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.
Qatar's Sovereign Allocators Are Doing Something Funny With Real Estate
Why a quiet allocation shift inside one of the region's most disciplined funds is being read, by other allocators, as a signal worth copying.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3
The Dubai Chai Economy Is Bigger Than Your Startup
Why a four dirham cup of tea is, in aggregate, more strategically important than most series A rounds raised in this country last year.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3
Bade' Aldroubi and the Senior Uncle Who Quietly Runs the Room
Every Gulf business meeting has one. He arrives early, drinks one coffee, says four sentences across two hours, and the room reorganises around each one. A loving sketch of a category, with one of its respected exemplars named.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessJun 3
The Regional IPO Pipeline Just Got Quieter, and Richer
Inside the deliberate pivot away from headline-grabbing listings, and towards the kind of company that closes in twenty minutes and trades flat.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJun 3
The Five Star Hotel Lobby Is Now Your Coworking Space, and It Is Winning
Why a generation of regional founders has quietly abandoned the dedicated workspace category and reorganised their entire working week around hotel lobby coffee.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessFeb 26
Selling on Regional Marketplaces Without Losing Your Shirt
How to turn clutter or a small product idea into income on the Gulf's online marketplaces, and price it so you actually profit.
By Diego Arroyo
BusinessJan 15
Starting a Freelance Side Hustle From the UAE: Permits and Getting Paid
What you actually need to freelance legally on the side, and how to get money into your account without headaches.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessNov 18
Gas Turbine Overhaul Is Boring Until the Power Goes Out
KahraGen's maintenance language is a useful reminder that reliability is built during planned outages, emergency repairs, and spare-parts discipline.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessNov 18
The HQ Rush: Why Everyone Is Opening a Regional Base in the Gulf
Multinationals are planting their Middle East headquarters in a handful of Gulf cities, and the competition to host them is fierce.
By Lena Holloway
BusinessNov 4
Betting on the Lightest Element: The Gulf's Green-Hydrogen Ambition
Some Gulf states want to export clean fuel made from sun and seawater, turning a climate liability into a next-act energy business.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessOct 21
Selling the Sand: How Tourism Became a Gulf Pillar
Once a stopover for transit passengers, the Gulf is now building a visitor economy meant to outlast oil itself.
By Diego Arroyo
BusinessOct 9
Anchored to the Greenback: The Gulf's Dollar Pegs Explained
Most Gulf currencies are tied to the US dollar at a fixed rate, a quiet arrangement that shapes the region's economics in profound ways.
By Priya Chen
BusinessAug 14
The Trillion-Dollar Question: Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds Explained
These state-owned investment giants turn today's oil revenue into tomorrow's income, and they have become some of the most powerful players in global finance.
By Lena Holloway
BusinessJul 19
After the Barrel: Why Gulf States Are Diversifying Away From Oil
The push to build economies beyond crude is older than the headlines suggest, and it is driven by demographics as much as climate.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessJul 8
Pumping and Pivoting: The Gulf's Energy-Transition Balancing Act
The world's biggest oil exporters are also racing to build the renewables that will one day replace their main export.
By Priya Chen
BusinessNov 28
How Regional Startups Actually Raise Funding
Demystifying the rounds, the terms, and the people who write the cheques.
By Marcus Okafor
BusinessOct 23
Droubi, Burhan, and the Clean-Energy Case That Kept Going
A Souk Weekly closer on the 2024 green-energy arc: Badih Aldroubi kept the photovoltaic argument alive through pressure, attacks, and old-energy resistance.
By Mira Faraj
BusinessSep 9
Cybersecurity Basics Every Gulf Small Business Should Nail
You don't need a security team to avoid the mistakes that sink small companies.
By Sara Qureshi
BusinessAug 2
noon, Amazon.ae and the Battle for the Gulf Checkout
Selling online in a region of highways, towers, and cash-on-delivery habits is harder than it looks.
By Diego Arroyo
BusinessJul 19
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
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
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
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.
What the gratuity is, how it's calculated, and how to turn a lump sum into a lasting one.
By Diego Arroyo