UAE-Israel Business Council

What UAE-Israel Business Council does

The UAE-Israel Business Council (UIBC) is a non-profit business membership organization founded in September 2020 by Fleur Hassan-Nahoum and Dorian Barak immediately following the signing of the Abraham Accords on September 15, 2020. The council was established with backing from public and private sector leaders in both the UAE and Israel to foster trade, investment, and economic partnerships between the two countries. It operates offices in Tel Aviv, Israel and the UAE (Dubai), and maintains a membership of over 6,000 individuals, companies, and professionals, with more than 2,000 participants having engaged through events, delegations, conferences, and webinars.

The council's core offering is a community-led membership network that connects Israeli technology and innovation companies with UAE-based finance, trade, and logistics players. Services include organized business delegations, seminars and conferences on commercial, financial, and legal topics, advisory support for market entry, and introductions to decision-makers. Adjacent programs include the Gulf-Israel Women's Forum (founded September 2020, over 100 members) and the UIBC Journal, which features contributions from ambassadors, founders, and business leaders. Strategic partners include EY, London Stock Exchange Group, Emirates Airlines, Dubai International Financial Centre, Start-Up Nation Central, OurCrowd, and the Abraham Accords Peace Institute.

The business model is membership-based with annual subscription fees that are not publicly disclosed; no external funding rounds or institutional investors are recorded. Revenue is not disclosed, and the figures commonly cited in sources (approximately $2.5 billion in 2022, projected to exceed $3 billion) refer to bilateral UAE-Israel trade facilitated by the broader Abraham Accords environment, not the council's own revenue. Growth is driven by community-building and relationship facilitation rather than a traditional sales motion, with bilateral trade it supports expanding from roughly $50 million annually pre-Accords to multi-billion dollar scale within two years.

Name

UAE-Israel Business Council

Legal name

UAE – Israel Business Council

Website

https://uaeisraelbusiness.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The UAE-Israel Business Council is a non-profit membership organization founded in 2020 that connects UAE and Israeli businesses, investors, and professionals through networking, delegations, conferences, and advisory services to drive bilateral trade and investment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIAIAC

Multilateral Diplomacy & International Representation (UN, Regional Bodies)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Foreign Affairs & Diplomatic Services

SECONDARYBPADANAB

Technical Committees, Working Groups & Expert Panels

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/International Standards, Policy & Regulatory Cooperation

Keywords

• Trade facilitation services
• Bilateral business networking
• Cross-border investment advisory
• Business membership council
• International commerce promotion

Headquarters

HQ city

Tel Aviv

HQ country

Israel

HQ region

Middle East

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The council operates on membership, with businesses and professionals joining to access networking opportunities, events, and business connections between UAE and Israel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The UAE-Israel Business Council is a membership-based bilateral business organization that connects Emirati and Israeli companies, investors, and professionals to foster trade, investment, and economic partnerships. It organizes delegations, conferences, and seminars, and arranges meetings with decision-makers to facilitate cross-border business activity between the two countries following the Abraham Accords.

Product overview

The UAE-Israel Business Council (UIBC) is a business membership organization—not a technology product company—offering a suite of services centered on fostering economic cooperation and trade between the UAE and Israel. Its core offering is the UIBC Membership/Community platform, which connects businesses, investors, and professionals across both countries. The organization also operates the Gulf-Israel Women's Forum as a specialized sub-brand focused on female leadership and peacebuilding, and publishes the UIBC Journal featuring thought leadership on bilateral relations. Additionally, the UIBC organizes delegations, conferences, and networking events. These offerings are interconnected through the central membership community, with the Women's Forum and Journal serving as specialized programs that extend the UIBC's reach and impact within specific niches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and minor.

• UAE GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2020Founding government partner supporting the establishment of the council following the Abraham Accords signing. The council was established by business and public sector leaders from the UAE and Israel to foster shared opportunities and economic cooperation.
• Israeli GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-founding government partner instrumental in establishing the business council to promote trade and business partnerships between the two countries following the Abraham Accords.
• London Stock Exchange GroupkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerLSEG represented through Justine Zwerling, Head of the London Stock Exchange's Israel market, who is a founding member of the Gulf-Israel Women's Forum.
• Gulf-Israel Women's ForumkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerA subsidiary forum under the auspices of the UAE-Israel Business Council, bringing together female leaders from across the Middle East with over 100 members.
• EYkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerErnst & Young shown as a partner supporting the business council's initiatives.
• Emirates AirlineskeyStrategic or Co-development Partner70 weekly flights between Israel and UAE supporting tourism and business travel connections.
• Start-Up Nation CentralkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit promoting Israeli innovation globally, with Innovation Diplomacy activity connecting Israeli tech companies to UAE and regional opportunities.
• Abraham Accords Peace InstitutekeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization dedicated to supporting implementation and expansion of the Abraham Accords, working closely with UIBC on regional transformation initiatives.
• Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)keyStrategic or Co-development PartnerDIFC supports Israeli fintech companies establishing presence in Dubai, with firms like Rapyd registering with DFSA through DIFC.
• ThetaRayminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIsraeli financial cybercrime detection platform that secured deal with Mashreq Bank in UAE for monitoring cross-border transactions.
• Vibe IsraelminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization shown in the council's partner listings.
• BokraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization shown in the council's partner listings.
• AHAVAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIsraeli company operating in UAE market, shown in partner listings.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Start-Up Nation Central: Israeli non-profit connecting Israeli innovation to global markets. Already a UIBC partner, it overlaps directly on the Israel-to-UAE technology pipeline and represents both a collaboration channel and a partial substitute for UIBC's tech-facilitation value proposition.
• Israel-GCC Business Council: Israel-focused organization promoting ties across Gulf Cooperation Council markets. Operates in the same bilateral-council space as UIBC but with a broader GCC mandate rather than UAE-specific focus, making it a partial overlap and potential expansion reference.

Others

• OurCrowd: Israeli equity crowdfunding and venture platform that established UAE operations post-Accords. Listed as a UIBC financial partner; not a bilateral council itself but a key node in the same Israel-UAE capital flow that UIBC aims to facilitate.
• Abraham Accords Peace Institute: Non-profit dedicated to expanding and implementing the Abraham Accords framework. Listed as a UIBC partner and operates in the same diplomatic and economic-cooperation space, but with a policy and peacebuilding mandate rather than direct business facilitation.

Broad incumbents

• Dubai International Chamber (Dubai Chamber of Commerce): UAE's primary official chamber of commerce, headquartered in Dubai with extensive global offices. Competes with UIBC for member mindshare on UAE-Israel market entry but covers a far broader remit and is well resourced by the Dubai government.
• Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce (FICC): Israel's national chamber of commerce umbrella body. Provides broad-based Israeli business representation and bilateral promotion, partially overlapping with UIBC's Israel-side activities but operating at much larger scale and across all trading partners.

Direct peers

• UK-UAE Business Council (UKUBC): Bilateral business council promoting trade and investment between the UK and the UAE. Highly comparable model — government-backed, membership-driven, event- and delegation-led — and even appears in UIBC's own partner logos.
• US-Israel Business Council: Bilateral business council fostering commercial ties between the United States and Israel. Closely mirrors UIBC's Israel-side mandate, and its structure (membership, events, advocacy) provides a benchmark for bilateral council economics.
• US-UAE Business Council: Direct bilateral business council between the United States and the UAE operating under the National Council of U.S.-Arab Trade. Uses the same membership, delegation, and policy advocacy model as UIBC, making it the closest structural analog.
• Israel-ASEAN Business Council: Bilateral business council promoting Israeli engagement with ASEAN markets. Shares UIBC's value proposition of connecting Israeli tech innovation to high-growth regional markets through membership and delegations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UAEIsraelBiz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gulf-israel-business-council

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UAE-Israel Business Council