Licensing Expo 2026 just wrapped in Las Vegas — record numbers, brands from 78 countries, the full breadth of what the global licensing industry has built. I walked that floor and asked the same question I ask every year: where are the Arab brands?

I just walked the entire floor at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. Great brands from every corner of the world. But not a single exhibiting brand from the Middle East. Here is what that absence tells us and what I am doing about it.

The Middle East is no longer just a destination for imported brands. A new generation of regional IP is emerging — and the licensing infrastructure to support it is finally catching up. Amer Bitar examines what this shift means for global brands, regional rights holders, and the future of MENA licensing.