Raising from LPs in the Gulf: How Managers from Outside the GCC Get Their First Meetings
If you manage a private fund outside the Gulf and want to meet LPs in the GCC, three things matter more than the pitch: go in person, build slack into your schedule, and start your day early.
Private Capital Development (PCD) has arranged one-to-one introductions with allocators across the Gulf Cooperation Council — the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar — for managers from the United States, Europe, Asia and beyond. PCD’s co-founder, Randy Mitchell, took his first delegation of U.S. fund managers to Abu Dhabi in March 2010. This page sets out what we see around those meetings.
Who allocates to managers from outside the Gulf
Most of PCD’s Gulf meetings have been in the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. The institutions that have taken first meetings with managers PCD introduced:
- Sovereign and state-linked investors, including national development and strategic investment vehicles.
- Investment firms and asset managers, including regional multi-asset and alternatives specialists.
- Family business groups and family offices, many of them multigenerational merchant and industrial families whose investment arms span several GCC states. One Gulf family group has met five managers PCD introduced since 2021.
- Corporate and strategic investors, including the venture arms of national champions.
- Banks and insurers.
How a first meeting in the Gulf works
- Go in person. A first meeting in the Gulf is best held face to face. Virtual meetings happen, but traveling to the region signals the long-term commitment Gulf allocators look for.
- Start early. The business day often begins much earlier than managers from elsewhere expect (UAE government offices open at 7:30 a.m.), so it can also end earlier than in your home market. Schedule the meetings that matter in the morning.
- Know the working week. Since 2022 the UAE government has worked Monday to Friday, with Friday ending at noon, and many private firms follow (Sharjah’s government takes Fridays off). Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman keep a Friday–Saturday weekend. A trip that spans more than one GCC state has to allow for both.
Build slack into your schedule
Time works differently in the Gulf. A confirmed meeting can still move, and occasionally a manager arrives at an LP’s office to find the host is not there. Plan fewer meetings a day than you would at home, confirm the day before and again that morning, and do not read a missed meeting as a verdict on your fund. The relationship is built over repeated visits, not a single slot.
When to go
- Ramadan. Business meetings do happen during Ramadan, but be aware of it: the working day is shorter, and you should never propose a daytime business meal. Ramadan follows the lunar calendar, so it moves about eleven days earlier each year; check the dates before planning a trip.
- The working week differs between the UAE and its neighbors, as above.
Why the room matters in the Gulf
PCD’s co-founder has been bringing managers to the Gulf since 2010. Randy Mitchell took his first delegation of U.S. fund managers to Abu Dhabi in March 2010, while at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Over the following decade he returned with U.S. managers, emerging-market managers and, under PCD, a global delegation. Delegations have met allocators in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Riyadh, Dammam, Kuwait City, Doha, Manama and Muscat.
PCD still convenes in the region. On 30 September 2025, PCD hosted a Manager Spotlight in Riyadh: a lunch discussion at which 15 Saudi LPs met a single U.S.-based infrastructure manager. One manager, one room, and the institutions that matter to that strategy is the format that works in the Gulf.
In a region where relationships are built in person and over time, that history is the introduction. The largest fund managers are over-marketed to Gulf LPs, who hear from them constantly. What a Gulf allocator values is a manager it would not otherwise meet, introduced by someone it knows. PCD’s introductions come from Randy Mitchell’s own email address, and many of the allocators who receive them are people he has met in person. Not all of them, but many.
Where PCD's role ends
PCD builds a manager's standing with Gulf allocators and arranges the introduction. It does not offer or promote a fund, and it does not solicit investment on a manager's behalf, in the Gulf or anywhere else. Questions about offering fund interests to investors in the Gulf belong with the manager's own counsel there.
If you are an allocator checking that a manager is regulated and licensed in its home market, or a manager preparing to be checked, PCD's Global Directory of Fund-Manager Regulators names the regulator and the public register to consult in each major jurisdiction, Saudi Arabia’s Capital Market Authority among them.
Private capital associations in the Gulf
- Middle East Venture Capital Association (MEVCA) — mevca.me. The leading regional platform for MENA venture and growth, founded 2019 and based in the UAE.
- Saudi Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (VCPEA) — vcpea.org.sa. Founded 2019 in Riyadh. Unlike most trade associations, it was created by government resolution, with a mandate tied to Saudi Arabia’s 2030 objectives.
The full, verified list of more than 100 associations worldwide is in PCD's Global Directory of Private Capital Associations.
Frequently asked questions
Do Gulf LPs invest in funds managed outside the region?
Yes. Sovereign and state-linked investors, family business groups, investment firms, corporate investors, banks and insurers across the GCC all take first meetings with managers from outside the Gulf.
Is a first meeting with a Gulf LP better in person or by video?
In person. Virtual meetings happen, but a face-to-face meeting in the region is the stronger start.
What if the LP isn’t there for a confirmed meeting?
It happens. Time works differently in the Gulf. Confirm the day before and that morning, build slack into your schedule, and do not treat a missed meeting as a decline.
When does the business day start in the Gulf?
Often much earlier than in the U.S. or Europe, and it can end earlier too. Put your most important meetings in the morning.
Can I meet Gulf LPs during Ramadan?
Yes. Meetings happen during Ramadan, but the working day is shorter, and you should never propose a daytime business meal.
Looking at investors in the Gulf?
If you have no relationships there yet, the introduction is the part we do.
Cross-border LP introductionsEducational content only. This page was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy before publication. It is general information, current as of the "Last reviewed" date shown above, and is not legal, tax or compliance advice. Private Capital Development LLC is not a law firm and is not a broker-dealer. PCD facilitates relationships between fund managers and institutional investors, on a flat-fee retainer.
Private Capital Development, a Benefit LLC, is a Maryland-based firm founded in 2018 that connects private capital fund managers with institutional allocators through personal, one-to-one introductions. Capital Mobilization is the name of its capital-introduction practice.