In 2017, Marianna Bulbuc became the first woman in Dubai to receive a license for state lobbying. Today, she works with MENA countries, a market of 355 million people. Marianna and her company have experience working with more than 9,000 clients, including over 300 companies from Moldova.

Our meeting took place in Chișinău — Marianna has never cut ties with Moldova; moreover, she now also acts as an investor in Moldova.

Marianna, hello. You’re glowing — Moldova suits you.

Yes, thank you, it does. Being at home always gives me “butterflies in my stomach.”

You are engaged in lobbying in Dubai. In many countries, lobbying has become a widespread and accepted practice. But in Moldova, it hasn’t yet gained much traction, though certain business associations practice it to some extent. How does lobbying work in Dubai? After all, the Middle East has its own specifics…

If in Europe and America lobbying means working with parliaments and governments, in the Middle East there are no parliaments in the usual sense, so the format is different. I am more of a mediator in relations between governments, institutions, and businesses. I facilitate negotiations and finding solutions.

That’s quite an unusual specialization, especially for a woman in the Middle East. How did you come to this profession?

I had a pull toward negotiations since childhood. My first mediation experience was at the age of 13, when I participated in an EU program for young talents in Moldova. That was when I first felt the taste of being able to influence something. When in Dubai I saw such an opportunity opening for me, I didn’t hesitate — despite all the difficulties, I decided I would grow in this direction.

You anticipated my next question: how did you end up in Dubai and how did your career there begin?

I moved to Dubai from Romania, where I had earned a master’s degree in finance and worked in a retail chain. Some of my friends had moved to the Emirates and pulled me along — it didn’t take much convincing. But back then, Dubai wasn’t what people see today.

At first, I wasn’t even allowed into government institutions unless I was fully covered and accompanied by a male family member. Many times, people wouldn’t speak to me face to face because it was culturally unacceptable. And I was always asked: “Where is your husband? Where is your father? Where is your brother?”

But that period coincided with the moment when Sheikh Mohammed began appointing women to high-ranking positions. Women ministers appeared, graduates of Harvard and Cambridge. I happened to be right on that wave and began to grow in business at an incredible pace. Moreover, in Dubai I became the first woman to receive a license for state lobbying at all.

When were you able to achieve that?

It was in 2017, when I obtained a government license for a lobbying office. At that time, the license was called Business Men Services, and it was under my license that it was renamed Business Men and Women Services. So you could say I entered Dubai’s history as the first female lobbyist.

But now you already rely on a large office of your own, correct?

Yes. I have more than one hundred employees in various offices across the seven emirates, plus joint ventures in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Kuwait. There I am a co-partner, since by law in those countries a woman cannot be the sole owner of a company, as I am in Dubai.

What issues do clients usually come to you with?

Firstly, we provide basic standard business services: company registration, obtaining work permits, hiring employees, accounting and financial support, taxation, and so on.

Secondly, we have a huge back office of very talented people who solve any issues directly or indirectly affecting business functionality — family relocation, enrolling children in schools, hiring nannies and domestic helpers, and so forth. It’s truly a full-scale support service.

Does your experience show that today a woman entrepreneur from Moldova can build business relations with Dubai, not just men?

Absolutely. The narrative has shifted: before it was about “women being allowed and having access,” today it’s about “they must.” There are even quotas for venture funds: they are obliged to invest in women-led projects, of course considering merit as well.

In fact, I think I was simply lucky in this regard. Lucky that I didn’t give up after the difficulties of the first five years and made it to the point where I now have the opportunity to sit on investment committees, support other women, and work in partnership with companies like DHL, UPS, Visa, Mastercard, and banks like HSBC. We have joint projects that support women internationally. So today we can say that women entrepreneurs truly have opportunities to do business.

During your work, have you had to lobby for Moldovan businessmen in the Emirates, or is that still rare?

We have already worked with more than 9,000 clients from most countries of the world — from startups to international corporations like Coca-Cola and Netflix. And I’m glad that among them there have already been over 300 companies from Moldova, from the most diverse industries, even architecture and design.

I cannot disclose brand names for confidentiality reasons, but we have helped many of them start businesses in the Emirates. I also always try to help when Moldovan organizations approach us — for example, the IT Park. We help them understand the subtleties of legislation, since the Middle East operates under Sharia law, organize meetings, and B2B introductions. We are not brokers, we don’t do sales, but we can provide the right contacts and ease market understanding.

How realistic is it for Moldovan businessmen to enter Dubai’s market?

It’s completely realistic. There are clients, the market is big, but you must keep in mind that this market is very “loud”: companies spend heavily on advertising, marketing, branding, and so on. In other words, you step into a very noisy market. Not always high-quality, but very noisy. You must strategically understand and accept that.

If you want not just noise, but a large flow, then you can play a bit with price. But it’s important not to go too far, so the market doesn’t perceive you as “too cheap,” and therefore unreliable.

There is also the ultra-luxury segment — and it is very strong there. We all know that thousands of the world’s richest people have now moved to Dubai to live there during the good season. So ultra-luxury is a huge opportunity. But again, everything must be done with a clear understanding of this niche — attention to detail, impeccable service.

Are there any niches you can highlight as especially in demand?

Education! Dubai is catastrophically short of schools and kindergartens with quality programs. Waiting lists stretch for years. It’s simply impossible not to fill a school even before opening. Tuition fees range from 20–30 thousand dollars per year, premium ones up to 70–80 thousand euros. And still, there are no spots. This is a huge opportunity for investors.

And what about food products?

Food products are also promising. But there is one problem: in Moldova, many companies don’t register a halal certificate. And you need not just any halal certificate, but one from a laboratory recognized in the UAE. If I’m not mistaken, last year Moldova’s Ministry of Agriculture signed such an agreement with the Emirates.

And we must not forget that in Dubai and the Emirates live several million people, while in Saudi Arabia there are tens and hundreds of millions — this is a colossal market. And when it comes to food products, I always recommend entering these markets starting with the Emirates. Standardization there is very high: products are hard to register, permits are difficult and expensive to obtain. But once you succeed, it’s very easy to access the entire region. And that’s already hundreds of millions of consumers.

If you were to invest in a Moldovan enterprise that will work with the Emirates, what would you invest in?

I already have. Here in Moldova, I am developing a process with partners for processing fruits and vegetables for canning, as well as for producing dried fruits for wholesale supply, which are then used for powders, further processing, and cooking.

I invested not in the production of a finished product for consumer shelves, but in raw materials for other productions and companies.

You have dozens of opportunities to invest in businesses in the Middle East. Why did you decide to work with Moldova?

Today, I already have a mature, well-established company in Dubai. I can afford to hand over operational management to the board of directors and devote more time to what gives me joy and matters to my soul. And returning more often to my homeland and contributing to its development — that is important to me; it is important for all of us to remember our roots, the place where we were born.

I saw in social media photos that you came to Moldova with your daughter this time. What are her impressions of Moldova?

She’s delighted. But she has already seen a lot in her eight years, not just Dubai’s skyscrapers. She has been with me in many countries, has seen even the poorest countries in Africa. I want her from childhood to be familiar with the world in all its forms.

What values do you want to instill in her?

Respect for the world, respect for people — and fearlessness. Recently, we stood together on a board with nails: I told her, “The brain deceives you, there is no pain, breathe and believe in yourself.” I want her not to be afraid to take risks.

In business, the main limit is the fear of loss. I myself went the path “from zero” and know that everything can be built again. The key is determination and faith in yourself.