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, manager, director, partner… or 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:

Saudi breaks record in investments, tourism, and homeownership; Bateel and Noon are thinking of an IPO, lots of jobs, AI use cases in customer service, and tips to sleep better.

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

• Homeownership in Saudi hits 65.4% in 2024, exceeding its 2025 target of 65% one year early - next target is 70% by 2030 (full story)

• Saudi FDI inflows hit $31.8bn in 2024, a 24% YoY increase, with non-oil investments representing 90% of total flows - great but still a long way to go to reach the 2030 target of $100bn (full story)

• Saudi welcomed 32m domestic and international visitors this last summer, up 26% from 2024, with the region of Aseer standing out (+49%), becoming a summer hotspot particularly for GCC travelers - you should google Aseer it actually looks amazing (full story)

Energy & Resources

• Syria exported 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil this week, its first export in 14 years (full story)

• A consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s TAQA secured funding for greenfield power plant projects in Saudi worth $4bn (full story)

• Egypt will double power sector spending to $2.6bn in 2026, targeting 99.8% nation-wide access to electricity and ~20% clean power - lots happening in the energy sector in Egypt lately (full story)

Technology, Media & Telecommunication

• Iraq launched a new TelCo company (National Mobile Company) to run its planned new 5G mobile network in partnership with Vodafone - big move, upgrading the whole country from LTE to 5G (full story)

• TikTok added SAR 3.9bn to GDP and supported 25k+ jobs in KSA in 2024 according to its first KSA impact report - keep scrolling my friends (full story)

Financial Services

• Total GCC-listed banks Q2 net profit hit a record $16.2bn (+9% YoY) thanks to a lending and deposits boom driven by strong economic fundamentals and a robust project pipeline - where’s the slowdown everyone’s talking about? (full story)

• Banque Misr will launch Onebank, Egypt’s first fully digital bank; aiming to attract 800,000 customers in the first year and ~$800m in deposits, rolling out retail first and then corporate in about 18 months (full story)

• Revolut got in-principle approval from the UAE Central Bank for stored-value facilities and retail payment services permits to launch wallets/payments - this is NOT a banking license, so Revolut will still not be able to operate as a bank; I think this will come with the acquisition of a regional bank (full story)

Transport & Logistics

• Fedex announced that it will expand its operations in Saudi Arabia by opening a new regional hub at King Salman International Airport and launching their first dedicated Riyadh flights, targeting 2,000 jobs and 48-hour US deliveries (full story)

Consumer Products & Retail

• Luxury date group Bateel has reportedly hired Morgan Stanley to advise on a potential Saudi IPO - I’ll give you a secret on this topic: if you like Bateel but don’t want to break the bank, go to your nearest grocer and buy Jumana dates; it’s from the same owner and literally the same dates as Bateel, but at a much lower price (full story)

• Dubai Holding Asset Management launches Dubai Retail, building on the 2024 integration of Meydan and Nakheel to consolidate 40+ malls and lifestyle destinations across the UAE (full story)

• New Balance announced its plans to significantly expand its presence in the Middle East by opening 12 new stores across the region to capitalize on what they say is a “surging demand of athleisure” - thanks to all of you showing up with dad sneakers to the office (full story)

• Noon is considering an IPO in the next two years according to a recent interview of Alabbar with the FT; he also mentioned that the company was looking to roll out autonomous delivery to bring down costs and achieve profitability before going public - I hope these robots will drive more safely than the noon minutes guys (full story)

Other

• Sports: Prince Waleed Bin Talal is in serious talks with PIF to buy a majority stake of Al Hilal, rumors are that the fund is looking to offload all four of its clubs to private investors - would they still afford the Ronaldos of the world if they do that? (full story)

• Automotive: Chinese and Omani companies, backed by the Omani sovereign wealth fund (yup, they have one too), agreed to launch an electric vehicle transport joint- venture (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

• Fever | Partner Project Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

• The Flex | Chief of Staff | Dubai (Apply here)

• Amazon | Sr. PM, Strategy & Expansion | Dubai (Apply here)

• Revolut | Strategy & Operations Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

• Property Finder | Manager, Strategy & Business Operations | 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)

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

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

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

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

• NymCard | Corporate Development Analyst/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)

KSA

• Sanabil Venture Studios | Strategy & Operations Lead | Riyadh (Apply here)

• STC | Corporate Development Director | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Outsized | Strategy Consultant | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Supertech Innovation Labs | Strategy Manager | 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.

10 AI TRENDS THAT ARE RESHAPING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN THE UAE

We know what the best AI use cases are for us consultants - ask chat gpt to improve a sentence, summarize a large deck, etc. But our use cases are still tiny compared to everything that’s happening around us. One big area where businesses around the globe are heavily investing in AI is customer service. They claim that it is to improve your experience; but I’d say it’s more about cutting costs and getting you to spend more with them (I’m still traumatized by Eva from Emirates NBD).

Cisco released the top 10 use cases reshaping customer experience in the UAE - some of these are obvious, but some (like #4) are more behind-the-scene and quite interesting. So here they are:

1. Conversational virtual agents: Chatbots with natural language processing (NLP) resolve routine issues quickly while escalating complex cases - yup, EVA.

2. AI-powered agent assistance: Suggests responses, summarises interactions, and analyses sentiment to improve first-contact resolution

3. Dynamic call routing: Matches customers with the most suitable agent based on history, needs, and real-time factors

4. Speech analytics and sentiment analysis: Detects customer emotions during calls to improve engagement and training - that’s crazy honestly

5. Automated call transcription: Creates searchable, compliant records and streamlines post-call documentation

6. Predictive analytics: Anticipates behaviour, enabling proactive outreach and tailored product recommendations

7. Workforce optimisation: Forecasts demand to balance staffing, reducing wait times and boosting employee satisfaction

8. Holistic data aggregation: Consolidates chat, email, voice, and social data into 360-degree customer profiles

9. Custom AI through open integration: Allows integration with CRM and industry-specific tools for seamless omnichannel service

10. AI-enhanced quality management:  Analyses interactions for compliance, performance and emerging issues

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.

SIX TIPS FOR BETTER SLEEP DURING A ROUGH WEEK

80+ hour work weeks are quite common in our industry; yet we still want to eat, watch an episode of our favourite show, and for the crazy ones even fit in a workout during the day. That leaves very little room for sleep, so we gotta make the most of that little window. The key here is (1) fall asleep quickly and (2) maximize quality of the sleep. Here are six tips to help you do that:

1. Sunlight in the morning - getting sunlight soon after you wake up (5-10 minutes if the sky is clear, or 15-20 if cloudy) hits receptors in your eyes that shut off melatonin and times its rise for the evening, helping you fall asleep faster and better. So have your coffee outside our go down to wait for your uber 5-10 minutes before it gets there. And no, it doesn’t work if the sunlight is through the window

2. Caffeine cut-off - that’s an obvious but very important one. Caffein will affect your body’s ability for up to 10 hours; that means no coffee, tea, energy drinks, Coke (Coca Cola), or even dark chocolate for the most sensitive ones after 2 PM - so switch to decaf for your afternoon coffee

3. White, pink or white noise - yes, sounds have colours depending on frequencies, and some can help you sleep better and mask other annoying noises (traffic, AC, elevators, neighbors, etc.). Rain for example is a type of pink noise. Several apps exist with these types of sounds to help you sleep better; here’s an article with the top 6

4. Sauna - after heating up, your body naturally cools down; this drop in temperature mimics the body’s natural “sleepiness signal” helping you sleep faster and deeper - so a 15-20 min Sauna session 1 or 2 hours before bed is the way to go. If you’re on client site, very high chances your hotel has one, so use it!

5. Television - it’s not that watching TV is good to fall asleep, but for all of you scrolling adicts, it’s much better than your phone’s screen light and the insane brain stimulation that TikToks and Instagram Reels create - so make use of your hotel room’s internet TV and put on a long-form documentary to fall asleep instead of watching AI-generated 10-second videos of frogs dancing with snails

6. Melatonin supplements - that would be the last resort if the other four don’t work; but they can be very helpful in helping you fall asleep, especially if you’re jetlagged or having irregular schedules. Recommended dosage by scientists is 0.5-1mg only, and there is no point in taking more (would just make you more drousy the next day). While it will help you fall asleep faster, Melatonin does NOT improve the quality of your sleep - my favourite brand is ZZZQuil; works really well and the gummies are delicious. It’s not available in our region unfortunately so pack some if you’re ever in Europe.

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!