Fractional CTO services in Dubai and the UAE
For Dubai founders who are building a product and aren't ready to hire a full-time CTO yet. I work with you part-time on the architecture, hiring and AI decisions, and I'm one hour off Dubai time.
8+ years building products · SaaS, mobile and AI · Teams in Pakistan, the US, UK and UAE
Who hires a fractional CTO in Dubai
The founders who contact me from the UAE usually fit one of these.
Non-technical with an idea or small MVP
You know your market well. What you don't have is someone who can turn it into a build plan, pick a stack and tell you when a quote from a dev shop is too high.
Outsourced team that is drifting
Deadlines keep moving and you can't really judge the quality. You need a technical person who works for you, not for the agency.
Adding AI to a product you already run
The question is which feature is worth it, which provider to use, and how to keep API costs from creeping up every month.
Getting ready to raise
Investors will ask about the tech, the team and the roadmap, and some will send a technical person to check. You want answers that hold up.
What a fractional CTO does for your company
Roadmap
I help you decide what goes into the first version and what waits. Usually more waits than founders expect. For build cost context, read how much an MVP costs.
Architecture and stack
I pick tools your future team can hire for and maintain. If there's an AI layer, I keep it easy to swap, so you're not stuck with one provider.
Hiring and vendors
I can help you hire your first engineers, or sit between you and your agency and review their work.
AI and LLM decisions
Which features should use AI at all, which model, and roughly what it costs per user. For AI-heavy products, see AI fractional CTO.
Investor prep
The tech slides in your deck, architecture docs, and the technical questions in due diligence.
Delivery
If you need people to build it, I have a team. If you already have one, I lead it.
Why founders in the UAE work with me
The time zone works
I'm in Pakistan (GMT+5) and Dubai is GMT+4, so we're one hour apart. Calls happen in your normal working day and questions get answered the same day.
It costs a fraction of a full-time hire
A full-time CTO in Dubai is a big fixed cost for an early company once you add salary, visa and benefits. With a fractional CTO you pay for the hours you need, and you can stop when you're ready to hire.
I can also build
Plenty of fractional CTOs only advise. When you need to move fast, I can bring a delivery team through M TECHUB, the studio I founded.
Building in the UAE: data and compliance
If your product handles personal data of people in the UAE, the federal data protection law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021) applies. Companies in DIFC and ADGM also have their own data protection rules. I take this into account from the first architecture decision: where the data is stored, which outside services and AI providers can see it, and how a user asks for their data to be deleted. I'm not a lawyer, so for legal sign-off I work with your legal adviser.
How it works
- 20-minute intro call. You tell me what you're building and where it's stuck. If you don't need a fractional CTO, I'll say so.
- Two-week technical audit. I look at the product, the code, the team, your vendors and what you're spending. You get a written plan with priorities.
- Ongoing work. Usually 8 to 20 hours a week: a weekly session with you, time with your team, and a short monthly summary of what we decided and what moved.
- Handover. When it's time for a full-time CTO, I help you hire them and hand everything over.
Fractional CTO pricing in Dubai
Prices are in USD and billed monthly. You can cancel with a month's notice. AED invoicing is available.
| Plan | Time | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advisory | about 4 hours a week | Founders who want someone to review technical decisions | $4,000 / month |
| Fractional CTO | about 10 hours a week | Startups building or fixing an MVP with a team or agency | $7,500 / month |
| CTO + build team | 10+ hours plus a delivery team | Founders who need the product built, with senior oversight | from $14,000 / month |
Recent work
BiometricPro, an HR and attendance SaaS. I own the product architecture across web and mobile: four user roles, payroll, onboarding with e-signatures, and per-worker subscription billing.
Fate, a dating app. I led the React Native build for iOS and Android.
Fractional CTO in Dubai: common questions
What is a fractional CTO?
A fractional CTO is a senior technical leader who works with your company part-time, usually 4 to 20 hours a week. They make the decisions a full-time CTO would make about architecture, hiring, roadmap and vendors, but you don't pay a full-time salary or give up the equity a full-time CTO would expect.
How much does a fractional CTO cost in Dubai?
Most fractional CTOs in Dubai work on a monthly retainer based on hours per week. My plans start at $4,000 a month for advisory and go from $14,000 a month when a build team is included. That's well below what a full-time CTO in Dubai costs once salary, visa and benefits are added.
Do I need a fractional CTO or a development agency?
An agency builds what you ask for. A fractional CTO helps decide what to build, how and by whom, then checks the work. If you're non-technical and already working with an agency, the fractional CTO is the person reviewing what they deliver.
Do you work on-site in Dubai?
I work remotely, one hour from Dubai time, so meetings fit into your normal working day.
Can you help us raise funding?
I don't raise money for you. I prepare the technical side: the architecture overview, roadmap and team plan, plus answers for the technical part of investor due diligence.
Do you work with companies outside Dubai?
Yes. I work with founders across the UAE, including Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and in the UK and US.
Talk to a fractional CTO this week
Tell me what you're building. After 20 minutes you'll know whether a fractional CTO makes sense for you right now, and what I'd do next if I were in your position.