Arabian Business has revealed the shortlist for the inaugural Arabian Business Industry Awards 2026.

The winners will be announced at Rosewood, Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, November 25, recognising companies and organisations for their performance, growth, innovation and impact over the past 12 months.

The final shortlist features ten entries in each of 25 categories, spanning property, banking, energy, technology, healthcare, hospitality, retail, aviation and other industries. Separate Business Excellence awards will recognise workplace practices, overseas expansion and sustainability, while three Grand Prix categories will honour startups, SMEs and large enterprises.

ADNOC Group, Aldar Properties, Emirates Group, G42, Masdar and PepsiCo are among the contenders for Large Enterprise of the Year. The Developer of the Year shortlist includes Emaar Properties, Dubai Holding Real Estate, ROSHN Group and Sobha Realty, while Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Mashreq are among the banks in contention.

The shortlist also brings emerging businesses into the competition. CNTXT AI, FoodSwap AI, SpacePoint and Takeem are among the Startup of the Year finalists, while the SME category includes Bloomingbox, Gymnation, Mokha 1450 and The Broth Lab.

The full shortlist

Sector Excellence Awards

Developer of the Year

• Aldar Properties
• Bloom Holding
• BNW Developments
• Dubai Holding Real Estate
• Emaar Properties
• Ellington Properties
• Modon Holding
• Reportage Group
• ROSHN Group
• Sobha Realty

Real Estate Brokerage of the Year

• Allsopp & Allsopp
• Betterhomes
• Crompton Partners Estate Agents
• Driven | Forbes Global Properties
• Fäm Properties
• Haus & Haus
• Knight Frank Middle East
• Maria Morris Global
• Savills Middle East
• White and Co Real Estate L.L.C

Construction Company of the Year

• ALEC
• ASGC
• BEC Arabia
• Besix
• CC7 Global Engineering Solutions L.L.C
• Dutco
• IRTH Group
• Khansaheb Civil Engineering
• Nesma & Partners
• Trojan Holding

Energy Firm of the Year

• Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA)
• ACWA Power
• ADNOC Group
• AMEA Power
• Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA)
• Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC)
• Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC)
• Masdar
• Saudi Aramco
• Yellow Door Energy

Bank of the Year

• Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB)
• Commercial Bank of Dubai
• Doha Bank
• Dubai Islamic Bank
• Emirates NBD
• First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
• GFH Bank
• Mashreq
• Rakbank
• Saudi National Bank

Financial Services Company of the Year

• Al Fardan Exchange
• Al Ramz Capital
• Arab Financial Services (AFS)
• Botim
• e& money
• Mubadala Capital
• Network International
• Sarwa
• Tabby
• Visa

Legal Firm of the Year

• ADG Legal
• Al Tamimi and Company
• Bird & Bird
• Clyde & Co
• Hadef & Partners
• Habib Al Mulla and Partners
• Hourani & Partners
• MAS Law
• Mishcon de Reya
• White & Case

Consulting Firm of the Year

• Accenture
• Bain and Company
• Boston Consulting Group
• Deloitte Middle East
• Kearney
• Oliver Wyman
• RAG Holdings
• Strategy& Middle East
• ValuStrat
• WSP Middle East

Healthcare and Life Sciences Company of the Year

• Aster DM Healthcare
• Blue Ocean Health / Fakih IVF Group
• Burjeel Holdings
• Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
• Globalpharma
• Julphar
• M42
• Metabolic
• Novo Nordisk
• Siemens Healthineers MEA

Technology Company of the Year

• Core42
• Ericsson
• HONOR
• Moro Hub
• Open Innovation AI
• Oracle 
• Presight
• SAP
• Space42
• ZainTech

Public Relations Agency of the Year

• Action Global Communications
• APCO
• Bacchus Agency
• Burson
• Current Global MENAT
• Edelman
• Four Agency Worldwide
• Katch International
• Ruder Finn Atteline
• Weber Shandwick

Hotel Brand of the Year

• Accor
• Address Hotels + Resorts
• FIVE Hotels and Resorts
• IHG Hotels & Resorts
• Jumeirah
• Marriott International
• One&Only Resorts
• Radisson Hotel Group
• Rotana Hotels & Resorts
• Rove Hotels

F&B Hospitality Group of the Year

• 7 Management
• AlphaMind Hospitality
• Atelier House Hospitality
• DWTC Hospitality
• Emirates Flight Catering
• Emirates Leisure Retail
• Gastronomica
• Hotaru Holdings
• Jumeirah Hospitality
• Sunset Hospitality Group

Retail Company of the Year

• ADNOC Distribution
• Al-Futtaim
• Alshaya Group
• BFL
• Dubai Duty Free
• Jashanmal Group
• MMI
• Sanipex
• Union Coop
• Wolfis

E-commerce Company of the Year

• Amazon
• Careem
• Kibsons
• LuLu Retail
• Luxury for You
• Majid Al Futtaim
• Noon
• Ounass
• Pattern
• Talabat

Logistics and Supply Chain Company of the Year

• 7X
• AD Ports Group
• Agility
• Aramex
• DHL
• DP World
• Etihad Cargo
• GWC
• Emirates SkyCargo
• SOHAR Port and Freezone

Aviation Company of the Year

• Abu Dhabi Airports
• Bombardier Aviation
• Dubai Aerospace Enterprise
• Dubai Airports
• Emirates Group
• Etihad Airways
• GE Aerospace
• Riyadh Air
• Sanad Group
• The Helicopter Company

Transport Company of the Year

• Blacklane
• Dubai Taxi Company
• Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA)
• Dollar Car Rental
• Etihad Rail
• Menzies Aviation
• SolitAir
• Thrifty Car Rental
• Transcorp International Logistics
• Yango

Automotive Company of the Year

• Al Habtoor Motors
• Al-Futtaim Automotive
• Elite Group
• AGMC
• Gargash Group
• Juffali Automotive Company
• Mercedes-Benz
• Stellantis
• Toyota
• W Motors

Business Excellence Awards

Workplace of the Year

• Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO)
• Alfred Holdings
• Design Infinity
• FIVE Hotels and Resorts
• Habib Al Mulla and Partners
• INC Group
• Innovation City
• IRTH Group
• PwC Middle East
• ROSHN Group

Overseas Expansion of the Year

• ADNOC Group
• Aldar Properties
• AlphaMind Hospitality
• Clipway
• DP World
• Dubai World Trade Centre
• Emaar Properties
• SEVEN Group
• The First Group Hospitality
• Titan Lithium Industries

Sustainability Initiative of the Year

• E2GO, ADNOC Distribution
• Sustainable Car Wash & Water Circularity, ADNOC Distribution
• Circular Kitchen, Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort
• The Solar PV Integration Programme and Net Zero pathway, Emirates District Cooling (Emicool)
• Blue Carbon Mangrove Project, ENGIE
• Cluster-wide sustainability programme, IHG Hotels at Dubai Festival City
• Sustainable Urban Community, Masdar City
• Solar and Cooling, Positive Zero
• BE WTR BiG 1500 bottling system, Rosewood, Abu Dhabi
• SIG Terra Alu-free and full barrier, SIG Group

Grand Prix Awards

Startup of the Year

• Ashna Mehta
• CNTXT AI
• Flash Facial
• FoodSwap AI
• Hign Al Khaleej
• Luxury for You
• Peekabox
• SpacePoint
• Staff Finder
• Takeem

SME of the Year

• Bloomingbox
• Bumblebee Food
• AlAfaq AlMumtada (Chopped)
• Gymnation
• House of BornFree
• Mokha 1450
• Piece of You
• RAYNE
• The Broth Lab
• The Visa Services

Large Enterprise of the Year

• ADNOC Group
• Aldar Properties
• DIFC
• Empower
• Emirates Group
• G42
• InsuranceMarket.ae
• Masdar
• PepsiCo
• PwC Middle East

Who will judge the awards

A distinguished panel drawn from government, enterprise and academia will assess the shortlisted entries. The external judges are:

• H.E. Dr Mohamed Omar Abdulla Balfaqeeh, former UAE Ambassador to Singapore, former Undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and former Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
• H.E. Nasser Hassan Al Shaikh, Chairman of Al Shaikh Holdings and former Director-General of the Government of Dubai’s Department of Finance.
• Alain Bejjani, former Chief Executive Officer of Majid Al Futtaim Holding.
• Farah Zafar, Managing Director and Group Chief Legal Officer at Phoenix Group, and Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lyvely.
• Professor Dame Heather McGregor, Provost and Vice-Principal of Heriot-Watt University Dubai.

They will be joined by Tala Michel Issa, Managing Editor of Arabian Business; Julianne Tolentino, Editor of Construction Week Middle East; Yousra Zaki, Group Food Editor at Time Out GCC; and Thomas Shambler, Head of Business and Technology at ITP Media Group.

The panel will select one winner and one highly commended entry in each category. Both will be revealed at the November 25 ceremony.

How to attend the awards

The Arabian Business Industry Awards 2026 will take place at Rosewood Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, November 25, bringing together shortlisted businesses, senior industry figures and the judging panel.

For attendance enquiries, contact events@arabianbusiness.com.

The Briefing returns on November 25

The awards will follow The Briefing with Arabian Business, our flagship business conference, taking place in Abu Dhabi earlier that day.

Under the theme Momentum and Growth, The Briefing will bring together senior figures from government and industry to discuss the investment, infrastructure, technology and economic shifts shaping the UAE and wider Gulf. The programme will span capital flows, tourism, artificial intelligence, real estate and the competition for global talent.

The inaugural edition in Dubai welcomed more than 500 attendees and over 30 speakers, including H.E. Badr Jafar and Paul Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports.

Access to The Briefing is included with Arabian Business Premium subscription. Readers can subscribe or upgrade, with enquiries directed to subscriptions@arabianbusiness.com.