From AI agents and smart manufacturing to investment opportunities in Syria and partnerships with Chinese companies, the Emirati entrepreneur is building businesses designed to scale beyond the UAE.
As the UAE marks Emirati Women’s Day, a new generation of Emirati women is emerging not only as leaders within established industries, but as founders, investors and technology builders creating businesses with ambitions far beyond the country’s borders.
Among them is Hamda Al Mansoori, an Emirati entrepreneur whose business interests span a notably diverse range of sectors — from manufacturing and jewellery to artificial intelligence, digital transformation, investment, consulting and business development.
Through ventures including The Black Box Group, Z2A Group Holding and Outworks, Al Mansoori is building an ecosystem that brings together industry, technology and investment, with the UAE serving as its base for regional and international expansion.
Where manufacturing meets technology
Through The Black Box Group, Al Mansoori has pursued a business model that increasingly blurs the line between traditional industries and emerging technologies.
The group’s activities span manufacturing and jewellery as well as business development, branding, digital solutions, enterprise resource planning systems, AI-powered business automation, logistics and expansion strategies.
Technology has also made its way onto the manufacturing floor.
Artificial intelligence is being incorporated into jewellery production processes to help monitor different stages of manufacturing, analyse operations, identify potential issues and track material loss — with the broader objective of improving efficiency and product quality.
The scale of the ambition became more visible during the group’s participation in Make it in the Emirates 2026, where it announced a pipeline of projects and opportunities worth more than $10 million.
The figure points to a broader strategy: building UAE-based businesses that can develop locally while being structured for expansion into international markets.
Betting on the next generation of AI
Alongside manufacturing, Al Mansoori has moved into one of the fastest-evolving areas of the global technology industry: AI agents.
Through Outworks, the focus is on enterprise artificial intelligence and developing solutions that can take AI beyond answering questions or assisting employees.
AI agents are designed to carry out defined tasks and workflows within organisations, interact with systems and enterprise knowledge, and support operations under established permissions and controls.
For governments, financial institutions and large corporations, however, the race to adopt AI is increasingly about more than capability.
Data sovereignty, cybersecurity, governance and human oversight are becoming central to how organisations decide where and how artificial intelligence can be deployed.
It is an area in which UAE technology companies have an opportunity to compete: not simply by adopting global AI products, but by developing enterprise solutions from the Emirates that address the specific requirements of governments and businesses in the region and potentially beyond.
Looking beyond the UAE
Al Mansoori’s interests extend beyond technology.
Through Z2A Group Holding, her activities include investment strategy, business development and exploring opportunities in regional and international markets.
One of the markets under consideration is Syria, where the group participated as part of a UAE delegation visiting Damascus for economic meetings and discussions around potential investment opportunities.
Areas being explored include industry, tourism and economic development, with an emphasis on identifying opportunities for longer-term projects and partnerships.
The approach reflects a wider investment philosophy that looks beyond capital alone, combining investment, technology, business expertise, project development and knowledge transfer.
For UAE companies looking outward, such markets can represent an opportunity not merely to invest, but to participate in developing businesses and sectors at an earlier stage of growth.
Building bridges with China
At the same time, Al Mansoori’s businesses are expanding their international network through cooperation and partnerships with companies outside the region, including Chinese firms across areas related to technology, manufacturing and business development.
China’s position in advanced manufacturing, technology and global supply chains makes such relationships increasingly relevant for UAE businesses seeking international expertise and scalable industrial capabilities.
The opportunity lies in connecting those capabilities with the UAE’s strengths as a business, investment and technology hub — potentially creating projects that combine international technology and expertise with businesses developed and managed from the Emirates.
It is a model that reflects the increasingly international character of UAE entrepreneurship: build from the UAE, partner globally and expand into new markets.
The UAE remains the launchpad
Despite the diversity of sectors and geographies, the UAE remains at the centre of Al Mansoori’s business strategy.
The country’s investments in artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing and the digital economy, coupled with its push to attract global businesses and capital, have created an environment in which local entrepreneurs can think beyond the domestic market from the outset.
Al Mansoori’s portfolio reflects that shift.
Rather than building her career around a single industry, her ventures bring together manufacturing, AI, technology, investment, consulting and international partnerships.
The common thread is the attempt to create businesses that can originate in the UAE while competing and expanding internationally.
Emirati Women’s Day: From empowerment to creating opportunities
Al Mansoori’s story takes on particular relevance as the country celebrates Emirati Women’s Day.
The conversation around women’s empowerment in the UAE is increasingly moving beyond representation and leadership positions.
Emirati women are today founding companies, developing technology, directing investment, entering new markets and negotiating international partnerships.
From manufacturing operations incorporating artificial intelligence to enterprise AI agents, and from exploring investment opportunities in Syria to developing relationships with Chinese and international businesses, Al Mansoori’s journey reflects the increasingly global outlook of a new generation of Emirati entrepreneurs.
And perhaps that is one of the more significant stories to emerge this Emirati Women’s Day: Emirati women are no longer only taking their place in the industries of the future — they are increasingly helping to build them, from the UAE to the world.
