Dubai ranks among the most prominent business hubs in the region. The Dubai Multi Commodities Centre or DMCC supports the city’s thriving trade and business landscape through various endeavors, including the DMCC AI Centre, the Sustainability Hub, and flagship events like the Dubai Precious Metals Conference.
In this interview, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman and CEO at DMCC, discusses how the company aligns with Dubai’s — and the broader UAE’s — long-term vision. He also talks more about DMCC’s initiatives and their importance in cementing Dubai’s status as a leading business hub.
How do DMCC’s initiatives contribute to the UAE’s global competitiveness and align with the nation’s long-term economic vision?
Today, we are home to over 25,000 companies, accounting for over 15 percent of Dubai’s FDI and over 7 percent of its GDP. We count ecosystems across physical commodities, such as precious metals and stones, coffee, tea, and energy, as well as technologies like crypto, gaming, and AI. As a result, we host some of the highest concentrations of these sectors in the region with over 3,200 companies in energy, over 1,500 in precious metals, over 1,300 in precious stones, and over 600 in DMCC Crypto Centre.
We continue to be a key contributor to Dubai’s long-term strategy initiatives, and our track record speaks for itself.
How does the launch of the DMCC AI Centre position Dubai as a hub for AI innovation, and what impact do you foresee for businesses within DMCC’s ecosystem?
The DMCC AI Centre, launched last September, is our latest ecosystem dedicated to a high-growth industry that supports the UAE’s efforts to become a global leader in AI. Through the Centre, we are advancing pragmatic AI adoption and developing real-life use cases that will act as a magnet for new technologies at a global level.
With the disruption AI is producing globally, we see huge potential for its integration across our other ecosystems, especially physical commodities. In precious stones and metals, AI can enhance automated sorting, grading, and counterfeit detection, as well as optimize predictive maintenance. In agri goods, such as tea and coffee, AI facilitates streamlined supply chains, efficient quality control, and improved sustainability practices.
Dubai will become a global hub for AI. Our aim is for the DMCC AI Centre to become the number one gateway for international companies to tap into Dubai’s AI ecosystem and to become the platform from which the leading AI innovations can be scaled to the wider world — especially in the Global South — to make a lasting impact. I am always conscious of the fact that the actions we take today will be our legacy for the future.
Could you elaborate on the goals of the DMCC Sustainability Hub and its role in driving sustainable business practices in alignment with the UAE’s environmental commitments?
Dubai’s hosting of COP28 underscored the UAE’s leadership in climate and sustainability, with significant outcomes such as the “UAE Consensus,” which commits nations to tripling renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030.
During the summit, Dubai showcased its role as a global hub for critical climate discussions. DMCC also contributed, with Uptown Tower hosting key initiatives like Supercool’s Future Mobility Hub, a collaborative space bringing together stakeholders to develop innovative solutions for sustainable mobility and transportation.
Building on this momentum, DMCC continues to act as a regional leader in sustainability by aligning with the UAE Net Zero by 2050 initiative. Central to our efforts is the DMCC Sustainability Hub, launched in March 2024, which offers resources, such as mentorship, networking, and access to funding through cleantech-focused venture capital and accelerator programs. In October, the Sustainability Hub expanded its services offering through several key partnerships.
Read more: DMCC Crypto Centre Metaverse launched to drive Web3 engagement
What factors contributed to the record attendance at the Dubai Precious Metals Conference (DPMC), and how is DMCC capitalizing on the UAE’s rising prominence in the global gold trade?
The 12th edition of the Dubai Precious Metals Conference was our most successful yet, with over 800 attendees gathered from around the world. It witnessed the unveiling of a new Guinness World Record gold bar from Emirates Minting, and it featured contributions from VIP guests, such as Jordan Belfort, the “Real Wolf of Wall Street”. The event had representation from major gold and silver hubs like China, Malaysia, and Poland.
The conference was also held against a backdrop of record gold trade for the UAE, now the world’s second-largest gold trade hub after Switzerland. This is a key development that will only enhance Dubai’s position in the gold and precious metals trade in the coming years.
This is reflected in DMCC’s own growth trajectory. In the past year alone, over 250 new companies joined DMCC from key markets, including Singapore, Thailand, and Hong Kong, bringing our total precious metals ecosystem to over 1,500.
In 2025, DMCC will continue to bring global stakeholders to Dubai for critical industry conversations. In February, DMCC will host an exclusive auction of the world’s rarest coffees at World of Coffee. We will host the second Lab-grown Diamond Symposium, the Global Dubai Tea Forum, and the 13th edition of the Dubai Precious Metals Conference. Meanwhile, we will play a central role in the inaugural Dubai AI Week.
With the groundbreaking of new towers and the imminent opening of The Atrium, how does Uptown Dubai redefine urban development, and what milestones can we expect?
Uptown Dubai exemplifies world-class urban development, providing a state-of-the-art commercial space that meets the needs of the international business community. The 81-storey Uptown Tower, which opened in September 2023, now hosts global names, such as Invisalign, Wellbred, Hikvision, Trafigura, and the Gemological Institute of America.
Last year, we broke ground on One Uptown Place and Two Uptown Place, two 23- and 17-storey towers that will offer 70,000 square meters of commercial office space as well as 8,000 square meters of F&B and retail in keeping with the premium level of the urban community. We are also nearing the launch of the Atrium, along with the opening of new F&B concepts, such as Sur Balik, Lana Lusa, and Uptown Social.
Beyond Uptown, we continue to enhance our wider district in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, including through the Crypto Tower, a new 17-storey project that will support DMCC’s rapidly expanding community of blockchain, DeFi, and Web3 companies, companies, bolstering our status as a global hub for innovation and advanced technologies.
