Regional business headlines with local heat.
The Smashi Business Show is a brisk regional business news program built around UAE, Saudi, and wider regional headlines. It moves from property deals and sovereign wealth strategy to air taxis, social media rules, oil shocks, startups, and the practical fallout of geopolitics.
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The Smashi Business Show is built around the business life of the region as it actually appears day to day: property surges, sovereign wealth strategy, transport projects, oil shocks, social media debates, startup finance, and regional security all arriving in the same news cycle. Its center of gravity is the UAE and Saudi Arabia, with regular attention to how Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, and wider regional players are positioning themselves in a volatile global economy. The show likes big numbers. A Dubai property week, a PIF investment, an Abu Dhabi strategy, a Saudi support package for Pakistan, or a hospitality deal is usually treated as both a headline and a clue about where influence is moving. Short updates often stretch into practical interpretation. What does an air taxi station say about leadership and infrastructure? What does a stored value facilities license mean for a shopping platform? What does a war-risk headline mean for oil, luxury retail, defense procurement, or the price of pistachios? That is the show's working lane. It keeps returning to the idea that regional business cannot be separated from diplomacy, consumer behavior, and state-backed ambition. The delivery is brisk and conversational rather than polished into a formal market note. Some episodes are led by a single voice, while others shift into back-and-forth commentary, especially when a headline touches culture, social media, leadership, or daily UAE life. The show can move from transport projects to a pop star's festival fee, then back into why public leadership in Dubai feels more operational than ceremonial. It also has a strong local-media texture, with references to posts, polls, newsletters, social channels, and audience growth. The most useful moments come when the coverage tests an official or financial claim against what businesses and residents might actually feel: hiring pressure, private-sector incentives, tourism value, logistics risk, consumer pricing, or investor confidence. It is not neutral in the icy global-markets sense. It is regionally invested, sometimes openly optimistic, and especially interested in the region as a place where capital keeps arriving even when the political weather is difficult. That makes it a fit for people who want to follow the Arab world's business headlines with speed, context, and a strong street-level UAE lens.
Made for: For listeners tracking UAE, Saudi, and wider regional business through the lens of markets, policy, startups, infrastructure, and regional power. It suits founders, investors, operators, and residents who want fast context on why each headline matters locally.
What sets it apart: The show connects regional geopolitics to everyday business effects faster than a conventional markets briefing. It treats sovereign wealth, consumer platforms, real estate, transport, and regional security as one connected story rather than separate beats.
The Smashi Business Show tells AI, tech, startup and business stories from the Arab world. For the driven, the dreamers and the doers. Hosted by Abdul Majid Awan, Ward Ahmed, and Wael Hossam El Din.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Gulf headlines gain practical context through energetic discussion of public investment, regional politics, technology and the businesses affected by them.
The Smashi Business Show turns Gulf business headlines into lively news commentary, with Abdul Majid Awan and a rotating group of presenters moving from the day's developments into their economic and political consequences.
Hormuz, air taxis, and Bieber-chella land on one desk so you can connect the regional dots.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
Dubai air taxis, Al-Hilal, and a Bieber detour keep the Gulf business hour moving.
The episode opens on three Gulf business headlines: the first air taxi station ready in Dubai, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal buying Al-Hilal, and a UAE investor backing Joe and the Juice.
A brisk Gulf business review links Saudi capital, metro branding, Lucid, and LIV Golf to the harder question of returns.
This single-episode review works best as a map of Gulf capital in motion, with Saudi Arabia at the center. The Public Investment Fund's new five-year strategy is set against Riyadh's plan to sell naming rights for five metro stations, while Bain Capital's Abu Dhabi expansion…
A Gulf business roundup that keeps sliding into politics, pressure, and public reaction.
The Smashy Business Show opens as a brisk regional roundup, moving from the UAE's plan to reduce salary top-ups for Emiratis to Pakistan's three billion dollars in Saudi support, while staying attentive to how governments and employers may absorb the pressure.
Gulf headlines, turned into business consequences.
This Smashing Business Show segment pulls Hormuz, Saudi leadership changes, Mubadala's 1.4 trillion dirhams in assets, and the UAE influencer debate into one Gulf business conversation.
A brisk Gulf business round-up tying WhatsApp security, Disney, PwC, and premium residency to the region's commercial momentum.
The Smashi Business Show frames Pawel Durov's attack on WhatsApp security as the sharp opening note in a broader Gulf business round-up. From there, it moves through Bob Iger's construction-site post about Disneyland Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund lifting its…
A live Gulf startup discussion on AI agents, R&D, and the practical work of making entrepreneurship easier.
Foodix co-founder and CEO Ahmed Al-Zaini brings the Smashy Business Show at STEP Dubai 2026 into the operating reality behind Saudi Arabia's homegrown business momentum.
Wood Mackenzie's Ed Crooks and analysts unpack power markets, data centers, and energy geopolitics.
Three freight and logistics headlines delivered in under four minutes, most weekdays.
The hosts discuss Trump's live statement about the war continuing for 2-3 weeks and his comments on Middle East relations, alongside headlines about UAE SMEs, Iranian travel restrictions, and Newcastle's profit.
This episode of the Smashing Business Show covers business and sports headlines including Dubai's underground transport loop with Elon Musk, Aldar and Mubadala's retail platform, and Ronaldo's missed match, while hosts discuss personal interests like iShowSpeed's Africa trip.
The Smashi Business Show covers three major Arab world business stories.
The Smashi Business Show hosts a live fireside chat with Foodics founder and CEO Ahmad AlZaini at STEP Dubai 2026.
This episode covers business and geopolitical developments in the Middle East, including disruptions from Iran's attacks, gold shipment resumptions, MBC Group's profit surge, Meta pausing an undersea cable project, and regional market performance.
The Smashi Business Show examines Donald Trump’s Iran escalation, including a proposal to use Iranian assets to compensate people affected by attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.
This episode covers Dubai's booming real estate market with record transactions and high-value deals, and discusses Tabby's evolution in the financial sector.
This episode analyzes Abu Dhabi's plan to consolidate its Chinese investments into a single entity to enhance economic influence and discusses broader geopolitical shifts.
The show opens on Friday, April 17, 2026.
Abdul Majid Awan reports that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is reviewing spending, including roughly $5 billion supporting Live Golf, while prioritizing clearer returns and shorter timelines.
Abdul Majid Awan and Werd Ahmed open fast, moving from the UAE's plan to reduce salary top-ups for Emiratis to Pakistan's three billion dollars in Saudi support, then landing on the claim that Iran is allegedly using Chinese spy satellites.
The show opens with a broad sweep of Gulf business headlines.
This episode covers business headlines including Paramount's bid for Warner Bros.
This episode covers business headlines including Upstroll reaching 5 million users, Etihad Airways' record profit, and an update on Vince McMahon, along with market updates from the Gulf and the US.