula Gambrell on launching #BRDGHouse; @Trendyol Gulf’s Mohamad ElAnsari; highlights from @investopia_ae Bridge 2026; @DxbChamberDigi's #CreateApps Championship winners; and more. Read now on @issuu: issuu.com/entmagazineme/docs…

For professionals moving to #SaudiArabia, landing a job is only the start of settling into a new life. For others, finding a home, choosing schools, and navigating everyday life can mean searching across disconnected websites, providers, and community groups. That challenge led Abiel Ghezae to establish #Ahlan, an #AI-powered mobility platform that brings personalized guidance, planning tools, and service providers together in one place to help international professionals and their families plan their move, settle in, and thrive in the Kingdom. “I realized the problem wasn’t necessarily a lack of information,” Ghezae, founder and CEO of Ahlan, explains. “It was bringing the right information together, making it personal and providing a clear route from a question to actually getting something done.” Five months into the business and currently operating in beta, Ahlan has reached 500 members and secured 12 organizational pilots, spanning education, events, media, and health and beauty, including an international school backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. “Organizations can support their international professionals through one connected ecosystem while gaining greater visibility into their needs and progress,” Ghezae says. “Ultimately, we are connecting three sides of the ecosystem: the professional, the organization supporting them, and trusted providers capable of fulfilling their needs.” [✍️: @kagustin_] mena.entrepreneur.com/starti…

#Menopause is a financial phase too, with potential consequences for women’s careers, income and confidence, writes Charis Marr, co-creator of In Good Wealth. For #MenopauseAwarenessMonth, Marr explores how this stage can affect women’s earning power and long-term security, particularly when symptoms coincide with growing family responsibilities and the need to build retirement savings. "Midlife and menopause deserve the same #financial attention as any other major stage like changing careers or moving countries," Marr writes in her op-ed. "What makes this stage financially different is that the pressure rarely comes from one place. And often, it is not the obvious costs that catch women out, but the quieter ones that build in the background." At work, reduced confidence may also discourage women from seeking promotions or pay raises, while cutting hours or leaving work can affect earnings and savings, with less time to recover before retirement. For #women in the #UAE, she adds, leaving employment may also mean funding their own health insurance. "By thinking of your healthcare costs earlier and including them in the wider financial picture, you can create more choices and protection for the future," she advises. On the upside, Marr also sees midlife as a potential financial second wind, with peak earnings, easing childcare costs and clearer priorities creating an opportunity to reassess. "Career gaps, health costs and life changes will not apply to everyone in the same way and many women may go through this stage with barely a ripple in their finances," she says. "For those who do feel it, a good plan can change what the next decade looks like." mena.entrepreneur.com/financ…

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW / @ADSWagenda), hosted by @Masdar, is inviting digital artists aged 18 and older worldwide to enter its fourth Global Digital Art Competition. Entries close on November 16, 2026. Works should respond to the #ADSW2027 theme, “Securing Systems. Sustaining Growth,” and may address one or more of its five pillars: Future Energy Systems; Advanced Technology and AI; Water, Food and Resource Security; Investment and Infrastructure; and Human Development and Prosperity. Submissions can include static or moving-image works, interactive and generative art, immersive experiences, and web-based pieces. One winner and two finalists will be announced during ADSW 2027, where their work will be showcased. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

The #UAE Ministry of Investment (@moinvestmentae) has launched the Investment Opportunities platform, giving international #investors a single point of access to curated opportunities across the country’s six priority sectors and direct contact with the ministry’s advisers. Each sector features a flagship opportunity, including a decarbonization retrofit cluster in transport and logistics, bioprocess inputs manufacturing in healthcare and life sciences, switchgear manufacturing in renewable energy, GovTech platforms in ICT, and instant payments services in financial services. The platform also profiles each emirate’s investment proposition, sector strengths, and infrastructure. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp), the US investing app known for popularizing commission-free stock trading, has received authorization from the Dubai Financial Services Authority to offer its retail #investing platform in the Middle East from the Dubai International Financial Centre (@DIFC). The approval allows #Robinhood to offer #trading and custody across all 10 DFSA-approved asset classes, including equities, crypto, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and investment tokens. The company plans to launch its products in the region in 2027. “The DIFC is one of the world’s most important financial hubs, and our expansion there brings us closer to building a global platform that enables anyone, anywhere to own the highest quality financial assets,” said Vlad Tenev, Chairman and CEO, Robinhood. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

Entrepreneur Middle East is inviting founders and business leaders building or deploying AI agents to share their entrepreneurial journeys, practical applications, and the lessons learned along the way. Agentic AI has moved from experiment to expectation, but adoption is running ahead of execution. While organizations have implemented agentic AI, only a few have used it to build autonomous workflows.  We want to hear what your agents do, who relies on them, the results they deliver, and what is standing in your way, whether that is talent, trust, funding, or regulation.  If you are a founder or co-founder of a company building or deploying agentic AI in the UAE or globally, at any stage from pre-seed to scale, tell us about your work by filling in this short form: forms.gle/HnKYb5czh9e4VZii8. Submissions close on November 20, 2026, and selected founders may be featured across Entrepreneur Middle East’s print and digital platforms. #UAE #EntrepreneurMiddleEast #AgenticAI #AIAgents

As #digitalassets become a more prominent part of wealth conversations, Ayesha Abbas, Managing Director and Head of Affluent and Wealth Solutions for Europe, Middle East and Africa, and UAE at Standard Chartered (@StanChartUAE), sees the focus shifting from early speculation to a longer-term question: what role, if any, should they play in an investor’s financial plans? "The answer will differ for every investor. Their relevance depends on a client’s objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon and broader portfolio," Abbas writes in her op-ed. "The responsibility of a wealth provider is therefore not to simply promote an asset class, but to help clients consider it in the context of long-term planning." Abbas connects this shift to a changing wealth clientele. Younger investors grow up in a digital-first world, while internationally connected clients increasingly expect access to #investment opportunities through the same trusted advisor who manages the rest of their #wealth. As wealth passes between generations, she says, providers must reconsider both their offerings and how clients access them. "Meeting these expectations does not mean following every trend or lowering the bar on suitability," she says. "It means recognizing that the next generation may define diversification differently, while continuing to apply rigorous standards of governance and risk management. " mena.entrepreneur.com/financ…

Abu Dhabi-based @MubadalaBio has announced a strategic partnership with US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company to establish local packaging and logistics operations for Lilly’s GLP-1 medicines in the #UAE. Announced at the Abu Dhabi #FutureHealthSummit 2026, the agreement will see the companies collaborate on pharmaceutical packaging and distribution from a 125,000-square-meter site in Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (@kezadgroup). The partnership follows the UAE’s approval of Lilly’s oral weight-management treatment Foundayo (orforglipron) in April 2026, making it the second country globally to register the medicine. The UAE was also among the early markets to introduce Mounjaro in August 2022. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

#AbuDhabi is cementing its position as a global destination for family capital and long-term #investment, according to Ali Mohamed Al Marzooqi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI / @adchamber). Al Marzooqi spoke at a roundtable titled “Abu Dhabi: From Capital to Investment Opportunities” at the fourth Global Owners and Family Office Congress, organized by @CampdenWealth with the Abu Dhabi Family Business Council (@adfbc_ae), an affiliate of Abu Dhabi Chamber, as a main partner. “Investment families think in generations, not financial quarters. Abu Dhabi offers what that outlook demands: stability, real growth and partners with whom they can build,” Al Marzooqi said. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

Future Health – A Global Initiative by #AbuDhabi, a platform for global collaboration and transformative health innovation, and Bridge for Billions (@Bridge4Billions), a global social enterprise that designs and manages online incubation programs to support early‑stage entrepreneurs, are launching a new #entrepreneurship program to support health ventures in emerging markets. The program will combine structured capacity-building with access to expertise, networks, and health system connections, aiming to address barriers such as limited access to capital and specialist guidance. The first phase will identify around 50 #entrepreneurs across Africa and Asia whose ventures have moved beyond the idea stage, while the second phase will deliver a tailored online program covering regulatory navigation, #health system integration, business model validation, and investor readiness. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

#AbuDhabi-based life sciences company @MubadalaBio has entered a strategic partnership with Marcyrl Pharmaceutical Industries to localize a broad portfolio of women’s health, #fertility and #respiratory products in the UAE. The agreement was signed at the #FutureHealthSummit in Abu Dhabi by Dr. Essam Mohamed, Group Chief Executive Officer of Mubadala Bio, and Dr. George Saad, Chief Executive Officer of Marcyrl Group. The two product portfolios will include medicines for fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and gynecological and hormonal conditions, as well as respiratory care products such as inhalers, nebulization solutions, and nasal sprays. Further products are expected to be added over time. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

British entrepreneur, investor, author, and HelpBnk (@helpbnk) founder Simon Squibb (@simonsquibb) believes that the key to turning dreams into reality lies in finding personal purpose, embracing failure, and being willing to take risks. In an exclusive conversation with Entrepreneur Middle East's Senior Features Editor Aalia Mehreen Ahmed 🍉 on the sidelines of the Sharjah Investment Forum 2026, Squibb reflects on how helping others has shaped his own understanding of success, why criticism can be an opportunity for growth, and how entrepreneurs can build trust through authenticity, integrity, and personal branding. 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: youtu.be/eDDjULlzKUI?si=tONM… ALSO: Read our in-depth feature on Simon Squibb, exploring his entrepreneurial journey, approach to leadership, and insights on turning ambition into action: mena.entrepreneur.com/busine… h/t @InvestInSharjah 🎤 Host/Editorial team: Aalia Mehreen Ahmed 🎥 Video and production crew: Eduardo Buenagua | Praveen Tennakoon 📱 Social media team: Amal Faruk

As global investment patterns evolve, #businesses are increasingly diversifying where they invest, manufacture, and source goods, creating new opportunities for trade and economic growth across markets. For Kami Viswanathan, President – Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa at FedEx (@fedexmeisa), this shift is changing how businesses approach global expansion. Rather than focusing solely on the most competitive location, companies are building interconnected networks that offer greater flexibility, access to new markets and stronger connections with customers. "The question facing business leaders is changing. It is no longer simply where to invest, but how to develop a value chain that connects the markets in which businesses invest, produce, and sell, so they can keep growing as the world changes," Viswanathan says. She identifies the UAE, India, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as markets with complementary strengths that could play an increasingly important role in this transition. "Greater #diversification means the quality of connections matters more than ever, and in the next chapter of global trade, competitive advantage will increasingly depend not only on where you are, but also on how well you are connected to everywhere else," she concludes. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

Mohamad ElAnsari has a simple measure of success for @Trendyol in the Gulf: how often customers open the app. In less than three years, the platform has onboarded 15,500 regional sellers, from large retail groups to smaller SMEs, and built a customer base of over 4 million across the region. The next step, says the CEO of #Trendyol Gulf, is making it as much a part of the daily routine as a trip to the local mall. Founded in #Istanbul in 2010, Trendyol is one of the world’s leading #ecommerce platforms with a multicategory offering that includes its own private label brand, Trendyol Collection. It connects more than 250,000 Turkish sellers and global brands with over 40 million customers. Yet, as ambitious as that may sound, ElAnsari is aiming higher still: to help turn local brands into #global ones. At the heart of that ambition is what he describes as “two-way commerce”, aiming not only to bring international products into #Gulf markets, but also to give local merchants a platform through which they can reach customers around the world. “Just as we import, we have to have the ability to also export,” ElAnsari explains. “Eventually, our marketplace should be the right vehicle or channel for local sellers to be able to not only sell to other cities or other countries in the Gulf, but eventually be able to sell to Romania or to Istanbul, or to whatever city they need.” [✍: @tashapupic] mena.entrepreneur.com/growth…

Emirates NBD Asset Management (@EmiratesNBD_AE) and @BlackRock have launched two new income-focused #investment funds, expanding access to investment strategies previously available primarily to professional investors. The launch of the FundStar Emirates CLO AA Fund and the Emirates Systematic Income and Growth Fund marks the first anniversary of the companies’ strategic partnership, established in 2025. Over the past year, the collaboration has attracted US$350 million in assets under management (AUM). The new offerings represent a shift from private investment products toward public fund structures accessible to a broader base of retail investors across the region. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…

Marking #WorldEthicsDay, Ahamed Nazwan, Head of Growth and Partnerships, @CiceroandBernay, reflects on how businesses can build responsible partnerships by making commitments they are equipped to deliver. According to Nazwan, ethical business practices begin before a contract is signed, when clients, employees and partners still have an opportunity to assess what they are taking on. By the time a project reaches the delivery team, the fee may already be agreed and the deadline announced, making it harder to revisit expectations. "For founders selling services or bidding for their first large contracts, I think the more useful conversation is about commitments. I see an ethical problem when a deal depends on a client, employee, or partner absorbing a burden they haven’t had a fair chance to assess," he writes in his op-ed. While uncertainty is part of any ambitious #business plan, Nazwan says those expected to carry it out should understand the responsibilities involved. Shared values provide a foundation, but partners also need to agree on what fair treatment means in practice, particularly when commercial pressure tests those principles. Building responsible #partnerships, he notes, requires clear expectations, realistic budgets and deadlines, and meaningful input from the people delivering the work. "The central test comes at the point just before someone says yes, whether to a client, a partner or a new hire. That is when a business still has room to be honest about what it can deliver," Nazwan says. "Honoring those commitments over time is what turns shared values into a partnership that can last." mena.entrepreneur.com/leader…

Mohammad Abu Sheikh, founder and CEO of Abu Dhabi-based CNTXT AI (@cntxtai), has announced that his company has secured more than US$300 million (AED1.1 billion) in committed revenue, primarily from US hyperscalers, #AI developers, and large enterprises. Founded in 2024, CNTXT AI provides AI training data, #Arabic-language AI models, and robotics training solutions. The company serves more than 250 government and enterprise customers. “We built CNTXT AI around the hardest part of AI, providing real-world data at the quality and scale models actually need, which is why customers keep choosing us over others,” Abu Sheikh said. CNTXT AI has also opened its first #US office in the San Francisco Bay Area to serve American government agencies, technology companies, and enterprises seeking AI capabilities tailored to Middle Eastern markets. mena.entrepreneur.com/busine…