Building, buying, or licensing? The Gulf’s toughest decision
The biggest mistake is assuming the playbook that worked in London or New York can be copied and pasted into the Gulf
22 August, 2025
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The question I hear most often in boardrooms from New York to Hong Kong is no longer if they should come to the Gulf, but how. With nearly half a trillion dollars in assets being managed onshore and sovereign funds deploying capital at a breathtaking pace, the region is an irresistible center of gravity.
This leads every global CEO to the same strategic crossroads: Do we buy a local player, licence our own operation, or build something new from the ground up?
It sounds like a simple choice. It’s not. In my experience, this is the first and most critical place where smart, successful firms get it wrong. At our firm, we guide leadership teams through this exact maze, because they often treat it like a checklist, when they should be treating it like a puzzle with moving parts. Getting it right can unlock a decade of growth. Getting it wrong means getting stuck in regulatory limbo, bleeding cash and momentum while your competitors race ahead.
The three doors: And what’s really behind them
Let’s be direct about the options.
- Buying is the fast track. It gives you instant headcount, licenses, and a client list. But it’s like buying a used race car, it might win you the next race, but you’re also buying its hidden mechanical problems, its old culture, and a team that isn’t yours. Integration is almost always harder and more expensive than the prospectus suggests.
- Licensing gives you control. It’s your brand, your people, your vision. This is like being handed the blueprints to build a world-class car. The problem is that the blueprints are written in four different dialects of engineering-speak, and you have to navigate the factory politics just to get the parts. It requires patience and a deep understanding of the local landscape.
- Building from scratch offers a clean slate. You can design the perfect vehicle for this specific market. But it’s a slow burn. It takes years of commitment, conviction, and capital before you even get to the starting line. It’s a powerful move, but only for those with genuine, long-term vision.
The shrewdest players I see aren’t just picking one door. They’re finding ways to walk through two at once, maybe taking a minority stake in a local firm to learn the ropes while they patiently pursue their own licence in the background. They understand that strategy isn’t a single decision, but a sequence of smart ones.
Read: UAE investors bullish on real estate, tech, and energy, survey reveals
The real game changer: Choosing your “home” in the UAE
But the most important conversation isn’t about which door to choose. It’s about where the doors are located. The UAE isn’t just opening its doors to global finance; it’s redesigning the entire building, with multiple entry points designed for very different kinds of players.
This is where foreign firms make their biggest mistake. They see a list of regulators: DIFC, ADGM, VARA, etc. and assume they’re just different brands of the same thing. They are not. Each has a distinct personality, a purpose, and a culture. Choosing the right one is like choosing a neighborhood: you need to find the one where you fit.
Think of it as a regulatory compass:
- The DIFC is the superhighway. It’s the established, world-class route for the big players: the institutional asset managers, the global banks, the household names. It’s built on English common law, it’s efficient, and it connects seamlessly to the rest of the world’s financial capitals.
- The ADGM is the exclusive private road. This is the domain of private capital, sophisticated wealth, and sovereign funds. If your business is in private equity, hedge funds, or managing the fortunes of HNWIs, ADGM is architected for you. It’s agile, discreet, and sits at the nexus of serious money.
- VARA is the test track. It’s new, purpose-built, and designed for speed and innovation. This is where the crypto funds, the tokenization platforms, and the Web3 pioneers come to push the limits. It’s for those building the future of finance.
Picking the wrong lane is a classic error. I’ve seen crypto funds get bogged down trying to fit into a traditional banking framework and traditional asset managers get confused by a digital-first regulator. Align your business model with the regulator’s DNA, or prepare for friction.
Where good intentions go to die
Failure here rarely comes from a lack of ambition. It comes from a lack of humility. The biggest mistake is assuming the playbook that worked in London or New York can be copied and pasted into the Gulf. It can’t.
Another classic faux pas is sending a junior team to run the show while the real decisions are made back at global HQ. The region respects, and responds to, empowered leadership on the ground.
Ultimately, the firms that thrive here are the ones that show up ready to learn. They listen. They adapt. They understand that the Gulf isn’t just another market to be captured. It’s a place to build, to innovate, and to co-create. The ones who get that will be the ones who lead the next era of global finance. The rest will be left wondering what went wrong.
Hasnae Taleb, the first Arab-African woman nominated as “The Shewolf of Nasdaq” by Nasdaq Stock Market, is an multi-award-winning trader and managing partner of Mintiply Capital.
