GCC Fitness Operator Aysha Asfour Launches Jiwar Movement, A New Regional Performance Platform
A new Dubai-based company combining operator-led fitness consulting across the GCC with community-driven movement experiences in the UAE.
Dubai, UAE / May 20, 2026/ Jiwar Movement
Jiwar Movement, a Dubai-based fitness consulting and community movement company, officially launches today, founded by GCC fitness operator and strategic advisor Aysha Asfour. The company operates across two distinct pillars: strategic advisory for fitness and wellness brands across the region, and community-driven movement experiences for residential communities in the UAE. Jiwar enters the market with active engagements across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq, and openness to projects in additional countries.
Unlike consultants who enter the industry from adjacent fields, Asfour has spent her career inside the work; leading clubs, running multi-site operations, training teams on the floor, and owning P&L from the front. She brings over a decade of hands-on operating experience across the GCC and beyond, with a track record built through senior operational roles at Fitness First, Formative (FitnGlam), UFC Gym, and Gold's Gym, alongside founder-led ventures across Jordan and Iraq.
Her track record includes leading 176% operating profit growth across Fitness First Saudi Arabia, delivering 700+ pre-sale members for FitnGlam at Yas Mall ahead of launch, and supporting the establishment of Iraq's first HYROX-affiliated fitness club. Under her leadership, Fitness First UAE Zero-6 was named Best Ladies-Only Club in the UAE at the REPs Awards 2023.
"Jiwar means proximity in Arabic; the act of standing beside someone," said Asfour. "I came up through the floor, the sales desk, the operations room. I show up in the strategy room and through the launch because that's the only way I know how to build. The region doesn't need more advice. It needs operators who build alongside founders, with hands on the work."
Jiwar Movement's advisory arm supports founders, investors, and operators on commercial performance, operational redesign, pre-sale strategy, concept development, and turnaround execution. Its community pillar activates structured group fitness and Les Mills programming in residential and lifestyle spaces across the UAE, with bookings to be managed through the Jiwar Movement application (coming soon).
The company enters the market during a period of significant expansion in regional fitness and wellness, with growing demand for operator-led expertise across emerging markets like Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
Asfour also highlights the broader significance of launching as a woman operator in an industry where female leadership at senior operations level remains underrepresented. "Building this region's fitness industry needs more women at the operator level, not just on stage. Jiwar is one answer to that gap."
For media enquiries, partnerships, or advisory engagements:
Aysha Asfour, Founder
aysha@jiwarmovement.com
+971 56 570 3653, +971 56 416 6161
www.jiwarmovement.com
Jiwar Movement is a Dubai mainland company offering strategic advisory for fitness and wellness brands, and community-driven movement experiences in the UAE. Founded in 2026 by Aysha Asfour, a GCC fitness operator with over a decade of multi-site operating experience across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq, Jiwar operates at the intersection of business performance and movement culture. The company supports founders, investors, and operators on commercial performance, pre-sale strategy, operational redesign, and launch execution and activates community fitness experiences across residential and lifestyle spaces.
