Private Capital Summit, Dubai Draws Over 300 Dealmakers to The Lana as the Gulf Moves to Finance and Exit Its Own Deals

More than 300 senior dealmakers gathered at The Lana in Dubai on September 15 for the Private Capital Summit, Dubai, a one-day forum that underlined a shift toward regionally led financing and exits in the Gulf. Organised by CapLink Group, the event drew lenders, buyers, lawyers and administrators from private equity, private credit, venture capital, secondaries and advisory firms, and featured a keynote by Hazem Ben-Gacem, Founder and CEO of BlueFive Capital. Delegates examined data showing regional mergers and acquisitions reached $106.1 billion across 884 transactions in the prior year and heard that roughly $4.1 billion of structured private debt has been underwritten across the GCC startup and mid-market ecosystem against a regional alternative asset base of over $2 trillion.

"The centre of gravity in global capital is shifting, and the Gulf is no longer on the receiving end of that shift but helping to drive it," Hazem Ben-Gacem said in his keynote. "For the second half of 2026 and beyond, the most interesting opportunities are where regional ambition meets global expertise, and that is precisely the conversation this summit convened."

Summit focus and participants

The summit was structured to put the firms that structure, finance, administer and advise transactions in the driving seat, rather than centring a single fund’s view. Matthew Benson, MENA Private Capital Leader at EY-Parthenon, chaired the day, which combined main-stage sessions with five parallel roundtables. CapLink Group reported "over 300 C-suite decision-makers" at the inaugural Dubai edition.

• Confirmed institutional attendees included BlackRock, Permira, Warburg Pincus, Investcorp, Tikehau Capital, Ares Management, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, HPS Investment Partners, StepStone and HarbourVest.
• Participants from regional and global institutions such as DAMAC Capital, Wafra, Partners Capital and Miras Investments contributed to sessions on AI deployment in portfolio management.
• Platinum sponsors included Clifford Chance, White & Case, A&O Shearman, Akin, Gibson Dunn, Skadden, DLA Piper and Alvarez & Marsal; EY-Parthenon acted as Headline Partner. FAB Bank, Abacus and Cleary Gottlieb were Gold Sponsors. The Financial Times served as Official Media Partner and Preqin, a part of BlackRock, as Official Data Partner.

Key themes: credit, secondaries and AI

Three themes dominated discussions. First, private credit has moved to the centre of Gulf capital markets: panels explored how direct lending and non-bank financing now underpin leveraged buyouts, infrastructure deals and growth capital, enabling complex financing structures that historically required London or New York processes. Second, the Middle East secondary market has transitioned from emerging to established, with conversations on GP-led continuation vehicles, LP portfolio sales and NAV financing reflecting meaningful scale and increasing complexity through 2025–2026. Third, AI is shifting from theoretical debate to operational use: speakers from DAMAC Capital, Wafra, Partners Capital and Miras Investments described active applications in revenue forecasting, due diligence workflow, supply chain optimisation and knowledge management, alongside governance and cybersecurity considerations.

Outlook

CapLink Group’s Founder and Managing Director, Nawshad Noorkhan, framed the summit as a marker of changing dynamics: "Regional institutions are no longer waiting to be led; they are setting the agenda, and international partners are aligning alongside them to deepen the opportunity in the MENA private capital ecosystem. Over 300 C-suite decision-makers gathered for this inaugural edition, one of the strongest private capital gatherings the region has seen in recent years, signalling that Dubai is ready to lead the next phase of its growth."

Attendees left with a consensus that the Gulf is not slowing but reshaping—building the credit markets, secondary capabilities and technology adoption required to finance and exit its own deals at scale.