Makki & Partners | Cross-Border Advisory

Practice Areas

Advisory Where It Counts

Directly involved from the first strategy conversation through to execution — not a connector who makes an introduction and steps back, but an advisor who stays in the work. It runs in both directions: international companies entering MENA and the Gulf, and regional companies building, raising capital, and expanding outward.

Founder & Early-Stage Support

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

Ideation to Launch Business Modeling Founder Advisory

GTM Strategy & Market Entry

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

GTM Strategy Market Entry Commercial Architecture

Trusted Cross-Border Advisory

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

Executive Advisory Fractional Advisory Strategic Sounding Board

Partnership & Alliance Architecture

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

Alliance Architecture Partnership Structuring Joint Execution

Capital & Financial Strategy

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

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

Workflow Automation & Modernization

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

Workflow Automation Process Modernization Digital Marketing Ops

How We Work

Every Aspect, From Idea to Execution

Most firms own a slice — strategy, or capital, or an introduction. We stay with our clients across the whole arc, covering every aspect of the work from first idea to operating reality — hands-on throughout, in both directions between Western and Gulf markets.

Shape

Define the strategy

Idea & business-model validation
Strategic positioning
Cross-border strategy
Investor narrative & business case

Enter

Land in the market

Market sizing & entry strategy
Regulatory & licensing navigation
Local entity & team setup
Go-to-market plan

Secure

Partners & capital

Partner identification & outreach
Deal & term structuring
Capital raising & investor access
Alliance governance

Scale

Execute & grow

Execution & delivery oversight
Workflow automation
Digital marketing & sales ops
Continued advisory & support

About

A Cross-Border Background

Ahmad Makki

Based in the United States · Active across MENA & Gulf

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

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

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

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

Head of Corporate & Business Development, MEA · Intertrust Technologies

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

Analyst · J.P. Morgan Private Bank

Cross-border capital flows and institutional client management

Up to 100% Operational Efficiency Improvements

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

15+ Years Active Across MEA

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

Why Work With Us

Where Network, Nuance & Capital Meet

Regional Depth That Shapes Strategy

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

Bridge Dynamics Are the Work

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

Direct and Hands-On

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

Our Network

An Independent Network, Brought In Selectively

Beyond the core practice, we work with a small circle of independent peer firms and specialists — each running their own firm or holding a senior role of their own. We bring them into specific engagements when added capital depth, sector expertise, or regional reach strengthens the work: a strategic reach, not a standing team.

Strategic Alliances

Mohamad Ibrahim

Strategic Alliance Partner

Co-Founder, Phoenician Funds

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

George Sarkis

Strategic Alliance Partner

Founder & Managing Partner, GSK & Partners

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

Specialist Collaborators

Ayman Dandan

Consumer & F&B Advisor

General Manager, Islami Foods (UAE) · ex-Unilever

A consumer-goods and F&B operator with senior Gulf experience — General Manager of Islami Foods in the UAE, following a career at Unilever, and a CMA by training. Ayman brings brand-building, FMCG go-to-market, distribution, and P&L leadership to engagements across the consumer and food & beverage sectors.

Layal Hassani

Senior Finance Advisor

Chief Financial Officer (KSA & UAE), Assystem

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

Qatrelnada Saleh

FP&A & Finance Transformation

Senior Finance Professional, Toronto

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

A Trusted Advisor
for Cross-Border Growth.

Advisory Where It Counts

Founder & Early-Stage Support

GTM Strategy & Market Entry

Trusted Cross-Border Advisory

Partnership & Alliance Architecture

Capital & Financial Strategy

Workflow Automation & Modernization

Every Aspect, From Idea to Execution

Shape

Enter

Secure

Scale

A Cross-Border Background

Where Network, Nuance & Capital Meet

Regional Depth That Shapes Strategy

Bridge Dynamics Are the Work

Direct and Hands-On

An Independent Network, Brought In Selectively

Mohamad Ibrahim

George Sarkis

Ayman Dandan

Layal Hassani

Qatrelnada Saleh

Where Should We Start?

A Trusted Advisorfor Cross-Border Growth.

Advisory Where It Counts

Founder & Early-Stage Support

GTM Strategy & Market Entry

Trusted Cross-Border Advisory

Partnership & Alliance Architecture

Capital & Financial Strategy

Workflow Automation & Modernization

Every Aspect, From Idea to Execution

Shape

Enter

Secure

Scale

A Cross-Border Background

Where Network, Nuance & Capital Meet

Regional Depth That Shapes Strategy

Bridge Dynamics Are the Work

Direct and Hands-On

An Independent Network, Brought In Selectively

Mohamad Ibrahim

George Sarkis

Ayman Dandan

Layal Hassani

Qatrelnada Saleh

Where Should We Start?

A Trusted Advisor
for Cross-Border Growth.