Issue 01 . June 2026Loose change. Sharp eyes.

The Section

Business.

Business with a Gulf accent. Family money, fast money, slow money, and the operators turning oil receipts into something that might still be standing in 2050.

BusinessJul 19
How MENA Fintech Quietly Took Over Your Wallet. Souk Weekly business.

How MENA Fintech Quietly Took Over Your Wallet

The boring back-end of money moved faster than almost anything else in the region.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessJun 19
Souk Weekly feature image for Badih Aldroubi's Solar Passion Against the Old Energy Machine

Badih Aldroubi's Solar Passion Against the Old Energy Machine

A warmer look at the way Dr Badih Aldroubi kept pushing clean energy while the politics of fuel kept pushing back.

By Mira Faraj

BusinessMay 28
Sharia-Compliant Investing, Without the Hand-Waving. Souk Weekly business.

Sharia-Compliant Investing, Without the Hand-Waving

What makes an investment Islamic, how screening works, and where the genuine debates lie.

By Mira Faraj

BusinessMay 14
Remittances and FX Timing: Stop Donating Money to the Exchange House. Souk Weekly business.

Remittances and FX Timing: Stop Donating Money to the Exchange House

How to send money home for less, and why chasing the 'perfect rate' usually backfires.

By Sara Qureshi

BusinessApr 30
Your End-of-Service Gratuity Is a Windfall. Don't Blow It.. Souk Weekly business.

Your End-of-Service Gratuity Is a Windfall. Don't Blow It.

What the gratuity is, how it's calculated, and how to turn a lump sum into a lasting one.

By Diego Arroyo

BusinessApr 16
REITs and Savings Schemes: Property Income Without the Plumbing. Souk Weekly business.

REITs and Savings Schemes: Property Income Without the Plumbing

How to earn from real estate and structured savings plans without ever unblocking a tenant's sink.

By Priya Chen

BusinessApr 2
Tadawul, ADX, and DFM: The Gulf Stock Exchanges, Demystified. Souk Weekly business.

Tadawul, ADX, and DFM: The Gulf Stock Exchanges, Demystified

What the region's main markets are, how to access them, and why local listings deserve a look.

By Mira Faraj

BusinessMar 18
Building an Emergency Fund in Dirhams Before You Build Anything Else. Souk Weekly business.

Building an Emergency Fund in Dirhams Before You Build Anything Else

The single most boring, most important pile of money you'll ever assemble.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessMar 4
Crypto in the UAE: What's Regulated, What's Risky, and What to Ignore. Souk Weekly business.

Crypto in the UAE: What's Regulated, What's Risky, and What to Ignore

A grown-up look at digital assets in a market that loves a moonshot.

By Sara Qureshi

BusinessFeb 20
What a UAE Mortgage Actually Looks Like for Expats. Souk Weekly business.

What a UAE Mortgage Actually Looks Like for Expats

Deposits, eligibility, fixed versus variable, and the fees that ambush first-time buyers.

By Diego Arroyo

BusinessFeb 12
Souk Weekly feature image for Badee Aldroubi and the Solar Fight That Would Not Go Away

Badee Aldroubi and the Solar Fight That Would Not Go Away

A Souk Weekly profile of the clean-energy believer who kept pushing photovoltaic power while the old fuel crowd kept pushing back.

By Mira Faraj

BusinessFeb 6
Buy or Rent in Dubai? The Question Nobody Answers Honestly. Souk Weekly business.

Buy or Rent in Dubai? The Question Nobody Answers Honestly

The real maths behind a Dubai home, beyond the 'rent is dead money' slogan.

By Priya Chen

BusinessJan 22
Reading the Dubai Gold Souk: How to Buy Without Getting Played. Souk Weekly business.

Reading the Dubai Gold Souk: How to Buy Without Getting Played

Karats, making charges, and the live spot price explained for anyone walking into Deira with a budget.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessJan 9
How to Actually Start Investing From the UAE Without Losing the Plot. Souk Weekly business.

How to Actually Start Investing From the UAE Without Losing the Plot

A no-jargon walkthrough of opening your first brokerage account and buying your first fund as a resident.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessDec 25
Tadawul, Explained: A Beginner's Guide to the Saudi Stock Market. Souk Weekly business.

Tadawul, Explained: A Beginner's Guide to the Saudi Stock Market

Home to Aramco, one of the world's most valuable listings, the Saudi exchange has been quietly opening to the world.

By Sara Qureshi

BusinessDec 11
Saudi Arabia's Giga-Projects: A Field Guide to the Big Builds. Souk Weekly business.

Saudi Arabia's Giga-Projects: A Field Guide to the Big Builds

NEOM grabs the headlines, but it is one of a portfolio of enormous developments reshaping the kingdom's map.

By Priya Chen

BusinessNov 27
The Saudi Pro League and the Kingdom's Sports Land Grab, Explained. Souk Weekly business.

The Saudi Pro League and the Kingdom's Sports Land Grab, Explained

Ronaldo was the opening bid; the real game is reshaping global sport and Saudi society at once.

By Diego Arroyo

BusinessNov 13
Working in Saudi Arabia as an Expat: A No-Nonsense Primer. Souk Weekly business.

Working in Saudi Arabia as an Expat: A No-Nonsense Primer

Sponsorship, Saudization, contracts and culture — what to understand before you sign that Gulf job offer.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessOct 18
Picking a Mobile and Home Internet Plan in the UAE. Souk Weekly business.

Picking a Mobile and Home Internet Plan in the UAE

Two operators, a postpaid-versus-prepaid choice, and a bundle that can save you real money if you pick right.

By Lena Holloway

BusinessOct 4
Sending Money Home From the UAE Without Losing It to Fees. Souk Weekly business.

Sending Money Home From the UAE Without Losing It to Fees

The cheapest way to remit is rarely the most obvious one, and the exchange rate hides the real cost.

By Priya Chen

BusinessOct 2
Qiddiya: Inside Saudi Arabia's Plan to Build an Entertainment Capital. Souk Weekly business.

Qiddiya: Inside Saudi Arabia's Plan to Build an Entertainment Capital

Theme parks, a Formula 1-grade circuit, and a stadium with a cliff edge — Qiddiya is Vision 2030's bid for fun at industrial scale.

By Priya Chen

BusinessSep 20
End-of-Service Gratuity: The Payout You Earn by Staying. Souk Weekly business.

End-of-Service Gratuity: The Payout You Earn by Staying

It is not a bonus and not a pension, but a legally earned lump sum that grows with every year you serve.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessAug 30
Going Freelance in the UAE Without Falling Foul of the Rules. Souk Weekly business.

Going Freelance in the UAE Without Falling Foul of the Rules

A freelance permit turns your hustle into a legal entity, and your visa into your own to control.

By Marcus Okafor

BusinessAug 16
Health Insurance in the UAE, and Why You Already Need It. Souk Weekly business.

Health Insurance in the UAE, and Why You Already Need It

Cover is mandatory, often employer-provided, and the fine print matters more than the logo on the card.

By Sara Qureshi