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Jason Momoa Yas Island Video length: 01:27

Aquaman makes a splash in Abu Dhabi tourist drive

Abu Dhabi has turned to Aquaman actor Jason Momoa to help increase visitor numbers to Yas Island as Gulf countries increasingly seek celebrity support to boost international tourism. With growing competition across the region, the UAE capital’s Department of Culture and Tourism hopes to transform the Hollywood star’s millions of social media followers into potential […]

Dubai real estate value

Luxury comes at a price for Dubai’s real estate brokers

The cameras have all but stopped rolling on the third series of Dubai Hustle, a BBC docudrama that tracks the lives of real estate brokers in one of the world’s ritziest cities. Glamour junkies await their fix of tears and laughter, clothes and interiors – and firings and hirings – which feature in the lives […]

Tech layoffs Middle East Video length: 03:47
  • Video

Middle East tech sector’s hire and fire conundrum

The mass layoffs in the global tech sector last year were the highest since the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, but they are not necessarily a reflection of the job market globally or in the Middle East, according to a Dubai-based digital transformation and Web3 expert. “The layoffs only constitute 10 percent of all the […]

Osman Sultan

Osman Sultan on Mena’s move from ‘telco’ to ‘techco’

Osman Sultan proclaimed in 1997 he would put “a mobile in the hand of everyone” in Egypt. At the time, even some shareholders at Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil), where he was CEO, were unsettled by his audacious statement.  Egypt’s telecoms regulator granted him a licence to become the country’s first mobile operator, but […]

Face, Head, Person

Sheikh’s salute puts London’s Mr Super Prime on the map

Business is booming for London-based luxury property broker Daniel Daggers, founder of DDRE Global, thanks in part to clients such as the chairman of Dubai airline Emirates. When Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum was looking to purchase in the UK capital, his adviser turned to DDRE’s Daggers for help. And the real estate mogul […]

Worst professionals

Professions named and shamed in UAE ‘worst reputation’ survey

Recruiters have topped a list of the worst professionals to deal with in the UAE for the third year in a row, while social media influencers offering financial advice were also targeted as “infuriating”. UAE residents were asked which industries delivered the most unreliable customer service in a survey for the fifth annual “Worst Reputation” […]

Alison Milton, Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE, would reverse Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine if she could
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Alison Milton, Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE

Alison Milton has been the Ambassador of Ireland to the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait since August. Before then she worked as the British-Irish director, in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs. What does your company do? I work for the Embassy of Ireland in Abu Dhabi covering the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. I also have responsibility […]

Thomas Pramotedham, CEO at Presight, is confident the company can use its data analytics in the climate change sector

Presight to use IPO as springboard to global expansion

Big data and analytics company Presight is targetting international expansion once they have listed later this month. The firm, part of Abu Dhabi’s G42, plans to raise $495 million from its floating on the ADX. The subscription period for the initial public offering (IPO), which was 136 times oversubscribed, closed on Friday with a total […]

Naqvi Abraaj

Abraaj Capital founder loses extradition appeal to the US

Arif Naqvi, the founder of what was once the largest private equity firm in the Middle East, has lost a bid to challenge his extradition from London to the US to face fraud charges.  US prosecutors allege that the Pakistan-born businessman defrauded investors, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, by concealing a liquidity crisis […]

Razan Al Sous, founder of Yorkshire Dama Cheese, second from right, shows the Princess Royal her wares

Say cheese! Syrian refugee to take halloumi startup to Gulf

A Syrian refugee who moved to the UK and set up a halloumi cheese company is looking to the Gulf as one of her first markets for international expansion. “We are always looking for investment because we know that we’ve got high demand in the UK,” Razan Al Sous, founder of Yorkshire Dama Cheese, told […]

Jason Atherton

Chef Jason Atherton sees Dubai as hotspot for restaurant openings

When British restaurateur and celebrity chef Jason Atherton was searching for the location of his latest business venture, Dubai was a no-brainer. He met and married his wife Irha in the emirate and is quick to describe Dubai as “like a second home to me”. The launch of City Social, which opened its doors earlier […]

UAE’s centre stage in Bollywood blockbusters

The UAE is set to become a major post-production and financing hub for the Bollywood film industry. Acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur told AGBI: “Infrastructure for filmmaking is coming up in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and more Indian filmmakers will come to the UAE to make their films. There are very good studio facilities in Dubai […]

Stuart Deeson is the new VP of operations for the Middle East and Africa at Hyatt Hotels

‘Constantly evolving’ Mena key to Hyatt growth plan, says new VP

Hyatt Hotels, the US-based hospitality giant, is placing emphasis on the Middle East and Africa for its global growth strategy. Stuart Deeson, newly appointed vice president of operations for the region at Hyatt, told AGBI that Saudi Arabia in particular was witnessing a “significant point in history”. He also believes Qatar, Kuwait and Morocco offer […]

Horacio Pagani, Argentine-Italian founder, CEO and chief design officer at his supercar company

Cars, property and superjets: Pagani plots future with PIF

Horacio Pagani, founder of the supercar that bears his name, is open to further partnerships with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund as his company expands into luxury real estate and private jet design. PIF acquired a 30 percent stake in the Italian business in 2021. Pagani, who acts as its CEO and chief design officer, […]

Talabat managing director Tatiana Rahal previously worked on data analytics for Visa and Mazda

Cashless economy is at the door, says food delivery boss

A cashless economy in the UAE is no longer just an ambition, according to Tatiana Rahal, managing director of food delivery giant Talabat UAE. “The future in the UAE is digital and we see cashless payments as the primary currency,” said Rahal, the company’s first MD who has previously worked on data analytics for brands […]

Perihan Abouzeid, founder of PeriCare nursing pods

Perihan Abouzeid set up PeriCare, a Dubai-based company focused on building products that serve the needs of working mothers and mothers on the go. It became a revenue-generating startup within the first month of operations and has featured at major events like Gitex and Dubai Design Week. What does your company do? Our flagship product […]

Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio has largely focused on films about the environment for the past decade

Di Caprio-backed fintech to set up offices in Abu Dhabi

California-based fintech company Aspiration Inc. will be setting up offices at Abu Dhabi Global Market. Aspiration is supported by Access Abu Dhabi, the business expansion program by Maven Global Access and Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), which serves as a conduit to fast-track entry to the UAE capital, the company said in a statement.  The […]