Women in Business Dubai: Maya Touati Launches a Strategic Advisory and the Madar Institute Think Tank

The most ambitious projects today rarely fit neatly into one industry or one country. That’s the thinking behind Maya Touati Advisory, a new international private office and strategic advisory launched in Dubai by entrepreneur Maya Touati.

The firm works where strategy, culture, institutions and influence meet. Its clients include business owners, family offices, governments, cultural institutions, foundations and purpose-led organisations, all of them working on projects that need more than a conventional consultancy approach.

“The most ambitious projects today rarely sit within a single sector or geography,” says Touati. “They require an understanding of institutions, people, culture and capital.”

What the Advisory does

Its work covers strategic advisory, institutional relations, cultural and knowledge strategy, project development, partnerships and new ventures. In practice, that might mean defining a project’s direction, developing the concept, building the right relationships, conducting research or bringing together specialists to move an idea forward. The Advisory also supports family offices on selected projects, and advises on cultural and place strategy for major developments.

It is deliberately selective. Touati keeps the client list small so each project gets close, senior attention. The aim, she says, is to turn a strong idea into a credible, well-structured project with a clear path to delivery.

Madar Institute

One of the first projects developed through the Advisory is Madar Institute, an independent think tank and cultural platform that Touati founded herself. Its name comes from the Arabic for “orbit”, the fixed point around which everything turns. The institute brings together thinkers, creators, institutions and decision-makers through research, publications, roundtables, university exchanges and public programmes. Its work is built around five pillars: Minds, Access, Dialogue, Action and Resonance.

For women watching the region’s business landscape, Touati’s launch is an interesting example of a founder-led firm operating at the highest levels of strategy and culture.