Rami Harajli, Othmane Jabri and the North African-origin operators scaling GCC real estate's capital layer

A USD 141.2 billion market, a new class of operators

The GCC real estate market reached USD 141.2 billion in 2025, according to IMARC Group, with projections pointing to USD 260.3 billion by 2034 at a compound annual growth rate of 7.03%. Behind this expansion sits a generation of operators whose professional trajectories defy the Levantine-dealmaker archetype that has historically dominated Francophone-MENA coverage. Professionals of North African origin, from Morocco, Tunisia, and the broader Maghreb, now hold principal, investment, and capital-structuring roles at some of the GCC's most consequential institutions. Among them, Rami Harajli and Othmane Jabri exemplify how this corridor has moved from advisory periphery to the decision-making core of Gulf real estate.

The shift matters for capital allocation. With USD 6.3 billion of private global capital ready to enter the Saudi property market as geopolitical conditions stabilise, according to Knight Frank, and with Dubai transaction values rising 28.3% year-on-year to AED 554.1 billion in the first three quarters of 2025 per Markaz data, the gatekeepers of deployment carry outsized influence over which asset classes and geographies absorb new liquidity.

Who are Rami Harajli and Othmane Jabri?

Rami Harajli serves as Chief Investment Officer at International Venture Investments (IVI) Holding, a UAE-based family office managing a diversified portfolio exceeding USD 5 billion. His mandate spans real estate, hospitality, and alternative assets across the Gulf, placing him at the intersection of family-office capital and institutional-grade development.

Othmane Jabri holds the role of Principal of Real Estate and Hospitality Investments at the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the emirate's principal sovereign investment arm. There, he oversees global investment and divestment strategy in an asset class that constitutes a core pillar of Dubai's economic diversification.

Both professionals represent a demographic and professional corridor that GRI Institute has identified as increasingly influential across GCC real estate. Their positions grant direct oversight of deployment decisions in markets where regulatory modernisation is accelerating foreign participation and institutional transparency.

The sovereign-wealth and family-office axis

The operator class bridging sovereign wealth and private capital extends beyond Harajli and Jabri. Marwan Bouez serves as Head of Multi-Geography Investment Management, Local Real Estate and Infrastructure at Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds. His responsibilities encompass the domestic real estate buildout that Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 programme demands, as well as cross-border infrastructure allocation.

Adib Mattar is Co-Head of a Luxury Real Estate and Hospitality Fund at Cain in partnership with Mubadala Capital, having previously served as Head of Private Equity for Mubadala Capital from 2014 to 2025. His transition from broad private equity to a sector-specific luxury fund signals how the GCC's institutional apparatus is channelling capital into branded residences and hospitality at a pace that requires dedicated vehicles.

Knight Frank data underscores this trajectory: USD 3.4 billion of global private capital specifically targets the branded residences sector in Saudi Arabia. This figure, combined with PIF's expansive domestic mandate and the ICD's strategic repositioning of Dubai's hospitality portfolio, illustrates how Francophone-Maghreb operators occupy nodes where the largest capital pools converge with the highest-growth asset classes.

How are regulatory reforms reshaping the capital landscape?

The regulatory environment across the GCC underwent significant transformation in 2025 and early 2026, creating the structural conditions under which these operators deploy capital.

In Saudi Arabia, Royal Decree No. M14/1447, effective January 2026, replaced the 2000 foreign ownership framework. The new Law of Real Estate Ownership and Investment by Non-Saudis allows non-Saudi individuals, companies, and funds to acquire ownership, usufruct, or easement rights in designated zones. For operators like Bouez at PIF, the decree redefines co-investment possibilities with international partners by removing longstanding barriers to foreign equity participation in Saudi residential and commercial projects.

Abu Dhabi introduced Law No. 2 of 2025, amending Law No. 3 of 2015 on real estate regulation. Decision No. 24 of 2025 enforces a 20% completion threshold before developers can withdraw escrow funds, a measure designed to protect buyer capital and reduce project abandonment risk. This tightening of escrow discipline aligns Abu Dhabi's framework with institutional expectations, particularly relevant for sovereign-adjacent vehicles that require fiduciary-grade governance.

Abu Dhabi's real estate sales performance reflects growing investor confidence in this maturing regulatory environment: total sales reached AED 58 billion in the first three quarters of 2025, a 75.8% year-on-year increase according to Markaz.

Dubai has enacted two complementary measures. Law No. 7 of 2025 establishes a unified legal framework for contracting activities, requiring all contractors to register and be classified under a standardised system. The 2026 Direct Payment Mandate requires all property sale proceeds to be transferred into a UAE-based bank account in the name of the individual listed on the Title Deed, restricting third-party accounts via Power of Attorney. Together, these measures strengthen anti-money laundering compliance and transaction transparency, both critical for institutional and sovereign capital deployment.

What does the supply pipeline signal for operator demand?

The physical buildout across the GCC creates sustained demand for the capital-structuring and investment-management expertise that North African-origin operators bring to their roles. Regional residential supply is expected to increase from approximately 6.26 million units in 2025 to 7.28 million units by 2030, according to Alpen Capital. Saudi Arabia alone accounts for an estimated 499,000 new units in this period, reaching 3.45 million by 2030.

Retail assets follow a parallel trajectory. GCC gross leasable area is projected to expand from 22.8 million square metres in 2025 to 27.2 million square metres by 2030, per Alpen Capital. This growth across residential and commercial segments translates into sustained capital requirements that far exceed traditional development finance, pulling in sovereign funds, family offices, and structured vehicles managed by the operator class profiled here.

The UAE remains the gravitational centre of the market, accounting for over 61.1% of the GCC real estate market in 2025, according to IMARC Group. This concentration explains why both Harajli (based in the UAE through IVI Holding) and Jabri (at ICD in Dubai) operate from the region's largest deployment platform.

A corridor that merits dedicated attention

GRI Institute's engagement with senior decision-makers across the GCC confirms a pattern: Maghreb-origin professionals have moved beyond intermediary or advisory functions into principal roles where they structure, deploy, and manage capital at scale. This trajectory parallels but is distinct from the Levantine-origin dealmaker networks that have received broader coverage.

The distinction matters for three reasons.

First, the professional formation of many Maghreb-origin operators includes Francophone institutional and educational frameworks, creating differentiated networks that connect GCC capital to North African, European, and sub-Saharan opportunity sets.

Second, the scale of mandates is substantial. A family office portfolio exceeding USD 5 billion, a sovereign wealth fund with one of the world's largest real estate allocations, and a dedicated luxury fund backed by Mubadala Capital represent deployment capacity that shapes entire sub-markets.

Third, the regulatory reforms of 2025 and 2026 have expanded the surface area for international capital participation, amplifying the influence of operators who bridge Gulf institutional capital with global investor networks.

The GCC real estate market's projected growth to USD 260.3 billion by 2034 will require an expanding cadre of senior operators capable of navigating sovereign governance structures, cross-border regulation, and increasingly sophisticated capital stacks. Professionals like Rami Harajli, Othmane Jabri, Marwan Bouez, and Adib Mattar represent the vanguard of this operator class. Their trajectories offer a lens into how GCC real estate's decision-making layer is diversifying in origin, deepening in institutional mandate, and scaling in capital impact.

GRI Institute continues to track this evolution through its network of senior leaders active across GCC real estate and infrastructure, providing members with direct access to the professionals and data shaping the region's investment landscape.