Fast Company Middle East

Sabyasachi has remained a coveted label for celebrities worldwide for over two decades. Synonymous with heritage, craftsmanship, and luxury, the brand has collaborated with Estée Lauder , H&M , Disney, and others to make itself more accessible while maintaining its cultural core. As he looks toward expanding his business, Mukherjee sees strong potential in the Middle East. “I want to make my business very big in the Middle East. We already have many royal families from the region who are our customers,” he said. In 2021, he sold a 51% stake in his company to the Aditya Birla Group. But as he explained, it wasn’t driven by monetary motives. “I have no one to give the business to, and I often feel I don’t own the business anymore—because it belongs to the country.”

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has announced the launch of its new ‘Virtual Sell and Purchase’ service, an innovative platform that allows key real estate transactions to be completed entirely online. “This milestone reflects our continued commitment to modernizing the business landscape in Abu Dhabi. By reimagining the real estate transaction process, we are making it not only faster and more secure but also much more accessible and user-friendly,” Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, CEO of ADGM’s Registration Authority, said. https://lnkd.in/gqFPwgDd

Egypt has announced a substantial allocation of nearly $1.7 billion to support industrial and tourism development projects, with a particular focus on expanding hotel capacity. This was revealed by Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk during a parliamentary session. The funding is part of the government’s proposed 2025–2026 national budget, which is set to take effect on July 1. In addition to major investments in the industrial and tourism sectors, the budget includes provisions to bolster SMEs, which are seen as a vital engine for job creation and economic growth. https://lnkd.in/gMbQDECc

DUBAI FUTURE FOUNDATION and the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence have announced two major additions to the inaugural Dubai AI Week 2025, which will take place from April 21 to 25 under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council. The 8th International Conference on Education Quality and the HIMSS Executive Summit 2025 will now be part of the event’s expanding agenda, reflecting Dubai’s push to accelerate AI adoption across key sectors. https://lnkd.in/gMNyHcGH

In what could mark a turning point in the search for extraterrestrial life, researchers using NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s James Webb Space Telescope have detected intriguing chemical traces in the atmosphere of a distant planet that may suggest biological activity. “This could be a game-changer in our understanding of potentially habitable worlds,” said Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, an astrophysicist at the University of Cambridge and lead author of the study, which appears in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. https://lnkd.in/gNK4nnhu

Design industry leaders trust artificial intelligence less than they did a year ago, and many see the world as an increasingly uncertain place. These are a few of the most striking takeaways from the 2025 State of Design & Make report from the design and engineering software maker Autodesk. This third annual design industry outlook is based on surveys and interviews with 5,594 industry leaders, futurists, and experts across industries including architecture, engineering, construction, and operations, design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment. Leaders from what Autodesk calls the “design and make” industries were asked to report on a wide range of topics, including adoption of digital technologies, sustainability efforts, supply chain challenges, and the growth of AI. https://lnkd.in/gdHgYiUS

Google has acted illegally to maintain a dominant position in online advertising, a federal judge ruled on Thursday. The tech giant’s “exclusionary conduct substantially harmed Google’s publisher customers, the competitive process, and, ultimately, consumers of information on the open web,” Judge Leonie Brinkema wrote in her 115-page ruling, which followed another federal judge’s ruling last year that Google had monopolized the search market. Google was found “liable under Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act” for actions in the ad exchange and tool sectors, but not that it operated a monopoly on ad networks. Google told Fast Company it disagreed with the court’s decision and would appeal it. “We won half of this case and we will appeal the other half,” said Lee-Anne Mulholland, vice president, regulatory affairs, in a statement. https://lnkd.in/gK-aVj8K

In developing MENA economies, only 42% of women have access to a financial account, compared to 54% of men—marking the widest disparity in the world and twice the average gap seen in other developing regions. Financial independence gives women the tools to “shape their futures with autonomy and confidence,” says Shereen Tawfiq, Founder and CEO of BALINCA, a business and financial training company. Patrycja Oselkowska, Deloitte Middle East Growth Leader, emphasizes that women’s financial independence has a direct impact on household spending power. Marketa Simkova, Head of People, Performance and Culture at KPMG Lower Gulf, cites The World Bank report estimating that increasing female labor participation in the GCC could boost Saudi Arabia’s GDP by up to 47%. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gXHTzDr5

For centuries, cities have been defined by physical infrastructure—roads, bridges, and buildings. Now, their foundation is on something more powerful—data, connectivity, and AI-driven systems. The modern city wants to solve problems before they happen and make everyday life more efficient for its citizens. It’s less about looking smart and more about acting smart. Few cities embody this vision as ambitiously as Dubai. As one of the world’s fastest-growing cities, it has spent years refining this approach, constantly adapting, anticipating needs, and redefining urban living. Its aim has always been simple: to be the most digitally advanced city in the world. But how realistic is that ambition? Check out the exclusive interview with  H.E. Dr. Moza Suwaidan, CEO of the Digital Applications & Platforms Sector at Digital Dubai Government Establishment.

M42 Health, an AI-powered global health company, announced that its affiliate, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, will establish the Middle East’s first heavy-ion therapy facility in the emirate. The project, aimed at providing new hope for cancer patients across the region, is set to break ground in 2026 on the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi campus, adjacent to the recently launched Fatima bint Mubarak Center. https://lnkd.in/gFs3mAz9