Makki & Partners | MENA Market Entry & Cross-Border Growth Advisory

Practice Areas

Advisory Where It Counts

Senior and hands-on, from the first strategy conversation through execution — not a connector who makes an introduction and steps back, but an advisor who stays in the work. And it runs both ways: international companies entering MENA and the Gulf, and regional companies building, raising, and expanding outward.

Founder & Early-Stage Support

Working with founders from concept to company — sharpening the idea, building the model and the narrative, structuring the business, and getting it to its first markets, partners, and capital. Hands-on through the messy early stage, not just the strategy deck.

Ideation to Launch Business Modeling Founder Advisory

GTM Strategy & Market Entry

Design the right go-to-market for the region. Positioning, ICP, commercial model, channel architecture, sequencing — built from operating experience and grounded in regional dynamics that surface only on the ground.

GTM Strategy Market Entry Commercial Architecture

Trusted Cross-Border Advisory

Fractional senior advisory for executive teams leading regional initiatives — CEOs, Chief Strategy Officers, Heads of International. Direct involvement on the decisions that matter: board prep, executive offsites, deal reviews, market dynamics, and regional context.

Executive Advisory Fractional Advisory Strategic Sounding Board

Partnership & Alliance Architecture

Partnerships that compound rather than drift. From identifying the right strategic counterparts — across enterprise, government, and ecosystem players — to shaping the terms, governance, and joint execution. The work that turns a signed MOU into a working partnership and durable strategic alignment.

Alliance Architecture Partnership Structuring Joint Execution

Capital & Financial Strategy

Capital strategy and the financial rigor behind it — investor narrative, structure, sequencing, and engagement with the Gulf's sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and institutional capital, alongside the financial modeling, pricing, and FP&A that make the case credible. Grounded in JPMorgan Private Bank discipline and supported by senior finance specialists across KSA, the UAE, and North America.

Capital Strategy Financial Modeling & FP&A SWF & Family-Office Access

Workflow Automation & Modernization

Keeping pace with a fast-changing market. Mapping and automating workflows across operations, sales, and digital marketing — so teams move faster and scale without adding headcount. Modern tooling, integrated end to end and matched to how the business actually runs.

Workflow Automation Process Modernization Digital Marketing Ops

About

A Senior Advisor's Background

Ahmad Makki

Based in United States · Active across MENA & Gulf

Ahmad Makki is a senior cross-border advisor with 15+ years operating at the intersection of enterprise technology, private capital, and high-growth regional markets. Based in the United States, Ahmad counsels executive teams on the strategic and commercial work of entering, scaling, and partnering across the MENA region.

Most recently as Head of Corporate & Business Development for MEA at Intertrust Technologies, Ahmad led partnership and market strategy across government, enterprise, and startup ecosystems spanning the Gulf, the Levant, and Sub-Saharan Africa — including Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Gabon. He worked across telecoms, media, and data infrastructure projects in MEA and Sub-Saharan Africa, and built working relationships with institutional and government counterparts across the region.

The work was measurable. Partnerships and go-to-market strategies Ahmad structured delivered operational efficiency improvements of 50–100% for client organizations — outcomes that came from getting the strategy right, not just the relationships.

The work is strategic, not transactional. Makki & Partners advises on the decisions that shape regional trajectories — what to build, where to enter, who to partner with, how to fund it, and how to navigate the bridge dynamics that derail less prepared firms. Direct senior involvement from day one, supported by a curated network of specialists when specific expertise is required.

Head of Corporate & Business Development, MEA · Intertrust Technologies

Partnership and market strategy across Gulf, Levant, and Sub-Saharan Africa

Analyst · JPMorgan Private Bank

Cross-border capital flows and institutional client management

Up to 100% Operational Efficiency Improvements

Delivered for client organizations through partnership architecture and go-to-market strategy

15+ Years Active Across MEA

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Nigeria, DRC, Gabon

Why Work With Us

The Rare Intersection of Network, Nuance & Capital

Regional Depth That Shapes Strategy

Most regional advisors offer access. Makki & Partners offers context — regional fluency built from over a decade operating across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, and broader MEA. Recommendations are grounded in how decisions actually get made on the ground.

Bridge Dynamics Are the Work

Most advisors help US companies go East, or regional firms go West. Makki & Partners specializes in the bridge itself — the cultural, structural, and commercial nuances between markets that quietly derail engagements that aren't navigated carefully. The friction points others underestimate are exactly where this practice adds value.

Senior, Always Direct

Every engagement is led personally. No associate teams, no templated decks. 15+ years of cross-border operating experience brought directly to client work — supported by a curated network of senior specialists when specific expertise is required.

Strategic Alliance Partners

Working Alliances Across Capital and Strategy

Makki & Partners maintains Strategic Alliances with senior peer firms across venture capital and private wealth — enabling cross-referrals and joint engagements when client work requires specialized capital depth or specific regional expertise.

Mohamad Ibrahim

Strategic Alliance Partner

Co-Founder, Phoenician Funds

Co-Founder at Phoenician Funds, supporting investment decision-making and portfolio companies' capability building and business development. Over 10 years of advisory, venture capital, investing and banking experience with bulge bracket institutions including Booz & Co. and the Banking Control Commission of Lebanon. Mohamad is also Owner and CEO of More Capital, a Banque du Liban-registered financial institution, and iGroup Holding, an investment company with a diversified portfolio across Lebanon and Africa. Experience spans GCC, Levant, Central Africa, South East Asia and Eastern Europe across investment strategy, portfolio allocation, venture capital, corporate finance, risk management, real estate, and government services. Master's from ESA Business School; BA from American University of Beirut.

George Sarkis

Strategic Alliance Partner

Founder & Managing Partner, GSK & Partners

Founder and Managing Partner of GSK & Partners, with over 20 years of experience in asset management, financial consultancy and corporate finance. Prior to GSK & Partners, George spent 12 years as a Senior Private Banker with J.P. Morgan (Suisse) SA, managing relationships across the Middle East and advising families on investment strategy, asset allocation, and family and corporate governance. George began his career in financial consultancy and corporate finance in the UAE in 2003, advising leading regional and international companies on mergers, acquisitions, and IPO strategies. Executive MBA from Bayes Business School (London); BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut.

Trusted Collaborators

A Network of Senior Specialists

Makki & Partners brings specialized depth to each engagement through a network of senior cross-border professionals — finance leaders, sector experts, and regional partners who join client work when their specific expertise is needed.

Layal Hassani

Senior Finance Advisor

Chief Financial Officer (KSA & UAE), Assystem

A senior finance executive with 20+ years across the Middle East, Europe, and engineering/infrastructure. Layal brings CFO-level perspective to capital structuring, cross-border financial strategy, and Gulf operational finance — supporting Makki & Partners engagements where deep finance leadership is required.

Qatrelnada Saleh

FP&A & Finance Transformation

Senior Finance Professional, Toronto

A finance specialist with 10+ years across SaaS, investment banking, and strategic finance. Qatrelnada leads financial modeling, FP&A, investor reporting, and AI-enabled finance transformation — supporting client engagements that require operational finance rigor and forward-looking analytics.

Let's Talk

Ready to Open The Right Doors?

Whether you're entering the region for the first time, restructuring a regional strategy that hasn't scaled, or evaluating an inflection-point decision that requires senior counsel — reach out directly. Ahmad responds to every serious enquiry personally.

Email ahmad@makkipartners.com

LinkedIn LinkedIn ↗

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Message Received

Thank you — Ahmad will be in touch shortly.

A Trusted Advisorfor Cross-Border Growth.