About the Event

SuperReturn Middle East is the premier private capital conference for the Middle East and North Africa region, held from 13 to 15 October 2026 at The Ritz-Carlton DIFC in Dubai. Organised by Informa Connect as part of the global SuperReturn series, the event draws 600+ attendees including 220+ LPs and 230+ GPs from over 40 countries, facilitating 11,000+ meetings across three days. The programme opens on 13 October with a dedicated specialist summits day featuring five concurrent tracks: Private Credit, Infrastructure, Fundraising, Tech and AI and VC, and the Family Office Forum. Two full main conference days follow on 14 and 15 October, featuring plenary sessions, keynotes, LP/GP closed-door discussion groups, GP-only and LP-only networking sessions, fund presentations, and a Women in Private Markets leadership luncheon. Qualifying LPs attend free of charge. The event is CPD certified and curated by the SuperReturn LP Council.

Audience and Attendees

The event unites the most senior private capital professionals focused on the Middle East, spanning sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, family offices, insurance companies, pension funds, private equity firms, venture capital managers, and private credit specialists from across the GCC and internationally. LPs who attended in 2025 included 76 Columbus Family Office, Ali and Sons, IFC, Mubadala Investment Company, Public Investment Fund, and the US International Development Finance Corporation. GP attendees in 2025 included Affirma Capital, Investcorp, DPI Venture Capital, Golden Gate Ventures, Ruya Partners, Gulf Capital, KKR, and Permira. Speakers confirmed for 2026 include senior professionals from Affirma Capital, Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton, IFC, Saudi Bugshan Company, BNP Paribas Asset Management, and Alternal, among others.

Programme Structure

The specialist summits day on 13 October runs five parallel tracks covering private credit structures and deployment across the GCC, infrastructure investment including data centres and energy security, fundraising dynamics and LP expectations, technology and AI and venture capital evolution, and the Family Office Forum. Main Conference Day One on 14 October opens with sessions on geopolitical fault lines, the Middle East's position in global portfolios, portfolio company management and AI-driven value creation, secondaries in practice, impact investing, food security, healthcare, and LP capital allocation strategy, with parallel GP-only and LP-only closed-door sessions and an evening networking reception. Main Conference Day Two on 15 October covers cross-border investment strategies, the India-GCC relationship, the UAE as a regional commercial hub, GCC capital corridors including Turkiye, Central Asia, Europe and the US, Saudi Arabia's investment landscape, MENA capital bridges, the GCC's strategic markets of Qatar and Kuwait and Oman and Bahrain, gaming as an emerging investment category, China-Middle East partnerships, tourism, and closes with a farewell networking reception.

Main Topics

The agenda spans the full breadth of private capital strategy and regional investment opportunity across the Middle East and globally. Key themes include navigating geopolitical fault lines and a multipolar world order; the Middle East's evolving role in global portfolios and which asset classes are driving growth; portfolio company management and AI-driven operational value creation; secondaries market evolution including GP-led and direct secondaries; impact investing across climate, natural capital, and water security; food and supply chain security in the context of regional geopolitics; healthcare investment across the value chain including AI-driven diagnostics and platform scaling; LP capital allocation resets and evolving manager selection criteria; family office strategies and GP engagement best practices; cross-border capital corridors connecting the GCC to Asia, Europe, and the Americas; Saudi Arabia's accelerating economic diversification; the UAE as a launchpad for regional and global expansion; North Africa connectivity and exit pathway development; China-GCC strategic partnerships; tourism as an investable asset class; and the gaming sector's emergence as a venture-scale investment category.

Closing Session

SuperReturn Middle East 2026 concludes on 15 October with the chair's closing remarks at 4:25pm, followed by the farewell evening networking reception from 4:30pm to 6:00pm, bringing three days of content, deal-making, and regional and global connection to a close at the Ritz-Carlton DIFC.

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