Dubai · closed-door roundtable

Productivity a nation
actually owns.

A small, high-trust table in Dubai for senior operators, investors and government-adjacent leaders — on the question the UAE keeps returning to: how a country turns capital and technology into national productivity it owns, not capability it rents.

The main pillar is national productivity & industrial resilience — in-country value, the industrial-resilience agenda, the institutional layer that makes capability durable. AI & robotics maturity sits alongside it as the supporting lens, not the headline.

No panel, no slides-theatre. Each seat brings one real problem or thesis; we work through them together, operator-led, roughly ten minutes a seat. Fifteen chairs.

Request a seat →

What's on the table.

One main pillar, one supporting lens. We hold the conversation where it matters most — how productivity becomes sovereign — and use AI and robotics maturity to pressure-test it, not to dominate it.

Main pillar

National productivity & industrial resilience.

  • In-country value as the productivity lever. The UAE's ICV programme became binding across federal entities in 2026 — what "made-in-the-Emirates" supply chains take to sustain at scale.
  • The industrial-resilience agenda. Operation 300bn / "Make it in the Emirates", the AED-scale industrial-procurement pipeline, and the resilience funds backing local manufacturing.
  • Resilience as institutions, not tools. Supplier development, procurement discipline, talent pipelines — the layer that turns imported machines into durable national capability.
  • Real vs. theatre. Where automation genuinely lifts output, and where the productivity story outruns the evidence.
Supporting lens

AI & robotics maturity.

  • Sovereign AI capability. The UAE National AI Strategy 2031 and the institutions behind it — and the talent and governance depth a sovereign AI ambition actually requires.
  • Governing at the pace capital moves. A simple maturity model — AI as productivity infrastructure, robotics inside sectors, governance as the operating system of a single deployment.
  • The rulebooks that now bind. The UAE Charter for AI Development at home; the EU AI Act / ISO 42001 / NIST AI RMF stack any cross-border deployment has to satisfy.
  • Comparative arcs. Korea's robot-density catch-up and Vietnam's FDI-absorption strategy — as references, never templates.

What this room actually is.

A closed-door table for people who already carry real mandates — operators, investors, and government-adjacent leaders — thinking clearly together about how a nation builds productivity it owns.

01 · who

Senior operators, investors, policy.

Founders and plant-level leaders in manufacturing, energy, logistics and construction; investors allocating across the UAE; and public-sector innovation teams. The filter is mandate and craft, not titles.

02 · why closed-door

So the room is candid, not performative.

Nothing leaves the table. That's how people speak honestly about what's really working in their in-country value, their automation pilots, and their governance exposure.

03 · what happens

One real problem per seat.

Each participant brings one live problem or thesis — a stalled localisation target, an automation business case, a data-residency question — and the table works it for roughly ten minutes, operator-led.

04 · the lens

Productivity first, AI second.

We keep the conversation anchored on national productivity and industrial resilience, and bring AI and robotics maturity in to sharpen it — not to let the technology run the room.

05 · come prepared

A problem worth the table's time.

Arrive with one or two real questions close to what you're building or governing. Preparation honours the other seniors who came prepared too.

06 · venue & cost

Private room. Free entry. Pay your own meal.

A quiet private room in Dubai — our own door, our own table. No tickets, no tiers; you only pay for what you order from the menu.

Two hours, over a real dinner.

Loose, kind, properly grown-up. The rhythm below is a guide — the room sets the actual pace.

18:45 Doors · arrive & settle Find your seat, order from the menu, meet whoever's already there. We start gently when the room is full.
19:00 Round of introductions A short, honest round — who you are, what you carry, and the one problem you'd like the table to work on tonight. Sixty to ninety seconds each. No CV theatre.
19:15 Main pillar · productivity & industrial resilience The heart of the evening — in-country value, the industrial-resilience agenda, supplier and talent development, and the institutional layer that makes capability durable. Each seat's problem gets the table's attention in turn.
20:15 Supporting lens · AI & robotics maturity We bring in the technology layer to pressure-test the productivity cases — sovereign AI capability, the maturity model, and the governance rulebooks that now bind cross-border deployments.
21:00 Soft close · the room stays open No hard end. Leave whenever it feels right — the people who matter to you next quarter will already have your number.

How to
request a seat.

No forms, no tickets, no funnel. One honest message — we read each one personally and reply with the date, the venue pin and a short thread if it's a fit.

3 quiet steps ~ 30 seconds
1

DM Jonas on Instagram at @jonas_jakstas_28

Straight to Jonas's personal account — he reads every message himself, usually the same day. Prefer WhatsApp? Message +370 69537000.

2

Say who you are and the problem you'd bring

“I'm name. I lead role / domain. I'd like a seat at the Dubai roundtable — the problem I'd put on the table is .” That's enough. It helps us seat the room well.

3

We come back to you with the details

We reply with the confirmed date, the venue pin, and a short thread for the day itself. You're on the list.

DM Jonas on Instagram @jonas_jakstas_28 → Free entry · No tiers · No card · You only pay for your own meal

Quick answers.

What's the main topic?

National productivity and industrial resilience — how a nation converts capital and technology into capability it owns. AI and robotics maturity is the supporting lens we use to pressure-test the productivity conversation, not the headline.

Who is in the room?

Senior operators across manufacturing, energy, logistics and construction; investors allocating across the UAE; and government-adjacent innovation leaders. Around fifteen seats, composed to balance industry, capital and policy.

Do I have to come prepared?

Yes — one real problem or thesis you'd like the table to work on. Preparation honours the other seniors who came prepared too.

When and where exactly?

Tuesday, 23 June 2026, 19:00–21:00 (Dubai time), in a quiet private room in Dubai. Request a seat and we'll send you the exact venue pin.

Will the session be recorded?

No. Nothing leaves the room. That's part of why people speak honestly about what they're really building and governing.

Am I expected to order food?

No pressure either way. The private room is ours regardless — order a full dinner, a small plate, or just water. You only pay for what you ordered.