Alterra plans USD 1.2 bn ADGM climate fund

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WHAT WE’RE TRACKING TODAY

THIS MORNING: Adnoc eyes Venezuelan oil + National Bank of Canada sets up shop in Dubai

Good morning, wonderful people, and happy FRIDAY. We close out the week with an energy-heavy issue, as Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week brings plenty of agreements, investments, and partnerships.

The UAE’s climate investment fund Alterra has pledged to set up a USD 1.2 bn climate investment vehicle with an anchor investment BBVA, while Beeah is making moves at home to push deeper into renewables and battery recycling, and Masdar finalized financial agreements for two projects abroad.

PLUS: Adnoc is reportedly eyeing Venezuela’s oil and gas industry as US President Donald Trump lobbies firms to invest there, while interim president Delcy Rodriguez plans reforms to facilitate investments.

WEATHER- Temperatures are set to cool down today, with strong winds and a high of just 23°C in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, according to the National Center of Meteorology. Expect an overnight low of 20°C in Dubai, and 18°C in the capital.

Watch this space

OIL AND GAS — Adnoc is considering a potential entry into Venezuela’s oil market through a partnership with another international energy firm, though any move would depend on clear legal and financial structures for investments in the country and coordination with the US, Bloomberg reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. US President Donald Trump, after capturing former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has been lobbying US oil firms to invest in Venezuela, though several have been skeptical due to the hefty costs that would come with rebuilding its gas industry.

Adnoc would make the push through its international investment arm XRG, which is currently also mulling participation in a liquefied natural gas project in Argentina, as it looks to secure a top-five global position in gas and petrochemicals.

This comes as Venezuela’s Interim President Delcy Rodriguez looks to submit a proposal to reform the country’s hydrocarbon law to allow investment flows into new fields, Reuters reports.

CAPITAL MARKETS — Lunate’s ETFs take Europe: Chimera Investment-backed Lunate became the first Abu Dhabi-based asset manager to launch UCITS ETFs in Europe, listing its debut AI and power-focused fund on the Deutsche Börse Xetra yesterday, it said in a press release (pdf). The new Boreas fund tracks AI, data, and power infrastructure — a clear play on the energy-transition-meets-tech theme currently dominating global capex cycles.

Why this matters: Lunate — which manages some USD 115 bn in AUM — is positioning itself to compete directly with global asset managers on their home turf, rather than just acting as a conduit for GCC capital flowing outward.

What’s next: A luxury-focused ETF is set to cross-list on Xetra and the ADX on 27 January. The dual listing creates a regulated instrument for UAE investors to access European luxury names (Hermès, Ferrari, LVMH) while simultaneously marketing the same basket to European traders. Subscriptions for UAE investors are open through 21 January. It also plans to list its quantum computing ETF in Europe later this year.

INVESTMENT — National Bank of Canada opens its first Dubai office: The National Bank of Canada is expanding into the UAE as Ottawa steps up efforts to deepen trade and investment ties with the country, according to a press release. The move coincides with an economic mission to the UAE led by Canadian International Trade Minister Maninder Sidhu.

Why Dubai + why now? Client demand accelerated the decision, with Canadian companies increasingly traveling to and expanding in the UAE, particularly across mining, infrastructure, energy, and AI, Managing Director and head of the Middle East and North Africa Ali Fares told The Globe and Mail.

ICYMI- The UAE and Canada are set to begin negotiations on a trade agreement next month, Sidhu announced this week. The talks come after a bilateral visit last year saw the UAE commit USD 50 bn in investments into Canada. Ottawa is keen to attract capital into liquified natural gas in particular, and Adnoc has been assessing Canadian natural gas projects.

INVESTMENT — Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company is among several backers taking a minority stake in Reliance Consumer Products (RCPL), after Reliance Industries carved its FMCG business into a standalone entity.

About Reliance: India’s largest listed conglomerate by market value, Reliance operates across energy, petrochemicals, telecoms, retail, and consumer brands. RCPL houses its FMCG portfolio — food, beverages, and daily essentials — plugged directly into Reliance Retail’s nationwide distribution network that reaches hundreds of mns of consumers.

The structure: Thirteen financial investors, including Mubadala, now collectively own 16.45% of RCPL, with Reliance retaining majority control. TPG, Silverlake, KKR, GIC, and Qatar Investment Authority were among other backers taking stakes, however neither individual stake sizes nor investment values were disclosed.

INVESTMENT — UAE investors continue to tap Asia’s digital infrastructure plans: State AI firm G42 is considering investing USD 300-500 mn to establish a data center in the Philippines over the next three to five years, Philippine Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said during a press briefing.

They’re not the only ones: Dubai-based digital infrastructure developer Damac Digital is mulling investing at least USD 1 bn to establish another data center project in the country.

REMEMBER- The two UAE entities have been expanding their presence across several developing Asian countries. G42 is reportedly in talks to establish a USD 2 bn hyperscale data center in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City and is partnering with the Thailand International Digital Business and Finance Center to upgrade the country’s digital infrastructure. Meanwhile, Damac’s data center arm Edgnex is set to invest USD 2.3 bn to develop an AI-powered data center in Indonesia and committed USD 1 bn for data centers in Thailand.

OPEN FINANCE — UAE fintechs Lean Technologies and Ziina have debuted the country’s Open Finance payments network through the first customer-initiated transaction under the Central Bank of the UAE’s framework, according to a statement (pdf). Ziina users can now add funds or make payments directly from their bank accounts via secure APIs, bypassing manual transfers or third-party gateways. Lean Technologies provides the regulated technical infrastructure to facilitate the transactions.

This is the first practical application of the CBUAE’s Nebras and Al Tareq frameworks in the wild. In December, Commercial Bank of Dubai became the first bank to adopt the Open Finance ecosystem, after several fintechs were onboarded onto the framework, followed by First Abu Dhabi Bank. The banks now allow individual customers to link their current and savings accounts with third-party applications to share financial information and initiate payments.

DISRUPTION WATCH — Air carriers were forced to reroute and cancel flights after Irantemporarily closed its airspace yesterday amid domestic unrest and threats from Washington. Iran reopened its airspace after some five hours on Wednesday, but many airlines are still opting to continue using alternative routes.

An Emirates A325 flight departing from Seoul was forced to reroute to Islamabad, landing there after not being granted permission into Iranian airspace, before making its way to Dubai, according to data from FlightAware. European airlines including Wizz Air, Lufthansa, and British Airways were also impacted, with a Wizz Air spokesperson saying that to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace, westbound flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be making crew change and and refuelling stops in Cyprus or Greece instead.

Data point

#5 — the UAE passport’s ranking on the 2026 Henley Passport Index (pdf), up from 10th last year. Emirati passport holders enjoy similar levels of no-visa and visa-on-arrival access this year, with no-visa entry dropping just one point to 184 while other countries saw bigger dips. The index — which puts us on par with Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia, and Slovenia — measures passport strength solely by quantitative no-visa and visa-on-arrival access, using data from the International Air Transport Association.

So why is the UAE ranked first, or 10th, elsewhere? Other passport indices apply different methodologies and timelines. For example, Arton Capital’s Passport Index, which recently ranked the UAE first globally for the seventh consecutive year, assigns a greater weight to the visafree score and considers UNDP Human Development Index scores as a tie-breaker. The Nomad Passport Index, which ranked the UAE as 10th, takes into account taxation (20%), global perception (10%), dual citizenship options (10%), personal freedom (10%), and travel freedom (50%).

PSAs

Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro station is getting bigger: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority inked an agreement with Emaar Properties to expand Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall metro station’s total area to 8.5k sqm from 6.7k sqm, according to a press release. The expansion will increase the station’s hourly passenger capacity to 12.3k, up 65%, with a daily capacity of 220k users. The station is set to see new escalators, platform areas, fare gates, and commercial spaces.

UAE homebuyers can now get a same-day view of what they can borrow, after our friends at Mashreq rolled out a fully digital home loan pre-approval tool that lets salaried expatriates check eligibility and borrowing capacity online before committing to a property, with pre-approval letters issued the same day, according to a press release.

The service applies only to purchases in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and requires a minimum monthly income of AED 15k.

Abu Dhabi Customs launches Golden List to speed pharma trade: Abu Dhabi Customs, in partnership with the Emirates Drug Establishment, added 31 pharma companies to a new list — the Golden List — that would benefit from fast-tracked customs clearance and shipment approvals at Abu Dhabi ports.

How it works: The first phase includes 31 companies and provides a range of perks within the emirate’s customs system, including accelerated release procedures and automatic accreditation by registration authorities.

The big story abroad

Taiwan and the US have clinched a trade agreement that will lower tariffs for Taiwanese exports, including semiconductors, in the exchange for a USD 250 bn commitment from Taiwanese firms to expand US energy production, the US’ Commerce Department said. This includes a USD 100 bn commitment from semiconductor powerhouse TSMC.

The terms of the agreement: Chipmakers expanding in the US will be able to import up to 2.5 times their new capacity of semiconductors and wafers with no additional tariffs during a specified construction period, while those that have already built chip production plants in the US can import 1.5 times their new US production capacity without paying further tariffs.

^^The must-read on the topic: US, Taiwan reach trade deal focused on semiconductors, US Commerce Department says

Meanwhile, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she offered US President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, during a meeting yesterday, as she looks to gain control over future governance in her country. Trump was publicly vying for the prize, which needless to say, cannot be transferred or revoked. (Reuters)

ALSO- Wall Street’s five giant banks —- Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citibank, and Bank of America — saw trading revenues reach a record USD 134 bn last year, as clients rushed to rebalance portfolios amid a wave of political uncertainty. (Bloomberg)

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Market watch

Opec sticks with “no surplus” argument: Opec expects global oil demand to rise by about 1.34 mn bbl / d in 2027, higher than the 1.39 mn bbl / d it anticipates this year, according to its monthly oil report (pdf). Demand for Opec crude looks stable at 43 mn bbl / d in 2026 — about 600k bbl / d above last year — and edges to 43.6 mn bbl / d in 2027.

Opec’s math points to balance: If Opec holds December’s production rate through this year, output would sit some 170k bbl / d below demand, according to Reuters ’ calculations based on the report.

Supply came in short late last year, with Opec+ output falling to 42.83 mn bbl / d, down 238k bbl / d from November, driven by cuts in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Venezuela.

What to look for next: The International Energy Agency's next monthly oil market report lands next week on 21 January. The agency hasn’t published its 2027 forecast yet, but this year’s first edition will cross-check Opec’s demand math. The oil cartel and its watchdog have lately been pushing conflicting narratives, with the IEA forecasting a wider surplus.

Circle your calendar

Check out our full calendar on the web for a comprehensive listing of upcoming news events, national holidays and news triggers.

Alterra to debut as fund manager with USD 1.2 bn climate fund in ADGM

Alterra launches climate co-investment vehicle: UAE-backed climate fund Alterra plans to launch a climate co-investment vehicle, the USD 1.2 bn Alterra Opportunity Fund, in partnership with Spain’s financial services group BBVA, according to a press release. BBVA has committed USD 250 mn to the fund, which is set to be based in ADGM, and will consolidate existing co-investments under its USD 25 bn Alterra Acceleration Fund under an Alterra-managed structure, pending regulatory approvals.

Where will the money go? The new fund will adopt a varied investment strategy across private credit and private equity, with the sectors in focus including climate-linked infrastructure, energy transition, climate tech, and industrial decarbonization. Location-wise, it will focus on North America, Latin America, Europe, and also consider other high-growth markets.

Background

Alterra deployed sizable capital into various global funds in 2025, including USD 2 bn into Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management’s USD 20 bn energy transition fund, EUR 50 mn to Italian renewables platform Absolute Energy, and USD 100 mn in Indian renewable energy firm Evren.

Besides the Acceleration Fund, Alterra also manages a USD 5 bn Transformation Fund aiming to incentivize investment flows in high-growth climate prospects in underserved markets by providing catalytic capital.

Why this matters

This past year has seen Alterra make massive inroads after initially struggling to deploy capital amid a shortage of viable clean energy projects. It’s still far off — but is inching closer to its target to mobilize USD 250 bn in green investments by 2030.

Its newfound role as fund manager also marks a pivot from a funding and liquidity source to a peer competitor, chasing climate-aligned assets in Europe and the Americas. This shift signals that the UAE is not only funding the energy transition, but competing to manage the capital.

Beeah eyes Sharjah clean energy projects + forms JV to start recycling EV batteries this year

Sustainability firm Beeah is pushing deeper into new verticals like solar and battery recycling, in a shift away from waste management and waste-to-energy projects.

The UAE’s Energy and Industry Ministry will form a JV with Beeah and Indian lithium-ion battery recycling firm Lohum to develop the UAE’s first EV battery recycling plant, state news agency Wam reports. Lohum and Beeah had signed agreements to develop the plant back in 2024.

The facility will be located inside Beeah’s integrated Waste Management Complex in Al Saja’a, Sharjah, and should this year be able to process 1.5k tonnes of lithium-ion batteries, before doubling capacity in 2028, Wam said. The plant was set to recycle some 30k end-of-life batteries annually, converting the spent cells into energy storage systems (ESS).

ALSO- Masdar and Beeah are teaming up in Sharjah. The two companies signed a joint development agreement to hunt for utility-scale clean energy projects in the emirate, starting with solar, according to a statement. The project marks Beeah’s expansion into utility-scale power projects beyond waste-linked energy and into standalone power generation. The two previously cooperated on the 120 MW landfill solar project.

The scope is flexible and end-to-end: The agreement covers screening, feasibility, grid impact checks, site and solar resource studies, all the way through construction, operations, and maintenance. Solar PV is the core focus, while battery storage is on the table as an option to support grid resilience.

Masdar secures CfD + financial close for solar, wind projects

Masdar advanced two of its projects abroad through a contract for difference (CfD) and financial close, as it looks to reach its 100 GW global renewables capacity target by 2030, having reached 65 GW as of last week.

In the UK: Masdar and RWE were awarded a CfD for the 3 GW Dogger Bank South (DBS) wind farm at GBP 91.20 / MWh, according to a statement. The CfD — which is a private agreement between low-carbon electricity developers and the government-owned contractor — locks in revenue for 15 years under specific pricing terms, protecting companies from price volatility and allowing lenders to model a predictable cashflow.

This comes just a few days after the UK’s energy security and net zero state secretary delayed consent for the project’s development until 30 April.

About the project: The GBP 11 bn project has two 1.5 GW phases; DBS West is scheduled for 2031, and DBS East for 2032.

Masdar also reached financial close on the USD 225 mn Guzar solar and battery storage project in Uzbekistan, according to a statement. The project — comprising a 300 MW solar plant and 75 MWh of battery storage — will get financing from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Asian Development Bank.

Masdar to power farming with solar, Biobank links up with Astrazeneca, Jotun goes long-term, Abu Dhabi backs Bain, and GSU + China partner on energy

Masdar, Elite Agro roll out MENA’s first solar agriculture project

Masdar + Elite Agro boost solar farming with agriPV: State-owned renewables giant Masdar and Abu Dhabi-headquartered agrifood firm Elite Agro Holding will roll out the MENA region’s first agricultural photovoltaic (agriPV) project at Elite’s farm in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, according to a press release.

What’s an agriPV? The initiative integrates solar panels with greenhouses to facilitate dual-use land management, generating renewable power while maintaining crop cultivation. Shading provided by the solar panel mitigates heat and water stress, boosting crop yield stability, while the solar power generated can be used for farm operations including irrigation pumps and cold storage.

An eye to the future: Outcomes from the project will be used to look into scaling up the project to deploy across similar arid climates.

Astrazeneca will tap into Abu Dhabi’s biobank

Abu Dhabi Biobank — which stores blood samples — and global biopharma player Astrazeneca are teaming up on precision med. and genomics, looking to turn research into clinical applications, according to a statement. The two will use insights based on population analysis to expedite applications from research to clinical practice for rare and hard-to-diagnose illnesses.

Is this the Biobank’s first major utilization? Abu Dhabi Biobank has previously supported research and public health initiatives, but this appears to be one of its first high-profile collaborations with a global pharma company focused explicitly on drug development and precision med., rather than population screening or academic research.

Why it matters: The agreement fits into Abu Dhabi’s broader push to industrialize genomics as part of its economic diversification and AI ambitions, with the UAE already home to the world’s largest genomic database thanks to the Emirates Genome Program. Abu Dhabi also holds 3.5 bn clinical records across 12.7 mn patient profiles, with a new biobank up to 10x larger expected this year.

Kezad Group inks 50-year land lease with Jotun Abu Dhabi

Jotun signs on for 50 years with AED 450 mn Kezad facility: AD Ports subsidiary Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi (Kezad) inked a 50-year land lease agreement with paint and coating manufacturer Jotun Abu Dhabi for a new AED 450 mn manufacturing facility in Kezad Musaffah’s ICAD, according to a press release.

The details: The 88k sqm plant marks an expansion from Jotun’s existing 22k sqm site, aimed at producing specialized paints and coatings to serve the region’s construction, energy, and real estate sectors. The UAE is seeing a surge in demand for the products on the back of construction growth, the release read.

GSU, China collaborate on clean energy

GSU and China’s Weiheng partner on clean energy tech for Global South: Emirati resources investment firm Global South Utilities (GSU) partnered with Chinese battery energy storage provider Weiheng to produce clean energy technologies in Abu Dhabi, state news agency Wam reports. The tie-up will see GSU use its market access and project implementation tools to direct Weiheng’s storage tech to commercial and industry projects in the Global South.

Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners backs Bain Capital’s latest fund

Joint venture Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners committed toinvest in Bain Capital’s new private equity fund, Wam reports. Bain primarily operates in the financial and business services, healthcare, industrials, and tech sectors. The size of the investment from the JV between Mubadala Capital and investment firm Alpha Wave Global wasn’t disclosed.

Track record: Mubadala and Bain Capital already operate together at the asset level. Last December, the pair acquired US-based Service Logic, a North Carolina-headquartered commercial HVAC and building automation platform.

Covenant-lite terms creep into private credit as competition heats up

Private credit is starting to look a lot more like Wall Street. Direct lenders are increasingly agreeing to “covenant-lite” terms — loans with fewer financial restrictions and test; once the preserve of leveraged loans — as they compete for large, high-quality borrowers, Bloomberg reports. Safeguards that helped private credit sell itself as safer than banks are quietly being dropped.

This marks a break from the model: Traditional private credit relied on maintenance covenants — regularly tested leverage limits that allowed lenders to step in early when debt rose. This approach has also been safer for their balance sheets — private borrowers are estimated to have a default rate of around 2-3%, lower than for leveraged loans made by banks.

Now, large sponsors with leverage are pushing for looser documentation, and lenders are conceding to secure mandates.

By the numbers: S&P data shows middle-market collateralized loan obligations now allow up to 25% covenant-lite exposure, up from about 16% in 2021 — weakening protections beyond marquee transactions.

Lawyers now expect the trend, which is now appearing regularly in upper-market private credit transactions, to accelerate this year, according to the business news information service.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Not everyone is playing along: Some lenders say they still walk when terms slip too far. “We are not afraid to walk away from [agreements] where we are not comfortable with the documentation,” wrote ICG Managing Director Peter Lockhead. But for now, the direction of travel is clear: to secure agreements, private credit is giving up what once made it different.

MARKETS THIS MORNING-

Asian markets are mostly in the green, led by the Taiwan Weighted Index, which climbed 1.1% on news of a US-Taiwan trade agreement that pushed shares of semiconductor producer TSMC higher on the back of tariff breaks. Japan’s Nikkei and the Topix are the outliers, with both trading in the red. Wall Street futures, meanwhile, are little changed, after the three major US indices rallied yesterday.

ADX	10,057	+0.2% (YTD: +0.6%)
DFM	6,262	-0.0% (YTD: +3.6%)
Nasdaq Dubai UAE20	4,989	+0.3% (YTD: +2.0%)
USD : AED CBUAE	Buy 3.67	Sell 3.67
EIBOR	3.5% o/n	3.6% 1 yr
TASI	10,818	-1.2% (YTD: +3.1%)
EGX30	43,347	+0.7% (YTD: +3.6%)
S&P 500	6,944	+0.3% (YTD: +1.5%)
FTSE 100	10,239	+0.5% (YTD: +3.1%)
Euro Stoxx 50	6,041	+0.6% (YTD: +4.3%)
Brent crude	USD 63.76	-4.2%
Natural gas (Nymex)	USD 3.15	+0.8%
Gold	USD 4,610.3	-0.3%
BTC	USD 95,626	-1% (YTD: +7.8%)
Chimera JP Morgan UAE Bond UCITS ETF	AED 3.8	+0.3% (YTD: +1.3%)
S&P MENA Bond & Sukuk	151.86	+0.1% (YTD: -0.0%)
VIX (Volatility Index)	15.84	-5.4% (YTD: +6%)

THE CLOSING BELL-

The ADX rose 0.2% yesterday on turnover of AED 1.1 bn. The index is up 0.6% YTD.

In the green: E7 Group Warrants (+14.5%), Hayah Ins. Company (+9.4%), and United Arab Bank (+4.4%).

In the red: Oman & Emirates Investment Holding Co (-6.5%), Ins. House (-5.2%), and Al Khaleej Investment (-4.0%).

Over on the DFM, the index remained flat on turnover of AED 610.5 mn. Meanwhile, Nasdaq Dubai was up 0.3%.

The woman bringing preventive healthcare to other women in the region

It’s not rare for an entrepreneur’s personal experience to inspire what they end up doing years into their careers. In Sophie Smith’s case, that experience was the passing of her grandmother from breast cancer five years after she received treatment, due to a doctor’s negligence. The assumption that an overweight woman in her late 50s needed a diet rather than proper health checks meant the cancer had not only come back, but had metastasized and spread to her liver, making it too late to treat.

(** Tap or click the headline above to read this story with all of the links to our background as well as external sources.)

Her grandmother’s experience — along with many other women’s — inspired Nabta, a UAE-based women-centric preventive care platform that aims to both expand healthcare accessibility for women and improve their odds at early diagnoses and prevention with more comprehensive health packages tailored to their needs.

Smith (LinkedIn) is the subject of this morning’s My Morning Routine, which every Friday goes behind the scenes with a successful member of the community to see how they start their day, while throwing in some business questions for fun. This week, we sat down with Smith to talk about the platform, the inequity gaps her company strives to address across the wider MENA region, and the realities of scaling a regional healthtech startup while juggling the complexities of motherhood.

EnterpriseAM: It seems from your background that you’re quite passionate about companies with a mission to drive humanitarian change, particularly in healthcare. How did that start?

SS: We see significant inequity in the region in terms of gender and race. Women were excluded from clinical trials until 1993, which means they are significantly more likely to suffer adverse health outcomes than men just because they've been excluded by design. It also takes four times longer on average to diagnose women with the same chronic conditions as men, even though they're twice as likely to see a doctor in the first place.

E: How does your platform make healthcare more equitable and accessible for women?

SS: The platform offers a hybrid model of care that combines digital and traditional care that’s catered to women — it’s low-cost, prevention-focused, and meets them where they are, with options for remote check-ups, as opposed to expecting them to spend hours in clinics going from specialist to specialist to specialist.

Initially, we thought we would come to market with a direct-to-consumer offering, and we tried that in 2022 with a digital platform, supported by machine learning and a couple of partnerships with clinics. We realized within six weeks that it was not going to work in the UAE because the primary payer of care is not individuals, it's companies. We pivoted to a B2B model, so the primary purchasers of our women's health packages today are companies.

In the UAE, most people have access to health ins. because it's mandated. But what most ins. in the UAE was not designed to do is helping you manage your health and understand it on an ongoing basis. It’s strange because even with our cars, annual health checks are required before you can renew your ins., and that's 100% a sensible model that we don't apply to humans.

The majority of the cost is borne by the company, but in case there's anything that isn't covered as part of the subscription-based access, we've designed all of that to be as affordable and woman-friendly as possible, so everything is payable in up to four installments.

We have a corporate dashboard, and we're about to add automated self-onboarding for startups, micro-SMEs, and SMEs. Companies will upload their employees' personal information to the dashboard, but we keep the personal and the medical information completely separate. So, a company can see your name, your email address, etc., but they can't link that to any clinical data. That's all totally anonymized.

E: What companies or businesses have you worked with? And are you planning on catering the platform to individual users in the future?

SS: Yes. By the end of the quarter, we plan to have updated our consumer-facing or side of the platform so that it provides the same level of comprehensive service that we do for businesses. We work with quite a lot of banks now in the UAE; we just completed a health check exercise with Standard Chartered Bank for their Dubai employees.

A lot of times, an employee of a bank or company we work with who has accessed our care under their corporate health provision will approach us individually and ask if they can do the same thing for their household, and especially for their nannies.

E: Do you plan on raising any capital soon to open in-person clinics in North African markets — or specifically regions where innovation and care in women’s health is underserved?

SS: We will almost certainly do a Series A to expand from the GCC into other markets in the Middle East and Africa. At the moment, we're looking at expansion into South Africa and to the Southern African Customs Union. Our goal eventually is to IPO on the Dubai Financial Market so that we can be majority-owned by the people we serve here in the region.

And in the next 5-10 years, we'd like to own or be operating almost a thousand clinics, through partnerships, across the region. We can expand through a franchise-like setup. So, we wouldn't need to necessarily own or open new clinics but we could partner with existing clinics to make them more woman-centric.

We’ve also engaged recently with the Health Ministry in Jordan to support them in rolling out menopause care to their public, primary healthcare facilities. We put together a proposal for seven specific deliverables around menopause, including changes to their standard operating procedures that could go to their primary health care centers. We're also looking at a proposal for a third-party sponsored program with them to implement subscription-based access to preventive care.

E: From your experience, what national policy changes do you think need to be made to improve access to women’s health in the MENA region?

SS: I think more grant funding and government-backed grant funding for research and development [is needed]. Another thing we're working on with one of the government bodies here in the UAE is more extensive and standardized education for healthcare practitioners around women's health. There are many areas of women's health that are not included within the standard medical curriculum, not just in the UAE, but globally.

The third thing is an acknowledgment that we don't provide proper support for women around key life stages, like fertility and family planning, postpartum, pelvic health, and perimenopause. These are often excluded completely from ins. coverage and that means that women will see dozens of specialists and will spend a huge amount of money out of pocket to get the answers they need and will be in poor health while doing so.

E: Any success requires extreme management skills. Walk us through your day and how you’re able balance both your personal life and your work life.

SS: I have four small children — eight, six, four, and two years old. Nabta was founded the day the first of them was due. Luckily, in the UAE, we have really good domestic support. I have a brilliant nanny.

I'm very disciplined out of necessity. I’ve had to align all things childcare-related to make sure that my children are on the same schedule as much as possible. I get up early between 5am and 5:45am. That's my time for exercise and just gathering my thoughts. About an hour after I wake up every day I have a large protein-rich breakfast which really helps to bring down my cortisol and stabilize [it] throughout the day.

I'm mindful about getting the recommended daily amount of both protein and fiber which, in terms of hormone balancing in women, is really key. I try to have just two coffees a day and I try not to have a coffee after 3pm — otherwise that can make it more difficult for me to get sleep.

I take the dog out for a walk. On the weekends I go to the beach and I walk for miles and try to empty my mind. Then at 7am, I give the kids breakfast, I drop them off at school at 8am and then I work from 8am until 4:30pm when I pick them all up. Then I'm with them and they go to bed at 7:30pm. I usually work another two and a half hours and I'm usually in bed and asleep by 10pm.

E: What's next for Nabta?

SS: Getting to profitability here in the UAE so we have a little bit more control over how we grow and who we partner with is my top priority for the next three years. And then after we hit profitability, I think the priority is to start to validate at a population level our preventive model of care.

Sophie’s favorites

Her favorite read: I highly recommend Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Mn Years of Human Evolution. It’s about the origin of female health and female organ and health function within the body. It talks about pregnancy as this dance between two beings that are wired to support each other to survive, while not destroying each other in the process.

Her favorite hobby: I dance one evening a week. I used to do ballroom and Latin American dancing for my university. I love salsa dancing, for example. It’s busy enough that it turns my brain off. I cycle, if I get a chance, and I ski. I like being outdoors and I like things that require a lot of movement.

Her favorite piece of advice: The best piece of advice I’ve received came from my mother, who said you get what you tolerate. People can complain that they're experiencing the same thing over and over again. Take a step back and ask: Is this because I am tolerating something that I shouldn't? Do I need to create an emotional boundary? Am I unwittingly putting myself in the same situation over and over?

CALENDAR

JANUARY

21-24 January (Wednesday-Saturday): Acres Real Estate Exhibition, Expo Center, Sharjah.

28-29 January (Wednesday-Thursday): IBA Arbitration Day Conference, Abu Dhabi.

28-30 January (Wednesday-Friday): World Customs Organization Technology Conference, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

31 January - 7 February (Saturday-Saturday): Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, International Tennis Center, Zayed Sports City.

FEBRUARY

Signposted to happen sometime this month: Investopia, Lagos, Nigeria.

3-5 February (Tuesday-Thursday): The World Governments Summit, Dubai.

4 February (Wednesday) Ministerial dialogue for Pax Silica members, Washington, DC.

4-5 February (Wednesday-Thursday): PropTech Connect Middle East, Grand Hyatt Dubai.

4-6 February (Wednesday-Friday): Arab Actuarial Conference, Millennium Plaza Downtown Hotel, Dubai.

12-15 February (Thursday-Sunday): The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence Global Conference, Abu Dhabi.

9-12 February (Monday-Friday): World Health Expo (WHX), Dubai.

10-11 February (Tuesday-Wednesday): Top Advisors and Investors Summit, Abu Dhabi.

MARCH

31 March - 2 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Arab Media Summit, Dubai.

26-28 March (Thursday-Saturday): Social Capital Conference, Dubai.

28-29 March (Saturday-Sunday): Emirates International Congress on AI & Visionary Leadership in Transforming Healthcare, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

30 March - 2 April (Monday-Thursday): IAAPA Middle East Exhibition and Conference, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

APRIL

7-9 April (Tuesday-Thursday): Future Health Summit, Adnec Center Abu Dhabi.

13-15 April (Monday-Wednesday): AIM Congress, Dubai World Trade Center.

13-15 April (Monday-Wednesday): The International Glass Manufacturing Show, Dubai.

14-16 April: (Tuesday-Thursday): the International Property Show, Sheikh Zayed Rd, Dubai.

21-23 April (Tuesday-Thursday): UITP Public Transport Summit, Dubai.

MAY

11-15 May (Monday-Friday): Dubai Future Finance Week, Dubai.

11-13 May (Monday-Wednesday): AI Everything Global, Adnec Center.

19-20 May (Tuesday-Wednesday): Capital Market Summit, Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.

19-22 May (Tuesday-Friday): Abu Dhabi Water and Energy Week, Adnec Center, Abu Dhabi.

JUNE

15 June - 15 September (Monday-Thursday): Dubai Mallathon, Dubai.

JULY

31 July (Friday): Large businesses achieving annual revenues equal to or above AED 50 mn must appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation.

Signposted to happen sometime in October 2026:

Abu Dhabi Space Week, Abu Dhabi.

DECEMBER

2-4 December (Wednesday-Friday): UN Water Conference, UAE.

Signposted to happen in 2026:

The UAE to host the Arab Competition Forum;
Investopia Global Talks, Tashkent.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2027:

1 January: Deadline for large businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1Q 2027: Completion of the first phase of Hassyan seawater desalination project;
31 March: Small businesses with annual revenues of less than AED 50 mn are obliged to contract with an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
31 March: Government entities are required to appoint an accredited service provider for e-invoicing implementation;
1 July: Deadline for small businesses to implement e-invoicing;
1 October: Deadline for governments to implement e-invoicing;
Abu Dhabi’s solar and battery energy facility, combining 5.2 GW of solar capacity and 19 GWh of battery storage, is set for commissioning.

Signposted to happen sometime in 2029:

Sibos 2029 organized by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), Dubai;
The commissioning of the seventh phase of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

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