Offline Sessions, Localisation: How The Trading Festival in Dubai Bridges the Local Engagement Gap

Dubai has become a hotbed of retail trading, with a deep-pocketed base of traders. Local brokers are thriving there, with record trading volumes, while many global brokers are also seeing stronger demand in the region than elsewhere.

Against this backdrop, iFX Expo is launching The Trading Festival to increase transparency for the global trading community.

An Event for Traders

The event will be trader-focused and will feature live sessions where traders put real ideas on the line and share practical work on discipline and routines. There will also be a lab where traders can test tools offered by brokers.

“There are a couple of reasons we chose Dubai,” said George Panayiotou, CEO at Ultimate Group. “The main one is that it has established itself as a regional hub for trading and fintech.”

“We saw a gap that could be filled by the Trading Festival. This growing environment has created strong demand for trading-focused education and suits people interested in trading and personal asset management, but who may lack a clear view of what the market offers and the knowledge they need to trade.”

The regional rise in trading activity is reflected in CFI Financial’s figures, which handled a record $2.07 trillion in trading volume during the fourth quarter of 2025. By comparison, the broker’s total trading volume for the whole of 2024 was $2.79 trillion.

Capital.com also reported that 52 per cent of its H1 2025 trading volume came from the Middle East, compared with 15 per cent from Europe. The broker had 35,000 MENA traders, compared with 61,400 in Europe. In addition, 71.7 per cent of Capital.com’s $804.1 billion trading volume in MENA was generated by UAE-based traders.

This clearly shows how the UAE is becoming a key centre for CFD traders.

• CFD Brokers Flock to Dubai, but Few Go All In
• 52% of Capital.com’s H1 Trading Volume Came from MENA, UAE Traders Lead
• CFI Financial Continues to See “Record” Trading Volume, Ends Q4 with $2.07 Trillion

Education Needs to Be Localised, Not Standardised

With this comes the importance of education. Regardless of capital size, traders need proper education to trade CFDs. The Trading Festival will address this issue directly. Although many brokers offer trading education, it is often biased towards their own tools and services.

There is also the difference between offline and online educational sessions.

“Although what brokers offer is valuable, it is also largely online and usually not interactive,” said Panayiotou. “The Trading Festival focuses on hands-on, face-to-face educational experiences. Attendees will have direct access to brokers, fintech brands, data providers, market experts, and analysts. Each of the Trading Festival’s three stages will cater to a specific type of education or knowledge. Visitors will be invited to explore, discuss, trade, and test strategies and ideas on real platforms.”

Read more: “Gamification of Education Can Be a Game Changer”

Although the basics are the same, trading is very localised, and educational platforms need to reflect that. Localisation also covers language and tone, which must connect with traders in each region.

“Given today’s consumer expectations and tech trends, it should be fully localised,” Panayiotou continued. “They need to speak directly to the trader or client the company is trying to reach, in a language they understand.”

“There is another part of localisation that is often overlooked: asset selection. Some assets are more popular in certain regions, and this can differ widely. This is the gap we want to address for traders, to reduce noise and provide useful information on assets that interest them, through trusted sources and in their native language.”

Disclaimer: The Trading Festival and Finance Magnates are part of the same parent company, Ultimate Group.