THINKING BIG

Samia Bouazza, Group CEO and Managing Director of Multiply Group, started her leadership career in 2003 as the founder of Multiply Marketing Consultancy. Today, she heads a $14.6 billion holding company. She says an innovative mindset and good people are behind her success.

BY HAGAR OMRAN

Samia Bouazza, Group CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-based holding company Multiply Group, credits a mindset to self-transform as being behind the company’s remarkable growth. The group started as a marketing consultancy in 2003, but today is one of the U.A.E.’s largest listed entities. “Multiply is a journey of a lifetime,” she says. “When you start an SME in your 20s, recruit the right people, and grow together—I always look back to this rich journey.” With a focus on the U.A.E., the U.S., and Türkiye, as of January 17, 2023, Multiply Group had a market cap of $14.6 billion, with net profits for 2022 hitting $5.1 billion.

Concentrating on investments in technologybased and transformative businesses, Multiply Group has invested $3.35 billion in new deals since it was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in December 2021. In March 2022, it injected $100 million into the IPO of the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, and in May, it invested $50 million into the IPO of polyolefin manufacturer Borouge, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis of Austria. In October 2022, the group acquired 80% of International Energy Holding, with the remaining 20% acquired by Alpha Dhabi Holding, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC). Last year also saw a number of smaller ticket investments in public equities. Multiply Group had five subsidiaries by the end of September 2022.

However, it was the group’s $2.72 billion investment into the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) in September 2022—acquiring a 7.3% stake—that the CEO believes has opened up new horizons for the company in the clean energy sector as well as having a sizable impact on its balance sheet.

Revealing future investment plans, Bouazza says that Multiply Group is now mulling more new investments into the clean energy sector to support the U.A.E.’s journey toward net zero emissions and renewable energy acceleration. The group is boosting its deals as part of a strategy to expand vertically into industries that offer strong growth potential. In August 2022—two months before Multiply Group became its majority shareholder— International Energy Holding acquired a 50% stake in Kalyon Enerji Yatrimlari A.Ş., a Türkiye-based energy company. Its assets include the PV power plant project, and when it is completed in 2023, it alone will meet the annual electrical energy needs of about two million people.

Commenting on the increasing approach toward clean energy investments, Mamdouh G. Salameh, an international oil economist, expects higher fossil fuel prices to provide strong incentives to accelerate the production of sustainable alternatives.

“Policy changes have accelerated the push for more renewable energy, but short-term energy security is also vital. Moreover, higher costs due to the energy crisis are contributing to inflation and rising interest rates, which could jeopardize the energy transition,” says Salameh. “The U.A.E. is leading the drive in the Middle East in general and the Arab Gulf region in particular for energy transition, control of climate change, and the achievement of net-zero emissions by 2050.”

In addition to energy and utilities, Multiply Group also operates in segments like mobility, wellness and beauty, media, and communications. “Our investment strategy is clear for the shareholders and the team, but we’re not in a hurry due to the macroeconomic conditions in the world now. So, we are looking for the best opportunities, in terms of deals that either fall within our verticals or those that are more opportunistic and would bring our shareholders good returns,” explains Bouazza. The CEO is now considering the listing of subsidiaries, but when and which company are yet to be decided. “We have to take our companies to a position where their business fundamentals and governance are strong. They already have the mindset of a public company,” she adds.

Mindset is, again, a theme behind Bouazza’s own rise. The Lebanese national first moved to Abu Dhabi in 2001, two months after her university graduation, and worked on research projects for a local holding company, now known as the Royal Group. In 2003, the Royal Group created Multiply Marketing Consultancy as its marketing arm, headed by Bouazza, before developing it into a commercial entity and communications firm. The company continued to grow over time before being acquired by IHC— which is itself a part of the Royal Group—in April 2020.

In 2021, Multiply Group invested in the U.S. vehiclefocused digital media platform Firefly and global visual content firm Getty Images. Other major investments included PAL Cooling Holding, Emirates Driving Company, Viola Communications, and Rihanna’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce fashion firm Savage X Fenty. Multiply Group listed its ordinary shares on ADX on December 5, 2021. Having operated and invested in media and communications industries for more than a decade, the group began an aggressive stream of acquisitions to build its portfolio. “The group had to diversify its businesses and create a balanced portfolio of both high-growth businesses and steady companies that generate recurring income,” explains Bouazza.

Despite tech stocks declining sharply at the end of 2022, Multiply Group’s share price has jumped 139% since its first day of trading, reaching $1.3 per share on January 17, 2023. Commenting on the tech stocks fallout, Amro Zakaria, a financial services industry strategist, says the main reason for the recent drop in the technology sector is the rise in interest rates. “This always hurts growth stocks like tech companies, which have a much higher valuation than value stocks and also usually borrow much more in order to fuel growth, which becomes expensive to service with higher interest rates,” Zakaria adds. “Higher interest rates eat into future sales on which the company depends to close the valuation gap, and when that happens, investors abandon the sector (tech or any other growth sector), and the stocks decline as investors sell.”

Bouazza seems confident that Multiply Group will be able to weather any storms. “We focused on good investments for our first year of operations as a listed company, which reflected on the financial results of the first nine months,” says Bouazza. “You can see people want to buy

Multiply Group’s shares. We’ve been one of the highest-traded shares in terms of volume. We were included in MSCI Emerging Markets Index in November 2022 and the FTSE Global Equity Index Series in June 2022.”

As well as fostering a growth mindset, Bouazza says that her success is largely down to surrounding herself with the right team in many areas like investment, capital markets, and business transformation, which has brought direct added value to the profitability and productivity of the company. The CEO believes in a lean management style that allows executives to hire the right talent, but only the people they need. As of January 2023, Multiply Group employed over 3,000 people, including its subsidiaries. “I rely on a core team, but of course, we had to grow as per the needs. The size of the team should be lean enough to be able to share the same philosophy and values,” she explains.

Looking ahead, and aside from growing its already bulging business, the team is also working with the Family Foundation and other organizations to create CSR plans and activities, with a recent focus on cleaning the oceans. But as one of the region’s most successful businesswomen, Bouazza is also launching women-led initiatives to support others in following her path. “This has value for me. I would love to dedicate more of my time to female empowerment to help girls learn and have access to information on how to build their character, their inner strength, and mental turns,” she reveals. “I will do my best to keep helping and giving back.”