From Imported Brands to Homegrown IP: The Next Phase of MENA Licensing

Originally published in Total Licensing Magazine, Summer 2026 Edition

For years, the licensing story in the Middle East and North Africa was largely written by imported brands.

Global entertainment franchises, food concepts, sports properties, and lifestyle labels entered the region, found young and brand-conscious consumers, and built real commercial traction. Dubai became the gateway. Saudi Arabia grew into an increasingly important market. And the wider region proved it had both the appetite and the commercial infrastructure to support global intellectual property at scale.

That story is still true. But it is no longer the full story.

A new chapter is beginning to take shape across MENA, and it may prove to be one of the most important shifts the regional licensing industry has seen in years. The region is no longer only a destination for imported IP. It is increasingly becoming a place where original IP can be built, structured, commercialized, and, over time, taken to the world.

This is not simply a cultural shift. It is a commercial one.

What I Am Seeing on the Ground

I see that change firsthand in my own work. I am currently advising on commercialization models for several brands originating from the region, brands that are looking beyond their home markets and exploring how to position themselves for international growth.

What stands out most is that the conversation has moved well beyond local visibility. The real question now is how to build the right IP architecture, partner strategy, and category roadmap to make these brands scalable, licensable, and globally relevant. That, to me, is where the next phase of MENA licensing begins.

Global Brands Are Not Going Anywhere

For a long time, the region was viewed primarily as a market for imported content and global brand extensions. International properties entered, local partners adapted them, and consumers responded with enthusiasm. That model helped build the market, and it continues to matter.

Global brands will remain a major force across MENA, particularly in entertainment, family experiences, consumer products, hospitality, and food and beverage.

But the regional market is maturing, and maturity changes the conversation.

Across the Gulf in particular, governments and private-sector players have invested heavily in entertainment, tourism, sports, culture, retail, and digital transformation. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 has accelerated this shift dramatically, while the UAE continues to play a critical role as a commercial and operational hub. The result is a licensing ecosystem that is becoming more structured, more ambitious, and more capable of supporting long-term brand growth.

A stronger ecosystem does not only benefit imported brands. It also creates the conditions for local and regional IP to emerge more seriously.

The Region Has the Right Ingredients

The region has many of the right ingredients for homegrown IP to succeed.

It has a young and digitally connected population. It has audiences that are deeply engaged with media, creators, gaming, sports, and experiences. It has stronger confidence in local storytelling and cultural expression. It also has growing institutional and commercial interest in building IP that reflects the region rather than simply importing it from elsewhere.

What has been missing, historically, is not the creative energy. It is the commercial infrastructure, the licensing expertise, the IP architecture, the category strategy, the partner structures, that turns a cultural concept into a scalable, protectable, and commercially viable asset.

That infrastructure is now being built. Not everywhere, and not perfectly. But the direction is clear.

What This Means for Brands and Rights Holders

For international brands, the message is straightforward: the market is not static. The partner landscape is evolving, consumer expectations are changing, and localization is no longer optional. Brands that treat MENA as a passive distribution channel will find it increasingly difficult to compete with properties that are built with the region in mind.

For regional brands and IP owners, the opportunity is real but the discipline required is also real. Having a strong concept is not enough. You need to understand how to protect the IP, how to structure rights, how to identify the right category entry points, and how to build a partner model that allows for growth without losing control.

That requires a different kind of thinking. It requires treating your brand as a licensable asset from the beginning, not as an afterthought once you have achieved local scale.

The Conversation Is Changing

What I find most encouraging is not any single deal or any single brand. It is the quality of the conversation that is now happening across the region.

Brands are asking better questions. Rights holders are thinking more carefully about architecture and strategy. Governments are investing in the infrastructure that makes licensing viable. And the wider industry, agents, consultants, legal advisors, and retail partners, is becoming more sophisticated.

That is what a maturing market looks like.

The next phase of MENA licensing is not about replacing what has worked. It is about building on it. Global brands and regional IP can coexist, and they can actually strengthen each other when the market infrastructure is strong enough to support both.

We are not there yet. But we are moving in the right direction, faster than most people outside the region realize.

Read the full article: Total Licensing Magazine, Summer 2026.