What we do

Services

Six engagements. Two for vendors entering the region, two for those reassessing a position already held, and two for execution — which both paths lead to.

Choose the starting point that matches how much you already know. Each path can move directly into execution.

Not sure which of these you need? The MEA Readiness Scorecard scores where you stand across six dimensions and points at the engagement your gaps imply — including, at the low end, none of them. Ten minutes, free, no email required.

Engagement pathways
Considering entryDeciding whether and where to enter
Market ScanGCC entry feasibility and market prioritisation
Entry BlueprintCountry-specific plan and execution roadmap

Market Scan fee credited in full against an Entry Blueprint commissioned within 30 days.

Already operatingReassessing or underperforming
Position ReviewIndependent stress test of the current regional plan
Regional ResetDiagnostic, rebuild or exit plan

Position Review fee credited in full against a Regional Reset commissioned within 30 days.

Execute

Both paths lead here. Choose the execution model based on who owns day-to-day delivery.

Execution OversightYour team executes; we oversee, challenge and unblock
Regional LeadWe lead the region until a permanent leader is in place

How we work

Every engagement follows the same operating discipline. What changes is where you join it, and who owns execution.

AlignConfirm strategic fit, priorities and success measures
OrchestrateCoordinate stakeholders, partners and commercial execution
EnableBuild internal capability and prepare for handover

Entering the region

Market Scan

GCC entry feasibility and market prioritisation

Ten working days · fixed-scope, fixed-fee decision engagement · no ongoing commitment

Is this region worth a serious conversation, and which country comes first?

A desk-based feasibility read, delivered as a written assessment and an executive readout. Deliberately small, deliberately fast, and designed to be approved without a business case.

Standard scopeOne product category and one target customer segment across the six GCC markets. All six are screened and ranked using a consistent framework; the two highest-priority markets receive a more detailed commercial assessment.
  • Executive recommendation — proceed, adapt first, phase entry, or stay out. This is the product, not the last page
  • Six-country GCC scorecard — all six ranked against customer fit, buying demand, competitive intensity, route-to-market viability, regulatory friction, and cost and speed of entry
  • Two priority-market assessments — the analysis determines which two, rather than assuming it
  • Route-to-market recommendation — direct, distributor, systems integrator, agent or hybrid
  • Competitive landscape — known incumbents, apparent positioning, and areas requiring deeper validation
  • Commercial reality check — directional pricing posture, discounting conventions and channel-margin considerations
  • Entry barriers and decision conditions — high-level regulatory and certification flags requiring specialist validation

Credited in full against an Entry Blueprint commissioned within thirty days.

Entry Blueprint

Country-specific market-entry plan and execution roadmap

Five to six weeks · fixed fee

We are going. What exactly do we build, with whom, at what cost, and in what order?

The operating document for your first twelve months. Built from desk analysis and in-market conversations, not desk research alone. You should be able to hand it to a new regional hire on day one.

Standard scopeOne country, one product category and one target customer segment.
  • Addressable demand sizing and a three-year revenue range, with assumptions stated
  • Competitive and incumbent map — positioning, apparent pricing posture, and where they are weak
  • Channel longlist and assessed shortlist of named companies
  • Stakeholder and decision-maker map for your target segment
  • Entity, licensing and regulatory pathway with indicative cost and timeline
  • Regional pricing structure, margin ladder and partner economics
  • Twelve-month phased roadmap with sequence, owners and decision gates
  • Investment and headcount required — and the order in which to commit it

Additional countries, partner due diligence, live formation quotations, a working partner-economics model and an in-market visit week are available as separately quoted modules.

Reassessing the region

Two engagements for companies already operating in the region. Read more →

Position Review

Independent stress test of the current regional plan

Delivered within two calendar weeks · fixed-scope, fixed-fee decision engagement

Given what is happening in the region, what should we change in the next two quarters?

A short, focused read on what current conditions mean for your specific plan. Written for a management team that needs a defensible position quickly.

Standard scopeOne product category or business unit across up to three priority markets, based on client-provided information and a limited number of internal stakeholder discussions.
  • Regional position summary — what has changed since the original plan was approved
  • Commercial exposure map — partner concentration, receivables concerns, pipeline vulnerability, country exposure and major commercial dependencies. A management assessment, not an audit
  • Assumption stress test — which assumptions still hold, which have weakened, which are no longer credible
  • Two-quarter management priorities — what to accelerate, defer, stop, and investigate further
  • Board-ready position note

Credited in full against a Regional Reset commissioned within thirty days.

Regional Reset

Country-by-country diagnostic, rebuild or exit plan

Four weeks · fixed fee

We are already here and it is not working. Is this fixable, and what would fixing it cost?

An independent assessment of an underperforming regional operation, delivered as a rebuild-or-exit recommendation with costed options either way.

Standard scopeOne product category or business unit across up to three markets in which you currently operate.
  • Partner network assessment — who is performing, who is holding your line, who should be replaced
  • Pricing and commercial structure tested against regional reality
  • Pipeline and forecast integrity — what is real, what is aspirational
  • Team capability and structure — a commercial assessment against the roles required, not an HR appraisal of individuals
  • The original entry assumptions, tested against what actually happened
  • Rebuild-or-exit recommendation, costed either way

Where the honest answer is to withdraw, we will say so — and set out how to do it without destroying the relationships you may want back later. An exit handled well is recoverable. An exit handled badly closes the market for a decade.

Executing in the region

A plan is not the hard part. These are the two ways it gets executed, and both are open to vendors arriving in the region and to those rebuilding a position in it.

Execution Oversight

Senior guidance for client-led regional implementation

Four days per calendar month · three-month minimum, then thirty days' notice · retainer plus milestone fees

We have the plan and we have people. We need someone senior who has done this before to keep it honest.

Your team executes. We supervise, unblock and hold the plan to its gates. A five-day model is available where greater involvement is required.

  • Fortnightly working session with your regional or export lead
  • Partner negotiation support — term sheet logic, commercial structure, expectation setting
  • Review and challenge of pipeline, forecast and partner performance against the plan
  • Introductions where appropriate and warranted
  • Escalation availability with one working day response
  • Monthly written progress and risk note

Milestone fees attach to outcomes you can see: each channel partner signed, entity operational, and first purchase order received in region.

What this is not. Not fractional leadership — we do not own the pipeline, carry the forecast or close deals. Not an agency: this is one senior operator. Not open-ended availability.

Regional Lead

Fractional in-market commercial leadership

Six days per calendar month · six-month initial term · typically one to two days per week · one vendor per product category

We do not need a study. We need a regional leader in market, and we need them this quarter.

We run the region for you until the numbers justify a permanent hire — then we recruit that person and hand over.

  • Full ownership of the regional pipeline, forecast and commercial reporting
  • Direct closing responsibility on early and strategic deals
  • Senior representation to enterprise and government clients, and at industry events
  • Partner recruitment, onboarding and ongoing management
  • Recruitment, onboarding and handover to your permanent regional leader, with optional mentoring afterwards

The orientation month. Month one validates the plan against live market contact — testing its assumptions, confirming or correcting the target account list and partner shortlist, and converting strategy into a ninety-day execution sequence. It validates and operationalises; it does not rebuild.

Regional Lead assumes a plan exists. Where none does, either an Entry Blueprint is commissioned first, or month one carries a one-off foundation fee agreed at proposal.

If that month concludes the product is not regionally viable, either side may exit at thirty days with no further obligation. We would rather tell you that in month one than spend your budget proving it in month nine.

What this is not. Not a full-time regional managing director. Not an outsourced sales team. Not a guaranteed-revenue arrangement. Not permanent. Not a reseller or agency-of-record relationship.

Geographic coverage

Connektions is GCC-led and selectively MEA-capable. Our standard packaged coverage spans the six GCC markets. Selected Middle East and African markets are scoped country by country, with any requirement for local specialist support identified clearly at proposal stage.

CoverageMarkets
Standard packaged coverageUAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain
Extended regional coverageSelected Middle East and African markets, scoped and quoted individually

Also available

Fees

Every engagement carries a fixed fee or a fixed monthly retainer, quoted at proposal and agreed in writing before work begins. Fees reflect geographic coverage, product complexity, research depth and committed senior time. We do not work on an hourly basis, and we do not accept commission-only mandates.

Start where the risk is lowest.

A Market Scan is ten working days and needs no business case to approve — and the fee is credited in full against an Entry Blueprint commissioned within thirty days.

Begin the conversation