In early September 2026, I sat on a panel and on the jury of the Innovation Finale at Middle East Energy in Dubai. The panel was called “The Innovators' Verdict”. My argument there: the energy transition is no longer a technology problem. A large part of the technology going into the ground in the Gulf is European. We are good at assessing it and slow at committing to it.
The jury
Four startups had four minutes each, and we decided on stage straight away. Solaristique from Nigeria won: cold storage built from discarded freezers, running on solar, for regions without a reliable grid. Nothing is new in the physics. Someone built it, financed it and earned the trust for it.
What this means for a market entry
For European companies looking at this region, demand is in my assessment real and growing. It will not wait until we have decided. A market entry therefore starts with the decision on market, segment and partner, before budget is committed.
Gulf region
In the Gulf states, I support market access, partner search and programme work on site, with a focus on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in Arabic. For an international digital and performance marketing agency, I prepared the entry into the Gulf region from the target market to the first partners in 2025 to 2026. The entry paid off, and the agency operates at a profit in the GCC today.
India
For clients, I build India as a corridor, with my own contacts on the ground. In 2025, I was on a panel at IndiaSoft in New Delhi, in the delegation of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA and WKO StartupNOW. In September 2026, I attended UPITS in Uttar Pradesh through the FIEO Hosted Buyer Programme. For years, I was operationally responsible for South and South-East Asia from Kuala Lumpur.
Anyone examining a market in the Gulf region or in India can use a first conversation of 30 minutes to clarify whether the question is market, segment or partner. The conversation is free and without obligation. More at market entry.
Source: the author's own participation in Middle East Energy 2026 in Dubai, IndiaSoft 2025 in New Delhi and UPITS 2026.