01
Capital, structured as a whole
Family business advisory, seed funding, mergers and acquisitions and founder mentoring, approached as one strategy for a family or a firm rather than a set of separate mandates.
Dubai, United Arab EmiratesEst. 2005 25.2048° N · 55.2708° EExecutive Director, MBS Global Investments
Ajmal Sharafuddin
Practising as
Investment arm of the
Private Office of Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani
IAbout
Since 2005, from Dubai: building firms, backing founders and stewarding private capital that is principled, Shariah-compliant and patient enough to serve the economy that comes next.
Ajmal Sharafuddin is an investor, serial entrepreneur and wealth manager based in Dubai. He is Executive Director of MBS Global Investments, the investment arm of the Private Office of Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani, and Founder & Managing Partner of CLUTCHi Capital, a Dubai investment advisory and wealth management firm.
He built his first firm, CLUTCHi Consultancy Services, in 2005, followed by Trade Power International in 2007 and CLUTCHi Capital in 2015, whose venture division funds and incubates technology start-ups. His work spans family business advisory, seed funding, mergers and acquisitions, Shariah-compliant and ESG-aligned investing, with a particular interest in GreenTech and FinTech.
At a glance
- Role
- Executive Director, MBS Global Investments
- MBS Global Investments
- Investment arm of the Private Office of Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani
- Founded
- CLUTCHi Capital (2015), Trade Power International (2007)
- Co-founded
- CLUTCHi Consultancy Services (2005)
- Board
- ISBC, Indian School of Business and Computing
- Focus
- Family business advisory, seed funding, M&A, Shariah-compliant and ESG investing
- Based in
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Dubai
25.2048° N · 55.2708° E · United Arab Emirates
IVAreas of focus
Three disciplines of lasting capital.
02
Principled finance
Shariah-compliant and ESG-aligned structures, where the ethics of an investment are settled before its returns are discussed.
03
Stewardship across generations
The private-office discipline: preserve capital first, grow it patiently, and prepare the next generation to hold it well.
- Wealth Management
- Family Business Advisory
- Seed Funding
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Start-up Mentoring
- Shariah-compliant Finance
- Hedge Funds
- ESG & Ethical Investing
- GreenTech
- FinTech
VVentures & Leadership
Institutions, built patiently.
Keep scrolling →01
MBS Global Investments
Executive Director · Dubai
A multi-family office and strategic investment platform anchored by the Private Office of Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani, active in real estate, finance and technology. Ajmal sits on its board and has represented MBS before ministries and investment agencies in Brunei and Malaysia.
02
CLUTCHi Capital
Founder & Managing Partner · Dubai
A Dubai investment advisory and wealth management firm. Its venture division funds and incubates technology start-ups, beginning with a seed investment in plantshop.ae in 2017.
03
Trade Power International
Founder & Managing Director · UAE
An investment boutique for micro and start-up investors, opening early-stage opportunities to those who invest in smaller sums.
04
CLUTCHi Consultancy Services
Co-Founder & Managing Partner · UAE
The first firm he co-founded. It delivers technology-enabled business solutions to companies.
05
plantshop.ae
Investor · UAE
A UAE plant e-commerce business, backed at seed stage and incubated through CLUTCHi Capital.
06
ISBC
Board Member & Director · Bengaluru
A Bengaluru institution offering British Master's degrees with Indian and international university partners.
VIThe Journey
From a first firm to a private office.
- 2003Studies Mechanical Engineering at the American University of Sharjah
- 2005Co-founds CLUTCHi Consultancy Services; studies Economics at the University of Saskatchewan
- 2007Founds Trade Power International, an investment boutique for micro and start-up investors
- 2015Founds CLUTCHi Capital in Dubai
- 2017Studies at Stanford; CLUTCHi Capital backs plantshop.ae at seed stage
- 2018Entrepreneurship studies at Harvard
- 2020Leadership & Change Management, MIT Sloan Executive Education
- 2022Joins MBS Global Investments as Executive Director
- 2024Witnesses MBS's partnership agreement with Pacific Trustees in Dubai
- 2025Part of the MBS delegation to Brunei's Ministry of Finance and Economy
Education
- 2020MIT SloanExecutive Education · Leadership & Change Management
- 2018Harvard UniversityEntrepreneurship studies
- 2017Stanford University
- 2005—07University of SaskatchewanStudied Economics · Business & Managerial Economics
- 2003—05American University of SharjahStudied Mechanical Engineering
In conversation
On trade, capital and the corridors between them.
VIIOrganisations worked with
In good company.
GMIB Investment Bank✦Varys Capital✦Pacific Trustees✦EnigmaStrategy✦Pathfinder✦Tata Communications✦ACTT Technologies✦Miftah Concierge✦Bijlipay✦hashmove✦TwinMatrix✦fäm Properties✦SW Tenet✦CloudCard✦
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Ajmal Sharafuddin is a Dubai-based investor and entrepreneur. He is Executive Director of MBS Global Investments, the investment platform anchored by the Private Office of H.H. Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani, and co-founder and Managing Partner of CLUTCHi Capital, a Dubai investment advisory firm.
Ajmal Sharafuddin is Executive Director of MBS Global Investments and sits on its Board of Directors. He has held the role since November 2022.
MBS Global Investments is a Dubai-based multi-family office and strategic investment platform anchored by the Private Office of H.H. Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani. It works across real estate, finance and technology.
He has represented MBS Global Investments in meetings with governments and investment agencies in Southeast Asia. These include a 2025 meeting with Brunei's Minister of Finance and Economy, talks with Brunei's Department of Energy, and a meeting with the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) on healthcare partnerships. In May 2024 he witnessed the signing of MBS's cooperation agreement with Malaysia-based Pacific Trustees.
CLUTCHi Capital is a Dubai-based investment advisory and wealth management firm founded in 2015. Its venture division funds and incubates technology startups. Ajmal Sharafuddin is its co-founder and Managing Partner.
Ajmal Sharafuddin co-founded CLUTCHi Consultancy Services in 2005, a technology-enabled business solutions firm. He founded Trade Power International in 2007, an investment boutique for micro and startup investors, where he is Managing Director. He co-founded CLUTCHi Capital in 2015, where he is Managing Partner.
Yes. He invests through CLUTCHi Capital, whose venture division funds and incubates technology startups. CLUTCHi Capital made a seed investment in plantshop.ae in December 2017 and incubated the company.
His areas of focus are wealth management, Shariah-compliant banking, family business advisory, seed funding, mergers and acquisitions, startup mentoring, hedge funds, and ESG and ethical investing, with an interest in GreenTech and FinTech.
Ajmal Sharafuddin completed executive education in Leadership and Change Management at MIT Sloan (2020), and executive programmes at Harvard (Entrepreneurship, 2018) and Stanford (2017). Earlier, he studied economics at the University of Saskatchewan (2005 to 2007) and mechanical engineering at the American University of Sharjah (2003 to 2005).
Yes. He is a Board Member and Director of ISBC, the Indian School of Business and Computing in Bengaluru, India.
Ajmal Sharafuddin is based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
For partnership and private office enquiries, email aj@mbs.investments.
Private office enquiries, partnerships and speaking
Begin with a conversation.
Introductions from founders, families and institutions are read personally.