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:

Some nice macro-economic outlooks, cars flying, robots driving, lots of new job openings looking for people just like you, and a deep dive on Saudi’s mining sector

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

• MENA topped global growth outlook despite slowdown in the rest of the world according to a World Economic Forum report with the World Bank forecasting a 2.7% growth this year rising to 4.1% by 2027, driven by diversification efforts like Vision 2030 in KSA and Dubai’s financial hub ambitions - I guess we’re at the right place guys (full story)

• Dubai was ranked #1 globally for greenfield foreign direct investments in H1 2025, recording 631 new ventures mainly in AI, Fintech, life sciences, and creative industries - damn… so much positivity this week (full story)

• Saudi Arabia froze residential and commercial rents for five years to stop rising prices, with violations carrying fines of up to 12 months’ rent - imagine doing this in Dubai (full story)

Energy & Resources

• Oman awarded a $400m contract for a 500MW solar project to a consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s Masdar, with operations set to begin in 2027 as it looks to achieve 30% renewable power by 2030 (full story)

• Saudi Arabia will tender 162 new mining exploration sites to French firms on Sept 28 (yesterday when you’ll be reading this) as part of efforts to unlock an estimated $2.5Tn in mineral wealth - a LOT has been happening in the mining sector in Saudi lately (full story)

• A Saudi/Spanish JV will build a green hydrogen electrode manufacturing plant at King Salman Energy Park expected to open in 2027 - these are basically the core parts needed to make green hydrogen, which will help Saudi build its own supply chain rather than depending on imported technology (full story)

Technology, Media & Telecommunication

• The ROSHN Saudi League signed a series of media deals with global broadcasters and will now be covered across 180 countries - broadcasters include FOX for the Americas, ESPN for some African countries, and DAZN for France and Germany (full story)

Financial Services

• Syria signed an agreement with Mastercard to expand digital payments across the country, aiming to modernize financial infrastructure and increase cashless transactions in a country where ~80% of payments are still made in cash (full story)

• Dubai was ranked in the world’s top four fintech hubs by the Global Financial Centers Index, with DIFC firms surpassing 1,500 and raising $4.2b - I guess there’s more to DIFC than Zuma and Avli (full story)

Transport & Logistics

• Saudi signed an MoU with Boeing to develop advanced air mobility, covering civil aviation, aircraft manufacturing, and sustainability, as part of plans to double passenger capacity to 330m annually by 2030 - hmm.. if I was them I’d be too pissed about late deliveries for RIA to be signing MoUs (full story)

• Saudi Arabia is about to launch autonomous air taxi flights as early as November 2025 with a partnership between Front End, Cluster 2 Airports and China’s EHang - an autonomous taxi… maybe; a flying taxi… not sure; but an autonomous flying taxi… I’m out! (full story)

• BYD wants to get into the UAE’s autonomous mobility sector, joining other firms like Cruise, Waymo and Baidu to help the country achieve some of its autonomous vehicles objectives (for example, Dubai wants to have 25% of all trips be autonomous by 2030) - I guess soon we’ll be seeing a bunch of Chinese cars driving (and flying) by themselves in our region (full story)

Consumer Products & Retail

• Chalhoub Group is “repositioning itself” as it plans to close 35 stores and open 60 new ones; the planned closures will span multiple markets but focus on Dubai, while openings will be mainly in Saudi Arabia where the luxury industry “has not caught up the way it has elsewhere” according to Chairman Patrick Chalhoub (full story)

• Primark will open its first Middle East stores through Alshaya Group, starting with Kuwait in October, followed by three Dubai locations by mid-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

1. Dubai Holding | Senior Manager - Strategy & Execution (B2C) | Dubai (Apply here)

2. Dubai Holding | Senior Manager - Strategy & Execution (B2B) | Dubai (Apply here)

3. Dubai Holding | Assistant Manager - Commercial & Strategy - Dubai Holding Land Estate | Dubai (Apply here)

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

5. Talabat | Manager Pricing Strategy | Dubai (Apply here)

6. Dubai Air Navigation Services (DANS) | Strategy & Performance Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

7. Network International | VP - Strategy & Transformation | Dubai (Apply here)

8. Animoca Brands | Senior Associate, Strategy Ops / BD & Partnerships / Investments | Dubai (Apply here)

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

10. Chalhoub Group | Associate, Strategy | Dubai (Apply here)

11. GJ Global | Chief of Staff | Dubai (Apply here)

12. Revolut | Strategy & Operations Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

13. Jacobs | Associate Director - Business Strategy & Finance | Dubai (Apply here)

14. Fever | Partner Project Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

15. RSA Global | Strategy & Growth Associate | Dubai (Apply here)

16. Emirates Global Aluminum | Associate Manager - Strategy & Corporate Development | Dubai (Apply here)

17. The Flex | Chief of Staff | Dubai (Apply here)

18. Property Finder | Manager, Strategy & Business Operations | Dubai (Apply here)

19. InvestSky | Growth & Strategy Manager | Dubai (Apply here)

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

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

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

KSA

• Mastercard | Manager, Chief of Staff | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Huxley | Senior Strategy Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Siemens Energy | Strategy Manager | Dammam (Apply here)

• Takamol | Consulting Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Hays | Strategy Associate - CEO Office | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Masdr | Sr. Strategy & Planning | Riyadh (Apply here)

• Supertech Innovation Labs | Strategy Manager | Riyadh (Apply here)

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

• Amazon | Head of Marketplace 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.

SAUDI’S DIGGING - WILL MINING BE SAUDI’S NEXT BIG ECONOMIC PILLAR?

If you’ve been vividly reading Departure Brief as some of you claim (I hope you do), you would have realized that Saudi mining stuff come up quite often in the sector scan. This week, the Kingdom announced that it’s tendering 162 new mining exploration sites. Well, that’s because the sector is becoming a huge priority for their diversification efforts. Today, it’s being positioned as the “third pillar” of the economy after oil and petrochemicals. The sector is expected to expand from $17bn GDP contribution in 2024 to $75bn by 2030, powered by regulatory reforms, state-led investment, and a boom in exploration activity.

Saudi estimates its mineral reserves at $2.5tn, almost double what we thought in 2016, with new finds in gold, phosphates, base metals, and rare earth. The government issued 138% more exploitation licenses since 2021, and exploration permits went from 58 to 259 in three years. National mining champion Ma’aden is reporting $8.5bn in annual revenue - not Aramco yet, but… actually no it will never become Aramco. But still, it’s growing; and fast!

This is important because:

1. It’s in line with the global energy transition - demand for battery minerals is booming as the world accelerates decarbonization (yes, despite Trump)

2. It helps the national economy from volatile oil cycles - and maybe finally our consulting revenues will not be directly correlated to oil prices

3. Capital is there - there’s a lot of global mining investors looking to invest in new places beyond saturated regions (e.g., South America, parts of Africa)

There are still challenges; many deposits are in remote areas with infrastructure today, and water scarcity is a real constraint. But the direction and commitment is there.

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!