Interview: Alex Gallemore
Before she became one of the region’s most recognisable entrepreneurs, Donna Benton was just a determined young Australian with a stack of vouchers and a simple, disarming idea: help people do more of what they love, for less. That idea became The Entertainer, a multi-market lifestyle platform that has saved residents and travellers millions while sending footfall booming through restaurants, attractions, spas and hotels starting in the UAE, expanding throughout the GCC, to Singapore and beyond.
Now, Benton is training that same visionary force and energy on golf, specifically the relaunch of the MENA Golf Tour, where she’s stepping in as a principal investor and hands-on supporter. Her thesis is true to form: give people opportunity, treat players fairly, pay on time, and the ecosystem will thrive. Add heavyweight leadership, hello, Keith Waters, and the region’s unique ability to get things done, and you have the makings of a development tour with serious momentum.
We spoke about origin stories and entrepreneurship, Dubai’s dramatic transformation since 2001, why paying prize money within 48 hours isn’t just good practice but essential, the vision for a Women’s MENA Golf Tour, and the moment Benton ended up quizzing DP World Tour winner Richard Mansell over her diary in an impromptu sponsorship pitch.
The Conversation
Alex Gallemore: Donna, let’s start at the very beginning. What inspired you to launch The Entertainer back in the day?
Donna Benton: I started The Entertainer because I wanted to make the unaffordable affordable for people. I came from a family without a lot of money and used vouchers in Australia myself. I kept thinking, why shouldn’t more families be able to do the things they love more often? If a family goes to Wild Wadi twice a year, I wanted to help them go four times. So yes, it was about savings for customers, but also about creating footfall and revenue for merchants. When you do both sides right, the whole ecosystem grows. At our peak we brought $1.3 billion in revenue in a single year globally.
I’m entrepreneurial by nature, a risk-taker, a hard worker, a visionary, and I always knew I wanted to work for myself. I love a challenge. The Entertainer scratched that itch: building something from scratch, solving a real problem, and doing it in a way that benefited everyone involved.
AG: Were there entrepreneurs you looked to for inspiration as you built?
DB: Two, really: Steve Jobs and Richard Branson. I hugely respect people who started from zero. Anyone can be given a million dollars and have a go, but those two started from nothing and built phenomenal, global companies. It’s the grit I’m drawn to. It’s not about where you end up, it’s how you build. As an Aussie I’d love to name more Australian founders, and we’ve got icons in sport like Greg Norman, but in business, those two really shaped my thinking about persistence and product.
AG: You arrived in Dubai in the early years. How has the commercial landscape changed since 2001?
DB: Oh, completely. We’ve had rapid modernisation and what I’d call a cultural renaissance. Back then the story was oil and gas. Today? It’s hospitality, sport, media, tech, education, healthcare, tourism, and all of it at pace. The Middle East, Dubai in particular, is the place to be for innovation and execution. We don’t just talk, we get things done. The world has clocked that, which is why everyone suddenly wants to live and build here.
AG: Let’s get to the point our readers want to know. You’ve become a key investor in the MENA Golf Tour. Was the region’s sport and business boom the main reason?
DB: No, this is about opportunity. I love sport and I love giving people a chance to make their dreams come true, and in this case it’s young golfers. Yes, we’ll play great courses and the schedule will be strong, but the crucial piece for me is how we treat players: prize money that’s meaningful and payment terms that are fast. It’s not enough to promise a purse and then pay weeks later. Our aim is to pay within 48 hours. If you win on Sunday, I don’t want you chasing your money. I want you planning your next start.
And the experience of our shareholders is huge. The calibre in that room was a major draw. The tour can grow exponentially and quickly, but only if we build it properly around the players.
AG: You’re not just wiring funds. How else will you and your businesses help players?
DB: We’ll bring expertise across the group, marketing, tech, sponsorship, and the partnerships network we’ve built. We’re discussing a range of player incentives, not just for winners. That might be F&B benefits, hotel deals, on-tour essentials, and brand partnerships that ease the cost of the grind. I don’t want to over-promise specifics before they’re signed, because we’ll evolve with the players’ needs, but the mindset is clear: the players are the foundation of this tour, and we’ll look after them.
AG: A name that raised eyebrows, in a good way, is Keith Waters, now Chairman and Commissioner. What does having Keith mean to you?
DB: Everything. Keith’s knowledge is second to none. He brings a lifetime of experience, operationally and as a player, and he’s hugely respected. He’s a doer. Having him at the helm isn’t just an honour, it’s a signal of the tour’s potential. Keith could have done anything in golf, he chose us. That tells you how seriously we’re taking this. For us, the tour, and the region, having someone of Keith’s calibre is transformational.
AG: There’s talent everywhere, in sport and business. But you’ve made a career out of creating the room where talent can shine.
DB: That’s why I invest. I love giving people a platform. Even when I hire, I often say: forget the CV, show me you. Unless it’s a role that needs specific credentials, I’d rather see enthusiasm and drive. You can’t teach that. And I cannot stand clock-watchers. Give me someone hungry, curious with great work ethic and I’ll back them every time.
AG: Women’s sport is booming worldwide, golf included. Are you planning a Women’s MENA Golf Tour?
DB: One hundred percent. We’ve discussed it extensively. As a woman, it matters deeply to me. I’m about equality of opportunity. Men’s sport might be bigger commercially right now, but there are so many women who deserve a pathway and a platform. Our plan is to launch the Women’s MENA Golf Tour next year or the year after at the latest. It’s not a side project, it’s a pillar.
AG: You clearly look after yourself and you’re surrounded by golf people. Will we see you tee it up?
DB: [Laughs] I don’t have time for golf at the moment, but never say never. Years ago I had a few lessons with Wayne Johnson. I do own a golf buggy at one of my homes and I’ve certainly spent time at the 19th. Nine holes? Happily. Eighteen? Let’s talk.
Even if I’m not on the fairway, I’ve been around the game for years. I own a swimwear brand, Caha Capo, and for the last three years we’ve provided board shorts to players at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic Players’ Lounge. We dressed all the golfers, and let’s just say I had plenty of volunteers to help that day. The players are all gentlemen, that’s one of the reasons I love golf. It is, at heart, a gentleman’s sport.
AG: Tell us the Richard Mansell story. I heard you basically conducted a live sponsor interview.
DB: [Smiles] I’d come back into The Entertainer and was looking at sports sponsorships. We sponsor netball and football locally and I thought, why not sponsor a golfer? Years ago, David Spencer reminded me, I’d sponsored Thristan Lawrence on the old MENA Tour through The Entertainer, so it wasn’t completely new ground.
I had criteria: ideally lives in Dubai, married or had a girlfriend , uses the Entertainer and plays on the DP World Tour, not LIV, because DP World plays more countries where The Entertainer operates, Qatar, Bahrain, Singapore and the UAE.
Claire Fleetwood connected the dots. I said I was looking, she said, “Donna, talk to Richard Mansell, great kid, good player, hungry, and a hard worker.” He came down, asked for me, and I literally opened my diary and interviewed him, who he is, how he works, what he wants to achieve, and if he used the Entertainer.
He’s a great guy, low-ego, not high maintenance, and we had signed the deal within three days. It wasn’t long afterwards he won his first DP World Tour event in Singapore. I rang him and joked that we must be his good-luck charm.
AG: Back to the MENA Tour, prize money and 48-hour payment is a strong stance. Why is that such a priority?
DB: Because it’s basic respect. Development-tour life isn’t glamorous: flights, hotels, entry fees, caddie costs, it all adds up. If a player wins on Sunday and needs to wait weeks for prize money, that affects whether they can even get to the next event. We’re building a player-first tour. Paying fast is a non-negotiable for me.
AG: What’s the biggest cultural difference you’ve seen between the startup world and pro golf?
DB: Honestly, less than you’d think. In both you need resilience, humility, and consistency. In startups, you iterate fast and faceplant faster. In golf, you can miss four cuts and then catch lightning in a bottle. The people who keep showing up, without ego, tend to make it. That’s why character is so important to me, whether I’m hiring a marketer or backing a golfer. Talent opens the door, attitude keeps you in the room.
AG: What’s your ideal “player experience” a year from now on the MENA Tour?
DB: A tour where players feel seen and supported. Where communication is clear, payments are prompt, the venues are quality, and the calendar is smart, a schedule that makes sense logistically and financially. I want players to say, “I can plan a season here. I can progress here. I’m valued here.” If we do that, the rest, broadcast, commercial partners, fan engagement, follows naturally.
AG: Will we see you travelling with the tour?
DB: I’ll be focusing more on the business rather than in the day-to-day operations, but of course I will support where my skills add value. I will also be on the board and give strategic advice when needed. I still have other companies to run and commitments, so I can’t be at every event, but I’ll definitely get to some. I’m a call away for the team, and for the players, if there’s something meaningful I can do. That’s the commitment.
The Wrap
At the end of our call, Benton circled back to her favourite theme: opportunity. In business, in sport, in life, offering people a fair chance and to follow their dreams. For The Entertainer, that meant unlocking experiences and value for customers, at the same time creating footfall and revenue for merchants. For the MENA Golf Tour, it means a player-centric platform with fast payments, serious leadership, and a growing constellation of partnerships that makes the grind more viable.
There’s a certain Dubai-ness to the whole thing: direct, optimistic and allergic to inefficiency. Bring in the best people. Back the talent. Pay on time. Scale with integrity. And when it’s time to build a women’s tour, don’t publish a position paper, just build it.
Benton may not be plotting her own run at scratch any time soon, nine holes and the 19th are more her speed, but her fingerprints are already on the region’s next golf story. If her track record is any guide, the MENA Golf Tour will do what Donna Benton has been doing since 2001: making more possible, for more people, more often.
