Mohammed Majid is the Group General Counsel and a Board Member of the Dubizzle Group, and he has overall responsibility for the global legal function spread across MENA. The Dubizzle Group has built and grown the Dubizzle and Bayut businesses in the UAE and MENA, each of which is among the most iconic technology brands in their respective markets. In 2020, Dubizzle became one of the UAE’s first homegrown unicorns.

Mohammed joined Dubizzle in 2020 after spending the previous 15 years in private practice. He retired from the partnership of CMS, one of the top five global law firms, where he had been trusted counsel to Dubizzle and several other high-growth companies on market-defining transactions. Mohammed has been based in the Middle East since 2011; prior to that, he was based in London as a private equity lawyer. While in private practice, Mohammed was consistently recognised across the leading international legal directories as a leading corporate M&A lawyer.

Since joining Dubizzle, Mohammed has led the Group’s M&A activities, including acquisitions, disposals, joint ventures, minority investments, restructurings, venture capital, and investment work across a wide variety of markets.

What are the main cases or transactions that you have been involved in recently?   

M&A continues to be an integral part of Mohammed’s role. In 2022, Dubizzle raised USD$200 million, which is an unprecedented and unmatched achievement in the regional technology ecosystem, especially set against the backdrop of one of the toughest global equity fundraising climates in recent history.

In the last 12 months alone, I acted on the sale of the Dubizzle Group’s businesses in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Mexico, as well as numerous acquisitions in Pakistan, the UAE, Egypt, and the wider MENA region.

Having overseen an aggressive M&A programme, I was involved in the readiness work and analysis that supports the broader strategic vision of the Group, including further potential liquidity events.

What do you see as the major legal challenges for businesses in the region over the next five years, and how are you preparing to address them?   

It is expected that the economies in the region will grow at an impressive rate, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia—two key jurisdictions for the Dubizzle Group. Law and regulation must ensure they keep pace with these changes. Legal teams will need to continually integrate legal technologies and AI to remain current with legal developments and processes.