KS Konnect Launches to Bring Global Sports, Entertainment, and Culture to the Middle East

The Gulf is rapidly emerging as a hub for sports, entertainment, and cultural investment, and a new platform, KS Konnect, has been launched to connect global talent, high-value sports and entertainment projects, and culturally aligned storytelling initiatives with the region’s growth.

Founded by media personality Kris Fade and marketing expert Sarah Omolewu, KS Konnect works with governments, institutions, and brands to create world-class partnerships in sports and entertainment across the Middle East.

Fade, often called “the Ryan Seacrest of the Middle East,” has been a major force in the UAE’s entertainment scene. He helped launch Virgin Radio in 2007 with The Kris Fade Show, which quickly became the region’s top radio program. He is also known internationally through the Netflix series Dubai Bling and is the founder of Fade Fit, one of the UAE’s fastest-growing snack brands.

“Sports, entertainment, and culture in the Middle East are attracting global attention like never before,” Fade said. “KS Konnect was created to connect the right talent, IP, and stories to this momentum, both locally and globally.”

Omolewu moved to the region over a decade ago and founded Maven Marketing and Events, playing a key role in shaping the GCC’s entertainment marketing landscape. She has been recognized among CEO Middle East’s 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World and listed in the UAE’s Top 100 Most Influential People for three years in a row.

Her achievements include organizing the region’s first major basketball event, the DMCC Kobe Bryant Health and Fitness Weekend, the GCC’s first private sector movie premiere for Suicide Squad starring Will Smith, and the first celebrity-led tourism campaigns for Dubai Tourism. She also led Saudi Arabia’s first celebrity speaker program at the Misk Global Forum in 2018. Beyond entertainment, Omolewu launched Access Abu Dhabi, a program supporting women- and minority-led founders entering the UAE.

“KS Konnect continues my work of helping global talent, brands, and storytellers engage with the Middle East in a culturally informed way,” Omolewu said. “Governments and institutions are now actively seeking global IP and talent to support economic and cultural growth, and KS Konnect is here to meet that demand.”

KS Konnect has already begun partnerships, including a collaboration with The Sustainable City Dubai and a regional campaign with Disney and National Geographic for the Middle East premiere of Pole to Pole with Will Smith. The platform has also partnered with the International Sports and Entertainment Zone (ISEZA) in Dubai, becoming its official Talent and IP Agency Partner to help attract and develop global sports and entertainment projects in line with Dubai’s economic and tourism plans.

“The region’s biggest cultural and entertainment stories are still being written,” Fade said. “KS Konnect is here to make sure the right partners, talent, and ideas come together to tell them.”