Ahmed Alkhoshaibi is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Arada,the fast-growing UAE-based master developer, which has launched four projects in Sharjah and Dubai with a total value of AED37 billion since it was founded in 2017.
Under Alkhoshaibi’s stewardship, Arada’s performance over the last 12 months has been execptional. The company posted a 186% rise in the total value of sales during the first half of 2023 to AED4.26billion, with the number of homes sold rising by 23% to 1,617. The company has made significant progress at Sharjah’s largest ever mixed-use project, Aljada, where it has now completed 6,700 homes and awarded a number of major contracts, as well as at the forested megaproject Masaar, where the first homes will be handed over before the end of 2023.
Over the last year, Arada has also launched its first project in Dubai, Jouri Hills at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with the main contact for this community awarded in October 2023. Arada also announced its second Dubai project, a partnership with the iconic Pritzker-Prize-winning Tadao Ando as well as the Armani Group for the Armani Beach Residences at Palm Jumeirah, which will launch before the end of 2023.
Thriving underAlkhoshaibi’s impactful leadership, Arada is the youngest private UAE company to successfully secure credit ratings – a Stable Outlook from Moody’s and Fitch – and complete a public issuance. The company secured $500 million in its inaugural sukuk, which listed on the London Stock Exchange and followed by a regional listing onthe Nasdaq Dubai earlier this year.
Under Alkhoshaibi’s guidance, Arada has also extended its mission to put people at the heart of everything the company does, from creating a true people-centric corporate culture to groundbreaking CSR initiatives.Ranked number 17 in this year’s Large Organizations category, Arada topped the real estate sector as a Great Place To Work® in the UAE.Arada’s ‘Home for a Home’ CSR initiative – which saw homes being built for refugees in Kenya for every home sold in the Masaar project during Ramadan – was recently recognisedat the Arabia CSR Awards, alongside the company’s partners, The Big Heart Foundation and UNHCR. Over the last year, Arada has also provided significant support to two major local universities, with American University Sharjah students designing cladding systems for the SEWA susbstation in Aljada, while students at the University of Sharjah got to designAljada’sforthcoming mosque.
Alkhoshaibi’s vision for Arada is in alignment with the UAE’s sustainability goals. Arada’s partnership with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE), the social initiative Manbat, has made significant progress towards the UAE’s future food security. As well as continuing to grow its network of Emirati farmers’ markets across the UAE and opening a dedicated shop in Aljada, Manbat has also secured a AED500 million contract with ADNH Compass Group to deliver fresh produce to some of the UAE’s biggest public sector entities. Arada is also committed to addressing water scarcity in the region with sustainable water technology and is currently constructing a next-gen facility and treatment plant under a JV with Biopolus, Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) and Metito.