Services

Market research and market entry strategy for Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Wills Business conducts market research for companies deciding whether, where and how to sell in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The work sizes the demand, maps the competitors, tests the price and identifies the route to market, using primary research on the ground and regional sources rather than global reports divided by population. Where the question is a new market, the research ends in a market entry strategy with a licensing route, a partner shortlist and a launch plan.

Thirty minutes. No deck. A senior consultant replies.

Who commissions market research from us

Companies entering a new market. An Egyptian manufacturer moving into Saudi Arabia, a Dubai brand opening in Cairo, a European or Asian company entering the region for the first time. You need to know the real size of the market, who already serves it, what it pays, and how to get a licence and a distributor without losing two years.

Companies launching a product or expanding a category. You know the market but not this segment. A retailer adding a private label, a clinic group adding a specialty, a food producer moving from wholesale to branded retail. You need demand and pricing evidence before you commit the capital.

Investors and boards evaluating a deal or a project. A market study to test the market claims in a target's business plan, or to support a feasibility study, a strategy or a valuation with independent evidence.

What you get

A market research engagement with Wills Business delivers:

Research design: the questions to answer, the methods that will answer them, the sample and the sources, agreed in writing before fieldwork starts.
Secondary research from regional sources: government statistics (CAPMAS in Egypt, GASTAT in Saudi Arabia, federal and emirate statistics centres in the UAE), trade data, industry bodies, licensing registers and paid databases where they add value.
Primary research: in-depth interviews with customers, distributors, suppliers and former employees of competitors; surveys in Arabic and English; mystery shopping; store, site and channel checks; expert calls.
Market sizing: total, addressable and obtainable market, built bottom-up and cross-checked top-down, with the assumptions shown.
Competitor mapping: who sells what, at what price, through which channels, with what share, and where they are weak.
Customer and pricing analysis: segments, buying criteria, willingness to pay, and the price position the product can hold.
Route-to-market and market entry strategy: entry mode (direct, distributor, agent, joint venture, acquisition), the licensing route (MISA and the Ministry of Commerce in Saudi Arabia, GAFI in Egypt, mainland or free zone in the UAE), regulatory and product registration requirements, partner shortlist and selection criteria, launch plan and budget.
The report and the data: a written report with the recommendation, and the underlying data files so your team can keep working with them.

How the work runs

Scoping (week 1). We agree the decision the research supports, the questions, the methods and the fee. You receive a written scope.
Desk research (weeks 2 to 3). Regional sources, competitor and regulatory review, first sizing. This stage often narrows the fieldwork and sometimes answers the question.
Fieldwork (weeks 3 to 6). Interviews, surveys and channel checks in the target cities: Cairo and Alexandria, Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Conducted by our own team in Arabic and English.
Analysis and entry strategy (weeks 6 to 8). Sizing, mapping and pricing analysis, the market entry recommendation, draft report, one review cycle, final report and presentation.

What goes wrong without it

The global report. A regional market size taken from a report priced for multinationals, divided by population to get a country figure. The number is wrong by a multiple, in either direction.
The wrong sample. A survey run online in English in a market where the buyers are procurement managers who answer the phone in Arabic. Confident charts, no signal.
Saudi Arabia treated as the UAE. The Dubai launch plan applied to Riyadh: same partner model, same price, same channel. Licensing, buyer behaviour and payment terms differ, and the plan runs a year late.
The distributor from one meeting. The first firm that answered the email becomes the exclusive partner for the country. Two years later the contract cannot be exited and the market is closed to you.

Feasibility studies when the research confirms the market and a project must now be proven to a bank or board.
Strategy consulting when the market question is one part of a wider choice about where the company should compete.
Business plans and financial models when the research feeds a plan for investors or lenders.
Consulting in Egypt for market research and entry work in Cairo and the rest of Egypt.

Frequently asked questions

What market research methods do you use? Both secondary and primary. Secondary means regional statistics, trade data, registers and paid databases. Primary means interviews, surveys, mystery shopping, channel checks and expert calls, run by our team in Arabic and English. The method is chosen to fit the question and the budget. A distributor selection question needs interviews; a pricing question may need a survey and store checks; a market size needs both plus the desk work.

What is the difference between a market study and a feasibility study? A market study answers questions about demand, competition, price and route to market. A feasibility study includes a market section and adds technical, legal and financial feasibility to reach a build or do-not-build decision. If the project is defined, commission the feasibility study. If the market is still the question, start with the market study.

Are you a market research firm in Dubai? Wills Business is headquartered in Cairo and runs fieldwork in Dubai and Abu Dhabi with its own team [and a local office or partner, if applicable]. UAE studies are scoped and led by a senior consultant and the fieldwork is done in the market, not from a desk in another country.

How much does market research cost in Egypt or the UAE? Fixed fee per scope, quoted in writing after the scoping call. The fee depends on the number of markets, the size of the sample and the mix of desk and field methods. A desk study for one segment is priced very differently from a three-country survey.

How long does a market study take? A single-market study is a matter of weeks; a desk-only scan is faster. The timeline is fixed in the written scope. Multi-country work and large surveys take longer and are scheduled in the scope.

Do you prepare a market entry strategy for Saudi Arabia? Yes. Saudi market entry is the most common entry question we are asked. The work covers the market case, the MISA licensing route and its requirements, the choice between a direct entity and a partner, distributor or agent options, product registration where relevant, and a launch plan with a budget.

Tell us which market you are looking at

Thirty minutes on a call. Tell us the market, the product and the decision. We will tell you what research would answer the question, how long it would take, and what it would cost.