The appointment strengthens Gushcloud’s cross-border growth across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region, while deepening its commitment to neurodiversity, inclusion and social impact in the creator economy
Gushcloud International, a global creator management, content monetisation and licensing company, today announced the appointment of Hazleen Ahmad as a Strategic Advisor to the company. The appointment reinforces Gushcloud’s accelerating expansion across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and its long-term commitment to building a more inclusive, socially impactful creator economy.
Hazleen Ahmad brings lived experience, an applied neuroscience qualification from King’s College London, and networks across neurodiversity governance and impact investment, UAE–Singapore cross-border business, and government and institutional engagement across the Arab world through her lifetime honorary membership with the Arab Entrepreneurs Board headquartered in London. In her advisory capacity, she will support Gushcloud’s leadership on the integration of neurodiversity, diversity and inclusion, and social impact initiatives across the company’s creator and entertainment platform, and on relationship development with government, family office, sovereign wealth and institutional partners across the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the wider GCC & MENA region.
The Middle East has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing creator markets. The MENA creator economy is projected to grow from approximately USD 10.93 billion in 2025 to USD 36.5 billion by 2032, with regional influencer marketing spend already estimated at around USD 1.3 billion in 2025. Saudi Arabia and the UAE lead the region in both spend and creator count where Saudi Arabia’s creator economy alone grew by more than 32% in the first quarter of 2025. It is against this backdrop that Gushcloud is deepening its regional presence, and where Ahmad’s networks and expertise will help the company grow.
“At Gushcloud, we scale with people who know a market from the inside,” said Althea Lim, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Gushcloud International. “Hazleen brings the government, institutional, and investor relationships that open the UAE, Saudi Arabia, GCC, and the wider MENA to us, and a sharp read on audiences others aren’t reaching. That’s a commercial edge, and it’s how we grow in the region.”
Strengthening Regional Growth and Social Impact
“I began my career as a Singaporean youth in the Middle East in 1996; the relationships and trust cultivated over decades hold greater significance than reach,” remarked Hazleen Ahmad, Strategic Advisor to Gushcloud International. “I am thrilled to hold hands with Gushcloud in exploring and creating new opportunities across governments, institutions, and investors in the region. The future of talent development lies in creativity, curiosity, and innovation, transcending the traditional notion of inclusion as a social responsibility. We recognise a genuine opportunity to unlock untapped talents in the region, and I am immensely proud to contribute to this mission with intention and thoughtfulness.”
