BOARDING CALL ✈

Welcome aboard, and welcome to the Departure Brief

If you’re reading this in the cab to the airport, in the lounge, or halfway through boarding EK819, you’re exactly where we imagined you’d be.

Departure Brief was built for consultants in the Middle East who want to start their week a little sharper, without digging through the noise of the countless news sources out there. Every Monday, we’ll bring you a fast, focused update on what actually matters for you, plus a few tools and insights that will make you look good in front of your client and manager, director, partner… whoever’s reviewing your slides. And if you’ve had enough of airplanes, we’ve got you covered with the latest exit opportunities.

Highlights this week:

Record lows in Saudi unemployment, a new E-sport tournament in Riyadh, Spinney entering Kuwait, AI in schools, jobs, and ice baths

Enjoy your read!

SECTOR SCAN 🔭

Your weekly rundown of the most relevant business news in the region - for the sectors that matter to you

Public Sector & Government

• Saudi Arabia overhauled its school curriculum adding subjects like AI, cybersecurity, tourism & hospitality, fashion, art & design, and First Aid - more practical than trigonometry I guess… (full story)

• Saudi’s unemployment rate among nationals dropped to a record 7.1% down from 12.8% in 2018 almost hitting the Vision 2030 target of 7% 5 years early - target was revised to 5% (full story)

• Kuwait unveiled a number of economic reforms and new projects under the New Kuwait Vision 2035, planning to attract $35 Billion of investments and create 50,000 new jobs - another day, another Vision (full story)

Energy & Resources

• Saudi mining sector surged 80% thanks to strong output in phosphate, iron, aluminium, copper, and gold as current planned investments in the sector reached $48 Bn - a real transformation of a sector that was in the bottom of the list of priorities before Vision 2030 (full story)

• ADNOC signed a 15-year LNG supply agreement with IndianOil for 1 mn tons annually, making Indian its largest LNG buyer by 2029 (full story)

Technology, Media & Telecommunication

• PIF-owned AI Humain launched this week for users in the Kingdom, the chat is Humain’s first application in its suite and is powered by an Arabic model called ALLAM 34B (full story)

Financial Services

• The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Co. (SRC) launched the Kingdom’s first residential mortgage-backed securities to boost liquidity in the housing finance sector and broaden investment opportunities - here’s a video of Ryan Gosling explaining what these are (full story)

Transport & Logistics

• Egypt plans to launch a high-speed electric train next year, rolling out a 2,000km network from Ain Sokhna to the North Coast with Germany’s Siemens mobility leading the work (full story)

Consumer Products & Retail

• UAE’s Spinneys is entering the Kuwait market next year via a joint-venture with Alshaya Group - happy for Kuwait to start getting those Spinneys cookies (full story)

Other

• Gaming: The E-sports World Cup Foundation has unveiled the Esports Nations Cup, a nation-based World Cup of E-sports (countries vs. countries) of which the first edition will take place in Riyadh in November 2026 (full story)

THE EXIT ROW 💼

Your bosses might not like this section, but that’s alright. Every week, we’ll provide you with a list of curated job openings for any of you that are tired of the travel routine and looking to have a life again after 7 PM - includes opportunities for all levels

FREELANCING

There is a bunch of freelancing opportunities I’ve been made aware of. If you’re interested, please register your profile on Ultra (“join Ultra”) - a top EMEA freelancing platform that connects you with an extensive portfolio of clients in the region for freelance consulting projects. You can also book a call with Valentin Reyx, co-founder, to learn more.

UAE

• Visa | Senior Director - CEMEA Corporate Strategy | Dubai (Apply here)

• UAE General Civil Aviation Authority | Senior Director - Corporate Strategy & Performance | Dubai (Apply here)

• Falcons Group | Chief Strategy Officer | Dubai (Apply here)

• InvestSky | Growth & Strategy Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

• AlBatha Group | Senior Strategy Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

• Landmark Group | Strategy Analyst | Dubai (Apply here)

• Digital DEWA Official | Business Strategy Analyst | Dubai (Apply here)

• Idealz Holding | Sr. Strategy Analyst | Dubai (Apply here)

• Hedge & Sachs Financials | Strategy Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

• Johnson Control | Strategy Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

• Careem | Commercial & Strategy Leader | (Apply here)

• Talabat | Sr. Specialist Strategy | Dubai (Apply here)

• NymCard | Corporate Development Analyst/Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

• Amazon | Sr. Program Manager, Last Mile, Strategy & Performance | Dubai (Apply here)

• Keeta | Senior Strategy Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

• Miral Destinations | Senior Vice President Strategy | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

• Nabat | Strategy & Programs Lead | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

• Freedom Finance MENAT | Strategy & Reporting Manager | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

• Bilfinger | Senior Consultant Strategy & Operations | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

• Imkan Properties | Senior Manager Investment & Strategy | Abu Dhabi (Apply here)

KSA

• Jeeny | Senior Strategy Manager - Ops | Riyadh (Apply here)

• ODEL | Consulting Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Araamis | Strategy Consultant | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Masdr | Director Strategy - Growth & Innovation | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Careem | Commercial & Strategy Leaders | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Ajlan & Bros Holding | Strategy Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Amazon | Head of Marketplace Strategy | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Keeta | Sales Operations Strategy | Riyadh (Apply here)

CABIN DEEP DIVE 🔎

Every week, we give a focused look on a topic, news, trend that is shaping the region; no fluff, just the insights you need.

IS AI THE NEW MATH? A LOOK INTO THE UAE AND KSA’S NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SCHOOL CURRICULUMS

During the last couple of weeks, both the UAE and Saudi announced massive reforms in school curriculums for the 2025-2026 academic year. Common factor in both cases is the introduction of a full-fledge artificial intelligence program making AI a core subject in school. This is unique in the global stage; only China has rolled-out a similar program so far. If you have kids starting school this week and you’re curious about the program, here are a few facts:

Saudi:

• Covers over 6 million students in general education - one of the largest rollouts in the world

• Goes from grade 3 to grade 12

• Strong focus on real-world, hands-on learning, trying to avoid theory as much as possible; the program is structured around five key topics:

  • Machine learning basics and algorithms

  • Real-world AI applications (chatbots, facial recognition, robotics, etc.)

  • Data science principles, pattern recognition, and smart decision-making

  • The ethics of artificial intelligence

  • Programming tools for building AI models

UAE:

• Starts from kindergarten and runs through grade 12

• ~1,000 specially-trained teachers are being deployed across the country to deliver the subjects

• Early grades to focus on creative tools while older students get into coding, prompt engineering, and applied AI projects. Program is structured around seven key topics:

  • Fundamental concepts

  • Data and algorithms

  • Software

  • Ethical awareness

  • Real-world applications

  • Innovation and project design

  • Policies and community engagement

Cool to see that ethics are a big part of both programs… lowers the chance of a Robot apocalypse I guess.

Anyway, I think this could be huge if rolled-out successfully, and could really position both countries as global leaders in the AI race globally. But it’s not going to be easy. Because these programs are some of the world’s very firsts, there aren’t many benchmarks to learn from, and there is going to be some trial and error for sure.

LIFE UPGRADE PICK 💎

In this section, we pick one product or service that would make your life easier, or better; and we review it for you.

ICE BATHS - FREEZE NOW, THANK YOURSELF LATER

If you’re on social media, you’ve seen the hype. Athletes, influencers, even some CEOs dipping in a cold pool or a trash can filled with ice and water. They’re taking an ice bath, or a cold plunge (it’s the same thing). Is it worth the hype? Yes. Here are the benefits:

• Muscle recovery: that’s the most obvious one; it reduces soreness and helps with recovery and injury prevention

• Mood boost: the cold shock releases large amounts of dopamine (the feel good hormone). Studies have actually found that an icebath can give you the same effect as cocaine (the good part only), lasting for up to 6 hours - and no… no come down after

• Focus: it also releases norepinephrine, a chemical that increases alertness and attention. Take an ice bath before an intense work day and see your productivity levels reach levels you’ve never seen before - seriously you should try that

• Resilience: ice baths train your body in staying composed under stress. If you want to take it to the next level, try solving math problems while you’re in the ice bath

• Fat loss: first of all, as your body does whatever it needs to do for you to survive, it’s burning calories. But even better than that, once you start doing the ice baths regularly, your body starts developing brown fat, which are heat-burning fat cells that boost calorie expenditure and increase your overall metabolism

There are countless of places in the UAE (I’m pretty sure in Saudi as well) which offer ice baths. It usually costs between 100-200 dirhams per session. It’s recommended to pick a temperature anywhere between 4 degrees and 10 degrees Celsius, and stay for at least 3 minutes (or up to 10 minutes). And yes, it’s safe. But of course, I am no doctor, so consult yours before trying it for the first time.

And that’s a wrap…

Thank you for being on board the Departure Brief this week.

Let us know how we did!

Have a safe flight, an amazing week, and see you next Monday!