An Emirati falconer in the desert, a falcon on his gloved hand

The Gulf Corridor

Cross-border growth through the Gulf.

Into the region, and out of it.

The Gulf is a capital-intensive region that rewards companies who arrive prepared and sends home companies who arrive assuming it works the way home does. Phoenix Global has its Gulf home in Abu Dhabi, an Emirati co-founder and chairman, and a decade of working relationships across government and business in the region. We work in both directions: into the Gulf, and from the Gulf into the markets where the firm already works, in Africa, Europe and the United States.

Three Emirati men in conversation on a terrace, high-rise towers behind them

Into the Region

Arrive prepared.

Corporations entering the Gulf

A company entering the Gulf needs a commercial model that holds in a market with its own pricing, a partner whose standing matches the opportunity, a plan for government and regulation, and a workforce localization strategy that answers the national agenda. We assess the opportunity, build the entry strategy, identify the partner that matters, and see the client through from interest to operating presence.

Founders seeking a foothold

The region's capital intensity draws founders from everywhere, and most arrive without the positioning the market expects. We work with founders on the business model, the right free zone, the first partners and the first customers, so the company is ready for the region before the region is asked to notice it. We do not raise capital. Our work is the company's readiness for the market and for the partners it needs.

Family enterprises and family-office-backed companies

Behind many family offices sits an operating company, and behind many Gulf entries sits a family deciding to put one there. We advise the enterprise: the market case, the model, the partner, and the operating presence.

Out of the Region

Gulf families and groups expanding outward.

The rising generation in Gulf family groups wants to own businesses outside the region, in industries the founding generation never entered. We guide that expansion into the markets where the firm already works. In Africa, the firm has its deepest government and project experience. In Europe, we work through our senior leadership in Malta and in Skopje, and relationships across the continent. In the United States, our base helps international businesses establish an American presence. Whichever direction a client is going, the work follows the same four steps: assess the opportunity, build the entry strategy, develop the partnerships, and reach operating presence.

The Nairobi skyline from above, the city centre against the hills

Cultural Diplomacy and Etiquette

Relationships come before transactions, and the order is not optional.

Business in the Gulf is conducted through relationships before transactions, and the order of the steps decides whether the transaction happens: how an introduction is made and by whom, who speaks first and who is addressed, what is said in the majlis and what is said in the office, how patience is read, what the national agenda asks of a foreign company, and how the calendar, from Ramadan to the national days, shapes a year of business. We prepare clients for all of it, because a strong proposal presented out of order is a weak one. Our co-founder and chairman is Emirati, and our chief executive lived and worked in the region for twelve years.

Typical Situations

A European manufacturer establishing in the UAE. A founder relocating a company to Dubai. A Gulf family group acquiring an operating business in Africa or the United States. A Gulf company seeking partners and a market abroad. An American company entering the region for the first time.

Who Leads It