For any casual observer, the seemingly never-ending negative tales of the Middle East are reason enough to avoid making any sort of investment in the region. However, this is a huge mistake as the Middle East has an extremely modern (and expanding) marketplace.
The Middle East is not a place where you can easily build a career, and job security is practically non-existent in the Middle East for any expatriate. Yet there is still plenty of opportunity to make some serious money in multiple fields.
A combination of job saturation, competition, and a slowing economy have forced Middle East residents to stray away from doing business and explore the art of making money.
Read on to find out more.
What Are the Fastest-Growing Industries In The Middle East?
The Middle East has several successful industries. Some of the top-rated areas include telecommunications, real estate, banking, finance, and construction. These are also some of the fastest-growing industries in the region.
Local investors tend to strongly support these types of industries by directing wealth accumulated from oil into domestic share markets.
Where Does the Most Money Lie?
Although there are quite a few different successful industries in the Middle East, there are two specific areas that tend to contribute more to the economy than others.
The twin engines that seem to power the economy in the Middle East are natural gas and oil. This region houses over 53% of the world’s total oil reserves and almost half of the known gas reserves.
How To Make Money In The Middle East
Despite this, many other industries throughout the Middle East offer some incredible opportunities for citizens to make some serious money.
But if you want to make any sort of money in the Middle East, you’re going to need to make some investments. The good news is that this can be monetary, or it can simply involve you investing your time and attention into channeling a specific craft.
If you want to learn more, read on!
Trading
You’re probably aware of just how profitable day trading can truly be in terms of the stock market. Fortunately, you can day-trade crypto in the same way all over the Middle East!
To day-trade crypto, you do need to have some level of technical skill. Fortunately, this is easily self-taught through self-practice. Here, you must learn key skills like chart analysis and trading indicators — also known as technical analysis.
All you have to do is make an account with a platform that supports trading which, according to gulfbusiness.com, is easier than ever before!
Be aware that trading – especially day trading – comes with high levels of risk.
Invest in Crypto
If you want to learn to invest like a true local, you might want to explore the world of Islamic finance. More specifically, how to invest in crypto.
The Middle East and North Africa (known as MENA) have been recorded as the fastest-growing crypto market of 2022. Many registered crypto exchanges in the country offer incredible investing opportunities for people of all ages and financial backgrounds.
Renting Spare Rooms
You can register with relevant authorities throughout the Middle East to begin renting out your home on a home-renting application, such as Airbnb. You’ll need to ensure you meet all trade license and permit requirements, and that your landlord approves, but it’s generally a very easy way to make some serious money.
In tourist-heavy places like Dubai, this option is a very solid choice to make some money in the Middle East — especially during the summer and winter months.
Buying Artwork
The region’s appetite for art has always remained pretty strong, which was quickly quenched by the impressive works displayed throughout Tehran, Cairo, and Damascus. In the 20th century, these were deemed the cultural capitals of the region.
Thanks to economic instability and geopolitical tension, that spotlight has shifted to the diverse and contemporary hub that is the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
There aren’t many documented reasons for a correlation between the taste for art and the possession of incredible riches, yet there are a couple of obvious ones. The most obvious of them all is that buying art is an expensive pastime, hence why it’s often considered an investment.
Prices at international auction houses that also have a strong presence in the Middle East have been known to reach hundreds of millions of dollars. In 2017, Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci sold for a record-breaking $450m at auction to Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud, of Saudi Arabia.
Tutoring
Use any skills you have such as dance, music, or even trading and investing to make some money online or in person. This role involves teaching specific skills to willing students and is generally a pretty simple (and legal) way to make some extra cash.
You may also be surprised to learn just how many people need a professional tutor to help with English language skills, too.
Fortunately, there are many portals to use for this type of business transaction — and demand is always high. For example, many high school-age students and even businessmen operating in the Middle East will pay a fortune for a tutor to speak to them in English and help to improve their skills!
All you need to do this job properly is an internet connection, knowledge of your subject, and lots of patience and time to dedicate to your craft.
Blogging
If you’re a blogger that has built up some sort of following, you may also have the opportunity to make some money selling some advertisements on your posts. Blogging is always on-trend and is pretty easy to do.
You can engage with millions of people all over the world, not just in the Middle East, to share your knowledge of a particular subject and also start a debate.
You’ll earn money from website traffic, product promotions, running advertisements, and even from providing guest articles to other sites.
Freelancing
A great way to make money in the Middle East is to use your freelance skills and provide a service for others who need it. You can make considerable money from freelancing as you can set the price of your service which is very convenient.
This may be the best avenue to make money if you have any of the following key skills:
- Social media
- Proofreading
- Editing manuscripts
- Copywriting or content writing
- Graphic design
- Website development
- Website design
- IT expert
- Legal expert
It does require a permit in some parts of the Middle East. In Dubai, this may set you back Dh7,500. However, depending on your workload, you have the potential to quickly earn this money back and get a pretty decent paycheck for your time.
Affiliate Marketing
If you have a commanding social media presence, this is a great way to make some money via product promotion and working with specific brands online.
Fiverr, Amazon, and Upwork give people the chance to earn commissions upon the sale of a product.
If you’re selling things online, you’ll want to make sure you’re meeting all legal requirements. In the UAE, this might include an e-commerce license if you are planning to launch your store and sell products to the public.
Summary
There are plenty of easy ways to make money in the Middle East by themselves or as an extra source of income. This is thanks to the incredibly diverse economic structure of the Middle East, and the phenomenal opportunities that appear — especially concerning making money online.
