WHERE CAPITAL, PROJECTS, AND DECISION-MAKERS MEET.
In an industry where conversations often outweigh outcomes, GBB Venture has built a reputation for doing things differently.
Founded in 2018, GBB Venture creates closed-door, project-driven platforms that go beyond traditional exhibitions. Each summit is designed to bring together the right stakeholders at the right time, enabling focused discussions, curated meetings, and tangible business outcomes, all aligned with GBB’s core promise of Creating Value.
Over the years, this approach has delivered measurable impact:
- 27 editions
- 3,140+ project companies
- 1,140+ solution providers
- 28,000+ face-to-face meetings facilitated.
In 2026, GBB Venture expands this momentum through a global summit series spanning the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa, connecting investors, developers, owners, architects, designers, contractors, consultants, and global solution providers across the real estate and hospitality ecosystem.
GBB Investment Summit – MENA Hospitality Edition
7 April 2026 | InterContinental Dubai Festival City, UAE
The GBB Investment Summit – MENA sets the tone for the 2026 calendar by focusing squarely on international capital flows, investment-ready projects, and cross-border partnerships. Hosted in Dubai, the summit brings together 250+ investors, developers, asset owners, sovereign entities, and advisory firms to explore where capital is moving, and why.
With a strong emphasis on bankable projects and structured investment dialogue, the summit serves as a strategic meeting point for stakeholders seeking investment opportunities in a fast-evolving regional hospitality landscape.
5th Edition Hospitality Innovation Summit – Saudi Arabia & UAE
8 – 9 April 2026 | InterContinental Dubai Festival City, UAE
Now in its fifth edition, the Hospitality Innovation Summit (HIS) has become a key platform for stakeholders shaping hotels, resorts, branded residences, and mixed-use destinations across Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The 2026 edition will convene 500+ top decision-makers, including hospitality developers, owners, operators, designers, consultants, and solution providers, to address the realities of today’s hospitality pipeline, from development, design and guest experience to sustainability, and ROI-driven innovation.
20th Real Estate Development Summit – Saudi Arabia & UAE | Europe Edition
8 – 9 July 2026 | Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Europe Edition of the Real Estate Development Summit marks a strategic milestone, connecting 500+ senior decision-makers from Saudi Arabia’s project owners and developers with European solution providers, designers, consultants, and manufacturers.
The Europe Edition of the Real Estate Development Summit marks a strategic milestone, connecting 500+ senior decision-makers from Saudi Arabia’s project owners and developers with European solution providers, designers, consultants, and manufacturers.
Hosted in Amsterdam, this edition is designed to facilitate cross-border collaboration, showcasing how European expertise can support Saudi Arabia and UAE’s ambitious development pipeline, particularly across mega-projects, mixed-use developments, and luxury real estate.
21st Edition Real Estate Development Summit – Africa
14 – 15 October 2026 | Dubai, UAE
Africa’s real estate and hospitality markets continue to attract global attention, and the Africa Edition of REDS provides a focused platform to explore these opportunities.
Hosted in Dubai as a neutral global hub, the summit brings together 400+ senior decision-makers, including African developers, investors, and government-linked entities, alongside international solution providers and consultants, to enable dialogue around investment, project delivery, and scalable development models across key African markets.
22nd Real Estate Development Summit – Saudi Arabia | Luxury Edition
November 2026 | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
The Luxury Edition of REDS Saudi Arabia is GBB Venture’s most celebrated platform, curated for senior leaders driving high-end residential, hospitality, and mixed-use developments in the Kingdom.Hosted in Jeddah, this edition focuses on design excellence, luxury positioning, execution quality, and long-term asset value, bringing together 800+ decision-makers responsible for Saudi Arabia’s most prestigious projects.
The summit will also provide the stage for the 4th edition of the REDS Industry Choice Awards (RICA), further reinforcing its role as a landmark gathering for industry leadership and recognition.
A Strong Advisory Backbone & Industry Participation
The 2026 series is guided by an influential Advisory Board comprising senior leaders actively shaping the global built environment, including:
- Khalid Hassan Al Gahtani (Chairman, HAKA Group Holding, RIKAZ Properties, Radian Oil & Gas, Adeem Capital & Natixis Bank Saudi Arabia)
- Elias Abou Samra (CEO, RAFAL Real Estate Development Company)
- Elsaeed Albially (Executive Director, RUA Al-Madinah Holding – PIF Company)
- Naji Syriani (Hospitality Development Director, Diriyah Company)
- Cyril Piaia (Director, AVED Real Estate)
- Turab Saleem (Hospitality Industry Expert)
- John Fekete (General Manager – Saudi Arabia, CBRE | Middle East)
- Harmen de Jong (Regional Partner & Head of Consulting, Knight Frank)
- Henrique Dias (Principal & Middle East Hospitality and Mixed-Use Design Director, DLR Group)
- Sanjay Tanwani (Regional Director, AECOM)
- Arjan Pit (Managing Director MEA, UNStudio Middle East
- Mohammed Adib (Chief Design Officer, Dewan Architects + Engineers)
- Kerem Cengiz (Managing Director, LWK + Partners)
- Christos Passas (Design Director, Zaha Hadid Architects)
- Ignacio Gomez (Global Design Principal, AEDAS)
The series is further supported by leading global brands such as Grohe, THG Paris, HDL Automation, Geberit, and Lutron, with additional participation from Technogym, Chi Design, Gessi, Elite Stone, FritsJurgens, TC Consultancy, and C&B Consultants across multiple editions.
RED Futures Pavilion
The RED Futures Pavilion will be a dedicated space across select GBB Venture summits, spotlighting forward-thinking materials, smart building systems, net-zero strategies, and sustainability-led design. Curated for developers, architects, and consultants, the Pavilion will showcase solutions that merge environmental responsibility with intelligent innovation, reinforcing GBB Venture’s commitment to future-ready development.
GBB Future Minds Programme
The GBB Future Minds Program will serve as a bridge between academia and industry, creating direct engagement between emerging talent and global architects, designers, and development leaders. Through curated masterclasses and interactive sessions, the program is designed to expose the next generation to real-world challenges, design thinking, and the evolving demands of the built environment.
REDS Industry Choice Awards (RICA) – Recognizing Excellence
Industry recognition remains a key pillar of the GBB Venture ecosystem through the REDS Industry Choice Awards (RICA), the Kingdom’s first industry-driven real estate choice awards, where peers recognise peers and excellence is chosen by the industry.
The most recent RICA winners, presented at the 19th Real Estate Development Summit – Saudi Arabia | Luxury Edition, highlight excellence across Saudi Arabia’s built environment.
Individual honors were awarded to Jannat Abdulla Husain (Emerging Interior Designer of the Year), Lama Al-Kharboush (Emerging Architect of the Year), Dina Alawadh (Celebrated CEO of the Year, Women), and Eng. Ahmed A. Alsulaim (Celebrated CEO of the Year, Men).
Project and firm recognition included Jeddah Front (Celebrated Innovative Project of the Year), Desert Rock (Celebrated Non-Urban Project of the Year), Sports Boulevard (Celebrated Urban Project of the Year), International Design Associates (IDA) (Celebrated Interior Design Firm of the Year), and Foster + Partners (Celebrated Architecture Firm of the Year).
Additional honours were presented to JLL (Celebrated PMC of the Year), Alramz (Celebrated Investor of the Year), Red Sea Global (Celebrated Hospitality Developer of the Year), Rua Al Madinah Holding (Celebrated Mixed-Use Developer of the Year), and ROSHN Group (Celebrated Residential Developer of the Year).
The Honorary RICA Lifetime Achievement Award 2025 was presented to Dr Zuhair Hamed Fayez, Chairman, Zuhair Fayez Partnership (Professional LLC), recognising his enduring contribution to the Kingdom’s built environment.
Creating Value Through Curated Engagement
What unites all GBB Venture summits is a clear philosophy: quality over quantity. Every platform is designed to maximize relevance, foster meaningful connections, and enable business conversations that continue well beyond the event itself.
As the 2026 Global Summit Series unfolds, GBB Venture remains focused on delivering measurable value to developers, investors, solution providers, and partners across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Africa, and Europe.
To learn more about the GBB Venture 2026 Global Summit Series: