XP Conversations Saudi Spotlight: Nada Alhelabi

In this episode of our XP Conversations Saudi Spotlight series, we have Nada Alhelabi, general manager of MDLBEAST Foundation, an incubator for the MENA’s nascent music industry and a powerful driving force behind the cultural and creative shift in Saudi Arabia.

As a certified sound therapist herself, Alhelabi believes that music can improve well-being and create a culture of inclusivity, through music festivals, activations like sound baths and everything in between. At MDLBEAST Foundation, she merges her passion for music and background in business and leadership to help achieve the brand’s overarching vision, which is fostering a human-centric and sustainable music industry through innovative programs, educational workshops and strategic partnerships with global industry professionals.

She has been laying the groundwork for fortifying the infrastructure of the region’s music ecosystem through talent incubation, policy development, community empowerment and sustainable practices. Under her leadership, MDLBEAST Foundation launched two initiatives: Hearful, a music mental health awareness campaign focusing on developing new policies for safer music events environments across the region, and Earplugs, a preventative measure for hearing loss and other hearing conditions for both artists and party-goers alike.

Besides her work with MDLBEAST Foundation, Nada Alhelabi is also the program director of XP Music Futures, the region’s biggest music conference and festival, as well as the strategy director behind MDLBEAST, where she’s relentlessly pursuing new opportunities and planning out initiatives to amplify regional artists.

In this Saudi Spotlight interview, Nada Alhelabi, General Manager of MDLBEAST Foundation, maps out the four pillars of what makes XP Music Futures, and the groundwork for developing a sustainable music ecosystem in the MENA region and creating new opportunities for emerging talents.