How school dropout Ahmad Haffar became ‘Voice of Dubai’ and built a sonic empire from scratch

If you’ve ever been politely told to “mind the gap” on the Dubai Metro, reminded not to vape inside the Coca Cola arena, or caught yourself humming a jingle you didn’t even know you knew — chances are, you’ve already met Ahmad Haffar’s voice.

He’s everywhere in Dubai, even when you don’t realise it.

Think of him as the city’s unofficial Siri — only with better hair, sharper hustle, and way more charisma.

They call him the official 'Voice of Dubai', but Ahmad isn’t content with being just a voice. He’s built an empire on sound, sass, and the kind of relentless reinvention that makes the rest of us wonder what exactly we’ve been doing with our 24 hours a day.

“I’m the most known voice in the entire city of Dubai, and the country of the UAE,” he says, half proud, half in disbelief.

“Dubai is one of the most incredible future-thinking, future-proof cities in the world. And I happen to have the title ‘Voice of Dubai.’ Do you know how much of an honour that is? I actually thank God every single minute of every single day for that.”

But to call him only the Voice of Dubai would be criminally reductive. Ahmad is a man of many identities, and he wears them all with cheeky flair. “First hat, the voice. Second, Sonic branding. Third, Mindloop Studios, Dubai’s favourite audio house. Fourth, my Creative Academy for voiceover. Fifth, I’m an MC and stand-up comedian. And yes — I’m a hustler.” He says it with the kind of unapologetic charm that makes you laugh and feel lazy all at once.

Ahmad has built an empire around sound, but he’s quick to remind you that branding — not passion — is the true secret.

“Passion is not enough. You need a strategy. You need a mindset. You need consistency. At 31, I made my 16-year-old self beyond proud.”

His jingles, his announcements, his branding music for companies like Etisalat and Insurance Market are now embedded in the DNA of the UAE.

“People simply see the effect, like oh, that’s the guy behind the music for Barakat, or Brands for Less, or CFI, or Etisalat. Hundreds of millions of people at this stage know my music.”

It’s a remarkable trajectory for someone who didn’t even finish school. Ahmad wears the label of dropout with a mischievous grin.

“I was looked down upon by my city, borderline by my own family. But I am now a case study in universities. My sister has a PhD in immunology. Me? I built my own school.”

His academy, designed with the help of a behavioural therapist, offers an 18-week course in voiceover — and students pay good money to get in. Very good money.

“I hired someone to join a competitor’s course and promote my school. We made 300,000 dirhams in profit in one week because of that move. They charged 7,000 dirhams. We charged 60,000. People still paid. That’s the definition of a creative hustler.”

Some call it cheeky. He calls it business.

Of course, no 2025 conversation is complete without invoking the big, scary acronym: AI. Many creatives fear it. Ahmad embraces it, with his usual mix of irreverence and swagger.

“AI can do jingles. But will it ever beat a human being? Absolutely not. I wrote one jingle while eating an apple. Another in the shower. AI can’t replicate that. AI is a catalyst, not a replacement. Human beings made AI, human beings can overcome it.”

He already uses AI at Mindloop Studios, but always with a twist: “We’ve trained our staff to use it better than anyone else. We give it a creative approach. That’s something AI can’t copy.”

For all the hustle, there’s a deeply human side to Ahmad. He’s seen hardship, he’s clawed his way back, and he keeps his philosophy simple. “Goodness gives you awareness. Awareness gives you visibility. Visibility gives you a journey. Journey gives you accomplishments. And accomplishments help you reset. Because God can make anyone who’s up go down, and anyone who’s down go up.”

He’s also not above pranking people with his voice. “I stand next to people at the Metro and say, ‘Gateway.’ They freak out. Best 10 bucks they’ve ever spent.”

Imagine the shock of realising the guy standing next to you is the disembodied voice you hear every day. Only in Dubai.

Ahmad has no intention of slowing down. His second comedy special is in the works, he’s got ten new Sonic branding projects lined up, and he continues to lend his voice to iconic landmarks, from Dubai Opera to the Monorail. “Even though I record them in an hour, they live for years,” he says. That’s the thing about Ahmad — his work echoes long after the mic is switched off.

In a city built on reinvention, Ahmad is the perfect poster child.

From a dropout once dismissed by his own family to the man whose voice defines the soundscape of Dubai, he is proof that strategy beats passion, hustle beats hesitation, and branding beats everything. And if you ever hear him at the airport reminding you to keep your luggage with you, don’t be surprised if the man himself is sitting nearby, grinning.

Because in Dubai, the voice in your head might just belong to Ahmad Haffar.