Go-to-market consultancy · GCC and MENA
Your gateway to GCC and beyond.
We take international oil and gas, petrochemical, water, process and energy engineering companies into the GCC and the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Founded on 15+ years of GCC equipment sales: approvals, market intelligence and decision-maker access, from approval to award.
Approvals · Intelligence · Market access
01Our approach
Approval timed to procurement
An EPC contractor cannot buy a product that is not approved. Estimating and engineering hours spent quoting one are lost. We run approvals in parallel with the pursuit, and check every project against one rule before you commit bid hours: approval completes before the purchase order date.
Illustrative sequence. Timings vary by buyer, product and market. Approval remains the buyer's decision.
We handle the legwork
We prepare the files, follow up with the authorities and buyers, and track every clarification, so your team does not need a local entity, an office or a hire in the country.
We do not guarantee approval
Approval is the buyer's decision. What we commit to is the work: a clear plan, correct submissions, and a bid or no-bid recommendation for each project before you spend engineering hours.
02How we work with you
Five stages, each with a decision
Every stage ends in a deliverable and a go or no-go decision. You stop whenever the evidence says stop.
Readiness Scan
A short review of your certificates, references and ICV position, with an approval roadmap and a go or no-go view.
Understand
GTM strategy, market intelligence and a localised SWOT: who buys, how, and where you can win.
Approve and position
Compliance and access in parallel: approvals, registration, ICV, and meetings with decision-makers.
Win
Tender and proposal management and deal structuring, for projects that pass the bid gate.
Grow
Spares, replacement and service contracts that keep your installed base growing.
03Services
From first study to signed order
Every engagement starts on a retainer. Success-fee services follow, subject to Manfad's approval. One team, one point of contact.
Retainer services
A fixed monthly retainer covers the work that gets you ready, introduced and registered. Every engagement starts here.
GTM strategy
Route-to-market plan, target buyers, pricing position, and the choice between agent, distributor, joint venture or local entity.
Business intelligence reports
Project pipelines, buyer maps, competitor positions and tender history for your product, by market.
B2B meetings with decision-makers
Introductions and structured meetings with utilities, operators, developers, EPC contractors and consultants.
Localised SWOT analysis
Your strengths and gaps measured against each market's buyers, rules and incumbents, not a generic template.
Specification and approvals
Spec-in with consultants and EPC contractors; product approvals, vendor registration and prequalification with utilities and operators.
ICV and IKTVA planning
Models of how local assembly, spend and hiring change your In-Country Value (ICV) or In-Kingdom Total Value Add (IKTVA) score.
Local partnering and compliance
Joint venture and teaming structures, localisation rules, and anti-corruption due diligence on partners.
Approval roadmap and bid gate
Each target project's procurement date set against your approval timeline, with a bid or no-bid recommendation before you commit engineering hours.
Success-fee services
Offered after the retainer, and only at Manfad's approval. We take these on where an award is realistic, and the fee is agreed in writing before work starts.
Tender and proposal management
Technical and commercial bids from front-end engineering design (FEED) to award, with pricing built into EPC and developer bid models.
Deal structuring
Framework agreements, payment terms, bank guarantees and multi-year service models.
Aftermarket and key accounts
Spares, membrane replacement and service contracts that keep your installed base growing.
04Experience
A network across utilities, energy majors and EPC contractors
Manfad was founded by Sharad Lal, a US-educated mechanical engineer (University of Texas at Arlington). Relationships built through direct sales, framework agreements and project awards in KSA, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.
Water and power utilities
SWA (SWCC), NWC, SEC, DEWA, TAQA, EWEC, MEW and MPW Kuwait, Nama (Oman), EWA (Bahrain)
Oil, gas and petrochemicals
Saudi Aramco, ADNOC Gas, ADNOC Refining, KOC, KNPC, SABIC, Equate, Borouge, Dolphin Energy
Industry and mining
Ma'aden, Royal Commission Jubail and Yanbu, EGA, Emirates Steel Arkan, Fertiglobe, Marafiq
Developers and IPPs
ACWA Power, Almar Water, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Hyundai
EPC contractors
Acciona, Doosan, Samsung C&T, Saipem, Petrofac, L&T, WABAG, Metito, Orascom, Cobra (ACS), China Harbour, SEPCO
Engineering consultants
Jacobs, Parsons, Stantec, ILF
05Markets
One region, different rules
Each state has its own buyers, approvals and local-content scheme. We plan market by market.
| Market | Typical buyers | Local-content scheme |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates | Federal and emirate utilities; Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and its group companies | ICV In-Country Value |
| Saudi Arabia | Water utilities and the Saudi Water Authority; Saudi Aramco; industrial and petrochemical operators | IKTVA In-Kingdom Total Value Add and local-content rules |
| Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, North Africa | National utilities and energy operators | Scoped per market and buyer |
06Who we serve
Built for manufacturers entering the GCC
Our clients are manufacturer export directors, from Europe, North America, East and South Asia, who need a local team to carry the file.
Manufacturer first
When we present your product to a GCC utility, your logo leads. Manfad appears as "Market entry partner".
- Membranes, Pumps, Valves, Chemicals, Tanks, Pipes, Water treatment systems and skids, and other Industrial products
- Manufacturers with no regional office or distributor yet
- Firms with a distributor who needs vendor-registration support
- Buyers: utilities, desalination and wastewater operators, oil, gas and petrochemical vendor teams
- Contracts in English with Arabic documents where the buyer requires them
07Contact
Tell us what you make and where you want to sell
Book a 30-minute introduction call, or send us a note. We reply within one working day (Gulf Standard Time).