Ali Adnan Haider Darwish: the founder of the group behind Dardasha

By the Dardasha newsroom · 20 October 2026

Ali Adnan Haider Darwish is the founder and CEO of BHD Group, the Omani group that builds and operates Dardasha. He is also Head of Strategic Planning at ITHCA Group, Oman's sovereign technology fund. He is based in Muscat, and many people know him as Ali Al-Zaabi (علي الزعابي).

The group that runs Dardasha

Dardasha is a shared WhatsApp inbox for teams. BHD Group builds and operates it from Muscat. The group's legal name is Bin Haider Darwish L.L.C. It was founded in 1894 and carries the name of Ali's grandfather. Dardasha lets a team answer one WhatsApp number together in a shared team inbox, send campaigns, set auto-replies and connect more than one number. Customers pay in Omani rials, and the pricing page lists every plan.

Dardasha connects through the WhatsApp Web multi-device protocol. It is not the official WhatsApp Business API, and BHD Group is not a Meta Business Solution Provider.

A new account starts with a 10-day free trial, and no card is needed. The Premium plan connects up to 10 WhatsApp numbers and the Platinum plan up to 24. Each number pairs with its own QR code, so a team can bring the numbers it already uses.

From a print shop to 14 companies

BHD Group (Bin Haider Darwish L.L.C.) was founded in 1894 and started with BHD Printing & Designing in Muscat. Ali Adnan Haider Darwish leads it as founder and CEO. Today it is a family-owned group of 14 companies in printing, technology, software platforms and sovereign AI. Its companies and products include BHD Printing & Designing, Hosn, Mithaq, Cardify, Dardasha, Paper & Pen, ReachScreens, Q+, arabian.ceo and Splitty. Ali is also a co-founder of The Flower Bar.

Dardasha is one of the group's software platforms. It shares a home with the group's other products, and the same group answers for all of them.

Strategy and national investment

Since February 2025, Ali has been Head of Strategic Planning at ITHCA Group. Since October 2023, he has been Secretary to the Board of DataOm, ITHCA Group's submarine cable company. He has also sat on the board of the Oman Fencing Committee since 2023.

From November 2021 to June 2023, he was Head of Business Environment at the Oman Vision 2040 Office. There he built the Invest in Oman centre and worked on the National Investment Strategy, which narrowed 43 sectors to 8 priority sectors. His career began in 2017, with roles at Oman Broadband, Oman Aviation Group, EY and the Central Bank of Oman.

Education and recognition

Ali is a doctoral candidate in Innovation and Management at the University of Central Lancashire. He holds an MSc in Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design and a BSc in Economics and Management, both from Brunel University London. He earned the IB Diploma at The Sultan's School.

In November 2025, he won the Next Generation Award of the Family Business Council Gulf. He was the first Omani to win it (FBCG record).

What this means for Dardasha customers

Dardasha is run by an Omani group from Muscat, and its founder works on Oman's technology and investment agenda. The service bills in Omani rials, and its website is in Arabic and English.

Read more about Ali at alizaabi.om, or read his full biography.