Shaher Moh’d Ali Awartani has spent the past decade building an investment portfolio that extends well beyond his construction roots at Silver Coast Construction and Boring LLC (SCCB). Through co-founded businesses and board-level roles, he has developed positions across private equity, real estate funds, and regulated financial services across three continents. Each element of the portfolio shares common features: institutional co-investors, regulated structures where relevant, and a geographic spread that runs from Abu Dhabi and Dubai through to Geneva and Washington, D.C.

Equalis Capital in the DIFC

Awartani co-founded Equalis Capital Ltd in the Dubai International Financial Centre in 2013, alongside H.E. Yousif Al Otaiba. Equalis is a proprietary investment platform — it invests the partners’ own capital rather than acting as a fund manager for outside investors. That structure gives the business longer investment horizons and more flexibility in how it deploys capital than a conventional fund allows.

The DIFC registration brings Equalis under DFSA regulation, placing it within one of the Middle East’s most respected financial jurisdictions. This regulatory standing matters when the firm engages with international counterparties who expect clear governance standards.

Global Gate Capital: A USD 2 Billion Geneva Operation

In 2015, Awartani took a shareholder and board member position at Global Gate Capital Partners, a Geneva-based investment management firm that oversees more than USD 2 billion in real estate and private equity assets. The firm’s Geneva base reflects its orientation towards international institutional capital and its place within the European financial system.

His board role at Global Gate represented a meaningful shift in how Awartani participates in investment activity — moving from running an operating business to providing strategic oversight at the governance level. Overseeing a portfolio of that size across two asset classes requires a different set of skills from construction management, including macroeconomic judgement, portfolio construction, and risk oversight.

Yasa Capital: Regulated Advisory From 2024

Awartani co-founded Yasa Capital (DIFC) Limited in 2024, the most recent addition to his investment portfolio. The DFSA regulates the firm as a Category 4 entity, which covers investment advisory and arrangement services. The launch marks his formal entry into regulated financial advisory work.

Obtaining a Category 4 DFSA licence requires firms to demonstrate sound financial standing, put in place a compliance infrastructure, and employ suitably qualified staff. The process is demanding. The establishment of Yasa Capital points to Awartani positioning himself for a broader role in advising on institutional capital deployment across the Gulf region and further afield, built on close to thirty years of relationships formed through SCCB, Equalis, and Global Gate.