The private-sector-led initiative, supported by the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates in Geneva, gives Emirati families a trusted base in Geneva and Swiss expertise a direct route into the UAE family-office ecosystem.
Geneva, 27 August 2026: The Emirates Family Office Association (EFOA) and N°OW’HERE’’ have signed a Memorandum of Understanding at the inaugural Alpine Majlis, establishing a two-way corridor between the Emirati family-office community and Swiss expertise in governance, finance, research, technology and entrepreneurship. The private-sector-led initiative was unveiled before 100 senior Emirati and Swiss figures gathered with the support of the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates in Geneva.
The MoU responds to a generational shift reshaping family capital. Across the Gulf, families are preparing for one of the largest transfers of wealth, responsibility and leadership in the region’s history. The questions are no longer confined to investment performance: they concern succession, governance, the education of rising generations, the professionalisation of family offices and the preservation of purpose as businesses and assets pass from one generation to the next. The corridor is designed around those families and the institutions capable of supporting them – not as a commercial marketplace, but as a trusted setting for knowledge, continuity and long-term relationships.
The scale of that constituency is considerable. EFOA’s network encompasses more than 200 family offices, representing estimated aggregate assets under management exceeding USD 300 billion.
Two centres of substance, one corridor: the initiative connects two jurisdictions, each carrying genuine global weight within its respective sphere. Geneva contributes generations of experience in stewardship, fiduciary structures, wealth preservation and institutional continuity, together with a distinctive concentration of private capital, science and multilateral institutions. The United Arab Emirates brings long-term family capital, global connectivity and a business environment shaped by speed of execution, technological ambition and access to the Gulf, the wider Middle East, South Asia and East Africa. The premise is reciprocity: Emirati families gain a European anchor for governance, innovation and international diversification; Swiss institutions and entrepreneurs gain a trusted channel into the UAE’s private-capital ecosystem.
H.E. Dr Ahmed Al Banna, Chairman, Emirates Family Office Association, commented :
“Our members are entering one of the most significant periods of wealth transfer in the region’s history. EFOA was founded as a family-led initiative, shaped by families and their needs. This Memorandum of Understanding is a direct response to what our members have asked for. An initiative of this kind can only succeed where there is genuine trust, discretion and a shared long-term outlook. We are grateful to Shahab Izadpanah and the N°OW’HERE’’ ecosystem for their partnership. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates in Geneva for its continued support for EFOA’s initiatives and outreach in Switzerland.”
N°OW’HERE’’ acts as the corridor’s Geneva home, convening decision-makers in a discreet setting and connecting them with relevant Swiss networks. EFOA provides the corresponding point of entry into the UAE family-office community. Their agenda concentrates on next-generation leadership and family governance; trusted cross-border introductions and reciprocal delegations; connections between Swiss deep-tech, life sciences, climate and water innovation and Emirati long-term capital; and the resilience and international growth of family enterprises.
A joint steering committee will meet regularly to set priorities, review the corridor’s development and shape a programme responsive to the needs of participating families. Its work will favour carefully curated family-to-family encounters, governance and succession exchanges, next-generation initiatives, knowledge transfer and contributions from selected institutions able to provide relevant expertise. This continuing structure is intended to carry the relationship beyond a sequence of stand-alone events while preserving the discretion and family-first character on which its credibility depends.
Adam Ladjadj, Founder and Vice-Chairman, Emirates Family Office Association, said:
“The initiatives planned for 2026 and 2027 were not designed in the abstract; they respond directly to needs raised by our families: preparing the next generation, structuring their affairs across two jurisdictions and identifying credible co-investment partners. Our families are seeking continuity rather than transactions. Switzerland has spent more than a century developing precisely that expertise. This Memorandum of Understanding gives our community structured access to it, while offering Swiss institutions equally structured access to one of the world’s most dynamic private-capital ecosystems. We expect this corridor to be measured by what it delivers, not by what it announces.”
Shahab Izadpanah, Founder of N°OW’HERE’’, commented:
“It is important to emphasise that this Switzerland–UAE corridor is a private-sector-led initiative. We are privileged to have the support of the UAE Consul General in Geneva, reflecting the UAE’s global leadership in empowering private enterprise and prioritising growth and innovation over bureaucracy.”
The corridor strengthens Geneva’s position as a European centre for international family capital and knowledge exchange. With N°OW’HERE’’ developing a presence at the Burj Khalifa, the Geneva–Dubai axis is designed to turn high-level encounters into sustained relationships and concrete opportunities. The signing also marks the launch of N° Partners, N°OW’HERE’’s advisory arm for the strategic, technological and compliance challenges facing international family offices.
