→ Oweis Zahran is the Managing Director at OWS Capital
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→ Mirza was the first Indian woman to break into the top 30 of the WTA singles rankings, achieving a career-high ranking of World #27 in August 2007.
/March 1, 2025
P.27
A selection of women leaders who are breaking barriers, redefining success, and paving the way for future generations.
SANIA MIRZA, six-time Grand Slam title-winning tennis champion and entrepreneur
ZEINA KHOURY , President of Zed Capital Real Estate, and star of Netflix’s Dubai Bling
NAJWA ZEBIAN, Lebanese-Canadian author and poet
NOURA ALKHOORI Emirati children’s writer
SARA HAMDAN, Palestinian-American editor and writer
ZOULFA KATOUH, Syrian-Canadian author
NIKITA AND RHEA PATEL, co-founders of The Bureau
DINA BAYBEKOVA - Area Head of Tobacco Heating Products
SHORUQ MAKKI, Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, KSA
ESRA ABDULLA, Head of Anti-Illicit Trade and Fiscal Affairs, Middle East
RIMA SERHAN – Area Head of Consumer Experience
RIBAL CHAMSEDDINE, Area Senior Brand Manager, Tobacco Heating Products
LOULWA ALAYOUBI, Area Head of Communications & Strategic Engagement
SALOME CHKHAIDZE, Head of Marketing Deployment, Caucasus and Central Asia
LAYAL ABOU MOUSSA, Head of Trade, Iraq
NESRINE OUANOUFI, Head of CORA, Algeria
MADEEHA CHAUDHRY, Area Legal Counsel
LEINA CHEDID, Head of Marketing Deployment, Middle East and North Africa
P.59 Marketing Maven
Ziad Melhem, Chief Marketing Officer, CFI, reveals the secrets of CFI’s outstanding mar-keting campaigns.
P.69 In the loop
The Future 100 presents the 100 of the UAE’s most promising, scalable, and impactful companies in 2024.
CEO Wissam Younane wissam@bncpublishing.net
MANAGING DIRECTOR Rabih Najm rabih@bncpublishing.net
ART DIRECTOR Simona El Khoury
EDITOR IN CHIEF Anil Bhoyrul anil@bncpublishing.net
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REGIONAL DIRECTOR Mahdi Hashemi mahdi@bncpublishing.net
DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION
Sarah Saddouk sarah@bncpublishing.net
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LIFE IS A JOURNEY.
The industry needs - and could soon get – disruption.
One of the perks of this job is I get to meet someone really interesting every week (and some really uninteresting ones!). Top of last week’s list was Ryan Adams, the founder of Profesional.me. It’s a new platform that aims to completely disrupt the global recruitment market, using AI technologies. More of that later – but it’s worth noting just how big this industry is. There are 160,000 recruitment agencies globally, with nearly 40,000 just I the UK. The global recruitment agency industry is worth US$760 billion and forecast to hit US$2 trillion by 2030. The biggest player in the world, Adecco Group, has nearly US$20 billion of annual revenues.
I have though long wandered what the point of it all is. In simple terms, employers pay someone to find them
employees. Usually this is a large chunk of that successful candidate’s annual salary, so it isn’t cheap. And of course, there is zero guarantee than an agency will find you a better candidate than you would yourself.
Back to Adams. As he rightly explained to me, in the world of AI and super apps, this has been the world’s “forgotten” industry. There is no Uber equivalent where you can just search for a candidate, find one, and hire them – in minutes. His company Professional.me is the closest thing I’ve seen to making this happen.
“Imagine a world where hiring was as effortless as ordering a ride or getting dinner delivered—where finding the right job, or the right candidate, took seconds, not weeks. Every other industry has figured this out. Recruitment hasn’t,” he hold me, adding: “Why? Because those seamless experiences we take for granted—your car showing up in minutes, your groceries arriving on time—aren’t just magic. They stand on the shoulders of standardized ecosystems: mobile networks, digital payments, GPS, and mapping technology. Without them, none of it would work.”
Adams has a great track record in this field, and the platform he has built is more than impressive. After two and a half years of R&D and analyzing hundreds of millions of data points, Adams and his team have built a breakthrough platform that eliminates inefficiencies, streamlines hiring, and delivers faster, more precise matches than ever before.
Though founded in the U.S., Professional.me is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, with a global team of nearly 20 experts from 13 countries, speaking 14 languages. I think Adams has a decent change of truly disrupting the industry.
As with all these things, the key to success will depend on how strong his data is. Though if he does crack it, there is a great irony here: around one million former recruitment consultants will become his clients
Anil Bhoyrul Editor-in-Chief
The former UK Prime Minister is out of office, but has more to say than ever before.
by ANIL BHOYRUL
“
Boris Johnson looks happy. His smile is wider than usual, the trademark grin in full swing, and the legendary hair in full flow.
“I’m enjoying life. A lot,” he says.
Johnson has a lot to be happy about. Since stepping down as UK Prime Minister just under three years ago, the legendary politician looks and sounds like a man reborn. A big draw on the international speaking circuit, a best-selling
SOMEHOW, WE ARE NOT PRODUCING THE SAME KIND OF ENTREPRENEURS AS IN US. THEY ARE PRODUCING GIANTS OF CAPITALISM.”
autobiography, and his views on the Ukraine crisis still of great value to all the parties involved. Wherever you look on the global business and political stage, chances are you will see Johnson.
We meet at the Sofitel Hotel in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah, where Johnson is the guest of honor at the Legends of Entrepreneurship gala dinner. Having crisscrossed the globe several times in recent months, Johnson has been given a front row seat to the latest global developments. And he is in zero doubt where the serious action lies right now.
THIS (DUBAI) IS FAST BECOMING THE NUMBER ONE HAVEN FOR BRILLIANT PEOPLE FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD.”
“One word. America,” he says. But before explaining, he is quick to point out that the UAE is one of the many beneficiaries of the current UK brain drain.
“This (Dubai) is fast becoming the number one haven for brilliant people from all around the world. Especially British people. The sad truth is they are
fleeing my country in the kind of brain drain we have not seen since the 1970s. They are fleeing the great terror of a Labor government. They are getting to Heathrow and boarding Emirates flights to Dubai with the first-class cabin and jacuzzi and showers. Dubai is now officially the 20th biggest British
→ As a Mayor of London, Johnson delivered over 100,000 affordable homes.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT AMERICA THAT GIVES BIRTH TO SUCH PEOPLE? ALL THESE GUYS THEY SIMPLY WANTED TO SATISFY SOME SORT OF CONSUMER DESIRE, AND THEY ENDED UP EACH OF THEM, BEING SO BOLD AND SO ORIGINAL THAT THEY CHANGED THE WAY WE SHOP, MOVE AROUND, COMMUNICATE, THINK, THE WAY WE EXIST. AND THEY DID BY TRIAL AND ERROR, AND THEY DID IT BY PRIVATE ENTERPRISE.”
city in the world. There are 245,000 Brits here – that’s more than in Wolverhampton, where I used to live,” he says.
Johnson is particularly unhappy with the UK’s decline given his role in building it, especially London where he was elected mayor for eight years from 2008. He is quick to point out that during that time, the murder rate fell by over 30% in London. He cut crime by over one quarter. He cut tax by 10%, keeping moneyin
people’s pockets.
When Johnson was Mayor of London, the number of people in work rose by 20% in the capital. When he left office, employment in London had never been higher – at 4.481 million in May 2016, up from 3.835 million in May 2008 .
By the time he left office, the unemployment rate had reached its lowest since records began. In May 2016, the unemployment rate was 5.7% which, at the time,
was the lowest rate of unemployment in London since records began in 1992.
There were 303,100 apprenticeship starts under Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor of London.
His other big, often understated achievement was in housing: He delivered over 100,000 affordable homes, designated 31 new Housing Zones, creating 77,000 homes, 34% of which will be affordable.
“That is why I led an enormous program of
regeneration with my 31 housing zones that will transform communities across London, creating nearly 80,000 new homes, plus new transport hubs and schools,” he says.
Also under his leadership, the London 2012 Olympics were delivered on time and under budget. The cost of the London Olympics and Paralympics was £528 million less than expected. He secured a lasting legacy from London 2012, meaning all
Londoners benefited from the games. In just 18 months, the Olympic Park was transformed into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a vibrant hub in east London where millions of people now live, work and visit every year.
Thanks to his legacy planning, the Olympic stadium re-opened a year earlier than planned and now plays host to major international events.
But if the glory days bring back the fire in his eyes, so does the current state of play – and Johnson’s anger that the US is now leading the way.
“Somehow, we are not producing the same kind of entrepreneurs as in the US. They are producing giants of capitalism. When you look at the US it’s like looking at a forest of 500 million redwood trees. At Trump’s inauguration event I saw a guy called Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg,
Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. What is it about America? It’s a very important question for the whole world,” he says, adding: “What is it about America that gives birth to such people? All these guys simply wanted to satisfy some sort of consumer desire, and they ended up each of them, being so bold and so original that they changed the way we shop, move around, communicate, think, the way we exist. And they did by trial and error, and they did it by private enterprise,” he says. Johnson then cites a story about Jeff Bezos and how he showed incredible resilience to come back from adversity and defeat.
“When I was there, I asked Jeff about his early days at Amazon. He told me he was sitting on the floor packing the cardboard boxes himself with books. The book shops would
not do single deliveries and so he came up with a brilliant idea. He placed the order for the book the customer wanted then bulked it out with titles that were out of print. So, what would happen is the bookstores would get this order for 5 books but the others were not available, so they would send the only one they had. Genius. Jeff never looked back.”
He adds: “We have to marvel at what these Americans do and how they come up with these ideas and pursue them and turn them into world changing businesses. You inhale optimism as soon as you arrive there and absolute refusal to give up and be defeated.”
Given Johnson’s own roller coaster ride on the global political stage in the past two decades, it’s fair to say the same about him.
→ Under Johnson's leadership, the London 2012 Olympics were delivered on time and under budget.
OWEIS ZAHRAN HAS TURNED HIS MULTIPLE VENTURES INTO AN EMPIRE WORTH CLOSE TO A BILLION DOLLARS. BUT HE IS ALREADY MAKING PLANS FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.
by ANIL BHOYRUL
TOweis Zahran is in a reflective mood. “I guess I’ve always been a relatively young entrepreneur, but you know, it was 15 years into doing business when I learned that you only get rich when you sell a company. But you have to build the company first. So, you have to be poor for a really long time before you can get rich,” he says.
It’s fair to say the “poor” days are in the past. Now an accomplished global business leader with a track record of identifying opportunities, his biggest success is OWS Automotive.
oday, it is a leading global provider of automotive services. From first response to parts manufacturing and fleet repair, it has become a go-to company for both governments and corporate fleets. And with revenues of US$800 million, 3,000 employees and a footprint in 14 countries,it is – in his own words – “a monster.”
If that wasn’t enough, in 2020, he launched OWS Capital, aiming to create unique experiences and cutting-edge businesses in fitness and entertainment verticals.
Under the umbrella of OWS Capital, he’s partnered with Hollywood icon Steve Harvey to establish MELT Holdings and launched Platform Health Club, a state-of-theart health and wellness gym brand. Other A-listers such as Ryan Reynolds and Jason Momoa have also come on board for different projects. Although it accounts for just 20% of the “Zahran empire”, OWS Capital has a knack of making global headlines for the quality of stars and events it hosts.
In simple terms, is it fair to say that
OWS Capital makes sure Oweis Zahran can walk into any restaurant in the world and get the best table – but the bill is paid by…OWS Automotive?
“That’s definitely the ideal way to say it. Spot on. Spot on,” he says.
Thankfully, his automotive business has been on a roll, experiencing nothing short of exponential growth.
Much of the increase in revenues is down to selling his stakes in joint ventures that he has set up over the past decade.
And the list of clients Zahran has worked with is nothing short of spectacular: the governments of Brunei, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi stand out, as well as Mobil 1. Plus, Tawazun, an independent UAE government entity that works closely with the Ministry of Defense, Abu Dhabi Police, and security agencies in the UAE.
“We would enter at the highest level, formulate a joint venture or a partnership between one of our
It
was 15 years into doing business when I learned that you only get rich when you sell a company. But you have to build the company first. So, you have to be poor for a really long time before you can get rich.”
I WOULD LIKE NOT LESS THAN A BILLION DOLLARS. SO, THAT’S KIND OF MY NUMBER AND I THINK IT’S ALSO A LITTLE BIT OF A PERSONAL THING AS WELL. I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SAY I MADE A BILLION DOLLARS.”
companies, whether it’s OWS Automotive or, you know, another one, but we would formulate a partnership between our company and the local government. And then that entity would be the one to provide the service back to the country that it operates in. And it would be a 50% owned by local government or a local authority and 50% owned by OWS or an OWS company,” he says, adding: “That then becomes a company on its own, and sometimes we’ve had situations where, believe it or not, our subsidiary has become bigger than the mother company.”
Some of these have been nothing short of a staggering success, creating thousands of jobs and entities worth several hundreds of millions of dollars.
“We’ve gotten to a point where we’re selling a subsidiary every year on average. That’s what gets the revenue so high,” he says.
Zahran points out that almost every cab you see on the roads of Dubai is his customer. And so are 99% of the buses – given a long standing partnership with the RTA. Like all clients, they love not just the range of services but the quality – OWS Automotive’s smallest workshop is 200,000 square feet.
The partnership with Steve Harvey has been a mega success; with the two of them teaming up in the formation of Melt Holdings where they have successfully created and delivered some of the region’s largest festivals including the Open Fire Food Festival, Fuelfest Arabia, and the MELT Golf Classic, an annual celebrity golf tournament. The two partners have also expanded into several other sectors, including education, health and wellness, energy, and real estate.
As for Zahran himself, it has been quite a journey – but the key, he says, in everything he does, is not only identifying the right opportunity, but the right team. And he says that more important than who he hires is who he fires.
“I would hire someone who’s a superstar, and two years in, three years in, five years in, either they lose passion or lose motivation. Maybe it’s both, and they’re no longer a superstar. They’re no longer the superstar you hired. Well, if that person is number two or de facto number one, in the organization and they’re no longer passionate, you’re in a lot of trouble because what you now have is a spiraling effect in the opposite direction. You shoot yourself in the foot,” he says, adding: “Who you fire to me is a lot more important than who you hire.”
As for Zahran himself, how long he actually stays at the helm is also on his mind. He says the travelling has become exhausting, but at least now he is making good money.
He explains: “I realized about five years ago that when you have a big company on paper, you don’t have any money in the bank, right? You know, like I looked at a valuation that said my company was worth all these hundreds of millions. But then I looked at my bank account and there was maybe US$300,000 in it and I said, ‘Okay, well, something isn’t making sense here.’”
The valuation right now is closer to the billiondollar mark – and Zahran isn’t shy to admit that at some stage, he will get out. He has been building an impressive real estate portfolio on the side, which is generating considerable passive income.
He says: “I don’t want to keep doing this. I mean, I travel literally four times a week, five times a week sometimes. I am building the company horizontally and growing exponentially. This business morphed into a giant in comparison to what it was. I I’m doing that so that I can get a really good valuation. I would like no less than a billion dollars. So, that’s kind of my number and I think it’s also a little bit of a personal thing as well. I always wanted to be able to say I made a billion dollars.”
But what would Oweis Zahran version 2 look like? Surely, he doesn’t want to just sit on a beach and count his money?
“I would love to be able to slow down and really focus on what truly makes one happy. And I think that’s giving back,” he says.
Zahran recounts a recent incident when he was in Morocco dining at a lavish restaurant. On the way out, he was carrying some left-over food, which he ended up giving to a homeless person he spotted on the street.
“He told me this is going to be my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next 48 hours. So, if you ask me what the future looks like for me, I want to be able to experience the feeling I got from giving that guy that food. I haven’t felt that way in in a long time. I want to do good things.”
Zahran is still only 35 years old but is widely recognized in the business world as one of the “good guys.” Whether it’s through OWS Automotive, OWS Capital – or handing out food on the streets of Marrakesh – you get the feeling he will be doing good things for many years to come.
@muarjewels www.muarjewels.com
info@muarjewels.com
SANIA MIRZA
former world tennis champion and entrepreneur
ZEINA KHOURY
serial entrepreneur and TV star
NAJWA ZEBIAN
Lebanese-Canadian author and poet
NOURA ALKHOORI
Emirati children’s writer
SARA HAMDAN
Palestinian-American editor and writer
ZOULFA KATOUH
Syrian-Canadian author
NIKITA AND RHEA PATEL co-founders of The Bureau
BAT MIDDLE EAST
DINA BAYBEKOVA
Area Head of Tobacco Heating Products
SHORUQ MAKKI
Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, KSA
ESRA ABDULLA
Head of Anti-Illicit Trade and Fiscal Affairs, Middle East
RIMA SERHAN
Area Head of Consumer Experience
RIBAL CHAMSEDDINE
Area Senior Brand Manager, Tobacco Heating Products
LOULWA ALAYOUBI
Area Head of Communications & Strategic Engagement
SALOME CHKHAIDZE
Head of Marketing Deployment, Caucasus and Central Asia
LAYAL ABOU MOUSSA
Head of Trade, Iraq
NESRINE OUANOUFI
Head of CORA, Algeria
MADEEHA CHAUDHRY
Area Legal Counsel
LEINA CHEDID
Head of Marketing Deployment, Middle East and North Africa
Sania Mirza will perhaps forever be regarded as one of the greatest sportspersons that India, and indeed the world, has ever seen. Post retirement, she hopes to extend the same excellence and caliber to her entrepreneurial pursuits in the UAE and beyond. by
AALIA MEHREEN AHMED
There is a phrase that often closely trails the name Sania Mirza: “the first Indian woman to…” Indeed, the tennis star holds the title of being the first Indian woman to achieve the following: win a Grand Slam title, courtesy her Australian Open mixed doubles win in 2009 alongside fellow Indian ace Mahesh Bhupathi; win a women’s doubles Grand Slam title at the 2015 Wimbledon with Martina Hingis; and compete in four Olympics between 2008 and 2020. In 2015, she also became the first Indian woman to be ranked world number one in world tennis doubles. The list goes on and on. And so the first question I ask Mirza, when I meet her backstage after her talk at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival (SEF) 2025, is which of those “firsts” has been dearest to her. “To be very honest, I think all of them…it’s very hard for me to say this one meant the most because I feel that at that given point of time in my life that was the most special moment that was happening,” she says. “Obviously, as you keep achieving more , the magnitude of those firsts start becoming bigger and the amount of people who start noticing them becomes a lot more too. But I feel like every single one has a special place in my heart!”
} Now, to many, the idea of being a pathbreaker like Mirza might seem enticing and exhilarating. And while Mirza doesn’t dismiss that all those emotions come with it, she also blatantly notes that being “the first” in any capacity or career can often be extremely lonely. While addressing the eagerly tuned-in audience on the second day of SEF 2025, Mirza said that “being the first to do something is always the hardest.” “There
is no path to follow and no precedent, but overcoming those challenges is what makes you shine,” she had added.
} Back in the quiet media lounge where I get to speak with her, she tells me that the key to overcoming loneliness and mental slumps is to keep reevaluating one’s intentions and goals after every result. “I think the most important thing is that you have to be ‘real,’” she says. “You
YOU HAVE TO FULLY ACCEPT WHAT YOU’RE TRYING TO DO, WHO YOU ARE, AND WHAT YOUR GOALS ARE- AND KEEP REVISITING THOSE DEPENDING ON THE SUCCESS RATIO THAT YOU’RE HAVING. BECAUSE IT’S ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO BE REALISTIC IN LIFE. ” “
have to fully accept what you’re trying to do, who you are, and what your goals are- and keep revisiting those depending on the success ratio that you’re having. Because it’s also very important to be realistic in life. You can’t say “it doesn’t matter if I can’t play but I want to be number one in the world!” It doesn’t work that way in sport, for example. So it’s the same thing in any other business as well, and I can say that with experience. So if I don’t think I am good at something that I’ve picked up, I will try to find other ways or I will surround myself with people who know better than me.”
WHEN WE STARTED PLAYING TENNIS -AND BY “WE” I MEAN MY FAMILY AND I- WE DIDN’T START ON THIS PATH TO BE DOING INTERVIEWS, OR TO WALK THE RED CARPETS OR DO PHOTOSHOOTS. WE STARTED BECAUSE WE LOVE TENNIS, BECAUSE WE LOVE SPORT, AND FOR THE SIMPLE REASON THAT MY PARENTS WANTED THEIR CHILDREN TO PLAY A SPORT.”
} Despite the sports analogies, it is hard to miss that Mirza’s advice will resonate strongly with startup founders as well. After all, the dangers of being in echo chambers and not pivoting at the right time are both topics that are often brought up in the entrepreneurial world, and Mirza’s tip to surround oneself with people with different views is something that entrepreneurs will certainly benefit from.
} For Mirza herself, who started playing tennis at the age of just six, the people who’ve known
“better” have always been her immediate family. As she explains the foundations of her childhood goals, she also cautions both sportspeople and entrepreneurs to not be solely money-driven. “The most important thing is to believe and know why you started what you did,” Mirza shares. “So when we started playing tennis -and by “we” I mean my family and I- we didn’t start on this path to be doing interviews, or to walk the red carpets or do photoshoots. We started because we love tennis, because we love sport, and for the simple reason that my
“THAT’S THE GREAT PART ABOUT BEING AN ATHLETETHAT YOU CAN FINISH YOUR ENTIRE CAREER AND STILL BE YOUNG ENOUGH TO START NEW ONES. AND THAT’S THE OPPORTUNITY I WANTED TO USE.”
↓ Following her retirement from professional tennis after the 2023 season, Mirza has been more involved in her entrepreneurial pursuits which include her tennis academies in the UAE and India.
parents wanted their children to play a sport. The dream was seen from there. The seed that was in us was simply that- that we love tennis, we will try to be as successful as we possibly can be, and be the best version of ourselves. So the perseverance, the resilience, the commit-
ment and sacrifices that have come with this journey- all of it seems worth it when you remember that dream and the beginning of the dream- and not because of the money, fame and everything that comes with it.”
} But all of this isn’t to say
that seeking profitability is inherently wrong either, reminds the tennis star. “I’m not saying you can’t want that, but that’s also not what you dream for,” she adds. “Money and fame are just something that happens to come with working towards your goals; it’s just a by-product of it.”
} There is a certain added weight when such advice comes from an athlete who not only has over 20 years of professional tennis experience and six Grand Slam titles under her belt, but has also beaten significant odds in reaching the pinnacle of her career. Earlier that same day on the SEF
← Mirza was the first Indian woman to break into the top 30 of the WTA singles rankings, achieving a career-high ranking of World #27 in August 2007.
THE PERSONAL FIRSTS ARE THE ONES THAT HAVE HAPPENED WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG. I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO WIN NATIONALS WHEN I WAS 12, AT THE UNDER-14 AND THEN THE UNDER-16 CATEGORIES. SO STUFF LIKE THAT, WHICH IS NOT REALLY OUT THERE IN THE WORLD, ARE JUST AS SPECIAL.”
2025 stage, Mirza spoke of how ludicrous her dream had seemed to most people when she first began playing the sport. “When I started 30 years ago, we just had a history of cricketers in my city, Hyderabad,” she had shared. “When a young girl said to her parents that she wanted to play at Wimbledon, people
thought it was a joke, and crazy to have a dream like that.”
} But as is the story of all sportspersons, Mirza had to eventually choose the right time to bow out of tennis. That came in early 2023 -coincidentally in the UAE, at the Dubai Tennis Championships in February that year- and
with it came the opportunity for her to step out of the court and into the world of entrepreneurship. Having already opened a few tennis academies in her hometown in India, Mirza opened the Sania Mirza Tennis Academy (SMTA) in Dubai in September 2022, just a few months prior to her
retirement. Offering tennis training and coaching to aspiring players of all ages and skill levels, the academy has a number of branches across the emirate today. In December 2023, in collaboration with the Dubai Sports Council and the UAE Tennis Federation, SMTA also launched the Dubai Open for Tennis Academies (DOTA) Tournament. Bringing together over 200 players from 40 academies, the event aims to support tennis talent in the region.
} Describing her entrepreneurial ventures as “another dream”, Mirza tells me that while being an athlete allows her to bring in the obvious traits of discipline and resilience into the world of business, it has also given her another advantage (tennis pun intended!): time. “I never really had the time to do anything else outside of playing tennis until 2023,” she says. “February 2023 was the last match that I played. After that is when I finally started getting into other stuff. But then people used to tell me, “Oh, you’re so young!”, and I was like “Yeah, in tennis years I’m a dinosaur!” [laughs] But that’s the great part about being an athlete- that you can finish your entire career and still be young enough to start new ones. And that’s the opportunity I wanted to use.”
} Mirza’s entrepreneurial pursuits haven’t been restricted to tennis-related businesses either. In January this year, she collaborated with SeeSaw Spaces, a Hyderabadbased children’s center that focuses on overall child development. Offering a three-pronged set of services including creative play zones, fitness programs, as well as a family cafe, the venture has been yet another feather added to Mirza’s entrepreneurial hat- and one that she has felt personally connected to as a parent herself. “SeeSaw is something I really relate
to,” she says. “It’s a kids’ space in Hyderabad. But we try to educate kids there as well- it’s not just a “come, play, jump and go” area- it’s much more than that. It’s like a holistic place for them, and that’s
something that being a mother I really relate to. So I also get into things that I feel a complete bond with. And, well, the tennis academies I have an obvious connection with too!”
→ Sania Mirza and Aalia Mehreen Ahmed, Features Editor of Entrepreneur Middle East, at SEF 2025.
WHEN I STARTED 30 YEARS AGO, WE JUST HAD A HISTORY OF CRICKETERS IN MY CITY, HYDERABAD. WHEN A YOUNG GIRL SAID TO HER PARENTS THAT SHE WANTED TO PLAY AT WIMBLEDON, PEOPLE THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE, AND CRAZY TO HAVE A DREAM LIKE THAT.”
}During her fireside chat, one line Mirza said stood out to me- purely because it displayed a healthy level of detachment from career feats and fame. “I would not say tennis is everything to me, but it means a lot to me,” she had said during her fireside chat. As such, I am tempted to end this story with the assumption that it is the same mindset that prompts her to mention how the lesser known achievements of her tennis years are just as important as any of the popular “firsts” that are attached to her name. “The obvious ones of becoming number one in the world, winning the Grand Slam… I mean, those are stuff that are out there for everybody to see and find on Google,” she tells me. “But the personal firsts are the ones that have happened when I was very young. I was the first one to win Nationals when I was 12 years old, at [both] the Under-14 and the Under-16 categories. So stuff like that, which is not really out there in the world, are just as special.”
} For the entrepreneurs reading this, there is perhaps a golden nugget of wisdom to take away from this statement: that achievements, no matter how small or unknown, are just as significant as the more prominent milestones. Or as Mirza more aptly puts it, “You have to do everything in your power to give yourself the opportunity to succeed, no matter what you do.”
Zeina Khoury. by TAMARA PUPIC
Iwould like to come home before my kids’ bedtime, at least half an hour before,” says Zeina Khoury when asked about her future plans. It is a statement that embodies where Khoury is in 2025: for the 41-year-old mother of two, who is also the founder and President of Zed Capital Real Estate, a star of Netflix’s reality TV show Dubai Bling, and the founder of
fashion startup I Am The Company, there are not enough hours in the day.
“I used to stress a lot about my to-do lists. Now, I’ve decided that there’s no point in stressing, because whatever I cannot finish today, I’ll finish tonight,” Khoury says with a laugh. “In all seriousness, I work very late hours. After I put the kids to bed, I get back to work.”
} Her strong work ethic comes from growing up in a family that put strong emphasis on education and encouraged self-confidence in Khoury and her two siblings. “Back in Lebanon, I did a lot of part-time jobs to support myself through university. I modeled, played basketball, worked as a radio presenter,” she explains. “When an opportunity knocks, I take it.”
}One knocked in 2006. ”Due to the political unrest in Lebanon, a lot of families had to send their children abroad because it was not safe, and that is what we did as well,” Khoury explains. “I followed my elder brother to Dubai, and although I did not get the real estate job that I had come for, when another opportunity presented itself, I did whatever was needed to get it.”
} Almost 20 years later, Khoury is at the helm of a real estate agency that employs 48 people and boasts 12 completed and three active projects. It has managed and developed over AED3 billion worth of properties, achieving AED50 million revenue growth in 2024 alone. “Basically, if someone has a plot of land or wants to enter into the real estate development scene in the UAE, we help find them a plot that is suitable, do the market research, and create the whole real estate product for them,” Khoury says. “Then, we help them complete all the Dubai Land Department registrations, handle all the branding, pricing strategy, and selling through our sales team and the network of over 3,000 agencies in the UAE that we cooperate with.” }}
} Zed Capital’s key collaborations include Amwaj Development and Vantage Ventures, where Zed Capital successfully launched three of their projects, with the latest being Viera Residences in Dubai Production City. The company’s success stems from Khoury carving out a niche for herself in the real estate sector long before its launch.
“The biggest milestones in my career happened when there was a crisis,” she says. “The first crisis was in 2008, and when no real estate sales were happening, I shifted to the collection of money department and this is how I built myself up into the world of developers. This is why I have the experience that I have today and that sets me apart from other real estate companies and real estate people. The direction of Zed Capital is taking full-on projects and working as developers ourselves. So, we are not only their right arm for sales and marketing, but we actually do developer operations for any developer that wants to create a real estate product in the UAE.”
} Zed Capital also offers all property management services, while its holiday homes arm Zed Living achieves 5% to 12% rental ROI for the listed clients.
Khoury takes pride in Zed Capital achieving 70%-80% client retention rate. “I measure my success in repeat clients, because in real estate, you start off with a small pool of clients, and the only way for you to actually grow is by growing this pool of clients,” she says. “In real estate, you have to think long term. One good example is that I had someone who bought from me a small studio in 2007, and seven/ eight years later, he came back and bought from me a villa of AED50 million. I have witnessed people evolve and grow in their careers, and it’s amazing what they have managed to do by investing in real
“I USED TO STRESS A LOT ABOUT MY TO-DO LISTS. NOW, I’VE DECIDED THAT THERE’S NO POINT IN STRESSING, BECAUSE WHATEVER I CANNOT FINISH TODAY, I’LL FINISH TONIGHT,” KHOURY SAYS WITH A LAUGH.
→
Zeina Khoury is also the founder of fashion startup I Am The Company.
estate in the UAE market. We manage a lot of multi-unit portfolios for our clients, and there are people that have manage to grow their portfolio over a 10-year span, from having one or two units to having 30, 40 units, which is amazing.”
} What does it take to succeed in the UAE’s fast-paced real estate sector? “A lot of people enter it thinking that it’s a plan B type of option, but that doesn’t work,” Khoury says. “Real estate is more than a pretty woman getting in front of the camera and showing the property. In real estate, you have to be honest, consistent, and you need to forget about your weekends. There are 15,000 real estate agents trying to do the same thing that you are trying to do, so you need to keep moving.”
} While the UAE’s real estate boom has been creating unparalleled opportunities for real estate agents, Khoury empathizes with the beginners in the industry that offers good commissions but no basic salary. “If you’re working on commission, there’s no ceiling in the real estate market,” she says. “Currently, we’re negotiating a plot of AED1.1 billion, so the agent is going to be set for life. Who would ask for a small, tiny salary? But I do understand people who are just starting off in the industry, it’s a bit stressful not to have a basic salary. That’s why real estate is not for everybody.”
} Another crisis in which Khoury found a silver lining was the COVID-19 period. “Basically, when the world is not moving, I start moving,” she says. “During COVID-19, I enrolled in a master’s degree program, and I started working on my social
media platforms and building my online community.” Not long after, Khoury reached out to a producer to pitch a real estate-focused reality TV show, but he happened to be casting for what would become Dubai Bling. Accepting the offer to join was a no-brainer for Khoury. “I was like, he is great producer, it is an amazing platform, it is a project that has Dubai in its name, which is a country that I deeply appreciate, and it is a reality show that allows you to tell your story and add value wherever possible.”
} In 2025, the show has released its third season, recording 2.4 million views and 18.6 million hours watched in just its first week, and Khoury is confident that she made the right decision. “Taking part in a reality TV can be dangerous, yes, because sometimes you will give a reaction that maybe later on you might regret, but at the same time, the love that you get from people is beyond what actors get for their roles,” she says. “People are loving you. They are loving your story. They are relating to you.”
} While Khoury is delighted by her new-found fame, she remains resolutely the person she has always been - a grounded real estate professional. “In real estate, your main asset is your credibility,” she says. “Definitely, the show has
“IF YOU’RE WORKING ON COMMISSION, THERE’S NO CEILING IN THE REAL ESTATE MARKET… BUT I DO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST STARTING OFF IN THE INDUSTRY, IT’S A BIT STRESSFUL NOT TO HAVE A BASIC SALARY. THAT’S WHY REAL ESTATE IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY.”
break her, she used it as fuel to rise. “My fashion startup ‘I Am The Company came’ is a result of a crisis when my work contribution was not acknowledged. Real estate companies are worth the people who are in them, so my response to that lack of appreciation became a viral phrase and the name of my startup.”
} “Part of the proceeds go towards women’s education, so it has a cause,” Khoury adds. “Is it a business that would allow me leave my real estate agency and rely only on it? No. But I truly love the message behind it, and I get pictures every other day from women wearing our I Am The Company blazer while standing in front of thousands of people.” Success belongs to those bold enough to seize the moment and set a new course in their lives and careers, just like Zeina Khoury did so many times.
helped me spread the word that I am in real estate, that I have been in real estate for the past 20 years, and that I am credible. It fast forwards the time I used to spend introducing myself. While it gives you a shortcut, it does not do the job. It puts you in front of people who are ready to listen to you, but if you are not really capable of performing what social media or Netflix say you are, you have no chance.”
} Khoury, however, is no stranger to experiencing the lack of appreciation in the workplace- instead of allowing it to
As the quest for more inclusivity in literary publications continues, here’s how four Arab female authors are pushing the envelope in enabling wider acceptance for uniquely diverse stories. by AALIA MEHREEN AHMED
“Growing up, were there any fictional or literary characters that you resonated with purely because of the way they looked, spoke or dressed?” is the first question I pose to Lebanese-Canadian author and poet Najwa Zebian, Emirati children’s
writer Noura Alkhoori, Palestinian-American editor and writer Sara Hamdan, and Syrian-Canadian author Zoulfa Katouh when I meet them, separately, at the Emirates Literature Festival 2025 in Dubai. The answers? Four quietly murmured nos.
THE STUDIES DONE ON AUTHOR DIVERSITY AREN’T MANY, BUT THERE ARE A FEW THAT SHOW HOW RACIALLY DISPROPORTIONATE THE INDUSTRY IS- FOR EXAMPLE, SINCE 2010, CAUCASIAN/WHITE AUTHORS STILL REPRESENT 75.58% OF THE BOOKS THAT ARE PUBLISHED IN THE US ALONE. THE PERCENTAGE OF AUTHORS WHO ARE HISPANIC OR LATINO, BLACK OR AFRICAN AMERICAN, AND ASIAN ARE 7.6%, 5.9% AND 4.9% RESPECTIVELY.
Now, like me, any avid reader might have half expected that one syllable reply. To understand the complexity of this matter, however, it is necessary to first take a look at the current regional and global publishing scene.
For starters, the number of female authors has considerably increased over the last few decades, with a 2023 study by the World Economic Forum showing that “by 2020, for the first time in history, women were publishing more books than men, contributing to increased revenue for the industry for both male and female consumers.” In 2024, for the first time in the Booker prize’s 55-year history, the shortlist featured the biggest number of women authors. While these are clearly encouraging signs of gender equity among authors, there are still some worrying statistics if one were to go beyond these surface-level advancements. Notably, the studies done on author diversity aren’t many, but there are a few that show how racially disproportionate the industry is- for example, since 2010, Caucasian/White authors still represent 75.58% of the books that are published in the US alone. The percentage of authors who are Hispanic or Latino, Black or African American, and Asian are 7.6%, 5.9% and 4.9% respectively.
Which brings this conversation back to the crux of this article: the need for female Arab authors to, unapologetically, share about their unique cultural and social experiences.
Zebian -the author of seven books across poetry and self-development, including her popular 2016 debut publication Mind Platter as well as her latest book The Only Constant which was released in early 2024- stresses upon how literature enables a greater sense of community. “If you don’t have Arab women writing for Arab women and other women,
then you would be robbing the world of voices that exist and of experiences that exist,” Zebian says. “So when an Arab woman puts a book out there or puts her writings out there, at the same time that she’s giving herself a voice, she’s giving all these other women a validating experience saying your story is also somewhere out there. It’s not easy to find a shared experience with someone who doesn’t share the culture or the language or the upbringing. Yes, we are humans and we have universal experiences. But there’s something to be said about growing up in the same place, or growing up surrounded by the same cultural expectations and traditions, that somebody who hasn’t lived in this context or these circumstances wouldn’t understand the struggle of. So when you give a voice to one woman, you’re giving a voice to God knows how many. That’s why it’s so important to offer these opportunities and offer these platforms.”
In response to my very first question, Katouh -whose 2022 debut novel As Long As The Lemon Trees Grow tells the story of a young couple during the Syrian civil war- notes that, in the absence of literary characters that looked like her, she found solace in those that thought like her instead. “I grew up with Anne of Green Gables, and I saw myself represented in her imagination a lot, because I also had a wild imagination,” she tells me. “And through those books, I fell in love with nature, and it made me open my eyes to the stories that I could come up with. But she never looked like me! I mean, I don’t have red hair or green eyes or freckles. I didn’t feel represented [in books] until I was in my twenties when I read Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali [published in 2019]. That was the first book where I saw a Muslim hijabi girl who thought like me, and had similarities with me- that was the only time that I felt truly represented in contemporary fiction. But when I started writing my own book [in 2017],
Love from A to Z was not out yet, and so I felt like I was… not lost at sea, but I was navigating new waters on how to write a story and characters that fit my perception of what it means to be Arab, Muslim and hijabi and living in this world that fights you on who you are, but at the same time, there are people who accept you. So yeah, when I was writing it, it was like I felt represented in a character that I wrote myself.”
Displaying similar sentiments as Katouh is Hamdan, who has formerly been a New York Times journalist and editor-in-chief at Google, when
she talks about her debut book What Will People Think?, which is set to release in May this year. Indeed, she too felt perturbed by the lack of representation of Arab women in modern day literature, and set out to tell a unique story through the fictional world she built. “One of the main characters in my book is a Palestinian-American living in New York who works as a stand-up comedian, but then she discovers her grandmother’s diary, and it dates back to Palestine in the 1940s,” she shares. “In fact all three protagonists of my novel are Arab women. And I just want to show that they are
“
When an Arab woman puts a book out there or puts her writings out there, at the same time that she’s giving herself a voice, she’s giving all these other women a validating experience saying your story is also somewhere out there.”
↓ Najwa Zebian is a Lebanese-Canadian author, activist, speaker, and educator. She has published seven books of poetry and self-development that have followed the themes of healing, building a home within, and reinventing oneself.
↑ Najwa Zebian’s latest book, The Only Constant, was published in March 2024 and offers guidance on embracing change and leading an authentic life.
strong and wonderful and, like everyone else, they have the same problems and issues. I think representation is very, very important, because we need to create
↑ Sara Hamdan is a Palestinian-American author. The former New York Times journalist and Google editor-in-chief received the First Chapter: Emirates Literature Foundation Seddiqi First Chapter Writers’ Fellowship for her debut novel, What Will People Think?
empathy. We need to build bridges. A lot of the problems we see in the news today are because people are afraid of others, and this is why storytelling is so necessary! Also part of the reason why I wanted to write this book is because I think we need more representation that doesn’t have to do with politics and religion, but just has to do with a regular woman making her way.”
Alkhoori -an Emirati environmentalist who incorporates elements about nature and local culture into her books for kids, including the 2013-published Fanteer al Flamingo Al Manfoush (Fanteer, The Fluffy Flamingo) and 2016-published The
“
I think representation is very, very important, because we need to create empathy. We need to build bridges. A lot of the problems we see in the news today are because people are afraid of others, and this is why storytelling is so necessary!”
White Hands- reflects Hamdan’s statement. “You know, we grew up with Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, and there was never any Arab scene in there, let alone a character!” Alkoori recalls. “There’s more empathy when you find yourself in a book. And I think it boosts the confidence a little bit as well to know that somebody is writing about our society or people who look like us.”
But the next question this conversation churns out is perhaps where the complexity of the matter lies: are publishing houses not doing enough to give female Arab authors a platform? Alkhoori says the situation isn’t necessarily as black and white as one may expect it to be. For starters, she notes that female authors too need to make use of the changing literary landscape to ensure their stories are being shared to wider audiences. “This isn’t just about what’s being published, because I think even translated works are just as important at this point,” Alkhoori says. “The publish-
→ Noura Alkhoori is an Emirati environmentalist who writes children’s stories in both English and Arabic. Alkhoori, who has taken the decision to not appear in visual media, regularly holds school readings, workshops, and book fair activities across the UAE. She is also a translator between Arabic and English, specialising in children's literature.
ing industry, in the UAE especially, has flourished in the past 10 years. I’ve been with them- I started writing in 2011, so I know we’ve come a long way. And I’ve seen how the industry has changed, right? There are so many publishing houses, like the Sharjah Publishing Free Zone, doing a lot to help there. So I don’t think it’s a problem of getting published as much as it is getting our works out there for the people to know that they’re there.”
On the other hand, Katouh, who had her book published in Canada, notes that while her journey was fairly smooth, there were some hurdles that might’ve stemmed from a place of prejudice. “I did have a couple of instances that made me feel insecure- for example, my first language is English, but then I had one agent tell me ‘well, it’s very clear from your writing that your first language is not English,’” she recalls, “And I remember being like, but it is! I’m Canadian! But at that moment I thought she was just giving constructive criticism, and it was only around three years later that I realized that that was a really terrible thing to say. So it was small instances like
↑Noura Alkhoori’s 2013 book Fanteer al Flamingo Al Manfoush (Fanteer, The Fluffy Flamingo) tells the story of a flamingo who gets lost on an excursion in a thicket of mangroves. The book explores themes related to family, identity and community.
those. But they never deterred me from my path, or from my goal to get published. I had way, way more support in regards to getting published than people who were against it. But publishing is a very individual journey, everybody goes through it differently. I did get a lot of rejections from agents, and it’s a lonely process. And I certainly had concerns, because I wrote about a Muslim Arab girl living in a Muslim Arab country, speaking technically Arabic, even though it’s in English. So I was like, “who’s going to read this? Is some girl in
Minnesota going to feel represented in a book about Syria?” And the answer was yes! I was wrong, and I was very happy that I was wrong, so the hurdles did not stop me, and they did not stop the readers. They all loved it.”
When it comes to overcoming rejections from agents and publishers, however, Hamdan’s experience is nothing short of aweinspiring. After having multiple doors closed on her face for her book’s first manuscript, the Dubai-based author clinched a six-figure two-book deal with US-based publishing house Holt- the largest book deal to come out of the Middle East. And like Katouh, Hamdan shares that the hurdles never halted, or even paused, her literary ambitions. “With each ‘no’, you have to figure out how badly you want the thing- you
have to ask yourself, ‘do I stop now or do I keep going?’” she says. “During the pandemic, there was a competition on Netflix’s Twitter handle and they were looking for a one-page story that had to do with the character of whatever ethnic background you come from. So I took a scene from this book -that was a work in progress at the time- and I won. And that was, for me, the turning point because I finally realized that, okay, there is a global audience. Okay, I am a good writer. People think so; it’s not just me! And then I kept working. The Emirates Literature Foundation’s Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship came in after that. So I was very lucky to be part of the program. I had a mentor through it, and we went to New York for a writing trip. And then I ended the year with five or six agents asking me to be represented by them,
I WAS LIKE, “WHO’S GOING TO READ THIS? IS SOME GIRL IN MINNESOTA GOING TO FEEL REPRESENTED IN A BOOK ABOUT SYRIA?” AND THE ANSWER WAS YES! I WAS WRONG, AND I WAS VERY HAPPY THAT I WAS WRONG, SO THE HURDLES DID NOT STOP ME, AND THEY DID NOT STOP THE READERS. THEY ALL LOVED IT.”
choosing the most amazing ones. Two months after that, we got into a bidding war, went to auction with three of the big five publishers and the biggest book deal to come out of the Middle East! But it still feels surreal saying it, even though I do tell the story often now, because it’s taken so long.”
Hamdan then states that it is important for Arab female authors in the UAE and wider region to make use of the resources available to them -a close reiteration of Akhoori’s earlier point- and also not let self-inhibiting doubts stop them. One such program Hamdan vouches for is the aforementioned Emirates Literature Foundation’s Seddiqi Writers’ Fellowship, which pairs 10 winning writers with internationally published authors, providing one-on-one coaching, workshops, and access to publishing industry experts. “I think there’s no fellowship like this in the whole world,” Hamdan adds. “But with these initiatives, if you are scared or you don’t have the confidence to apply, just do it because sometimes we hold ourselves back. There’s nothing
stopping you from writing a great story and having a wonderful mentor that’s a famous author from abroad help you get your book in shape. So these things exist, and also the competition that I mentioned, the Netflix one, this was a global one, but I applied from here. I didn’t let it stop me. So I think sometimes we have a lot of our own hurdles. There is nothing stopping any writer from writing and pitching to agents. Just go for it.”
Yet again, Hamdan’s sentiments are very closely mirrored in the separate conversation I have with Alkhoori, who notes that self doubt can often creep up in the minds of writers. “I feel that a lot- I also sometimes wonder, “Is all of this worth it? Is anybody reading? Are our books getting sold? Is anybody hearing about us?” Alkhoori says. “But then when I sit and think about it, I can’t imagine myself on any day without writing. So I guess I just can’t break away from it.”
I WANT CHILDREN TO FIND ARABIC MUSICAL TO THEIR EARS. WHICH IS WHY, WHILE I ALSO WRITE IN ENGLISH, MY BOOKS ARE PRIMARILY IN ARABIC. I DON’T WANT KIDS TO THINK, ‘OH, ARABIC IS VERY SCHOOL-RELATED.’...IT’S ALSO OFTEN A THIRD LANGUAGE THEY HAVE TO LEARN IN SCHOOL, AND THAT CASTS A BIT OF A HEAVINESS ON THEM. SO I WANT THEM TO REMEMBER THAT WE WROTE BOOKS THAT WERE EASY AND SMOOTH, AND OUTGOING.”
And budding authors and writers would do well to heed the words of Hamdan and Alkhoori, because, as Zebian notes, there is an audience that is ready to read diverse stories. “I honestly think there is a real thirst here for more stories, and for events like the Emirates Literature Festival where authors are invited from all over the world,” Zebian says. “This is the place where you get to spread these stories and get to have people who are thirsting for these stories to see them. I also think there could be more opportunities for discovering different voices at an event where people attend the entire day and get to listen to someone on stage that they didn’t necessarily come to see. I think that would give maybe smaller [Arab female] authors more of an opportunity to have their work spread and to maybe add to someone’s understanding of life by sharing a story that the person sitting in the audience didn’t think existed.”
Now, it is important to note that, so far, the conversation has largely revolved around Arab representation in books written in English. But there is another area of publishing, that if navigated properly, could unearth a treasure of diverse stories and characters by Arab women: translated books. “Obviously no translation will ever do the original justice, which is very sad, because you’ll never be able to learn all the languages in the world, but they [translated works] are still extremely important,” notes Katouh. “I’ve read some translated books -and you can see the difference in the writing style, even when it’s translated- but it just opens your mind to literature and a huge history within that text itself. Especially in Arabic! Arabic is an ocean that never ends in terms of literature, so there is so much to translate, and so many stories that can open people’s minds to different realms of possibilities.”
Alkhoori, on the other hand, believes that books written in Arabic need to become more mainstream for Arab children. “I want children to find Arabic musical to their ears,” she says. “Which is why, while I also write in English, my books are primarily in Arabic. I don’t want kids to think, ‘Oh, Arabic is very school-related.’ Because obviously, you know, you have the formal Arabic or Fusha, which is used in newspapers and books And then you have the colloquial Arabic, which obviously there’s over 10 dialects of. So children immediately think it’s a different language. It’s also often a third language they have to learn in school, and that casts a bit of a heaviness on them. So I want them to remember that we wrote books that were easy and smooth, and outgoing. I want them to
start preferring to read in Arabic again rather than other languages. That’s number one. The second goal would be to try to get bits of the Arab society into the books. So not all of our books have to be very culturally rooted necessarily. Especially as a children’s writer, I could write about animals or space and still achieve that. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to be through the text, but perhaps through the graphics in the book. Just to show a little bit of identity.”
To create a new generation of readers, both Arab and nonArab, who are more familiar with the stories told by Arab female authors, Hamdan declares that there is now a joint responsibility on the community of female writers and publishers. “So, these days, you already have someone like Isobel Abulhoul, who’s created the Emirates Literature Foundation and is encouraging young children to read and adults to keep reading,” she notes. “Then there’s also Ahlam Bolooki, who created the Fellowship. So, it’s about women lifting each other up, and we’re creating role models as we go.”
Ultimately, to keep empowering female Arab writers is to empower an entire global community, concludes Zebian. “Giving these women a platform is, I think, a way to remind Arab women that they have a powerful voice and that they have the ability to make a difference in the world by expressing themselves,” she says. “I think it’s important to remind every girl and woman that just because what they feel or think hasn’t been said yet, it doesn’t mean that it’s not valid. They can be the ones that say it for the first time, or the ones that echo it because somebody else said it and they really agree with it, and eventually they will all keep wanting to add to that power.”
→ Nikita (left) and Rhea Patel are the co-founders of The Bureau, the UAE’s first femalefocused co-working space.
As the global female workforce seeks policies that allow for better work-life balance, sisters Nikita and Rhea Patel have co-founded UAE-based femalefocused co-working space The Bureau.
by AALIA MEHREEN AHMED
The COVID-19 pandemic altered many aspects of the working ecosystem as we once knew it- in both good ways and bad. But one rather unfortunate consequence was the impact felt by female employees across the world. A March 2021 study by McKinsey and Co. had shown that one in four women had considered leaving the workforce or downshifting their careers (versus one in five men) in the aftermath of the pandemic. This disparity was particularly prominent with parents of kids under ten: the rate at which women in this group were considering leaving was ten percentage points higher than for men. Since then, workforces have often grappled to find ways that help female employees not only achieve a positive work-life balance, but also perform well alongside personal responsibilities- approaches that, as per a 2024 study by Deloitte, account for 21% and 20%, respectively, of the factors that make women want to stay with their employers for more than five years. Coincidentally, it was during the coronavirus pandemic that sisters Nikita and Rhea Patel were on their own journey of discovering the need for better working environments for women in the UAE. “During the lockdown, we found ourselves working together in the same space while pursuing our individual ventures,” the Patels recall. “After years of living on separate continents, we quickly realized how different our working styles were—while I thrived in pin-drop
silence, Rhea preferred a more social environment filled with music. I needed a traditional desk and chair, whereas Rhea loved working on a comfy couch. However, the one thing we both agreed on was how much we missed being surrounded by people, particularly other like-minded women…Two years later, The Bureau was born!”
“After
years of living on
separate continents, we quickly realized how different our working styles were—while I thrived in pin-drop silence, Rhea
preferred a more social environment filled with music. I needed a traditional desk and chair, whereas Rhea loved working on a comfy couch. However, the one thing we both agreed on was how much we missed being surrounded by people, particularly other like-minded women…Two years later, The Bureau was born!”
} Indeed, it was in 2022, that the duo co-founded The Bureau as a femalefocused co-working space in Dubai’s Gold & Diamond Park. “Beyond creating workspaces that cater to our differing styles, we wanted to design beautiful environments that inspire us
WE ENVISIONED AN AUTHENTIC SPACE WHERE PEOPLE COULD WEAR WHATEVER THEY FELT COMFORTABLE IN AND BE UNAPOLOGETICALLY THEMSELVES WHILE GETTING WORK DONE. WE AIMED TO CREATE A HUB THAT BROUGHT TOGETHER INDIVIDUALS FROM ALL INDUSTRIES—FREELANCERS, ENTREPRENEURS, COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND PROFESSIONALS—A PLACE TO CONNECT WITH LIKE-MINDED, BOLD, AND AMBITIOUS INDIVIDUALS WHO UPLIFT ONE ANOTHER.”
↓ Over the past two years, The Bureau has built a community of over 12,500 people and 157 businesses, and hosted 438 events for various women’s and community groups, business groups, startups, and various organisations.
and others to achieve great things,” they explain. “We envisioned an authentic space where people could wear whatever they felt comfortable in and be unapologetically themselves while getting work done. We aimed to create a hub that brought together individuals from all industries—freelancers, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and professionals— a place to connect with like-minded, bold, and ambitious individuals who uplift one another. In short, we recognized a significant need for a workspace and community in Dubai, and the broader region, that combines the convenience of an office with the comfort of home.”
} As such, The Bureau’s workspaces cater to varying work styles. “We have everything from private offices and dedicated desks, to phone booths, meeting rooms, and a plethora of coworking areas,” the Patels add. “We realized early on in the process that preferences are varied in regards to seating, therefore, we provide it all! We have high tables, couch seating, cozy nooks and more!”
} But at the heart of the venture was a vision to address the very problem that is mentioned at the beginning of this article.
“There was this staggering statistic we came across: nearly one in two women in MENA take a career break to tend to family, raise children, or recover from childbirth,” Nikita shares. “However, only 19% successfully rejoin the workforce after a career break of five years or less. As a result, female labor force participation for the 25-34 year old cohort has steadily decreased. We as co-founders are therefore committed to increasing the number of women who rejoin the workforce in the MENA region.”
} The Bureau aims to achieve this through a three-tiered approach: through its physical space itself, a series of upskilling programs, as well as through creating a professional network of women. “The Bureau’s physical space includes a nursing room for new moms, a vanity and shower area, flexible child and baby policies and is purposefully situated near schools and nurseries,” Rhea explains. “New moms use the nursing room daily and express that restarting working without such amenities would be much more challenging. It is a simple yet highly impactful offering. The Bureau places a huge emphasis on upskilling and lifelong learning. We actively work to combat the misconception that returning women lack experience or have outdated skills. Since its inception, they have hosted workshops on leveraging AI for
marketing, public speaking, pitch deck creation, business finance and more! The Bureau also hosts the Bureau Connect program, connecting members in similar industries and lines of work and a peer-to-peer skill-share program. The Bureau also holds regular “needs and leads” sessions for entrepreneurs to support one another. Additionally, a retail wall showcases female-founded brands and helps drive CPG growth for those brands.”
In designing these amenities for The Bureau’s users, Nikita has deployed
some of her personal experiences as a new mother as well. “I’ve become a mother in the last year and what I’ve learned is that saving time and efficiency is the most valuable thing to help with balance,” she adds. “The Bureau has been so wonderful in helping me improve this, as well as for others, because it serves as a hub where you can do everything under one roof - complete work, host meetings, attend an event, and grab a coffee at our cafe. We designed The Bureau purposefully with women’s needs in mind and not as an afterthought. We
have a nursing and pumping room for new mothers which allows those returning to the workplace to do so quicker and with ease.”
} But in addition to the motherhood-specific additions, The Bureau’s interiors have also been carefully designed to ensure it is aesthetically pleasing to women in general as well. “We often say The Bureau combines the comforts of your home with the convenience of your office,” Rhea explains. “During our focus groups, we learnt early on that women prefer spaces with more of a residential feel than a commercial one. Office spaces have historically been very conventional, and a little institutional. We here at The Bureau believe an office of any kind needs to feel enticing. Wooden floors, high ceilings, and a plethora of natural light created a great base for us to build upon. We used bright, warm colours, as well as soft neutrals in our space to stimulate energy, and create a productive work environment. We added a healthy sprinkle of coffee table books, candles, plants, and wall art to really bring the space to life, and to give our office that effortless ‘lived-in’ feel. Assouline books, female biographies, and New Yorker magazines are just a few of the delightful things you can find on the shelves of The Bureau library.”
} But do not confuse The Bureau’s female-focused
}}
“WE DESIGNED THE BUREAU PURPOSEFULLY WITH WOMEN’S NEEDS IN MIND AND NOT AS AN AFTERTHOUGHT. WE HAVE A NURSING AND PUMPING ROOM FOR NEW MOTHERS WHICH ALLOWS THOSE RETURNING TO THE WORKPLACE TO DO SO QUICKER AND WITH EASE.”
approach to be one that is exclusively for women. “We at The Bureau are female-focused and female-friendly, as opposed to female-only, meaning that we have both men and women utilizing our coworking space,” the co-founders share. “That being said, due to our design, amenities, and community, our current ratio is about 70% women to 30% men. What does female-focused mean you may ask? Women have unique needs, especially in the workplace, and more specifically depending on their stage of life and The Bureau remains committed to thinking
about women’s needs at its core, not as an afterthought. Female-focused spaces are extremely important from a career longevity and workforce perspective.”
} Adopting such attention to detail across its combination of workspaces, personal spaces, and events spaces, as well as adopting a flexible pricing plan, has paid off monetarily for the co-founders as well. “We believe in being price inclusive, and catering to individuals with various budget requirements,” the duo explains. “Having a range of price points ensures
a diverse crowd, which is essential in creating an authentic community. We have a day pass for as low as AED120, as well as single and all location access coworking memberships. For longer term commitments, we have dedicated desks starting at AED1,200. We have 16 private offices at The Bureau Gold & Diamond Park location, at 100% occupancy, which has been a stable and great revenue source for The Bureau. We are now also on the brink of opening our second location in the iconic Opera Grand Residences in Downtown Dubai. We have already leased 60% of our private offices, and 80% of our dedicated desks prior to opening. An unexpected revenue source has been our event space rental, as well as full space takeovers. From company offsites and industry panels, to pop ups, and video shoots, we really have seen it all.”
} But the sisters point out that reaching this point has not been an easy ride, particularly because both of them had been in different careers prior to plunging into the world of creating co-working spaces- Rhea’s background was in Media and Digital Transformation, while Nikita has previously run a special needs center for young adults as well as a hydroponics vertical farm in Dubai. “The most challenging part of building The Bureau has quite literally been ‘building The Bureau.’” Rhea notes. “Neither Nikita nor I have a technical or fitout background, and therefore it was quite a steep learning curve. Fitting out a space is often associated with the more ‘glamorous’ and ‘fun’ aspects such as picking out wallpapers, paints, and funky furniture. However, the reality is much different, and we have learnt more than we desire about firefighting, mezzanine builds, and plumbing to name a few. Being in business with a sibling has been extremely helpful in this regard, as we are able to split the workload and divide and conquer.”
} Nikita, on the other hand, notes that learning how to pivot constituted a
major lesson for the duo. “Another great challenge has been not getting overly attached to the initial business plan, and allowing The Bureau to take its natural course, and allowing The Bureau to evolve,” she adds. “Like in any business, consumers resonate with certain aspects of a business more than others. A prime example for us was the incorporation of a workout studio in our coworking space. During focus groups, consumers are generally overly optimistic, and believed this amenity would be of great use. However, fast forward two years and two different yoga and pilates operators later, we made the decision to convert the space to three private offices, as this was where the demand was.”
} Filled with a passion to continue their journey, the Patel sisters now hope to expand The Bureau beyond the UAE as well. “In all honesty, the plan was never to have one Bureau and one location,” Nikita and Rhea declare. “Our Gold & Diamond Park location is definitely the pilot project. 2025 brings us the opening of our second location in Downtown Dubai. Our next step is to expand The Bureau across MENA, South Asia and beyond. Something we would like to explore this year is how to keep adding value to our community with additional amenities in current and future locations. Some concepts we are exploring is the integration of childcare, a podcast studio, or perhaps even a content studio. We are born and raised in Dubai and Dubai teaches you to dream big. In the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, “The future belongs to those who can imagine it, design it, and execute it.” We aspire to embody that every day with The Bureau.”
Nikita and
Rhea
Patel on the perks of co-founding a startup with your sibling!
}The ability to make decisions quickly “There are two clear decision makers, and therefore we are able to move forward with things quickly. Whether it be strategy, a new process etc, being a sibling in business allows us to have a very agile organization.”
}Having the same core values courtesy having grown up in the same household “Some of our core values include overcommunication, respect, and hard work. This allows us to have great synergy, especially when building a team. We are aligned on the type of individual we want to hire, and the values they should have. Having a rock solid foundation is essential for any set of co-founders, which can be built upon alongside the business.”
}With all benefits there are always unique challenges “One big challenge with working alongside a sibling is unlearning the typical familial roles, and re-establishing yourselves as equals and co-founders. In our case, we had to unlearn our traditional roles of ‘older sister’ and ‘little sister.’ The second large challenge is separating our work and personal life. Setting those clear boundaries upfront, and then following them is super important, and something we work on everyday.”
Established in 1902, BAT has evolved into one of the world’s leading consumer goods businesses, employing more than 46,000 people across three main operational regions including the Americas and Europe (AME), Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA) and the US. With the MENA region being central to BAT’s transformational journey, the company has maintained a strong focus on talent acquisition and development driving regional growth and innovation.
As such, one of BAT’s main organizational commitments is to empower women across all levels of the company, and thus help drive the company forward towards achieving its vision for ‘A Better Tomorrow™. Here are some female leaders at BAT Middle East who are doing exactly that:
“My marketing career began in my native Uzbekistan in 2009, where I joined BAT. Since then, BAT has given me multiple opportunities that allowed me to grow into a leader that embodies strength, resilience, and passion for embracing challenges. My journey has taken me across roles in Iran, Korea, as well as the Middle East, where I have developed a leadership style rooted in empathy, integrity, and inclusivity. As a passionate advocate for women in leadership, I enjoy guiding and inspiring young talent, helping them navigate their careers, and fostering an environment where individuals can thrive.”
“My career trajectory has evolved from junior roles in financial communications to leading a regional corporate communications and investor relations function for a prestigious banking group in the GCC. In doing so, I shattered barriers, becoming the youngest female to hold this position at the time. British American Tobacco has cultivated an environment that values diverse perspectives, fosters
trust, and promotes autonomy, empowerment, and innovation. Today, I thrive in a leadership role overseeing 17 markets, enabled by a corporate culture that actively embraces and promotes female leadership. This environment not only fuels collaboration and innovation but also drives a shared commitment to BAT’s vision— “A Better Tomorrow.”
“Throughout my journey, I’ve had the privilege of working with global organizations like the OECD, WTO, and WHO, contributing to significant fiscal initiatives, including the global minimum tax proposal. “BAT has given me the platform to apply my experiences and expertise and empowered me to confront complex challenges with strategic thinking and unwavering integrity. My role in leading fiscal engagement is not just about policy—" it’s about empowering more women to take their seat at the table and help shape the future.”
“I joined BAT in 2008 where I spent 6 years in BAT Middle East before relocating to Canada in 2014, where I managed multiple regions within the organization demonstrating ability to adapt and excel in diverse environments. I returned to the Middle East in 2023, where I currently oversee 17 markets. I am passionate about empowering talent, and as such, I am dedicated to mentoring my colleagues and unlocking the full potential of my team with a strong focus on increasing female representation. Outside work, I remain very busy as a proud mother of two.”
“Very cliché to say, but BAT has been my second home since joining the organization in 2011, only two months after graduating from university. I’ve had a 14-year career journey at BAT, starting as an Information Analyst in Lebanon, I progressed through various roles including the Global Graduate program with an international assignment in South Korea, which was both challenging and incredibly rewarding. BAT has always been a huge support system to me, especially while I was on my maternity leaves (all 3 of them!) which only strengthened my loyalty to the company.”
“As BAT Arabia’s Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs in Saudi Arabia, my work centers on building strong partnerships and driving strategies that elevate organizational success. BAT’s culture enables me to take a principled approach to decision-making, ensuring that strong ethical standards and integrity always guide my work. Passionately dedicated to the empowerment of others, I previously co-chaired the “Women in Business” committee under the auspices of the American Chamber of Commerce.”
“My career began at Georgia’s largest oil retailer, where I worked my way from intern to manager. But for me, growth isn’t always about moving up—it’s about moving forward. So, I took a bold step back, accepting an entry-level role at BAT to pursue my dream of an international career. I’ve built a career across diverse markets, cultures, and challenges—all while balancing motherhood. My son and I have navigated this journey together, adapting, learning, and growing side by side. Leadership, to me, isn’t just about my own journey but about lifting others. Developing and empowering teams and watching those I’ve mentored grow into leaders is what truly makes the hard work worth it.”
“I joined BAT in 2011 as an Information Analyst, quickly advancing through a series of roles in New Product Introduction and Brand Marketing across the Levant and Lower Gulf. I then transitioned to Iraq and into the trade sector, eventually becoming BAT’s first female Head of Trade in Iraq and the Middle East. While women have made significant strides in various sectors, there is still a noticeable gap in certain fields, particularly in trade. When I first stepped into this role, I saw it as an opportunity to challenge preconceived notions, proving that gender is not a limitation but rather a source of strength and diversity. Balancing my career with raising children has been a challenge, but I believe that flexibility, time management, and support has made all the difference.”
“Since joining BAT, I’ve expanded my potential and deepened my passion for leadership by being at the heart of the business. The company has empowered me to express my personality and connect with diverse stakeholders, enriching my experience daily. To be an effective leader, you must embrace the change and challenges as an opportunity to grow and build your strengths over time to rise to your highest potential. Like Héraclite said, ‘the only constant is change.’”
“I joined BAT in 2020, where I’ve had a fantastic journey in its subsidiary, Pakistan Tobacco Co., growing through all legal and compliance roles (along with a stint in Regulatory Affairs), to eventually be appointed Head of Legal and Board Secretary. Aligned with its unwavering commitment to fostering career growth, BAT offered me the opportunity to relocate to Dubai in 2024 to take on a regional role in the Middle East and North Africa. In this capacity, I now oversee Business Integrity and Compliance across 17 countries.”
“I’m a proud working mother of three and a high-achieving dynamic leader with over 20 years of experience across the MENA region. In my current role with BAT since 2023, I double hat as Head of Marketing Deployment and as a member of the Middle East & North Africa Leadership Team. I now oversee 11 markets, where I drive transformation, build highperforming teams, and champion innovation. My passion is to empower the next generation of leaders, ensuring they, too, can rise, thrive, and leave an impact.”
}Women in BAT network: established in 2017, the Women in BAT (WiB) network was designed to connect and support women within the company. Over the years, it has evolved into a significant platform that offers mentorship and promotes an inclusive workplace environment.
}Women in STEM initiative: focuses on attracting and retaining female talent in critical fields like Research & Development and Digital Solutions, in collaboration with companies such as WISE, a career and leadership development organization for women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) sectors.
}Women in Leadership program: empowers women by providing specialized training and mentorship to accelerate their career progression, helping them break barriers and reach new heights within the company.
Ziad Melhem, Chief Marketing Officer, CFI, reveals the secrets of CFI’s outstanding marketing campaigns.
PERSONALLY, I’M A BIG FAN OF OUT OF HOME CAMPAIGNS, BECAUSE I CONSIDER THEM A CORNERSTONE OF ANY 360 DEGREES MARKETING STRATEGY. THE WAY PEOPLE CONSUME OUT OF HOME CAMPAIGNS IS REALLY NATURAL BECAUSE IT JUST HAPPENS WITHIN THE FLOW OF THEIR LIVES.”
CFI has become a significant force in the online trading sector, offering traders seamless access to global and local markets with a physical presence in 15 countries and five continents. Plus, the online trading provider is globally regulated and locally trusted with 14 licenses from reputable regulatory bodies. It should not then come as a surprise that it is a go-to choice of traders around the globe - its clients’ quarterly trading volumes on the platform exceeds US$1 trillion- just in Q4 2024, CFI saw a 27% increase from Q3 in active clients, and a 39% increase in client funding.
The company’s commitment to technological innovations, financial literacy, and partnerships with globally renowned icons positioned it as a leader in the competitive trading industry.
However, knowing that even the best of products still need to be properly marketed to the right audiences at the right time and place, we caught up with Ziad Melhem, Chief Marketing Officer, CFI, to learn how he has managed to enhance CFI’s brand reach and truly engage and captivate audiences around the world..
Melhem’s approach starts with clearly defining marketing objectives- market expansion, customer engagement, and delivering cutting-edge technological solutions. “Firstly, our
market expansion objective is divided into two parts,” he explains. “If it’s a new market we’re penetrating and aim for having the biggest market share in that particular market, we have a special playbook that we apply. Usually, the strategy is more challenging but exciting. At the same time, in other markets where we already have the biggest market share, it’s about expanding our existing presence as well as solidifying it further.”
The second point, Melhem continues, relates to regularly enhancing customer engagement. “For existing clients, it’s about strengthening, nurturing, and retaining that relationship,” he says. “For new clients, we aim to establish a connection and retain it in the long term. This usually happens through our content marketing channels.”
Melhem reiterates that CFI offers comprehensive market access with more than 15,000 instruments, enabling traders to access leading platforms and tools, such as CFI Trading App and Webtrader, MT4, MT5, C-Trader, CFI MultiAsset, TradingView, among others, and proprietary tools integrated with AI-driven solutions, like Kaiana AI.
All this innovation serves the company’s ultimate vision – to be the go-to brand for all things trading and investing, enabling financial inclusion by empowering everyone to achieve their financial goals, no matter their level of knowledge or experience.
“My third marketing objective is therefore about delivering technology and innovation, and it’s maybe a bit weird to hear a marketing person talking about the product, because it is not us who built it, but it is us who package this technology and innovation and deliver it to the customers,” Melhem explains. “It is us who make sure that the user experience is always enhanced. It is us who highlight the features of this technology and innovation to enable the users to use the best user experience as well as the best services.”
Now, how do these strategic marketing goals align with the broader business
trading, “Drive Your Success” that featured Lewis Hamilton to draw a parallel between the precision and excellence required in Formula 1™ racing and the rigorous standards CFI upholds in its trading services, and “More and Better” that reinforced the brand’s positioning by highlighting its superior offerings in online trading and financial services.
“Personally, I’m a big fan of out of home campaigns, because I consider them a cornerstone of any 360 degrees marketing strategy,” Melhem says. “I think that the way people consume out of home campaigns is
← CFI partnered with Lewis Hamilton to draw a parallel between the precision and excellence required in Formula 1 racing and the rigorous standards CFI upholds in its trading services.
of home campaigns relies heavily on the deep understanding of client needs and the market itself. “If we get a solid grasp those, everything else becomes much easier, because from there it’s all about aligning our brand goals and brand messaging with the audience/market needs in order to come up with these bold creative campaigns.”
WE WORKED OUR GLOBAL BRAND AMBASSADOR, LEWIS HAMILTON, TO STRESS ON OUR SHARED VALUES - WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TRADING LIKE A CHAMPION, ABOUT SUCCESS, RESILIENCE, ADVANCEMENT, EXECUTION, PRECISION, AND SO ON.”
strategy of CFI? “I think it’s beyond alignment even, but that these goals are actually married to our broader, global business strategy.”
In achieving these objectives, CFI often resorts to out of home campaigns, such as “Beyond Trading” that highlighted the comprehensive services CFI offers beyond just
really natural because it just happens within the flow of their lives. Like if you’re driving, riding a bike, jogging, or walking in the mall, you consume these ads easily without being interrupted. If you look at other mediums, like digital ads for example, most of the time you get interrupted by an ad.”
The creative process behind CFI’s out
The company’s messaging is enhanced through strategic alliances, such as with Lewis Hamilton, AC Milan, and top institutions (FIBA WASL, Department of Culture and Tourism of Abu Dhabi, Jordan Basketball Federation, Jordan Football Association, Lebanese Basketball Federation), that are aimed at reinforcing CFI’s commitment to world class standards. “For example, in our recent two campaigns, we worked our global brand ambassador, Lewis Hamilton, seven times F1 World Champion, to stress on our shared values - we’re talking about trading like a champion, about success, resilience, advancement, execution, precision, and so on,” Melhem explains. “ And we also use our local or regional partnerships, for example with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, to deliver certain messages. These include that we are contributing to the community where we’re based. This actually has been very helpful for us and we will continue to do that in the future.”
CFI’s 360 degree campaigns cover key countries with an objective that its appealing branding message is visible to people through the main central touch points, from major airlines to main central roads. “When it comes to the locations, we’re very selective,” Melhem concludes. “We target premium locations, and I’m a big believer that the location passes its exclusive value to the brand itself, meaning that you cannot display your campaigns anywhere.”
Gadgets and doodads that you might’ve missed out on, sourced by a tech aficionado. by
iPhone 16e delivers fast, smooth performance and breakthrough battery life, thanks to the efficiency of the A18 chip and the new Apple C1, the first cellular modem designed by Apple. Its 48MP Fusion camera takes gorgeous photos and videos, and with an integrated 2x Telephoto, it’s like having two cameras in one, so you can zoom in without compromising optical quality. iPhone 16e is splash, water, and dust resistance with a rating of IP68. Plus, it features a Ceramic Shield front cover with an advanced formulation that is tougher than traditional smartphone glass. The 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display
TAMARA CLARKE
with OLED technology has an edgeto-edge design that is perfect for watching HDR videos, playing games, and reading crisp text. iPhone 16e has the best battery life ever on a 6.1-inch iPhone, lasting up to six hours longer than iPhone 11 and up to 12 hours longer than all generations of iPhone SE. And with Face ID enabled by the TrueDepth camera system, you can securely unlock iPhone 6e, authenticate purchases, sign in to apps, and more. iPhone 16e also offers convenient charging options, including both wireless charging and USB-C for easy connection to a wide range of accessories.
/Galaxy Ring
Galaxy Ring, built for comfort with a lightweight fit and extended battery life, simplifies everyday wellness with a particular emphasis on sleep. This
new wearable puts health tracking on your fingerliterally. Crafted from Titanium, the ring comes in your choice of three scratch-resistant finishes - Titanium Black, Titanium Silver and Titanium Gold. Offered in eleven sizes, ranging from 5 to15, including the two newly added larger sizes, the Galaxy Ring expansion also includes new updates to the Samsung Health app, which provide more personalized and comprehensive health capabilities, supporting optimal sleep and goals for a healthier daily life. Together with SmartThings, Samsung Health analyzes your sleep environment, assessing factors such as temperature, humidity, air quality, and light intensity in the room. You can also monitor your moods and follow Samsung Health’s guides for breathing exercises and meditations, all easily accessible within a single tracker.
↑ /Acer Swift Go AI
Acer’s new Swift Go AI is a thin, light laptop designed for working professionals, students and anyone seeking a budget-friendly, high productivity device. Swift Go AI is powered by new AMD Ryzen AI 300 Series processors with “Zen 5” architecture utilizing up to 8 highperformance cores and 16 threads that clock up to 5.0 GHz max boost processing.The new Swift Go AI laptops can run efficiently and reliably for all-day use with a battery life of up to 24.9 hours of video playback, while powering the AI features such as Acer PurifiedVoice 2.0 and Acer UserSensing 2.0. In addition to powerful AI performance, the new Swift Go AI line features an all-new anodized aluminum chassis design with a striking dual arrow pattern. Acer Swift Go AI is further enhanced with stunning OLED displays with up to 3K resolution – on both the 16-inch and 14-inch Swift Go devices. The OLED displays deliver vibrant, realistic visuals with up to 120 Hz refresh rates and are DisplayHDR TrueBlack 500 and Eyesafe 2.0-certified. Plus, IPS touch display options are available on both lines for customers who prefer the intuitive experience of multi-touch. The new Swift Go AI laptops also include a 1440p QHD IR camera supported by DTS X: Ultra audio and a 3-microphone array that ensures first-rate audio and visuals when online conferencing.
TAMARA CLARKE, a former software development professional, is the tech and lifestyle enthusiast behind The Global Gazette, one of the most active blogs in the Middle East. The Global Gazette has been welcomed and lauded by some of the most influential tech brands in the region. Clarke’s goal is to inform about technology and how it supports our lifestyles. Talk to her on Twitter @TAMARACLARKE theglobalgazette.com
From better goods to better wardrobe bests, every issue, we choose a few items that make the approved executive selection list. In this edition, our picks are from New Balance, Schiaparelli, and Noon by Noor.
By Schiaparelli
In the Maison of Schiaparelli’s black or white monochromes, signature pink or khaki, in crepe jersey, compact jersey or satin, discover many options of elegant evening gowns from the brand’s latest ready-to- wear collections to pair with our iconic anatomical and surrealist bijoux pieces from FallWinter 2024-2025 to dress up in style for the season.
Founders and designers Shaikha Noor Rashid Al Khalifa and Shaikha Haya Mohamed Al Khalifa of Noon By Noor unveiled their Fall Winter 2025 collection in a salon-style presentation at London’s prestigious Somerset House this month. This season, the designers reflect on the interplay between structure and fluidity, heritage and modernity, drawing inspiration from Bahrain’s architectural landscape.
“We are fortunate to have been nurtured in art and architecture, both in our home and in our surroundings in Bahrain–a place rich in both, from which we can draw constant inspiration,” said Shaikha Noor Al Khalifa. Shaikha Haya Al Khalifa added, “While working on this collection, we focused on finding a sense of balance between structure and curves, elegance and ease, function and frivolity, a balance between generations: a collage of the past, the present and the future.” www.noonbynoor.com
New Balance, the brand synonymous with running excellence, has launched its highly anticipated Ramadan 2025 Collection - a curated range of styles inspired by the community within the region. The Ramadan 2025 Collection offers versatile pieces for women, men, and kids.
The collection debuted at an exclusive fashion show held at Bab Al Shams Desert Resort on February 12, 2025. The event celebrated Middle Eastern heritage through a stunning runway featuring 30 looks, beautifully combining modern silhouettes with timeless inspiration. Professional models with local heroes such as Shayma Sabry who is currently fighting breast cancer, and UNHCR ambassador Karen Wazen walked the runway, highlighting the authentic stories that define the Middle East. The evening also included meaningful moments such as a symbolic 'Moonlight Ritual' and interactive experiences where attendees could customize their New Balance pieces with bespoke charms. www.newbalance.com
Future 100 presents the 100 of the UAE’s most promising, scalable, and impactful companies in 2024.
↓Wissam Younane, CEO, BNC Publishing, with H.E. Alia Bint Abdulla Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, and H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, UAE Minister of State for Government Development and the Future in the UAE Government.
“INVESTOPIA’S HOSTING OF THE FUTURE100 COMPANIES INITIATIVE FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW CONFIRMS OUR NATIONAL EFFORT TO ENHANCE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE COUNTRY AND CONSOLIDATE THE UAE’S POSITION AS AN ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION FOR FUTURE PROJECTS, AND A LEADING CENTER FOR CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION,” H.E. ABDULLAH BIN TOUQ AL MARRI, MINISTER OF ECONOMY, CHAIRMAN OF INVESTOPIA.”
H.E.
ALIA BINT ABDULLA AL MAZROUEI, UAE MINISTER OF STATE FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
The Future 100 initiative, a joint initiative between the Ministry of Economy and the Office of Government Development and the Future, announced the Future 100 - List 2024, a list of the 100 best UAE-based startups and scaleups that contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of the country’s future economy.
The announcement was made during the fourth edition of Investopia in Abu Dhabi on February 26-27, 2025.
The list was unveiled in the presence of His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, Chairman of Investopia, Her Excellency Alia bint Abdullah Al Mazrouei, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, and Her Excellency Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future.
The Future 100 initiative also released the Future 100 - List 2024 report that was produced in cooperation with Entrepreneur Middle East. It can be downloaded on the Future 100 website.
H.E. Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy and Chairman of Investopia, said, “Thanks to the directives of its wise leadership, the UAE has made great strides towards transforming into new economic sectors. Since its launch, Investopia has adopted a forwardlooking vision to support the growth of innovative startup and scaleup businesses and encourage them to use modern technology applications in various vital economic sectors. Therefore, Investopia’s hosting of the Future100 companies initiative for the second year in a row confirms our national effort to enhance the competitiveness of the entrepreneurial environment in the country and consolidate the UAE’s position as an attractive destination for future projects, and a leading center for creativity and innovation.”
H.E. Alia Al Mazrouei said, “The Future100 companies initiative supports the UAE’s vision to make the national economy more dynamic and competitive at the global level, building a highly productive human capital base and creating an advanced and innovative environment that shapes future economic sectors.” Her Excellency explained that the initiative achieved an 11% increase in the total number of applications received during 2024 compared to 2023, and the majority of these applications were in financial technology, sustainability, and creative industries.
THE UAE ADOPTS AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO SHAPING THE FUTURE, BASED ON ENHANCING THE FLEXIBILITY AND READINESS OF VARIOUS SECTORS, THEIR PROACTIVITY IN INNOVATING SOLUTIONS TO CHALLENGES, ADAPTING TO UNEXPECTED CHANGES, AND RESHAPING SECTORS TO KEEP PACE WITH EMERGING AND FUTURE TRENDS,” H.E.
OHOOD BINT KHALFAN
AL
ROUMI,
UAE
MINISTER
OF STATE FOR GOVERNMENT DEVELOPMENT AND THE FUTURE IN THE UAE
GOVERNMENT.
“The initiative contributes to opening new horizons for entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium enterprises to expand their ideas and projects in the sectors of the new and sustainable economy and allows them to communicate effectively with a wide network of investment funds and global investors, and to view the latest practices and trends related to financing mechanisms for small and medium enterprises.”
H.E. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future, said, “The UAE adopts an integrated approach to shaping the future, based on enhancing the flexibility and readiness of various sectors, their proactivity in innovating solutions to challenges, adapting to unexpected changes, and reshaping sectors to keep pace with emerging and future trends.” She added, “The Future100 initiative embodies a company from the
future, the leadership’s directions and visions, by stimulating and encouraging the development of future sectors, and enhancing the UAE’s position as an attractive destination and a stimulating environment for the prosperity and development of startups and scaleups in various future sectors.”
She pointed out that, since its launch in 2023, the initiative has contributed to supporting the country’s directions by attracting startups and scaleups across sectors, including space, cybersecurity, sustainability, financial technology, smart mobility, and others. She stressed the importance of the continuation of work to enhance the initiative’s momentum and build on its achievements, to be an important element in achieving the directions of the “We the Emirates 2031” vision, and a driving force to enhance the country’s efforts to develop a knowledge-based economy that is ready for the future, and an incubator and catalyst for the development of economic sectors and emerging industries.
The 2024 edition of the Future 100 companies is a collective effort of the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as 38 partners have taken part in the process- most notably the strategic partner, the National Fund for Social Responsibility Majra, and the partners of the business accelerator Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Future District Fund, Emirates NBD, the Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund, Investopia, Microsoft, MEVP, Careem, EY, Eurasia Capital, In5, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, FTI Consulting, and the Dubai International Financial Center Innovation Hub.
An annual celebration of the MENA’s digital innovators by Entrepreneur Middle East
Nominations are now open for the E-Business Awards 2025, an annual event staged by Entrepreneur Middle East to recognize and reward key players in the MENA region’s digital business landscape.
This annual event honors companies, startups, and leaders who have redefined the digital economy through excellence in e-commerce, fintech, digital transformation, SaaS, and online services. From cutting-edge technology solutions to customer-centric platforms, the E-Business Awards 2025 shines a spotlight on the visionaries and disruptors shaping the future of online business. The awards bring together
industry pioneers, investors, and decision-makers for an evening of recognition, networking, and inspiration.
The E-Business Awards 2025 be held on April 24, 2025 at Al Habtoor Palace in Dubai, with the gala ceremony set to bring together -and celebrate- the most prolific digital businesses, startups, and SMEs in the MENA region.
The deadline for nominations is April 14, 2025, and they can be submitted on the E-Business Awards website in the following categories:
• E-Business of the Year
• Best Digital Transformation of the Year
• E-Payment Solution of the Year
• AI Solution of the Year
• Fintech Company of the Year
• E-Investment Solution of the Year
• Digital Healthcare Provider of the Year
• Foodtech Company of the Year
• E-Business Entrepreneur of the Year
• Trading Platform of the Year
• Cloud Kitchen Company of the Year
• E-Delivery Company of the Year
• Best E-Service Company of the Year
• Most Innovative Digital Healthcare Solution of the Year
• Disruptor of the Year
• Best F&B Solution of the Year
• Best Digital Customer Service of the Year
• Best E-Solutions Provider for SMEs
• Best E-Government Solution of the Year
• Fastest Growth
• Best Innovative E-Solution of the Year
• Best B2B Solution of the Year
• Ecosystem Enabler of the Year
• Most Innovative Blockchain Solution of the Year
• Fastest Growth Crypto Company of the Year
• Best Crypto Solution of the Year
• Crypto Entrepreneur of the Year
• E-Banking Solution of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Proptech Company of the Year
• Startup of the Year
• Cybersecurity Firm of the Year
• Information Security Champion of the Year
• E-Business Leader of the Year
• Best Business Travel Platform
• Best Entertainment platform
For more information on the E-Business Awards 2024, please head to its official website: https://e-businessawards.com/
