Doing Business in The Middle East – Risk and Rewards
3 min read •
February 8, 2021
Share:
Home › Articles › Doing Business in The Middle East – Risk and Rewards
Doing Business in The Middle East – Live Strategy Session
March 10, 2021
The Middle East is a complex region and not the easiest place to operate. If you wish to scale a business into the Middle East, it is undeniably advantageous to operate across multiple countries.
However, as a region diverse in geography, ethnicity, religion, and culture, the heterogeneity of the Arab world means it is necessary to delve into the details of the economy and culture of each individual country.
You may wish to launch your business in the UAE due to its friendly business practices, before seeking wider commercial opportunities in Saudia Arabia, whilst tapping into more cost-effective talent from nations such as Egypt will help you manage costs.
Watch our webinar below, deciphering the secrets for success when scaling into the Middle East.
HOST:
Zain Ali is the CEO of Centuro Global and a solicitor by background. He has spent most of his career advising large multinational corporates and tech startups alike on protecting their IP, managing disputes, and implementing global expansion projects.
Having worked both for an international law firm and in house, as well as living in 3 countries on 3 continents, Zain is well aware of the key challenges businesses face on the international stage.
SPEAKERS:
1. Sarah Hildersley, International Trade Advisor at the Department for International Trade, will be taking the stage for the keynote and will discuss opportunities in the region as well as security, risk and the female perspective in the Middle East.
Sarah has served as a British diplomat in the Middle East and has extensive experience advising companies on their strategic approach to selling in complex markets. She now works with the UK’s largest Chambers of Commerce and has had exceptional success in helping companies accelerate international sales
3. Nihal Othman is a UAE based market entry specialist for the MENA region. Her extensive career working for Nasdaq, CNBC Universal and Baker & Mckenzie before taking on a COO role at Abou Naja IP, equips her to tackle a wide array of client requirements.
She has built up an extensive network of decision-makers within the region over the past decade and can advise on company setup, marketing, procurement, IP and overcoming cultural hurdles in the region.
Zain started his career as a lawyer supporting scale-ups and large multinational media, sports, and technology companies with their cross-border challenges. The complexities and both breadth and depth of the challenges faced by all companies when undertaking global work led Zain to question why there was no single solution, inspiring the start of Centuro Global.
The US Department of State has published its latest Global Visa Wait Times, updated on 21 July 2026. The figures show the estimated wait for the next available interview appointment at each US embassy and consulate, broken down by visa category: business and visitor (B1/B2), students and exchange visitors (F, M, J), petition-based work visas (H, L, O, P, Q), and crew and transit (C, D, C1/D). The State Department refreshes these figures monthly, and also reports the previous month’s average B1/B2 wait wherever the next appointment is more than three months away.
A guide for Authorising Officers, HR managers, and anyone responsible for managing a UK Sponsor License. This guide gives you a working understanding of your obligations as a sponsor licence holder, outlining the key duties you must follow and the consequences of non-compliance to ensure you maintain your licence.
The European Union’s new digital border control system, the Entry/Exit System (EES), is now fully operational across all Schengen Area borders as of 10 April 2026. This is a significant change in how British citizens and other non-EU nationals will enter and exit the Schengen Area, with major implications for business travel, compliance and border processes.
Centuro Global is an industry-leading
platform for legal services
Discover how we can help your team with immigration, business travel and global expansion.
Get clear answers on business travel, immigration or global expansion - and find the right solution for your needs.
What to expect:
Quick review of your goals and challenges
Walkthrough of the features that matter most
Clear next steps, timelines, and pricing
Trusted by businesses in 170+ countries
Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
