Karrishma Modhy

Nobody watching the first Landsat satellite launch in 1972 was thinking about hedge funds. The mission was geological mapping, environmental monitoring, and the patient work of reading the Earth from above. Half a century later, the most commercially valuable thing about orbital imagery turns out to be what it can tell a trading desk about supertankers moving through the Strait of Hormuz, oil storage levels at Fujairah, or container throughput at Jebel Ali.

Dubai’s property market has had a remarkable run, and it has also experienced significant cycles. What many industry leaders see as different this time is that the growth appears to be underpinned by structural shifts rather than short-term speculation. The buyer profile reflects that change. Demand is increasingly driven by relocated families, entrepreneurs who have established their businesses in the emirate, and long-term residents making decisions with a multi-year horizon.

When Tala Khlat, Director of Philanthropy at Dubai Holding, joined to build its philanthropy function from the ground up, she set one condition: no short-termism. The strategy she designed in 2023 is evidence-based, outcomes-driven and deliberately uncomfortable for organizations accustomed to measuring impact by cheque size.