Magnificent Mumbai. Dynamic Dubai. From Signal to Strategy.
- Ash King
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Last week in Mumbai, at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC 2026), the signal was unmistakable. Capital is shifting east, but it is not moving blindly. It is moving strategically.
Ammar Mirza CBE, Chairman and Founder of ISS Airview, was in India as part of ISS’s trade mission, engaging with ministers, senior officials, sovereign-backed platforms, private equity leaders and global investors. Speaking on the Investors Outlook panel, alongside leaders from venture capital and institutional capital platforms, the message was consistent: alignment now matters more than acceleration.
With keynote addresses from Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Devendra Fadnavis and Piyush Goyal, and strong backing from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Government of Maharashtra and national leadership under Narendra Modi, the ambition was clear.
Maharashtra alone is targeting 850 billion dollars in investment, 50 lakh direct jobs and 150 billion dollars in manufacturing exports as it drives toward becoming India’s first trillion-dollar state by 2030. That is not incremental growth. That is systemic transformation.
India as a Central Node in a Multipolar Economy
India is no longer framed simply as a high-growth emerging market. With an economy valued at approximately 3.7 trillion dollars and projected to become the third largest globally within this decade, it is increasingly positioned as a central node in a reconfiguring global system.
National digital infrastructure platforms such as UPI and India Stack are enabling commerce at scale. Corridor initiatives including the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor are reshaping supply chains and trade architecture. Investors recognise infrastructure when they see it, and India has built it.
Across meetings throughout the week, one theme surfaced repeatedly. Capital is no longer chasing yield alone. It is seeking alignment. Alignment with political stability. Alignment with strategic corridors. Alignment with protected intellectual property and scalable innovation.
From Dialogue to Delivery: The ISS 3IP Model
At GEC 2026, Ammar showcased the work of ISS Airview, Yohlar and Institute of Enterprise and Entrepreneurs, alongside our Supply Chain Innovation model developed in partnership with Durham University Business School and our structured 3IP framework: Investment, Innovation and Internationalisation.
The principle is simple but powerful. Capital without validated innovation is fragile. Innovation without market access is stalled. Internationalisation without structure is risky.
Through the 3IP model, intellectual property is protected before scale. Business models are validated alongside technology. International deployment is embedded from day one.
Rather than funding growth reactively, ISS engineers compounding through alignment.
In a world of accelerating technological advancement, particularly in AI and advanced manufacturing, disciplined validation has become a competitive advantage.
Delivering the UK–India Free Trade Agreement in Practice
The UK–India Free Trade Agreement creates the policy framework. The responsibility now is implementation.
Through ISS, in partnership with Sharon Kaur Jandu OBE and NPH Ethnic Minority Business and Policy Forum, we are actively building real corridors between the UK and India. This is not theoretical engagement. It is structured soft-landing support, investor alignment, commercial partnerships and transaction enablement.
A core focus of the visit was ensuring that the North East of England is not watching global trade realignment from the side-lines. It is in the room. Shaping the conversation. Building trusted bridges.
As the UK’s first dedicated international trade centre, ISS Airview was built to connect policy to place, ambition to infrastructure and regions to global capital flows.
Beyond Mumbai: Dynamic Dubai
The week extended beyond India into Dubai, another engine of global growth. Where Mumbai pulses with scale and demographic momentum, Dubai moves with precision and speed. Both geographies demonstrated strong appetite for deeper bilateral engagement with the UK.
Across India and the Gulf, investors are increasingly looking inward to Britain. At the same time, British firms are looking outward with renewed confidence. The opportunity lies in structured corridor alignment, not opportunistic expansion.
Building Trusted Bridges in a Reconfiguring World
The conversations in Mumbai and Dubai reinforced a central truth. The world is looking for trusted bridges. As capital becomes more strategic and alliances more deliberate, intermediaries must provide structure, validation and credible pathways to scale.
ISS was established to be exactly that.
Global power is reconfiguring. Capital is moving with intent. Corridors are being built.
The question is no longer whether opportunity exists between the UK, India and the Gulf. The question is who is positioned to activate it properly.
Last week demonstrated that the North East is not an observer of this shift. Through ISS, it is actively engaged in shaping it.
If you are looking to engage with the UK–India growth corridor in a practical, structured way, we welcome the conversation.
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