Three of the major prop firms said last month thatthe Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is now a top growth priority,with one of them making an unplanned expansion announcement directly from apanel stage at iFX EXPO Dubai, held February 10-12 at the Dubai World TradeCentre.The declarations came at a charged moment for the region.Less than three weeks later, Iranian ballistic missiles and drones strucktargets across the UAE, including near Dubai International Airport and the PalmJumeirah, killing three people and injuring dozens more. The 5ers' Biggest Regional BetNora Bar Tahhan, Managing Director of The 5ers, used thepanel to break what she described as the firm's largest-ever MENA expansion. "I am announcing our plan for another and much biggerexpansion for MENA, from this stage," she told attendees, declining toelaborate on specifics. The 5ers, which has operated for a decade, alsoconfirmed it is preparing to launch futures trading products for MENA clients"very soon," a direct response to what Bar Tahhan described as strongregional demand for instruments beyond forex.Bar Tahhan framed the region's appeal in structural termsrather than speculative ones. "In MENA, there is a strong trading cultureand a high appetite for financial markets," she said. "The young,dynamic population and fast financial hubs push traders to look for stablefirms."Watch the full recording. The rest of the article continues below the video:Dubai Draws the Industry's Biggest PlayersFundedNext, which already operates an office in Dubai, saidthe region has become central to its business. "When you fly into Dubai, you see a different vibe, adsfor brokerages everywhere," said founder and CEO Syed Abdullah Jayed."Because of regulatory acceptance and emerging populations moving to theUAE and the broader MENA region, the adoption and growth have been verygood."The firm said it paid out more than $150 million to tradersglobally in 2025, and that studying that data shaped its understanding of whatseparates profitable traders from those who fail. Jayed said the pattern isconsistent: successful traders "think end-to-end, not just about passingphase one or phase two," remaining disciplined on drawdown limits,position sizing and long-term consistency.Jayed also said the firm is running internal experimentswith Direct Market Access accounts, which would move top-performing tradersfrom simulated environments into live trading. "I can't share all thedetails yet," he said, but described the internal results as promising. The broader backdrop has been building for years. The DIFCfinancial hub added over 1,000 companies in the first half of 2025 alone,with fintech registrations rising 28%, and most CFD brokers in the UAE hold Category 5 licences thatallow marketing and promotion in the country while routing actual traderonboarding through non-UAE entities, a structure that has made Dubai alow-friction entry point for financial services firms broadly.GCC Growth Outpaces Other RegionsIC Funded's General Manager Petros Kalaitzis said the Gulf'sgrowth curve has not plateaued. "The GCC is constantly showingdouble-digit growth," he said, pointing to volatility in commodities likegold as one factor drawing MENA-based traders into more active participation.The firm, backed by a larger brokerage group, plans to release new productcategories by the end of Q1 or early Q2, with updates continuing throughout theyear.The region's economics are compelling for firms. Research published earlier this year found that propfirms operating in high-growth emerging markets can achieve peak return on adspend of up to 12x, compared to around 3x in the United States. MENA sitsfirmly within that high-efficiency growth category, making it a priority targetwell beyond the promotional appeal.A Shadow Over the HubThe expansion ambitions now face a question none of thepanelists could have anticipated when they spoke in February. Iranian strikeson the UAE beginning February 28 hit near key financial districts, disruptedover 1,400 flights, temporarily suspended UAE stock markets and sent hedgefunds and banks into contingency mode across Dubai and Abu Dhabi. As FinanceMagnates.com reported, the attacks rattledfinancial firms with offices in the city, raising fresh questions about whetherDubai's long-held reputation as a safe, neutral hub can survive a prolongedregional conflict. Whether the expansion plans announced with confidence at iFXEXPO proceed on schedule will depend heavily on how the broader conflictdevelops in the coming months.Low Entry Costs, High DemandThe core value proposition of prop trading remains intact,at least for now. Jayed put it plainly: a trader wanting to manage a $100,000account would normally need to put up that capital personally. With a propchallenge, the same access costs $500 to $600 in fees. "Even if they fail a few times," he said,"the risk-to-reward ratio of the potential return is the best thing aboutit."That low entry point has proven particularly resonant acrossa region with a large young population and an established appetite forfinancial markets, and it is a dynamic that geopolitical disruption alone isunlikely to reverse quickly.Regulation Framed as a Filter, Not a ThreatAll three panelists said they welcome regulatory oversight,arguing it will clear the market of weaker operators. "Good firms shouldembrace regulation as a way to clean up the industry and distinguish goodcompanies from bad ones," Kalaitzis said.Jayed went further, positioning FundedNext as a potentialcompliance partner. "If regulators decide to enter the market, we want tobe the gold standard they partner with to design the best possiblecompliance," he said. Bar Tahhan added that The 5ers already operates asthough it were regulated, calling oversight "a good filter for theindustry."The regulatory conversation is gathering momentum. ATFX's Drew Niv argued at Finance Magnates London Summit 2025 thatprop trading will reshape the FX market the way retail trading did 25 yearsago. Whether Dubai remains the anchor for that transformation isnow a question with a far more complicated set of variables than it had onFebruary 12.This article was written by Damian Chmiel at www.financemagnates.com.