One UAE Investor Is Accelerating Development Through Direct Government Partnerships

Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, Chairman of Inmā Emirates Holdings, recently restructured a decade-long private family office into an institutional holding company based in Dubai. The move reflects a strategic pivot toward transparency, governance, and measurable impact as prerequisites for attracting Western institutional partners and co-financing multilateral development projects.

Over the past decade, Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum's portfolio has delivered more than 35 signed projects across 15 countries spanning Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. His work includes collaborations with Abu Dhabi Ports, a 50-year concession for the Karachi Port Trust, partnerships with Oracle to deploy cloud-based governance systems, and energy infrastructure across West Africa and South Asia. Inmā Emirates Holdings consolidates this activity to attract institutional partners and apply clearer governance frameworks.

What drives the shift toward institutional models?

Gulf investors have historically operated through private family offices that prioritize discretion and relationship-based decision-making. While effective for executing bilateral deals, this model struggles to attract institutional co-investors who require standardized due diligence, ESG compliance, and performance benchmarks.

According to the OECD, official development assistance from major Western donors fell by 9 percent in 2024, the first decline in six years. The organization projects a further 9 to 17 percent drop in 2025. For the first time since 1995, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States all reduced their aid budgets in the same year.

The move toward holding company structures reflects both opportunity and necessity. Western institutional capital demands governance transparency, while emerging market governments increasingly expect development partners to demonstrate measurable economic and social outcomes.

Gulf investors with operational track records and government relationships can fill this gap, provided they demonstrate credibility through governance standards that institutional partners require.

How Gulf family offices are professionalizing

Nearly 70 percent of GCC family offices are now under second or third-generation control, according to HSBC data. These younger leaders bring global exposure and digital fluency, steering capital toward venture, private equity, and emerging technologies.

By the end of 2025, nearly 9,800 new millionaires are expected to emerge in the region, the highest net inflow globally, with Saudi Arabia alone adding 2,400 high-net-worth individuals, according to Henley & Partners.

This generational transition is driving institutional reform. Risk management, audit protocols, and transparent reporting are replacing informal, trust-based setups to safeguard reputational capital in an increasingly scrutinized environment.

Sultana El-Sayed, Managing Director at Kroll Saudi Arabia, notes that "preventative governance, built on transparency, accountability and due diligence, is essential" as family offices navigate this transition.

How Gulf sovereign wealth sets the standard

Gulf sovereign wealth funds collectively manage approximately $3.7 trillion, representing about 40 percent of global sovereign wealth fund assets, according to Deloitte Middle East. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Mubadala, and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund have cultivated investment professionals who now support family offices in adopting institutional frameworks.

The UAE's assets under management surpassed AED 1.2 trillion ($326.7 billion) in 2024, according to the World Economic Forum, establishing expectations for transparency and performance measurement that family offices are adopting.

Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum's restructuring follows this trajectory. By adopting frameworks comparable to sovereign wealth funds, Inmā positions itself to compete for co-financing arrangements requiring standardized due diligence.

How Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum Structures Inmā for scale

Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum organizes investments around four thematic pillars:

• Public-sector modernization

• Private enterprise development

• Environmental sustainability

• Community inclusion

Each pillar functions as both an evaluation filter and a measurement framework.

Energy projects in Ghana and Pakistan address power reliability and clean energy transitions. The Karachi Port concession modernizes logistics infrastructure while expanding bilateral trade routes. Digital initiatives through Nawa Technologies, Oracle's exclusive government digitization partner, help emerging economies adopt cloud systems and AI-enabled tools without prohibitive capital expenditure.

An investment committee validates performance indicators across projects. Metrics include:

• Service uptime

• Jobs created

• Income growth

• Environmental outcomes

These benchmarks mirror those used by multilateral lenders and ESG-focused funds, positioning Gulf capital to compete on efficacy alongside traditional development finance institutions.

Why digital infrastructure accelerates the model

Nawa Technologies supports governments in deploying cloud-based administrative systems, digital identity programs, and AI-enabled public services. The model reduces upfront capital requirements while improving service delivery.

Recent projects include:

• A national ID program in Guyana

• Smart classroom technology in Pakistan developed with Huawei

• Smart device manufacturing facilities in Nigeria, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea

Each initiative combines technology transfer, local job creation, and long-term operational partnerships.

Cloud-based systems enable continuous monitoring of service metrics, user adoption rates, and operational efficiency. This data infrastructure supports both internal governance and external reporting to co-financing partners, addressing a critical challenge for Gulf investors seeking to demonstrate real-time impact.

What success looks like for institutional Gulf capital

Inmā has not staged a public launch event or pursued high-profile branding, positioning itself as an operating platform rather than a financial brand. This approach aligns with Dubai's strategy of exporting governance expertise and infrastructure design alongside investment capital.

Success will be measured by the resilience of systems built: ports that handle increased trade volumes, grids that deliver reliable power, and digital infrastructures that extend essential services.

This low-profile, metrics-driven approach offers a more sustainable model than the high-profile acquisitions that previously characterized regional capital deployment.

The broader implications for Gulf investment

Sovereign wealth funds and family offices across the region are institutionalizing their impact activities, driven by strategic necessity and domestic expectations for disciplined capital stewardship.

As Western aid budgets contract and multilateral institutions face capacity constraints, Gulf investors with operational expertise and government relationships can play an expanded role. That role requires demonstrating credibility through governance and measurable outcomes.

The restructuring from private office to institutional holding company provides a template emphasizing partnership over paternalism, measurement over rhetoric, and long-term system-building over transactional deal-making.

For Gulf investors seeking to compete in mature capital markets while maintaining relevance in emerging economies, this institutional evolution appears inevitable. The question is not whether family offices will institutionalize but how quickly they can scale while preserving relationship advantages that have historically defined Gulf investment in the Global South.