Bruce Henderson established the company now known as Boston Consulting Group in 1963 to advise clients of his other business, the Boston Safe Deposit and Trust Company. In its first month, the company billed USD 500. By 1966, it had opened its first international office in Tokyo, Japan.

Within 20 years, Boston Consulting Group was one of the largest firms of its type in the world. Today, it is a member of the ‘Big 3’ management consulting companies alongside McKinsey & Company and Bain & Company. It now has offices in over 100 cities in 50 countries, employing more than 30,000 staff worldwide.

As well as offering business resilience, organisation strategy, and risk management and compliance services to its vast client base, the company made its name by introducing two consultancy tools that are still relied on to this day.

The growth share matrix, created in 1968, helps companies decide how to prioritise different businesses by their degree of, and potential for, profitability. The concept of time-based competition model, first introduced by BCG in the 1980s, is a demonstration of the power of time management.

Such ground-breaking ideas have seen Boston Consulting Group amass a high-profile global client base that includes the most innovative companies in all regions around the globe, with many ranking among the world’s 500 largest corporations.

Naturally, this global impact has attracted much recognition over the past 60 years. Boston Consulting Group has been recognised by numerous prestigious organisations, including Fortune, Forbes and more, for the quality of its work, strength as an employer and impact of its consultants.

Boston Consulting Group’s financials are as impressive as you might expect. In 2022, the company posted revenues of USD 11.7bn.

Uber’s story is well-known around the world. After baulking at the cost of private driver hire, founder Travis Kalanick launched the company in 2009 to make it easier and cheaper to find and book direct transport. Just four years later, Uber was operational in 65 cities.

Today, Uber vehicles can be hailed in over 10,500 cities across 70 counties around the world. Its app has more than 130 million active monthly users and generates an average of 23 million trips every day.

Not content with revolutionising the transportation industry, Uber turned its attention to the luxury sector. The result, Uber Black, is an executive ride service that offers premium drives in high-end cars.

The Uber Black service also promises professional drivers on every trip, with a minimum accepted rating of 4.85 stars out of five. Users can also set ride preferences to customise their trip, tailoring everything from music choices and back seat temperature to the level of conversation with the driver.

Pickups are much more flexible, too. Uber Black riders are afforded a five-minute window before any waiting fees are applied. And should a customer experience any kind of issue, Uber Black support is on hand 24/7 to put it right.

This dedication to its customer base is the driving reason behind the company’s phenomenal success. Uber is among the youngest businesses in the Fortune 500, with a market cap of USD 76.82bn. In 2022, it posted revenues of USD 31.8bn.

Launched in 2007, TASC Outsourcing took just four years to be recognised as the fastest-growing company in the Middle East. Over that time, the company amassed a client base of almost 3,000 and began working with some of the largest and most renowned companies in the region.

In the years that followed, TASC Outsourcing was ranked in the top 100 SMEs in Dubai, listed among the most influential brands in the UAE, and received the prestigious Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award in 2016 and 2018. More recently, the company won a LinkedIn Talent Award for Top Innovation Staffing Agency in 2019 and a Dubai Quality Appreciation Award in 2020.

Today, the company is one of the region’s leading recruitment, staffing and HR service providers. From its locations in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, TASC Outsourcing offers its services across 27 countries and has helped to build teams for over 200 companies within the GCC.

The company’s comprehensive suite of people-power services covers everything from contract staffing and permanent recruitment to HR management, payroll outsourcing, and offshoring – all of which has been honed over the years to increase efficiency and lower costs for its customers.

TASC Outsourcing also operates TASC Temp, the GCC’s first online temporary staffing agency, and Top Talent, a recruitment agency specialising in oil and gas staffing services in Abu Dhabi. In all, these divisions have seen TASC Outsourcing report revenues of over USD 100m.

On 11 March 1744, bookseller and Sotheby’s founder Samuel Baker arranged an auction of ‘several hundred scarce and valuable books in all branches of polite literature.’ He raised £826 and, with it, put in motion a business blueprint that would revolutionise auctioneering, transform the modern art market and set the standard for auction houses around the world.

With a global reputation for trust, authenticity and professionalism, Sotheby’s network of specialists across 40 countries are leading experts in contemporary art, modern and impressionist art, old masters, jewellery, watches, wine and spirits, among many other areas. The company hosts more than 600 auctions every year as well as offering an enormous range of goods for immediate purchase online and in-house.

Sotheby’s success is built on an array of record-breaking and headline-grabbing sales. From the 1980s through the 2000s, the auction house listed and sold Picasso’s Garçon à la pipe for USD 104.2m, Andy Warhol’s Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) for USD 108.4 million, and Peter Paul Rubens’ The Massacre of the Innocents for GBP 49.5 million.

The company has led the way with many other firsts across its 280-year history, too. Sotheby’s was the first auction house to host sales in Asia, the first to hold the now standard ‘Evening Sales’, the first to bridge the Atlantic with offices in New York and London, and the first to use satellite technology to facilitate simultaneous bidding across these locations. Today, it has over 80 offices worldwide and generates annual sales of over USD 7bn.

As well as leading the way in the global auctioneer industry, Sotheby’s operates the only scientific research department of its kind. From state-of-the-art labs in New York and London, its expert team investigate paintings, sculptures, furniture, bottles of wine and more to help guide and test attributions and provenance.

The company we now call Siemens started its existence in a German courtyard workshop. Founders Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske established the company in 1847 to manufacture and sell its needle point machine, designed to ease the translation of Morse code.

This commitment to developing technology that simplifies experiences and improves lives has guided the company ever since. Over the last 175 years, Siemens has pioneered countless innovations to advance a wide array of fields.

The company was the first to introduce ground-breaking products, solutions and services in the IT, telecoms, power generation and distribution, and transportation industries, among many others.

Today, Siemens is largely split across four vast divisions: Digital Industries, Smart Infrastructure, Mobility, Healthcare (Siemens Healthineers) and Financial Services. In all, the company employs over 311,000 people across 190 countries.

The company has continued to spearhead the global digital and technological revolution, all the while striving to reduce its impact on the planet and the communities in which it works.

In 2007, when net zero was merely a concept, Siemens’ products and solutions had helped to save its customers 114 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide while the company posted revenues of EUR 17bn. By 2014, revenues had reached EUR 29.9bn and CO2 reduction had risen to 317 million tonnes.

Today, alongside its most recent revenues of almost EUR 72bn, Siemens has reduced its total emissions by 46% and pledged to reach carbon neutrality across its operations by 2030.

The company’s success has seen it receive much recognition. Siemens has won multiple prestigious awards for innovation, engineering excellence and workplace culture.

When five IBM engineers began working on a project to build an in-house IT system in 1971, they could not have known they were laying the foundations for the world’s largest provider of enterprise application software.

Having officially separated from IBM in 1972, the company now known as SAP embarked on a period of rapid growth and acquisitions, adding punch card systems and mainframe programs for payroll and accounting to its service portfolio.

Today, the five-person team has expanded to over 100,000 in more than 180 countries, making it the world’s largest non-American software company. SAP now offers over 100 cloud solutions, including ERP, cloud-engineered systems, human capital management, customer relationship management, product lifecycle management, and supply chain management to over 24,000 partner companies and 280 million users.

This incredible solution portfolio, along with 55 data centres in 15 countries, makes SAP one of the largest and most comprehensive cloud vendors on the planet.

Its global client base is just as impressive, generating 87% of total global commerce ($46 trillion). It also counts 99 of the world’s top 100 largest companies and 97 of the world’s top 100 greenest companies as customers.

SAP leads the way in innovation, too. With 100 development centres worldwide, the company invests 20% of its revenues into research and development, oversees more than 50 transformational AI use cases, and invests billions in emerging and disruptive startups.

Unsurprisingly, the company’s industry-leading performance has been recognised on numerous occasions. SAP is featured among the Forbes Most Valuable Brands list and Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies rankings. It has also won numerous awards for its innovation, workplace and software solutions.

The company’s financials often take the headlines, too, with annual revenues closing in on the USD 35bn mark.

Paytm was founded in 2010 as a prepaid mobile and direct-to-home television recharge platform. Within three years, the Indian company added debit card, postpaid mobile and landline bill payments to its portfolio of services, attracting a high-profile investment of USD 10m from Sapphire Ventures, one of the world’s most successful venture capital firms.

Over the next four years, Paytm would add its now ubiquitous Paytm Wallet, count Indian Railways and Uber as customers, and amass over 100 million users. By the time parent company One97 Communications went public in 2021, it had reached a valuation of USD 20bn, making it the biggest-ever IPO in India.

Today, Paytm is India’s largest ecommerce site, facilitating mobile payments for everything from utility bills to movie, travel and event tickets. The platform also facilitates peer-to-peer transfers domestically and internationally and offers a fast and secure way to purchase flights and insurance.

Through its wealth management arm, Paytm Money, Indian citizens can purchase stocks, contribute to pension schemes and invest in mutual funds digitally with 100% paperless verification.

Credited with spearheading India’s digital revolution, the company now boasts 20 million merchants and over 300 million users on its platform. With many more innovative financial solutions and products in the pipeline, Paytm aims to bring 500 million currently under-served Indians into the mainstream global economy.

At the same time, the company has expanded its reach overseas. In 2014, Paytm Labs was formed in Toronto, Canada, to provide a risk management model for fintechs and marketplaces with a high transaction value. Four years later, Paytm formed a joint venture with SoftBank and Yahoo Japan to launch PayPay, a QR-based payment service.

Paytm’s rapid expansion and growing customer base have seen it take record revenues in recent years, touching on USD 1bn in FY22/23.

In 2015, Saudi entrepreneur Abdulaziz Al Jouf sketched the concept of an affordable payment gateway on the back of a Starbucks napkin. He laid out his vision to deliver a secure online payments solution for merchants in the MENA region.

In the same year, a six-member team was formed to turn this concept into a reality. Offices in Riyadh and Dubai soon followed, and by 2016, PayTabs was crowned the Most Promising Saudi Startup by Forbes Middle East. Much more recognition has followed since. The company was also listed among Forbes’s Top 100 Startups in the Arab World and the Top 20 Fintech Startups in the Middle East.

Today, PayTabs provides a host of B2B ecommerce solutions, including PayTabs Touch, the first soft point-of-sale solution to launch in the MENA market. Other offerings include an invitation-only self-service payment portal called Private Label, and PayTabs Market, an express payment platform for handling multiple sellers and vendors.

In recent years, several key events have cemented PayTabs’ place as a global leader in the end-to-end payments space.

In 2021, the company partnered with financial services giants Visa and Union Pay International to provide a platform for merchants to accept contactless payments via their Android smart devices. Around the same time, the company launched SwitchOn, a market-leading, integrated and turnkey payment solution for payment processors, retailers, banks and other financial institutions.

PayTabs’ international success story shows no signs of slowing. In early 2023, the company announced the acquisition of OGS PayLab, one of the world’s leading transaction processing services and Switch solutions providers.

Started by a then-unknown Larry Ellison in 1977, Oracle wasted no time taking its place as one of the largest software companies in the world. By the end of the 1980s, the company was posting annual revenues of USD 584m, with USD 82m profit.

Today, the company serves more than 430,000 customers in 175 countries, offering over 100 cloud services across 42 public cloud regions. These services include database software and technology, cloud-engineered systems, and enterprise software products – such as enterprise resource planning software, human capital management software and customer relationship management software.

To achieve this incredible reach, Oracle has invested over USD 110bn in more than 150 acquisitions, formed relationships with 20,000-plus partners around the world, and employed 20,000 implementation consultants, 48,000 developers and engineers, and 15,000 service specialists speaking 29 languages.

Underpinning this rapid growth is a long-standing commitment to innovation. SAP has invested over USD 64bn in research and development since 2012, operates the world’s first and only autonomous database, has 18,900 registered patents, and boasts a developer community membership of over six million.

Its investments in sustainability and community projects is equally impressive. SAP has donated more than USD 20m to 7,000 non-profits across 62 countries and achieved its target of reducing its emissions by 47% by 2020. At the same time, SAP employees have volunteered over 15,000 hours to various education and development projects around the world.

On the financial front, Oracle posted USD 42bn in revenue in 2022, up by almost 5% from the previous year.

After witnessing what he saw as inefficiencies when working for the United States Army Ordnance Department, James O. McKinsey took matters into his own hands. Launched in 1926, McKinsey’s aim was to offer advice on management and accounting tools.

Soon, the company expanded its portfolio to include all manner of management consultancy and talent services, including process redesign, automation, advanced analytics, business process outsourcing, and digital transformation. 

Fast forward to the late 1950s, and McKinsey helped to structure the establishment of NASA as well as many other high-profile organisations. Around the same time, McKinsey opened its first international office in London, England. Within ten years, it would have a presence in eight countries across three continents.

Today, McKinsey & Company has a truly global reach, with office locations in 135 cities across 67 countries and more than 30,000 staff. It is also a long-standing member of the ‘Big 3’ consulting firms alongside Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group.

The company’s continued success is driven by a commitment to innovate and break new ground. McKinsey & Company was among the first firms to employ female consultants, address climate change, air pollution, and other public health concerns, and embrace big data analytics, AI and machine learning.

In 2015, McKinsey & Company pooled over 2,000 of its consultants, developers, designers, IT architects, data engineers, agile coaches, and advanced analytics experts from around the world to launch Digital Labs. The first of its kind, the initiative helps clients create real and lasting value with the latest digital technologies.

This commitment to progress continues to this day. McKinsey spends over USD 200mn a year training its people and more than USD 600mn per year on capability building and knowledge development.

The company’s financial returns are a reflection of its achievements in supporting its clients around the world, with 2022 revenues of over USD 10bn.

Few companies can claim to have transformed the retail landscape in the UAE quite like Jumbo Electronics. Formed in 1974 by the late Mr M R Chhabria, the company has led the way in the country’s consumer electronics landscape ever since.

To this day, Jumbo Electronics is guided by its founder’s philosophy to create a future where everyone has access to the best technology the world can offer. To deliver on this promise, Jumbo has driven the tech retail industry forward in the UAE, adapting from a bricks and mortar vendor to an omnichannel retailer providing a seamless shopping experience, whether online or in-store. Today, it has 17 stores across the Emirates, including its flagship in The Galleria Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi.

For almost 50 years, Jumbo has held its place as the country’s most trusted retailer, offering one of the broadest ranges of electronics on the market. The company is the go-to brand for customers looking to buy everything from mobile phones, laptops, TVs and home theatres to cameras, gaming and lifestyle products, accessories and telecom services.

It can continue to provide this service thanks to its strategic partnerships with industry leaders as well as its close work with smaller brands. Jumbo Electronics operates an IT distribution business in collaboration with Compaq, HP and IBM, is the UAE’s authorised service provider for Bose, and owns Sony and Dyson franchises, among others.

As well as offering technology goods for sale, it also operates Jumbo Serve, the largest service centre in the UAE, and offers home setup and installation support through its Jumbo UnwiredCrew service. This is alongside its Jumbo Salama gadget insurance products, a pioneering 3D manufacturing facility, workforce outsourcing and HR support, and supply chain and logistics solutions.

Robert Wood Johnson began his professional training at age 16 as a pharmaceutical apprentice. Less than 15 years later, in 1886, having developed a new kind of medical dressing with his brothers, he established a company through which to sell it: Johnson & Johnson.

Soon, the company amassed a team of 15 to manufacture and sell surgical supplies, including sutures, absorbent cotton and gauze. In 1888, it published its first medical guide, “Modern Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment”, distributing 85,000 copies to doctors and pharmacists across the USA. By 1894, Johnson & Johnson employed more than 400 staff across 14 locations and began producing its game-changing product, Johnson’s Baby Powder. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Johnson & Johnson is one of the largest pharmaceuticals and consumer goods companies in the world, with operations spanning 250 subsidiaries in 60 countries. Its products are now sold in 175 countries, generating annual income of more than USD 90bn.

Over the years, the company has launched many more household name products, including the original Band-Aid, Neutrogena skincare, Tylenol medications, and Acuvue contact lenses. Alongside consumer products, Johnson & Johnson offers a vast MedTech, orthopaedics and surgical equipment portfolio. Its notable products include sutures, staplers, energy devices, haemostats and surgical robotics.

Behind the company’s ongoing success stories is continuous innovation. In 2022, Johnson & Johnson invested over USD 14bn on research and development programmes, among the highest in its industry and a significant increase on the USD 7.6bn spent ten years previously.

JLL formed from the USD 435m merger between American real estate firm LaSalle Partners and London-based auctioneer Jones Lang Wootton in 1999. Within just a few years, the new organisation, JLL, has expanded its global reach with locations in over 80 countries.

Today, the company’s 103,000 employees provide commercial real estate management, brokerage and investment services to corporations and high-net-worth individuals, as well as a range of technology products through its JLL Technologies division. Its corporate client base spans tech startups to global firms across industries including banking, energy, healthcare, law, life sciences, manufacturing and technology.

The company’s rapid growth has been propelled by its commitment to combining innovative technology and data intelligence with world-renowned in-house expertise. JLL helps buy, build, occupy and invest in various assets for its clients, including industrial, commercial, retail, residential and hotel real estate.

In all, JLL manages 4.6 billion square feet of property and has completed 37,500 leasing transactions, translating to 1.07 billion square feet leased.

At the same time, the company has spent 97,957 hours volunteering in local communities, donated USD 5,325,935 in charitable contributions and conserved 239,749 metric tonnes of CO2, securing its place on Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list.

Other notable awards for JLL include a place in the Global Outsourcing 100 and appearances among Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies list from 2017 to 2023. This impressive reputation and global influence translate to impressive financials, with reported revenues of USD 20.8bn last year.

The roots of J.P. Morgan Global Trade can be traced back to the late 1700s and the establishment of The Bank of the Manhattan Company. This is the oldest institution in the collection of companies which, over the years, have converged to create JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Others include The Chase Manhattan Bank, Bank One, Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co., Chemical Bank, The First National Bank of Chicago, National Bank of Detroit, and The Bear Stearns Companies Inc.

Each of these banking brands was, at the time, considered to be at the forefront of transformational innovations in the financial services industry, and JPMorgan Chase & Co. has long continued this trajectory. Today, the company is the world’s largest bank by market capitalisation, the largest investment bank in the world by revenue, and ranked 24th in the Fortune 500.

The company’s investment arm, J.P. Morgan Global Trade, operates across more than 50 countries in six regions and has also built a reputation as an industry pioneer. Its suite of core trade solutions helps clients to minimize risk, access short-term funding and count on cost-efficient debt support.

Through a strategic alliance with fintech disruptor Cleareye, J.P. Morgan Global Trade also offers market-leading technology to help investors futureproof their transactions while remaining compliant with changing regulation.

In all, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported revenues of over USD 128bn in 2022.

The concept for banking giant HSBC dates back to Hong Kong shortly after the First Opium War, where the goal was to fulfil the needs of British merchants trading in the region. After raising what at the time was an absolutely astonishing amount – at HK$ 5mn – The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation began operations in 1865.

Rapid expansion soon followed, with new branches opening in Bangkok, Manila and Shanghai in the early 1920s. The company’s first branch outside Asia was opened in 1955 in California, USA.

Today, HSBC Holdings plc is the largest bank in Europe by total assets, with over USD 10tn in assets under custody. It serves 40 million customers across 64 offices in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, the Middle East, North America, and South America.

On the back of a long history of financial innovation, HSBC recently brought a new game-changing solution to market. In 2022, HSBC Trade Solutions launched to offer a one-stop e-platform for safe, secure, and flexible management of global transactions of guarantees, trade loans for sellers and buyers, import bills and import documentary credit.

HSBC Trade Solutions will make trade faster, safer and more straightforward. The platform drastically reduces document exchange time and provides real-time status tracking, so traders can focus on growing their businesses and capturing more opportunities. Such is the platform’s influence that it is set to form the foundation of HSBC’s industry-leading trading services portfolio, which currently supports over USD 800bn worth of transactions every year.

In all, HSBC Holdings plc reported revenues of USD 51.7bn in 2022, ranking it among the largest companies in the world.

The history of Hays stretches back to 1867 when it was established as an operator of wharves and warehouses on the south bank of the River Thames in London, England. Following decades of acquisitions, rebrands, pivots and an IPO, the company formally announced its intention to reposition itself as a specialist recruiter in 2003.

Today, the Hays group has operations across 33 countries, including the UK, Ireland, Continental Europe, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific regions. It also has offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Now recognised as a global expert in qualified, professional and skilled recruitment, the company’s 13,000 employees fill an average of 1,300 job vacancies every day.

Hays credits its success to its ability to specialise at scale. Its regional, industry and specialism experts truly understand the local market as well as the job roles and companies in which they place candidates. This expertise extends across numerous fields, including technology, accountancy and finance, construction and property, engineering, life sciences, sales and marketing and banking.

Naturally, this global success has seen the company scoop several prestigious awards. Notable accolades include Best Large Recruitment Company, Best Candidate Experience, Best Recruitment Agency and Best Specialist Recruitment Business. Hays has also been recognised as one of the World’s Most Admired Companies.

Even as the recruitment process has evolved over the years, Hays has held its place at the forefront. In 2012, the company filled 83,750 permanent roles, and 250,000 temporary positions, up considerably from the respective 59,090 and 220,000 the previous year. This incredible success saw Hays record revenues exceeding USD 8bn in 2022.

Epic Games, today synonymous with some of the world’s most popular games, was started by founder Tim Sweeney on his parent’s computer in 1991. Sweeney created his first game, ZZT, in the same year, and needed an organisation through which to sell it.

And sell it he did. Using online bulletin boards, Sweeney sold several thousands of copies, shipping them out himself. On the back of this success, the founder moved into the company’s first studio and changed its name from Potomac Computer Systems to the one we know today: Epic Games.

The American video game and software developer is now one of the largest gaming studios in the world, publishing internationally successful titles such as Fortnite, Gears of War, and Infinity Blade. In 2014, Epic Games’ Unreal Engine was named the “most successful videogame engine” by Guinness World Records.

The Epic Games Store, the company’s digital video game storefront for Microsoft Windows and macOS, now boasts over 180 million users, with gamers spending more than USD 700m per year within it. Registered users of the company’s flagship title, Fortnite, total over 350 million worldwide.

The company’s journey from a relatively unknown studio to one of the world’s most famous developers has seen it generate incredible returns. As of 2022, Epic Games had an equity valuation of USD 32bn, with annual revenues of around USD 6bn.

Founded in 2004, Emirates Auction is the largest online auction platform in the Middle East for cars and other machinery. It primarily facilitates the sale of new and used vehicles, providing a shipping and delivery service to allow its customers to achieve the highest sale price without visiting a showroom.

As well as automobiles, the company specialises in the sale and transfer of vehicle license plates, real estate and properties, VIP mobile numbers, jewellery, time-sensitive items, and heavy machinery, plant and construction equipment.

Emirates Auction conducts over 200 auctions annually, with customers bidding from the GCC, MENA region and Europe. The company also operates three large physical venues for customers that wish to buy and sell in person.

Emirates Auction has pioneered the online auction concept in the Arab world, providing new and innovative ways to put listings before a large audience while offering sellers a high level of security and incredible ease of use. Such is the company’s reputation that it is a trusted member of the National Auctioneers Association, the world’s largest association for the auctioneering profession.

The company has appeared in global headlines several times over its almost 20-year existence for breaking ten Guinness World Records. These record-breaking achievements include facilitating the sale of the most expensive vehicle registration plate, oil tanker, and horse riding saddle ever auctioned. Emirates Auction also holds the record for the world’s largest digital property sale at AED 102m.

On top of achieving incredible returns for its sellers, Emirates Auction has also made considerable charitable contributions, raising AED 150,000 for the Philippines disaster relief and AED 89.8m for the Al Jalila Foundation.

While its origins can be traced back to Austria in the early 1910s, DB Schenker was born from the acquisition of the international shipping firm Stinnes AG and its associated brand Schenker by the German rail operator Deutsche Bahn. The companies were added to the Deutsche Bahn portfolio to extend its rail freight services to land, sea and air and compete on the world stage. And it has certainly achieved this aim.

DB Schenker is now one of the world’s leading logistics providers, transporting goods across its vast land, air and ocean freight network. The company operates two key divisions. Its contract logistics arm provides efficient and innovative solutions for every stage of the value chain, from procurement and production to distribution logistics and after-sales service. This operation spans eight million square feet across 725 warehouses, with more than 24,000 employees in 60 counties.

DB Schenker’s largest division is its freight operation. This arm of the company connects the most important economic regions in more than forty European countries, with a network of about 32,000 regular scheduled services for general cargo per week. It also operates 1,200 chartered flights a year to 800 global locations.

This international impact is felt much closer to home here in the UAE. DB Schenker was the first logistics firm to offer electronic cargo documentation for freight to Dubai. Since 2018, shipping documentation can be submitted electronically for UAE import and customs processes, eliminating the need for the submission of physical shipping paperwork from overseas. This e-freight approach saw a drastic improvement in the region’s supply chain and logistics processes.

Thanks to innovations like this, along with a growing international customer base, DB Schenker recorded revenues of almost GBP 49bn last year.

Cognizant was launched in 1994 with a team of 50 in Chennai, India, to implement large-scale IT projects for its parent company. Less than ten years later, it posted revenues of USD 229m.

Driven by rapid growth and acquisitions in the late 1990s and 2000s, Cognizant has led technological transformation across 20-plus industries, helping its clients become modern, digital and future-proof enterprises. And these are not just any clients. Cognizant works with 29 of the top 30 pharma companies, nine of the top ten European banks and seven of the top ten internet companies.

Today, Cognizant is one of the largest global professional services companies in the world, with more than 355,000 employees. It posts revenues of over USD 19bn and sits at number 194 in the Fortune 500.

Needless to say, this colossal rise has not gone unnoticed. Over the years, the company has been featured among Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, listed in the Forbes Global 2000, and won several C100 Awards, which recognise organizations that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology.

Here in the Middle East, Cognizant helps the region’s businesses to modernise technology, reimagine processes and stay ahead of the competition from its offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

As well as continuing to grow its vast operation, Cognizant is committed to making a positive impact on its communities. Through the company’s Go Green initiative, it has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030. At the same time, it works to create educational opportunities for children and underserved communities and improve the lives of disadvantaged segments of society in India and North America through its Cognizant Foundation.

Formed as W. S. Atkins & Partners in 1938, the company now known as just Atkins set out to provide civil and structural engineering design services to London’s businesses. Before long, the firm was one of the country’s leading names in town planning, engineering sciences, architecture and project management.

Following its listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1996, Atkins turned its attention to the international market, adding many more services to its portfolio, including aerospace and high-speed railway capabilities.

In 2016, Atkins took its place as the UK’s largest engineering consultancy, as well as the 11th largest global design business. At this stage, the company employed around 18,000 staff across 300 offices in 29 countries. Today, as one of the largest engineering and project management consultancies in the world, it now employs 50,000 people and has expanded to 50 countries.

Atkins has a long-standing reputation for pioneering engineering and market-leading design. By putting data and technological innovation at the heart of every project, Atkins helps its global clients make even the most complex projects a success. And it indeed boasts many successes.

Atkins has assisted in the design, planning or project management of many world-renowned constructions, including the Tianjin World Financial Center in China, the Hoover Dam Bypass bridge, and several runways at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Here in the Middle East, the company has played a role in the construction of the Bahrain World Trade Centre, Dubai’s Burj Al Arab and Light Rail Transit system, and the Makkah Metro in Saudi Arabia.

Naturally, as one of the world’s most trusted consultancies, Atkins posts impressive financial returns, with a billion dollar revenue stream and healthy profits to go along with it.

Launched in 2010, AliExpress started life as a business-to-business portal for buying and selling a wide range of goods. Over the years that followed, it grew to become a multifaceted organisation offering business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer trade, along with cloud computing and payment services.

Originating in China as part of the Alibaba Group, it is now the most visited ecommerce site in Russia and the 10th most popular in Brazil. Such is its international reach that AliExpress.com is now available in 17 languages, including English, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Polish, Turkish, Portuguese, Indonesian and Russian.

Unlike Amazon and other competitors, AliExpress does not sell any products. Instead, it acts as an ecommerce platform for its customers. Many of those offering goods on the site offer dropshipping services for ecommerce businesses. The company also operates an affiliate programme whereby its partners are paid a commission on sales for referring visitors to the site.

Most of the businesses selling on the AliExpress platform are based in China and Singapore, with most buyers based outside Southeast Asia. Thanks to this global reach and international popularity, the company posts impressive returns, with its owner Alibaba showing annual revenues up from USD 109.5bn in 2021 to USD 129.2bn in 2022.

To complement this financial success, AliExpress strives to meet ambitious sustainability targets. Since 2020, all new company buildings must meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold Standard. Meanwhile, its parent company, Alibaba, is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and has pledged to cut 1.5 gigatons of carbon emissions throughout its ecosystem by 2035.

At the same time, AliExpress has publicly stated its goal to serve two billion global customers, increase profitability for 10 million companies and create 100 million jobs by 2036.

Al Ghurair Foods was formed in the UAE in 1960 when pearl trading and fishing were the backbones of the local economy. Over the past six decades, it has woven itself into the fabric of the nation, becoming a household name in the Emirates and beyond.

Today, its parent company Al Ghurair Investment is one of the largest family business groups in the Middle East. As well as food trading, its operations span six other sectors: resources, properties, construction, energy, mobility and ventures.

Thanks to its extensive and diversified portfolio, the Al Ghurair family name has become synonymous with enterprise, development and prosperity across the Middle East. Now headquartered in Deira, in the heart of Dubai, the group’s operations span over 20 countries and it employs more than 28,000 people.

Under its parent company’s guidance, Al Ghurair Foods has evolved into a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of high-quality food products. The company’s most popular products include eggs, oats, flour and semolina.

Al Ghurair Foods is the region’s leading flour miller with over 40 years of experience and an annual capacity of more than 1.5 million metric tonnes. The company has operational silos of over 230,000 metric tonnes across its wheat milling assets alone.

It is this vast operation that drives Al Ghurair Foods continued success, helping it live up to its long-standing motto: “Part of every plate, every day.”

Adobe was formed in a garage in Los Altos, California, in 1982. In the same year, founders Charles Geschke and John Warnock turned down a USD 5m offer from Steve Jobs to buy the company.

But while the decision to reject this proposal was met with raised eyebrows, Adobe has seen nothing but admiring glances ever since. Less than 20 years later, the company posted revenues of over USD 1bn, a figure which rapidly increased to USD 4bn by 2012.

Today, Adobe employs almost 30,000 people, while its Adobe Suite software package is ubiquitous among creative teams around the world.

A look at the numbers behind the company’s leading applications lays bare its global reach. Over 90% of the world’s creative professionals use Adobe Photoshop, while its online creative community, Behance, has over 30 million members. In the last year, over 400 billion PDFs were opened with Adobe Document Cloud, and its Adobe Scan app has assisted in the creation of 2.5 billion documents.

The Adobe suite’s industry recognition is just as impressive as its reach. The company’s numerous accolades include awards for Best Global Brand, Most Innovative Company, Best Culture and the World’s Most Admired Companies.

Naturally, impressive returns follow such success. In 2022, Adobe reported year-end revenues of USD 17.6bn. The company helps its customers boost their bottom lines, too. Documents created, signed, shared and stored in Adobe Document Cloud translate to 90% cost savings.

At the same time, its digital operation drives a 95% reduction in environmental impact compared with paper-based processes, saves 105 million litres of water and 31,000 trees, and removes the equivalent of 2,300 cars worth of carbon emissions per year.

The business now known as Accenture was once a division of Kentucky-based accounting firm Arthur Andersen. But after conducting a feasibility study for General Electric’s pioneering UNIVAC I computer, the consultancy arm began to make a case for becoming a standalone organisation.

It would take around 30 years for Anderson Consulting to launch as a separate entity and another 20 before the company would adopt the name we are familiar with today. In 2001, Accenture launched with much fanfare on the New York Stock Exchange, raising almost USD 2bn on the first day of its IPO.

Today, Accenture’s solution portfolio has expanded to include four divisions: Accenture Strategy and Consulting, Accenture Song, Accenture Technology and Accenture Operations. In all, the company employs over 738,000 people worldwide, serves 9,000 clients across 49 countries and oversees an ecosystem of more than 249 partners.

Here in the UAE, Accenture offers its industry-leading capabilities and solutions in digital, cloud and security to more than 40 industries. The company was also chosen by the Central Bank of the UAE to develop and support the country’s national payments infrastructure. Accenture’s platform now supports next-generation, real-time payments throughout the region, 24 hours a day.

Naturally, Accenture’s international impact has seen it receive numerous awards and accolades over the years. The company has been featured in the Fortune Global 500 for 21 years in a row, the Forbes Global 2000 for 19 years in a row, and the Brand Finance Most Valuable IT Services Brands list for five years in a row.

The company has also spent 16 consecutive years on the Ethisphere World’s Most Ethical Companies list, thanks in no small part to its countless community development and sustainability projects. With annual revenues of USD 61.6bn last year, its financial returns are just as remarkable.

Abacus Tax & Accounting is dedicated to providing exceptional tax and accounting services to individuals and businesses. With more than 2 years of experience in the industry, we have helped our clients achieve their financial goals by offering a wide range of customized solutions that cater to their unique needs.

Our team of skilled and knowledgeable professionals comprises certified public accountants (FCCA, CMA, UAECA, ACCA, AFPA), tax advisors, and other finance experts who are committed to delivering accurate and timely financial advice. We understand that every client is different, and so we tailor our services to meet their specific requirements.

At Abacus Tax & Accounting, we prioritize client satisfaction, and we go the extra mile to ensure that our client’s financial affairs are in order. Our services include tax preparation, bookkeeping, payroll management, financial planning, and consulting, among others. We use cutting-edge technology and industry best practices to deliver efficient, cost-effective solutions that help our clients save time and money.

As a trusted partner, we work closely with our clients to provide strategic guidance and support throughout the year. Whether you are an individual looking for tax advice or a business seeking comprehensive financial management, we are here to help.

OUR SERVICES

We offer the following comprehensive set of services to help us clients excel while staying compliant:

Accounting:

• Bookkeeping
• Regular
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VAT:

• VAT Return
• VAT Consultancy
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Compliance

• ESR
• AML/CFT
• Corporate Secretarial Services

Corporate Tax

• CT Consultancy
• CT Registration
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• Transfer pricing

You can learn about us and our services by visiting www.abacusta.ae

In August 1907, budding Seattle-based entrepreneurs James E. Casey and Claude Ryan borrowed USD 100 to start the American Messenger Company. In its early days, most deliveries were made on foot, with longer journeys by bike. Little did either man know that they were on a trajectory which would see their startup become UPS, one of the world’s largest shipping couriers.

By 1930, the company had expanded coast to coast, moving its corporate office from Los Angeles to New York City. This would be the springboard for its nationwide operation. Over the next 55 years, UPS would expand to offer next-day delivery to every US state along with Puerto Rico. In 1985, the company launched its intercontinental air delivery service between the US and Europe.

Global domination quickly followed. Today, UPS is the world’s largest courier by revenue, outperforming fellow giants DHL and FedEx. It is the largest private employer in the US, with over 500,000 staff, and its Kentucky cargo hub is the fifth busiest in the world.

Each day, UPS delivers an average of 24 million parcels across its international network spanning more than 220 countries and territories. This vast global operation translates to equally significant returns. The company reported revenues in 2022 of USD 100.3bn.

On top of its impressive financials, UPS is committed to delivering on its promise to protect the environment. The delivery giant already drives over one million cleaner miles every day, has purchased 162 million gallons of alternative fuels, and invested USD 1bn in green technologies. By 2050, the company aims to be entirely carbon neutral.

Sutherland has been a pioneer in the digital transformation space for over 35 years. Built for the future, the company helps its clients drive growth and provide better experiences for their staff and customers.

Known for its digital-first service through the innovative use of human-centred design, real-time analytics, AI, cognitive technology and automation, Sutherland is an early adopter of robotic automation. It leverages vast experience in cutting-edge and emerging technologies to deliver relevant, instantaneous, predictive and frictionless experiences.

With decades of developing best-in-class processes behind it, Sutherland works with some of the world’s most experience-native companies to add a human element to their digital transformation efforts. The company has a support network across a wide range of industries, including banking and financial services, insurance, healthcare, retail, telecommunications, media and entertainment, technology, travel and hospitality, and logistics.

The Sutherland team of about 40,000 professionals is spread across 61 delivery centres and 144 countries, handling more than 43 million transactions every month. The company has locations in North American, APAC, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa.

Here in MENA, Sutherland has been behind many regional firsts, including implementing voice biometrics in Arabic, Hindi and English for a leading UAE bank. The company is also instrumental in many organisation’s Emiratisation efforts and has set up and managed an Emiratisation centre of excellence for a leading UAE Airline, among others.

Such pioneering work translates into considerable revenue, topping USD 2.4bn in 2022.

Founded in 1926, Publicis Groupe took little time to expand from a French startup to the third-largest communication group in the world. As one of the key drivers behind France’s post-war economic boom, it was an internationally recognised brand before the end of the 1940s.

The 1950s saw incredible success thanks to two pioneering campaigns, the Green Giant and the Marlboro Cowboy, both of which are now ingrained in the cultural landscape of America and beyond. Having opened an international office in New York in 1957, it took just 30 years for the company to be named on the list of the world’s Top 20 Communications Groups.

Today, Publicis Groupe employs almost 100,000 staff in more than 100 countries and is one of the ‘Big Four’ agency companies alongside WPP, Interpublic and Omnicom.

The company is organised into four hubs: Publicis Communications, Publicis Media, Publicis Sapient, and Publicis Health. Together, these divisions help businesses around the world to overcome their key challenges, keep pace with disruptive competitors and innovate faster at a lower cost.

Publicis Groupe applies this approach across the UAE from its office in Dubai Media City. This team of commerce specialists, data analysts, and content professionals help regional clients to transform their online businesses across marketplaces, direct-to-consumer and omnichannel.

As MENA’s leading commerce agency, Publicis Groupe leverages its global reach and local expertise to shape the future of the industry across the region.

Along with its continued drive to support its global clients and deliver annual net revenues of over USD 12.5bn, Publicis Groupe is committed to sustainability.

The company is working towards an ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2030, has aligned itself with the Paris Agreement, and recently launched the A.L.I.C.E. (Advertising Limiting Impacts & Carbon Emissions) calculator to help clients assess the environmental impact of their campaigns and projects.

Nadia Training Institute launched in Abu Dhabi 40 years ago with a mission to become the leading training and recruitment consultancy in the GCC. Not only has it achieved this aim, but it has been breaking boundaries ever since.

In 1997, Nadia Training Institute became the first UAE recruiter to offer an online registration process. Just a year later, it would become the first recruiter to partner with Gulf News to advertise vacancies and search for candidates. Six years after that it took the honour of being the first UAE recruiter to amass a 750,000+ candidate database.

Fast forward to 2023 and Nadia Training Institute still holds the top spot as the number one training and recruitment consultant in the GCC, having placed over 350,000 professionals in their roles. Today, the company has a candidate database of over 1m, has trained over 260,000 workers, and has delivered 52,000 courses.

With offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Nadia Training Institute helps clients across the region to upskill their staff and find the very best talent for a wide range of roles. Its customisable corporate training programmes also help candidates and employees supercharge their career advancement and expand their capabilities.

Today the company also supports clients and candidates across the wider region and internationally, offering its services in Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Poland, Singapore, Uzbekistan and the Philippines.

Founded by childhood friends in 1975, Microsoft set out to develop a simple interpreter for the Altair 8800 microcomputer. By 1981, its 16-bit operating system was installed as standard on all IBM personal computers. Just eight years later, the company released the first incarnation of the Office program that over 345 million people still use around the world today.

The rest, as they say, is history. From here, Microsoft would go on to release its game-changing operating system, Windows 95, pioneer widespread use of the internet and enter the gaming arena with the Xbox.

Along the way, it would take its place as one of the largest companies in the world by revenue. Not to mention becoming the world’s largest software maker and at one point the most valuable publicly traded company. Today, Microsoft has the fourth-highest global brand valuation behind Amazon, Google and Apple.

As the world of technology has evolved dramatically over the past 50 years, Microsoft has maintained its position at the forefront. A pioneer of early computing, today it does the same in the world of data analytics and machine learning. Its Azure cloud service gives powerful ML capabilities to businesses for whom it was once out of reach.

Microsoft’s ML products enable data scientists, engineers and other professionals to train and deploy custom learning models directly into their workflows. Meanwhile, almost all Microsoft software, from its cybersecurity solutions to design and coding packages, incorporate AI to reduce manual processes and increase the speed of innovation.

Arguably the world’s most enduring tech company, its Azure software is used by over 70% of global organisations and 95% of the Fortune 100. Four in five Fortune 500 companies also use Office 365. At the same time, Windows runs on 1.6bn devices, and its Teams platform is used by 270m people every month.

Naturally, this global ubiquity translates into enormous returns, with reported revenues of USD 198bn in 2022.

IBM Watson was initially designed to answer questions on the US quiz show “Jeopardy!”. In 2011, it did just that, scooping the USD 1m prize pot. But this would be far from its most remarkable achievement.

Having started its existence as a question-answering computer system, IBM Watson would go on to transform business automation, healthcare and international IT infrastructures in less than 15 years.

Fresh from its gameshow success, IBM Watson’s first commercial application was announced in 2013. The system would utilise management decisions in lung cancer treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

In the years since, IBM Watson Health has helped build smarter health ecosystems worldwide. Its industry-leading data, analytics and AI capabilities help providers, payers, governments and life science companies to modernize operations and get more value from their health data. In 2022, IBM Watson Health reported revenues of USD 1bn.

Due for release this year, IBM Watson’s latest incarnation, Watsonx, is also expected to take the business world by storm. Designed to help manage organisational complexity and improve performance, IBM reports that it can achieve six times faster customer conversion and up to 470% ROI in under six months.

HubSpot is a shining example of a modern startup success story. Founded in 2004 by MIT graduate students Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah to provide sales and marketing support software, the company generated revenues of over USD 250,000 in its first year.

By 2010, HubSpot’s revenues exceeded USD 15m. Just four years later, the company raised over USD 140m by going public on the New York Stock Exchange, selling shares for USD 25 each. In 2021, HubSpot stock reached an all-time high of $841 per share. In the same year, the company reported revenues of over USD 1bn.

Behind this incredible success is HubSpot’s focus on inbound marketing and valuable content. Its founders spotted ahead of time that consumers were growing tired of being sold to directly. Instead, they wanted help solving their challenges. HubSpot’s mission, therefore, was to stop interrupting and instead start helping – by putting the customer at the centre of every interaction.

This fiercely customer-centric approach still drives the company today. HubSpot now offers several solutions, including its CRM Free product that helps track and manage customer interactions. This is on top of its hugely successful Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, Operations Hub and Service Hub. Each is packed with resources, tools and software – much of it free – designed to help its clients deliver incredible experiences and add value to their customers.

Today, HubSpot serves over 177,000 customers across more than 120 countries. And its revenues are equally impressive. The company generated USD 489m from subscriptions and USD 12m from its other solutions in Q1 of 2023 alone, up almost 30% on the previous year. Total revenues for last year exceeded a whopping USD 1.73bn.

In 1965, Frederick W. Smith was asked to draw up a new business concept for his term paper at Yale University. The idea he submitted, for a safe way to deliver time-sensitive shipments, would set the blueprint for one of the largest delivery services in the world.

Within a decade of that university project, Smith launched Federal Express, the first overnight delivery company.

On its first night of continuous operation, the company, now known as FedEx, sent 14 jets to deliver 186 packages across 25 cities throughout the US. Just ten years later, in 1983, FedEx reported USD 1bn in revenue, making it the first US-based business to do so without merger or acquisition.

Over the years that followed, the company expanded operations to Europe and Asia, and has been in the Middle East via a Dubai operations centre since 1989.

Today, FedEx’s international service spans 1,950 locations across more than 220 countries. Its fleet of almost 700 planes, serving 650 airports, makes it one of the largest civil aircraft fleets and the largest full-service cargo airline in the world. And with an average of 16.5m packages delivered daily, it carries more freight than any other airline.

To offset this enormous transport network, FedEx is committed to ambitious sustainability targets. The firm aims to be carbon-neutral by 2040 and has invested USD 2bn in a range of energy-saving initiatives to achieve this objective. FedEx also plans to have an all-electric ground fleet by the same year.

FedEx’s delivery services are now just one arm of its growing portfolio. The company also offers shipment tracking software, website support, customer service portals and drop boxes. In all, this vast operation returns annual revenues of USD 93bn.

When University of California student Larry Hillblom accepted a job as a courier in the 1960s, he could not have predicted that within a few decades his business would revolutionise the global logistics industry.

DHL was formed in 1969 to operate a business-to-business delivery service between Honolulu and San Francisco for a single client. By the early 1970s, the company was international and had already taken its place as the third-largest domestic courier behind rivals FedEx and UPS.

Today, DHL employs almost 400,000 people across 220 countries and delivers an incredible 1.8 billion parcels every year. The company’s overnight parcel courier service is now just one of many global divisions. Others include its rapid shipping service, DHL Express, plus DHL Freight, DHL Supply Chain, and the DHL ecommerce platform.

Another of its largest operations, DHL Global Forwarding, specialises in international enterprise shipping via air, rail and sea, inclusive of insurance and customs support. This division alone has moved 2.1 million air freight tonnes and 3.1 million ocean freight tonnes for its more than 167,000 customers around the world.

Due to its vast international transport network, DHL has taken considerable steps to reduce its impact on the environment. The company now completes over 100 million last kilometre deliveries with e-vehicles, gets 86% of its electricity from renewable sources, and has employed 70,000 certified GoGreen specialists to help its customers reach their sustainability objectives. As a result, DHL hopes to be globally carbon-neutral by 2050.

The company’s returns are just as impressive. Having reported record-breaking revenues of almost USD 82bn in 2021, it saw a 15% year-on-year increase, reaching over USD 94bn in 2022.

When University of California student Larry Hillblom accepted a job as a courier in the 1960s, he could not have predicted that within a few decades his business would revolutionise the global logistics industry.

DHL was formed in 1969 to operate a business-to-business delivery service between Honolulu and San Francisco for a single client. By the early 1970s, the company was international and had already taken its place as the third-largest domestic courier behind rivals FedEx and UPS.

Today, DHL employs almost 400,000 people across 220 countries and delivers an incredible 1.8 billion parcels every year. The company’s overnight parcel courier service is now just one of many global divisions. Others include its rapid shipping service, DHL Express, plus DHL Freight, DHL Supply Chain, and the DHL ecommerce platform.

Another of its largest operations, DHL Global Forwarding, specialises in international enterprise shipping via air, rail and sea, inclusive of insurance and customs support. This division alone has moved 2.1 million air freight tonnes and 3.1 million ocean freight tonnes for its more than 167,000 customers around the world.

Due to its vast international transport network, DHL has taken considerable steps to reduce its impact on the environment. The company now completes over 100 million last kilometre deliveries with e-vehicles, gets 86% of its electricity from renewable sources, and has employed 70,000 certified GoGreen specialists to help its customers reach their sustainability objectives. As a result, DHL hopes to be globally carbon-neutral by 2050.

The company’s returns are just as impressive. Having reported record-breaking revenues of almost USD 82bn in 2021, it saw a 15% year-on-year increase, reaching over USD 94bn in 2022.

Since opening its first office in 1845, Deloitte has grown to become the largest professional services company in the world, in terms of both revenue and number of accredited employees. Today, it is a long-standing member of the ‘Big Four’ accounting firms alongside EY, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The trajectory has spanned almost 180 years, and the company’s growth has been consistent throughout. From its first office in London, the company went on to establish a presence in major cities around the world, from New York to Buenos Aires and beyond. This international footing has been the foundation of Deloitte’s success.

Today, the company employs around 350,000 people across 150 countries and territories. Here in the UAE, Deloitte has over 1,000 professionals supporting the audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory and tax needs of the region. The team is spread across five offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, and Sharjah.

Deloitte’s full service UAE division works with leading enterprises and institutions in banking and financial services, real estate, leisure and hospitality, construction, public sector activities, trading, manufacturing, telecom, retail and energy and resources.

The company launched an International Tax Center of Excellence in Dubai in 2009, which was ranked tier one in tax services in the International Tax Review’s World Tax briefings just a year later.

Deloitte’s unique position as a global powerhouse with a distinctly local approach is undoubtedly the key to its continued success. The company has garnered much recognition for its work, regularly ranking in Fortune magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For, being named the Number One Accounting Firm by Inside Public Accounting for ten years in a row, and consistently being a Gartner leader for Security Consulting Services.

Needless to say, this high standard translates into considerable annual revenues – topping almost USD 60bn in 2022.

Databricks started life as a project in academic and open-source communities, growing out of the AMPLab project at the University of California. On its official launch in 2013, it became the world’s first lakehouse platform in the cloud. It remains the only solution of this type today.

By combining the best aspects and capabilities of data warehouses and data lakes, Databricks provides an open and unified platform for analytics and AI. Its web-based solution for working with Apache Spark — a unified analytics engine for big data and machine learning – was transformational in bringing reliability to data lakes for machine learning and other advanced data science uses.

Today, Databricks is trusted by over 7,000 organisations around the world to enable massive-scale data engineering, full-lifecycle machine learning, business analytics and collaboration across data sciences. High-profile customers include ABN AMRO, Condé Nast, Regeneron and Shell.

Along with its headquarters in San Francisco, Databricks has 28 global locations across the US and South America, Asia, Europe and Australia. Its team of over 4,000 employees work with hundreds of partners from Microsoft and Amazon to Capgemini and Booz Allen to simplify and democratise complex technology.

Such is its global success that Databricks has received numerous prestigious accolades over the years. It is a Gartner Leader in both Cloud Database Management and Data Science and Machine Learning. It also features in Forbes’s AI 50 and Cloud 100 lists and was named one of the Most Innovative Companies in the World by Fast Company.

As well as rewards and recognition, Databricks’ phenomenal success is reflected in its financials. Over its ten-year lifespan, the company has raised USD 3.5bn over ten funding rounds, reaching a valuation of USD 38bn in 2022. Annual revenues for the same year topped an incredible USD 1bn, up from USD 600m in 2021.

Launched in 2010, Azure rose quickly to become the cloud platform of choice for most organisations around the world. The Microsoft solution has almost one billion users and is trusted by 95% of the Fortune 100. Globally, Azure’s cloud computing market share stands at 21%.

Originally developed to provide access, management, and development of applications and services through global data centres, it has expanded to include more than 200 products with thousands of capabilities from software-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) support to AI and machine learning (ML).

Its Azure Machine Learning solutions are instrumental in bringing advanced, business-critical ML models to the mass market at scale. It is used by thousands of data scientists, developers, and engineers to build, deploy, and manage high-quality models faster and more reliably.

Azure Machine Learning is credited with making the complex simple. It allows users to evaluate ML models with reproducible and automated workflows to assess model fairness, explainability, error analysis, causal analysis, model performance, exploratory data analysis and much more – capabilities that were, until its launch, out of reach for all but the largest data science and analytics organisations.

Microsoft is committed to rolling out Azure to as many markets and territories as possible. In 2018, it was the first primary cloud provider to open a facility in Africa, bringing its reach to 54 global regions. A year later, Microsoft announced the establishment of two new cloud regions in the UAE to make it easier for businesses here to further embrace the opportunities of cloud technologies.

Such is its international reach and continued adoption that Azure generated around USD 75bn of Microsoft’s 198bn annual revenues in 2022.

The platform that would become Amazon Web Services (AWS) started life as an in-house development project in the early 2000s. Amazon set out to scale its engineering capabilities and speed up the improvement of its operating software.

By 2002, the idea of an ‘internet operating system’ was born. In 2003, AWS released its first web services solution, opening up the platform to developers beyond Amazon. The platform quickly evolved to include database, storage and computing capabilities and just four years later, its first ground-breaking release, Amazon S3 cloud storage, was available to all.

Today, the AWS portfolio includes over 200 services from data centres worldwide. It is the most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform in the world, supporting millions of customers, from startups to multinational conglomerates and government agencies.

More recently, AWS has been leading the charge in the widespread adoption of AI-powered technologies. Its pre-trained AI Services provide ready-made intelligence and can be easily integrated with in-house applications.

By far the most transformational benefit of AWS AI Services is that it does not require machine learning experience. Essentially, AWS has put advanced, continuously-learning APIs in the hands of its users, whatever their technical capabilities.

AWS’s global market domination has seen it recognised as a Gartner Leader for Cloud Infrastructure and Platform Services for 12 years in a row. It is also credited as being the most flexible and secure cloud environment, with more services and customers than any other provider.

This global reach translates to out-of-this-world revenues of USD 80bn in 2022, with an operating income of USD 22.8bn. Here in the UAE, the recent establishment of the AWS Middle East (UAE) Region is estimated to support 6,000 jobs and bring over AED 20bn in investment to the country.

In 1997, friends Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph sent a DVD in the mail to see if it would survive the trip intact. It did – and the idea for Netflix took a step closer to reality.

Just five years later, the company went public, selling shares at $1, and it wasn’t long before its movie-by-mail service had five million subscribers. For many businesses, this would be the peak of its success, but for Netflix, it was only the beginning.

The introduction of the company’s streaming service in 2007 would accelerate the process of Netflix becoming the global behemoth we know today. Within just two years of going fully digital, subscriber numbers surpassed 10 million.

Over the years that followed, Netflix would launch in more than 190 countries, from the UK and Ireland in 2012 to France, Germany and Switzerland in 2014, and the UAE and many more in 2016. In the time since, the EMEA region would overtake the US and Canada as the company’s largest, with over 77 million subscribers.

Netflix is not just a business success story. It is a cultural phenomenon. Now an integral part of the world’s film, television and streaming industries, it produces content in more than 20 languages and has won multiple Oscars, Emmys and more for its original productions.

A truly global operation, the streaming giant has offices in the US, UK, Canada, France, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Poland and South Korea, as well as several production hubs around the world.

Today, Netflix is ranked 115th in the Fortune 500 and is the second-largest entertainment and media company in the world by market cap behind the Walt Disney Company.

With more than 230 million people worldwide subscribing to its digital streaming service, the company generates revenues in excess of USD 30bn per year.

Launched in 2005, Sharaf DG took just five years to develop from an idea to one of the region’s leading electronic retailers. In the years since, it has gone from strength to strength, expanding from one store in Dubai to dozens across the wider UAE as well as Bahrain, Egypt and Oman – with more in the pipeline.

Offering over 25,000 products, from local manufacturers to international brands, Sharaf DG is now a household name in the UAE and the Middle East. The company prides itself on the expertise of its staff, and that’s undoubtedly the reason why so many customers come back again and again for advice and guidance, as well as electronics.

Sharaf DG aims to offer the widest range of electronics available at the best value in each of its locations. To bolster this claim, it offers a no-quibble ‘Product not available, claim free’ promise. Put simply, if an item is not in store, Sharaf DG will get it within 24 hours, or it’s free. This is on top of its Best Price Guarantee, which allows customers to claim back the difference if they find an item cheaper at another power retailer.

Initiatives like these contribute to Sharaf DG’s reputation for customer satisfaction and have gone a long way in securing the retailer numerous accolades over the years. As well as bagging the prestigious Superbrand prize every year from 2011 to 2017, the company has also scooped awards for Best Retailer, Most Admired Retailer, and Store of the Year.

Today, over one million customers visit Sharaf DG stores every month, cementing its place as one of the UAE’s most popular – not to mention most successful – retailers.

In 1997, friends Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph sent a DVD in the mail to see if it would survive the trip intact. It did – and the idea for Netflix took a step closer to reality.

Just five years later, the company went public, selling shares at $1, and it wasn’t long before its movie-by-mail service had five million subscribers. For many businesses, this would be the peak of its success, but for Netflix, it was only the beginning.

The introduction of the company’s streaming service in 2007 would accelerate the process of Netflix becoming the global behemoth we know today. Within just two years of going fully digital, subscriber numbers surpassed 10 million.

Over the years that followed, Netflix would launch in more than 190 countries, from the UK and Ireland in 2012 to France, Germany and Switzerland in 2014, and the UAE and many more in 2016. In the time since, the EMEA region would overtake the US and Canada as the company’s largest, with over 77 million subscribers.

Netflix is not just a business success story. It is a cultural phenomenon. Now an integral part of the world’s film, television and streaming industries, it produces content in more than 20 languages and has won multiple Oscars, Emmys and more for its original productions.

A truly global operation, the streaming giant has offices in the US, UK, Canada, France, Brazil, India, Italy, Japan, Poland and South Korea, as well as several production hubs around the world.

Today, Netflix is ranked 115th in the Fortune 500 and is the second-largest entertainment and media company in the world by market cap behind the Walt Disney Company.

With more than 230 million people worldwide subscribing to its digital streaming service, the company generates revenues in excess of USD 30bn per year.

Launched in 1999 by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, Alibaba rose quickly to become the leading platform for global wholesale, serving millions of customers around the world.

Within 20 years, Ma would become one of the wealthiest people on the planet, and his platform would have changed the international trading landscape. As well as being one of the largest ecommerce platforms, Alibaba is the world’s fifth largest AI company and the second largest financial services group behind only Visa. All of which translates to a market valuation in excess of USD 200bn.

Behind this phenomenal success is the company’s driving mission to make it easy to do business with every corner of the globe. Through its ecommerce, technology and financial services network, Alibaba gives suppliers the tools they need to reach an international audience while putting buyers within easy reach of millions of products in more than 190 countries.

Outside of its vast ecommerce, finance and tech divisions, Alibaba also provides a number of entertainment services, including ticketing, content creation and event management. The company also operates Alibaba Pictures Group formed after the USD 803m acquisition of the giant ChinaVision Media Group.

Alibaba is a communications powerhouse, too, having acquired Yahoo! China and launched DingTalk, an enterprise comms and collaboration platform.

In recent years, the company has taken great strides to expand its presence here in the UAE. Having signed an agreement with the emirate’s rulers in 2016, Alibaba opened its MENA regional headquarters in Dubai.

Since then, Alibaba has invested in several Emirati-based businesses, including logistics firm Aramex and retailer Daraz. In 2019, Alibaba signed a partnership agreement with the UAE government to develop the country’s ecommerce industry and help local businesses seize more international trade opportunities.

Julius Baer Group has been trusted to manage its clients’ wealth, prioritising protection, growth and inheritance for over 130 years.

Over more than a century, the company honed a world-renowned five-step investment approach designed to manage risk and generate returns in a systemic and sustainable way.

From its boutique beginnings as a Zurich-based private bank, it has expanded to over 60 locations across 25 countries. As well as its Swiss headquarters, Julius Baer Group has offices in all major financial centres, including Bangkok, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Shanghai and Tokyo.

Since opening its regional office in the UAE some 20 years ago, the company has greatly expanded its presence in the Middle East. In 2020, Julius Baer Group opened a 28,000-square-foot premise in Dubai Financial Center to enhance its global coverage and better serve customers in the MENA region.

Just two years later, it was granted a license by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority to open its third advisory office in the Middle East in Doha.

With privacy and confidentiality at its core, Julius Baer manages assets worth over USD 480bn for individuals, companies and funds around the world. It is the largest pure-play private bank in Switzerland and the country’s third-biggest bank behind global giants UBS and Credit Suisse. This vast portfolio sees the firm bring in annual revenues of over USD 4bn.

As well as working to grow the wealth of its clients, Julius Baer Group supports local communities around the world in a number of ways. On top of ongoing contributions to sustainability and charitable projects, it invests in promising artists, athletes and others to help reduce wealth inequality.

Founded in the UAE in 1976, Etisalat has grown to become one of the world’s leading telecoms corporations with a market cap of AED 329bn and annual revenues of over AED 50bn.

Since launching the Middle East’s first mobile network in 1982, the company has gone on to serve more than 155 million subscribers in 16 countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa. During this time, Etisalat achieved another transformational first – launching the Middle East’s inaugural 5G LTE network.

Today, the company offers 3G and 4G mobile internet, broadband, dial-up and cloud gaming services, as well as a range of digital, streaming, video and lifestyle applications. To reflect its broader portfolio, the company announced a new brand identity, e&, in 2022.

Still headquartered in Abu Dhabi, Etisalat is now a global network hub, providing connectivity to other networks in the Middle East and operating more than 500 roaming agreements across 186 countries.

This vast network makes it the twelfth largest carrier of voice traffic in the world and the largest in the Middle East.

Throughout its phenomenal success, Etisalat has maintained a local, customer-first mindset. The company is committed to improving the lives of those that use its networks as well as helping businesses grow while enhancing the competitiveness of the UAE on the world stage.

And it has undoubtedly made its mark. Etisalat is ranked 140th in the Financial Times Top 500 Corporations for market capitalisation, is the sixth largest company in the Middle East based on capitalisation and revenues, and is the biggest contributor to UAE federal government development programmes outside of the oil and gas industry.

Founded in 1997 during the relative infancy of the internet, GoDaddy took just over ten years to post revenues in excess of USD 500m.

By 2001, the company had caught up with its rivals in the domain space, Dotster and eNom, and by 2005 it was officially the internet’s largest ICANN-accredited registrar. Fast forward to 2018 and GoDaddy was the world’s largest web host based on market share, having registered over 62 million domains. That figure now stands at over 84 million.

Today, it is the world’s largest service platform for entrepreneurs, with more than 20 million customers in almost every country on the planet. Offering domain registrar, web hosting, SSL certificate and website building services, GoDaddy gives its customers the tools they need to launch and thrive online.

Priding itself on the personal touch, GoDaddy is unusual in the domain space as it offers 24/7 human support. Its ‘GoDaddy Guides’ are on hand to answer queries and take calls in offices around the world, from Amsterdam and LA to Shanghai and Sydney. The company also has a significant presence here in the UAE, with Dubai serving as its main hub for the MENA region since 2012.

Unsurprisingly for a company of its size and success, GoDaddy has scooped numerous awards for its services. Notable accolades include the 2022 Stevie Award for Sales and Service, the Comparably Award for Best CEO, and several Indigo Design Awards for Animation, Branding and Website Design.

In 2021, the company generated revenues of over USD 1bn in a single quarter for the first time in its history. The following year, total annual revenues exceeded USD 4bn.

Established in 1890, the Kanoo Group is one of the largest and longest-standing family-run companies in the Gulf region. Based in the UAE, the company made its name in the world of shipping, disrupting the market share long held by British firms in the Arabian Peninsula.

Kanoo Shipping is the largest local shipping agency in the Middle East, and overseas it operates in more than 20 countries – with over 20,000 port calls every year across its network from the Suez to Sri Lanka. It also works with shipping partners from Egypt and Jordan to India, Kenya and the Seychelles.

Over the last 130 years, the company has expanded to include many more divisions across travel, machinery and rentals, energy, cranes, capital services, steel reinforcement, real estate, logistics, chemicals and other retail and commercial activities.

Kanoo Travel is one of its longest-running divisions behind shipping. Launched in the late 1930s, its early operations included refuelling services for long-haul airlines. By 1947 it became the first IATA agency in the Middle East and was also the first to receive ISO certification. Today, Kanoo’s travel arm operates in 180 IATA locations and has built a global presence through its partnership with American Express Travel Services.

Despite its international success, the Kanoo Group remains dedicated to enhancing the UAE and the surrounding region. Through its corporate philanthropy initiative, it invests in the development of local communities through the arts, education, health, social welfare and the environment.

In its commitment to the latter, the company is close to achieving its aim of replacing all company lighting with energy-saving alternatives, as well as installing smart sensors and timers to reduce waste and unnecessary emissions.

Established in 2016 to provide a digital marketplace for products and services built and used in the MENA region, Noon is now valued at over USD 1bn – making it one of the few ‘unicorns’ in the Arab world.

Owned in partnership by Emirati entrepreneur Mohamed Alabbar and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Noon quickly gained traction to become the region’s leading ecommerce platform, offering over 20 million products to customers in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt.

As well as selling electronics, toys and games, and fashion and homeware, Noon also has a grocery platform which delivers everything from fresh fruits and vegetables to kitchen and household items within the UAE. And having built on the success of its online platforms, it is now one of the region’s foremost experts in fulfilment, logistics and payment services.

The ecommerce giant’s portfolio also includes NowNow, an on-demand platform that facilitates hyperlocal delivery of goods within minutes of ordering, and Noon Pay, a digital payment service that offers a secure and convenient way to send money to individuals or pay for goods online.

Its fashion arm, SIVVI, is one of the region’s fastest-growing clothing retailers, offering high-quality apparel at affordable prices. Noon added to this rapidly expanding division in 2023 with the USD 335m acquisition of Namshi, the Middle East’s leading fashion and lifestyle ecommerce platform.

Today, Noon employs around 10,000 people in the Middle East and is soon set to take on many more. In 2022, the company broke ground on what is to become the UAE’s largest fulfilment centre. The 252,000 square metre site is due to open in 2024 and will offer storage and fulfilment services to over 5,000 of the region’s small and medium-sized businesses.

Launched in Seoul, South Korea, under the name Gold Star, the company now known as LG brought the first mass-produced radio, refrigerator and TV to the domestic market in the aftermath of the Korean War.

In the more than seven decades since, LG has expanded its portfolio to include hundreds of products across four core business divisions: home entertainment, mobile communications, home appliances and vehicle components.

Today, the company employs over 80,000 people across 128 global locations. As well as a commitment to creating high-quality, innovative electronics, LG has always been driven by a desire to create a happier, better life for its staff, customers and communities.

The tech giant has held a strong presence in the UAE for more than two decades, gaining a reputation among the nation’s savvy consumers for cutting-edge yet affordable technology with a commitment to customer satisfaction. LG is also a pioneer in the UAE’s air conditioning industry, bringing smart, powerful and energy-efficient units to the mass market.

As a result of its incredible work around the world, LG has received numerous awards, including the prestigious ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year Award on multiple occasions. Others include the Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, and IDEA Design Award.

In recognition of its responsibility as a major global manufacturer, LG is fiercely committed to sustainability. It uses eco-friendly materials to make products and packaging, and recycles reusable parts of old appliances. The company is over 40% of the way towards its target of carbon neutrality by 2030 and is also aiming to use 100% renewable energy by 2050.

All the while, LG’s commercial success continues unabated. The company generated revenues of over USD 63bn in 2022 and saw the highest earning quarter in its history in Q4, bringing in USD 17.6bn.

Few stores transcend to become bona fide tourist attractions. But that’s exactly what happened with The Fresh Market Dubai. On the outskirts of the city, the sprawling market is usually packed with locals and visitors alike taking their pick from the masses of fresh fruit, vegetables, juices and prime cuts of meat.

Within the market is the 4,000 square metre Vegetable Souk, offering hundreds of products, from berries and bananas to spring onions and zucchinis. It also sells pet supplies, household items and everything you would expect from a supermarket – but it’s a lot more fun to peruse!

With a customer base that includes over 60% of the Global 500 and private funds representing 75% of global equity, Bain & Company is a trusted authority on the world stage. Its 15,000 employees in 64 offices across 39 countries work as a team to help its international clients thrive.

The Fresh Market Dubai also offers a range of flexible leasing options for its traders. As well as cold-storage facilities and dry-store warehouses, businesses can rent office space and a choice of stands within the souk.

Thanks to its unwavering focus on providing only the finest and freshest produce, coupled with its impeccable service, The Fresh Market Dubai has succeeded in creating a destination supermarket.

Founded in Dubai in 2021, Concept+ is a cutting-edge workspace and business incubator designed to help startups and individual entrepreneurs thrive in the Middle East and beyond.

Its Concept Incubator was created to enable innovation and help the next generation of entrepreneurs to launch and grow their businesses in the UAE. The incubator works with startups that have the ambition to solve global challenges and offers support at every stage of the entrepreneurial journey.

The Concept Incubator team focuses on turning brilliant ideas into amazing MVPs through a pioneering six-circle model: coworking, incubator, cocreate, academy, community, and capsule. Within this are all the tools and support a business needs to see success, from legal work, training, and consulting to marketing and social media.

As well as tailormade support programmes and access to a vast partner network, Concept+ offers startups and entrepreneurs access to up to AED 500,000 in funding. On top of this, its Concept Hub is a base for startups that contains all the essentials needed to run, build and improve a business, such as a workspace and on-site support facilities.

And its coworking facilities are as extensive as its support services. Concept+’s 6,000 square foot space is home to hot desks, meeting rooms, soundproof pods and brainstorming corners – not to mention a library, pantry and coffee shop. There’s also plenty of space to unwind between ideas, with lounges, sofa sections, TV rooms and reading nooks.

Ultimately, the key to Concept+’s continued success, and that of its clients, is co-creation. Its team of startup experts are masters in their fields, and when you work from Concept Incubator, they’re part of your team as well.

The brainchild of American entrepreneur William Worthington Bain Jr., Bain & Company grew from a one-location investment firm to one of the Big Three management consultancies in under 30 years. Formed in 1970, it had 700 staff and annual revenues of over USD 220m near the turn of the millennium.

Today, the company supports global leaders across varying industries with strategy, marketing, operations, information technology, digital transformation, mergers and acquisitions and much more.

With a customer base that includes over 60% of the Global 500 and private funds representing 75% of global equity, Bain & Company is a trusted authority on the world stage. Its 15,000 employees in 64 offices across 39 countries work as a team to help its international clients thrive.

Here in the UAE, the firm’s Dubai office is the largest in the Middle East and serves as its regional hub for consulting services.

Bain & Company also prides itself on being as committed to its people as it is to its clients, and as such it regularly receives workplace awards. Most notably, it was recognised in Fortune’s Top 100 Places to Work. The company was also named one of Fortune’s Best Places to Work for Women and was featured in Mogul’s Top 100 Workplaces for Diverse Representation 2021.

To say Bain & Company transformed the management consultancy industry is an understatement. The company has developed time-tested strategies to deliver results – not just reports – to its clients. And its pioneering “tied economics” client arrangements allow the company to better align financial incentives and deliver game-changing outcomes.

Needless to say, this approach delivers results in all areas, with Bain & Company reporting annual revenues of almost USD 6bn.

Moderna has been producing life changing vaccines since 2010, focusing on RNA and mRNA therapeutics. But recent events have made the company a household name worldwide.

Moderna was instrumental in Operation Warp Speed, the programme which accelerated the development of the COVID-19 vaccine. After its development in early 2020, Moderna went on to produce over 300 million doses of its mRNA vaccine.

But while many may know this side of the story, the company’s pioneering use of AI technology should garner much more attention.

Moderna’s visionary belief in AI, even above that of many of its innovative competitors, has undoubtedly fuelled its success. The company has led the way in viewing mRNA as a drug, leveraging its power to produce proteins and fight disease and infection.

In a world where AI-powered biotechs will drive the future of medicine, Moderna’s position as an early adopter is already seeing them take a definitive lead over their competitors.

And while the success of the vaccine programme is in the rollout of a lifesaving treatment to millions around the world, on the business front, it’s worth mentioning that Moderna reported USD 18.4bn in vaccine sales in 2022 with projections of USD 5bn for 2023.

Julphar was established in 1980 under the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi. By 1984, the company had obtained approval to sell 30 pharmaceutical products to the market. Over the years that followed, Julphar launched numerous additional medicines as well as a range of holistic and diabetes solutions.

Today, the company is a household name in the UAE and one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturers in the Middle East and Africa.

Through its three core business divisions, diabetes solutions, general medicines, and direct-to-consumer, Julphar’s pharmaceuticals target a number of key therapeutic areas, including the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), respiratory, pain management, wounds and scars, anti-infectives, anaemia, gynaecology, dermatology, erectile dysfunction, and cardiology.

In its commitment to clinical excellence, Julphar also runs a division dedicated to pharmacovigilance – the detection, assessment, understanding, and prevention of adverse effects or any other drug-related problem.

Julphar continually assesses new and emerging safety data as it becomes available and undertakes regulatory action as required. In addition to contributing to the safety profiles of existing drugs, these pharmacovigilance activities help to improve the knowledge set and contribute to the breadth of available epidemiological data.

To serve this vast international market, the company employs 2,500 people and distributes products to more than 50 countries on five continents. Across its 13 internationally accredited facilities in Africa and the Middle East, Julphar produces over a million boxes of medicine a day.

This colossal output saw the company become one of the world’s largest producers of insulin in 2012, thanks to its state-of-the-art UAE-based biotechnology facility.

Having expanded from its Ras Al Khaimah base into Saudi Arabia, Julphar’s growth story shows no signs of slowing. In 2022, the company reported a 41% increase in year-on-year revenue, reaching USD 440m.

Having started operations in Jordan, Aramex quickly headquartered in the UAE and has since expanded to become one of the world’s leading global logistics providers – all in just over 40 years. Since the early days of launch, Aramex has had one goal: to connect the world by bridging the gap between East and West and enabling growth and wealth for its customers.

Over the years since, it’s exceeded this aim with an unmatched portfolio of logistics and transportation solutions. This includes domestic and international express delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfilment solutions, road, air, and sea freight services, supply chain management, consumer retail services, technical support, and much more.

Today, the company sits at the heart of an international global logistics network of over 17,000 employees across more than 600 offices in over 65 countries. Its customers include multinational businesses across e-commerce, SMEs, healthcare, and oil and gas.

Aside from a steadfast dedication to its customers, Aramex is also firmly committed to the planet. It was the region’s first logistics company to develop a sustainability report that highlights its green credentials, such as reducing carbon emissions by 20% since 2020 and reducing fuel by 46% per shipment.

Aramex has also reduced electricity usage by 55% per shipment and increased recycling by 17% – as it can continue to connect the world while reducing its environmental impact.

In recent years, Aramex saw its courier business increase by 10%, and its freight-forwarding revenues grow by 22% to achieve record revenues of AED 6.1bn in 2021. To cap off this recent success, almost a quarter of the company’s shares were purchased by GeoPost S.A, the parent company of Europe’s largest parcel delivery company DPD Group. This saw the logistics giant expand its stake to almost 30%.

The UAE’s rising number of expatriates has seen a huge influx in another kind of resident – pet dogs. In recent years, the Emirates has become a nation of pup lovers, with all manner of businesses popping up to meet the many needs of our furry friends.

One of the most notable success stories in this field is Shampooch. Famous for its bright pink and yellow vans that can be seen all around Dubai, the company started out as a mobile dog groomer. Shampooch’s to your door, expert one-on-one pooch pampering service quickly led to a reputation for luxury with a personal touch.

Over the 14 years since the business has expanded to include many more services in its impressive portfolio.

Shampooch now has a dedicated daycare play space designed especially for the entertainment and care of four-legged friends. Staff are committed to helping dogs socialise, learn new tricks, and, most importantly, stay safe while their human owners are otherwise occupied.

To ensure all dogs get the very best experience, Shampooch’s expert team offers temperament evaluations. This simple “meet and greet” style service allows the team to assign dogs into suitable playgroups depending on size and personality.

The company also now offers salon grooming for those who prefer to drop off their pet rather than book a home visit. The fully stocked salon offers everything that a pampered pooch could ever desire, from hand scissored grooming to all natural shampoos and conditioners.

As if this were not enough for the UAE’s spoiled pets, Shampooch’s Boutique Dog Hotel promises a canine staycation to match your vacation, with spacious kennels, advanced technology air filtration systems, and all the treats, cuddles, and exercise a pup could ask for.

Shampooch’s success is a shining example of what can happen when you follow your passion as an entrepreneur. The family-run business believes that dogs deserve the very best care – and that is reflected in every single service on offer.

Formed in Dubai in 2013, REPs UAE set out to raise standards across the country’s training industry. In the decade since the company has grown to become the trusted public register for the qualifications and expertise of fitness professionals in the region.

REPs provide a transparent system of regulation for instructors and trainers, ensuring that they meet the government’s Fitness Occupational Standards. Its ultimate goal is to protect the clients of fitness professionals by offering peace of mind that registered trainers have the knowledge, competence, and skills to perform their roles effectively.

REPs adhere to the standards of the Dubai Sports Council and are part of a global network of fitness registers now operating around the world. It is also a member of ICREPs, the global confederation for fitness registers.

REPs applies its standard across a range of fitness disciplines, including personal training, aqua fitness, gym instruction, Pilates, and yoga. By working with employers, training providers, and public bodies, the company furthers its mission of promoting the health and wellbeing of UAE residents and citizens.

To remain registered, fitness instructors are required to demonstrate that they can continue to learn and develop throughout their careers. All registered professionals must obtain 20 Continuing Professional Development points (CPDs) every two years through the REPs training course.

For those new to the industry, REPs offer entry qualification courses through its pre-approved training partners. Training providers must complete at least one recommended entry course to be eligible for REPs membership.

For those new to the industry, REPs offer entry qualification courses through its pre-approved training partners. Training providers must complete at least one recommended entry course to be eligible for REPs membership.

First opening its doors in 1870s London, KPMG is now one of the largest professional services companies in the world and a firm fixture among the big four global accounting organisations. Today, the company has its headquarters in the Netherlands and employs over 250,000 people across 145 counties. It serves its international clients with audit, tax, law, cybersecurity, and all manner of consulting services.

KPMG’s UAE member firm forms part of KPMG Lower Gulf along with the firm in Oman. This division comprises 1,700 staff, including almost 200 partners and directors. Once again, the company provides audit, tax, and advisory services, this time tailored to businesses and individuals in the Gulf region.

Outside of the UAE and Oman, KPMG has many more locations within the Middle East, with multiple offices in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Jordan.

In its commitment to serving this part of the world, the company runs a series of Emiratization initiatives to build relations with the local community. KPMG also supports the UAE government’s nationalization program and runs both graduate schemes and internships for UAE nationals.

KPMG’s level of service and dedication to the region has not gone unnoticed. In recent years, the firm has been awarded Best Audit Services at the MENAIR Insurance Awards 2016-2020, Forbes Middle East Top 50 Expat CEOs in the UAE, the International Tax Review World’s Top Tier Firm – GCC Region, and Service Provider of the Year at the Middle East Insurance Industry Awards, to name just a few.

This commitment to each of its territories is undoubtedly behind the company’s incredible annual turnover. Last year, KPMG generated record revenues of almost USD 35bn, up by around USD 2.5bn from the previous year.