SME Advisor 140 issuu

ISSUE 140 MONTHLY FOCUS: AWARDS EDITION

business leaders that are shaping the future of the UAE. LATE BK MENON & OMANA MENON

H.E. SHEIKHA AL MASKARI AL MASKARI HOLDING

JOY AJLOUNY FETCHR

ALI AL MADANI BLACKWIRE MIDDLE EAST

RAFIH FILLI FILLI CAFE

NADINE BENCHAFFAI TAQADO MEXICAN KITCHEN

DAVID COOK PROJECTPARTNERS.AE

DAVID STOCKTON DULSCO

SIMRAN VEDVYAS SYNERGY

LOUISE KARIM MUMS@WORK ME

RIZWAN SAJAN DANUBE GROUP

AKBAR MOIDEEN THUMBAY THUMBAY GROUP

THE NEW VOLVO FMX:

Premium, tough and productive THE VOLVO FMX is a premium truck that is perfect for tough construction jobs and is available in both rigid and tractor versions. It is packed with the latest technical innovations and everything – from in-cab material to the chassis – is of the highest quality. In addition, the Volvo FMX packs a heavy payload, has excellent ground clearance and offers safe driving in all conditions. In short, it is a very productive truck that improves your profitability.

For MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VOLVO FMX please visit volvotrucks.com/FMX

Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Co.LLC Dubai, Dubai Investments Park, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Ras Al- Kaimah, Madinat Zayed 800 Famco(32626) An Al-Futtaim group company www.famcointernational.com

Volvo Construction Equipment

Al-Futtaim Auto & Machinery Co.LLC Dubai, Dubai Investments Park, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Ras Al- Kaimah, Madinat Zayed 800 Famco(32626) An Al-Futtaim group company www.famcointernational.com

Volvo Construction Equipment

SME Advisor Middle East is aimed at business owners and senior executives across the GCC. Armed with practical advice, it has been highlighting key business issues for the small and medium enterprise segment since its launch in 2005.

The magazine addresses real issues faced by business decision makers, without resorting to jargon.

We understand that often, in small and medium enterprises, specialist business decisions are made by the owners and not by an army of c-level executives. At the same time, our content is equally relevant and useful for specialist, senior executives in mid-level enterprises.

The magazine style is consumer, conversational and colourful.

From the web

Etisalat hosts SMB Digital Cloud Conference

Etisalat and Intel jointly organised the ‘SMB Digital Cloud Conference’ exclusively for the SMB sector in the UAE. The event focused on cloud services and highlighting the importance of digital transformation and its role in driving the businesses’ competitive edge. Attendees were able to understand the barriers and benefits of moving to the cloud and identify the relevance of developing and executing strategic cloud plans into their own organisations.

For more information, please visit: www.etisalat.ae.

Co Founder and CEO Nadeem Hood

Co Founder and COO Georgina Larsen

Editor in Chief Rushika Bhatia rushika@cpibusiness.net

Design Team Solomon Arthur solomon@cpibusiness.net Juzer Karbalai juzer@cpibusiness.net

Video Producer Murtaza Yousuf murtaza@cpibusiness.net Relationship Manager Freshia Mistry freshia@cpibusiness.net Web Developer Aneel Sarwar aneel@cpibusiness.net

Published By: CPI Business FZ LLC Office 111, Building 4 Dubai Media City Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Assistant Video Producer Farzan Akmal farzan@cpibusiness.net Event Coordinator Zainab Murtaza zainab@cpibusiness.net Printed by Print Well Printing Press Contact Details: Tel: +971 4 433 2446 Email: info@cpibusiness.net Web: www.cpibusiness.net

SME Advisor ME

© Copyright 2017 CPI Business.

All rights reserved.

While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

Justmop.com secures funding On-demand home services platform Justmop.com got its Series A round of funding. Founder Ali Cagatay Ozcan said, “Our aim is to obtain a tangible leverage in target markets and we will be depending on VentureFriends to guide us. This organisation is replete with successful entrepreneurs who know what we need and when we need it. This dynamic helps us concentrate on the activities without getting bogged down by the paperwork and in this fashion market reach will be expanded in a systematic manner.”

For more information, please visit: www.justmop.com.

New SME research underlines potential of the sector

Research firm MENA Research Partners (MRP) unveiled interesting statistics from its latest report. It outlined that the SME sector in the GCC region holds a potential of US$ 920 billion with 156 per cent growth in the next five years, employing 22 million people. Anthony Hobeika, Chief Executive Officer at MENA Research Partners (MRP), said: “Most of this growth is expected to come from key geographies such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are giving high priority to SMEs across many new regulations, policies and initiatives with the aim of boosting their share in the national economy. For example, in its Vision 2030, KSA has set a target to increase the share of SMEs in its GDP from a current 20 to 35 per cent. The UAE, in its Vision 2021, set a target to increase the share of SMEs in its non-oil GDP from a current 60 to 70 per cent.”

For more information, please visit: www.mena-rp.com

latigiD D

Editor’s Note

RUSHIKA BHATIA EDITOR

GETTING FIT FOR THE FUTURE The UAE has the best possible infrastructure for robust and competitive growth. Through the years, the country has evolved to foster entrepreneurship, renew business opportunities and raise standards of quality and productivity. As the backbone of the country’s economy, SMEs have naturally played a pivotal role in enabling this transformation and supporting long-term innovation.

Now, as the country looks to achieve its future objectives is counting down days to Expo 2020, SMEs need to renew their commitment towards competitiveness and innovation. One of the biggest focal points in 2018 would be how SMEs reinvent themselves to stay differentiated in an everevolving global market.

Looking ahead, three areas will be of utmost significance to SMEs and their growth: increasing global competition, rapid technological advancement and widening global markets. And as a pillar of support for SMEs aiming to thrive in the future economy, SME Advisor would like to share a few strategies to buck these trends.

Ensure alignment of existing procedures with new technologies: adopts emerging technologies, it’s possible to get detracted from your core offering. To unlock maximum value from new technologies, ensure that your business strikes the right balance between existing procedures and innovation-driven activities. This will ensure quality and interoperability as well as proper commercialization of emergent technologies.

Partner with other businesses: A recent Microsoft and SurveyMonkey survey revealed that 18.9 per cent of small businesses in the US are looking to partner with fellow small business owners as part of their strategy for 2018. Getting into mutually beneficial agreements with companies in complementary industries can help you leverage each other’s strengths. Think of it as a start-up in an accelerator programme that reaches out to other entrepreneurs to combine skills and create something extraordinary.

Moreover, companies across the world are opting for this partnership model that allows them to raise the profile of their business by extending into a new geographical location as well as learning about new standards.

Equip your workforce with the necessary skills: Workforce development will continue to be a strategic priority for businesses entering into 2018 as well. In fact, this is more important than ever as the skills gap widens due to technological advancement. To stay ahead of the curve, SMEs should partner with higherlearning institutes and incorporate skills-development modules into their workplaces. This is perhaps the most important area moving into the New Year as companies will need to develop the right mindset, knowledge and skillset if they want to excel in the future.

We hope these strategies will prove to useful as your business gets ready to enter 2018.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

Contents

Economist’s view 018/ We now officially live in the Amazon era

2018 debate series 024/ Empathy vs. Artificial intelligence

Industry focus 030/ VAT in the UAE: The freezone update

Infographic of the month 036/ Gearing up for 2018 – a round-up of the predictions, trends and opportunities

018/ WITH RETAIL, JEFF BEZOS HAS A STRATEGY OF RETHINKING HOW STORES OF THE FUTURE WILL BE RATHER THAN COMPLETELY REPLACING THEM WITH DIGITAL STORES.

024/

EMPATHY IS BACK AT THE CENTRE OF HOW WE CONNECT AND COMMUNICATE. IT’S THE BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS WHO WORK TO BUILD AN EMPATHETIC LAYER INTO THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHERS, RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON EFFICIENCY OR THE BOTTOM LINE, WHO ARE SHAPING THE FUTURE. Top change makers 038/ Money Nanny: Making money management simple 044/ Healthigo: Health on-the-go 050/ Melltoo: Mobile marketplace 056/ Sarwa: For the financially sound 062/ GLEAC: Bridging the gap between education and work

Organisation & structure 068/ Getting smart about liquidation

Stars of Business Leadership Awards 074/ Meet this year’s esteemed winners

The rise and rise of Amazon. Here’s the SME Advisor take on it.

18 38

This young entrepreneur has plans to take on the world with her new money management solution. Find out about her proposition here.

24 Our expert tackles one of the biggest ongoing debates in our new 2018 series. Empathy vs. AI - can they co-exist?

30

Continuing our ongoing series of VAT related updates, here’s the latest on businesses operating within freezones.

A business concept that is stirring up the finance landscape by targeting millennials and giving them a headstart into the world of investments.

44 In an overcrowded app market, this business is building a competitive edge by introducing features that are fresh, customer-focused and extremely intuitive. Can it set itself apart?

56

C O N T E N T C U R ATO R S 016

CONTENT CURATORS

““

Presenting this month’s portfolio of industry specialists and thought leaders, who played a critical role in producing the feature content of our magazine and ensuring that we were more topical than ever.

SAMY EL SHEIKH ASSOCIATE, SMELAW.COM

““ RANA KALIOUBY CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, AFFECTIVA

SME ADVISOR

In venture capital deals, the Liquidation Preference functions as a protection to the investors, granting them the right to get paid first when a liquidation event occurs.

Beyond ensuring that people everywhere have access to mental health, virtual digital assistants can act as learning companions, using their insight into what motivates and inspires you, to help you study and learn.

C O N T E N T C U R ATO R S 017

““ BILL ANDERSON PARTNER, ARGENT GULF CONSULTING

Depending on the size and complexity of your business, you will need to perform a detailed due diligence review and identification of risk within your company so that a bespoke VAT solution can be designed and implemented in your business.

““ SHARENE LEE CO-FOUNDER, MELLTOO

Peer2peer marketplaces like Melltoo will become dominant in the online space because consumers are active participants on the platform. They aren’t simply buying what is shown to them, but are actively shaping the types of inventory available and customising their experience in the marketplace.

““ MARK CHAHWAN CO-FOUNDER, SARWA

Changing the state of the wealth management industry in a region requires a lot of collaboration with multiple players.

Collaboration between the regulator, technology providers, banks and early customers is key to marry innovation with consumer protection.

SME ADVISOR

economist ’ s view 018

We now officially live in the Amazon era

As we bid adieu to 2017, we’re caught up in the year-end ritual of reflections, assessments, predictions and highlights. But this year, we’re not focusing on WHAT defined 2017, we’re taking a slightly unconventional route to look at WHO defined 2017. The answer? It’s the one company we can’t seem to get enough of: Amazon.

SME ADVISOR

economist ’ s view 019

SME ADVISOR

economist ’ s view 020

EDITOR’S PICKS 01. What Amazon has done in the last decade has quite simply introduced a new wave of doing business and is still unfolding how business will be done in the future.

02. At a time when businesses are pulling back, Amazon has expanded into new markets such as India, South East Asia, Australia and the Middle East and hired over 150,000 employees this year.

E

very decade has its defining factor, from business and politics to economic shake-ups and natural phenomenon, there’s always that ONE thing that will come to overshadow everything else that’s happened. In my opinion, this decade belongs to Amazon. While the company has been touted as the next big thing for several reasons, what’s particularly interesting to me is the fact it’s not just pushing the limits of its own ambitions, it’s also pushing everyone else to innovate to keep up pace. What Amazon has done in the last decade has quite simply introduced a new wave of doing business and is still unfolding how business will be done in the future.

The myriad of reasons for Amazon’s dominant market position I mentioned earlier, let’s take a closer look at them now.

Going against the tide At a time when retailers struggle to keep afloat, Amazon acquired retailer Whole Foods for US$13.7 billion. At a time when businesses are pulling back, Amazon has expanded into new markets such as India, South East Asia, Australia and the Middle East and hired over 150,000 employees this year. Today, the company has a staggering workforce of 541,900 people, according to estimates by statista on Business Insider. So, how exactly did an online book-selling platform become one of the world’s most valued businesses with an estimated valuation of US$458

SME ADVISOR

economist ’ s view 022

““

ith retail, Jeff W Bezos has a strategy of rethinking how stores of the future will be rather than completely replacing them with digital stores.

AMZN stock is up about over the past 5 years.

billion. And where exactly along the way did other businesses lose sight? All evidence points to the company’s CEO (and master planner) Jeff Bezos. His unique management style of betting on big risks underpins Amazon’s success (and maybe some failures). His vision to lead the company towards new horizons can be traced back to as early as 1997 when he said to his investors: “We will make bold rather than timid investment decisions when we see a sufficient probability of gaining market leadership advantages. Some of 360% these investments will pay off, others will not, and we will have learned another valuable lesson in either case.”

Amazon’s online store sales grew 22% in Q3 2017.

(Source: Seekingalpha.com)

Amazon accounts for 31% of all e-commerce purchases in US, according to a Morgan Stanley report.

SME ADVISOR

Strategy of reinventing, not replacing With retail, Jeff Bezos has a strategy of rethinking how stores of the future will be rather than completely replacing them with digital stores.

That’s exactly why when everyone’s shutting doors on brick and mortar, Amazon is willing to open new ones.

Jack of all trades, master of none?

Whether its physical retail, e-commerce, cloud or even artificial intelligence, it’s hard to ignore the progress Amazon is making.

On the surface, it may seem like Amazon has its hands full with its many ventures.

And, with the success it’s enjoying across all its verticals, it can do no wrong. But what Amazon has succeeded in doing is ‘getting there first’. By always staying one step ahead of competition, it forces other companies to play catch-up, ultimately gaining the first-mover advantage.

Focusing on the future For those that believe Amazon’s core focus is retail, they’re mistaken. Amazon’s core focus is – and has been for quite some time now – disruption. And, the company does disruption well. Bearing this in mind, the influence that the giant will continue to have on the way business is done will be significant, but that doesn’t necessarily define the future of all businesses. Amazon has set the tone with its disruptive ways and has taught us one lesson: the future is what we make of it. And it is up to you, not Amazon, to define that future for your business.

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EMPATHY VS. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE In the race to master technology, are companies leaving behind fundamental values? Or, is it the case that AI can help strike the right balance when it comes to empathy within a business? In our new debate series, Rana Kaliouby, CEO and Co-founder, Affectiva, weighs both sides of the coin.

RANA KALIOUBY CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, AFFECTIVA

SME ADVISOR

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SME ADVISOR

2 0 1 8 - D ebate S eries 026

EDITOR’S PICKS 01. Beyond ensuring that people everywhere have access to mental health, virtual digital assistants can act as learning companions, using their insight into what motivates and inspires you, to help you study and learn.

02. In 2030, artificial emotional intelligence has transformed not only the way we interact with technology, but more importantly how we, as humans, interact with one another.

SME ADVISOR

I

t’s the year 2030. Artificial Intelligence has become mainstream. It’s cognitively smart, capable of computing complex tasks and even learning on its own. It is also emotionally intelligent, aware of our most nuanced mental, social and emotional states, and intimately familiar with our moods and preferences.

Our devices, our vehicles, our connected home devices and smart wearables all have an embedded emotion chip that senses our moods through our voices and gestures.

We now interact with technology the way we interact with one another: through conversation, perception and emotion.

Contrary to what AI skeptics once predicted, all this emotion-enabled AI has increased our humanity and empathy for each other. And no, we’re not all out of jobs. In fact, new industries have sprung up. There’s more work to be done now than ever; more problems to solve.

Take my daughter for example: Jana has just turned 30, she is a partner at Nemit, a social impact business that leverages the power of empathetic AI to bring equal access to education and healthcare to people around the world. Nemit employs 1,500 people in 58 countries. The company applies Emotion AI, mining people’s emotional data profiles to personalize educational experiences and to track people’s mental and emotional well-being, preventing health crises before they happen.

These days, Jana lives in London. In fact, she just landed in Heathrow on a redeye. Going by a variety of visual and vocal cues, her virtual assistant Zee senses she is exhausted. Zee has known Jana since she was a teenager, and today follows Jana everywhere, running across Jana’s various devices with the full context of her daily activities, moods and memories. Zee suggests that Jana’s schedule for the day is too

2 0 1 8 - D ebate S eries 027

hectic and offers to move some meetings off of her calendar. Zee also checks in with my virtual assistant to let me know my daughter landed just fine.

Zee also knows to keep that appointment with Liam, Jana’s longtime school friend and Head of Global Operations for Nemit. Being on the autism spectrum, Liam didn’t always have it easy. High school was a real struggle as he found social interactions taxing. Smart as he was, he was often lonely, even bullied, due to his lack of social aptitude. But now he wears emotion-aware glasses, which augment his social and emotional literacy, translating people’s facial and vocal expressions to numbers and probability scores.

Empathy is at the heart of Jana’s business.

The company applies the latest developments in Emotion AI to measure and drive empathy across her team and partners worldwide. A dashboard keeps track of the emotional pulse

of her team, flagging that anxiety levels are raised among the Jordan team, way above their baseline. Zee is on it, scheduling a trip to Amman ASAP. Beyond ensuring that people everywhere have access to mental health, virtual digital assistants can act as learning companions, using their insight into what motivates and inspires you, to help you study and learn. In this way, AI could be used to level the playing field in education and help narrow socioeconomic gaps around the world.

But where there’s gain, there’s also disruption: AI has automated a lot of tasks, resulting in the elimination of some jobs. But there are also new jobs: engineers who train, evaluate and operate these AI systems. Truck drivers, who once feared they’d be put out of a job by the new technology, now each

operate 100 self-driving trucks from the comfort of their living rooms. New types of consulting firms now exist, many offering training courses on how to work alongside robots. There are new opportunities for AI ethicists and social justice advocates, in a society that cares whether AI is deployed in ethical ways.

In 2030, artificial emotional intelligence has transformed not only the way we interact with technology, but more importantly how we, as humans, interact with one another. Empathy is back at the centre of how we connect and communicate. Indeed, it’s the businesses and individuals who work to build an empathetic layer into their interactions with others, rather than focusing on efficiency or the bottom line, who are shaping the future.

SME ADVISOR

I ndustry focus 030

SME ADVISOR

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VAT IN THE UAE: THE FREEZONE UPDATE Bill Anderson of Argent Gulf Consulting shares the implications for companies operating within freezones in this monthly VAT-dedicated column…

SME ADVISOR

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EDITOR’S PICKS 01. One of the outcomes of this new transparent operating environment is that many firms will now be submitting their financial information to the authorities and complying with international accounting standards.

02. For family businesses, it will bring the opportunity of better succession planning.

Executive Regulations The final VAT legislation, the Executive Regulations, has been published and all the uncertainty has been cleared up. One of the specific areas covered in the Executive Regulations is the area of freezones.

Freezones are one of “designated areas” that are essentially the “fenced” areas that have security and customs controls in place that manage the entry and exit of people and goods to and from the area. It was highly anticipated that the fenced freezones would fall outside the scope of VAT and that the unfenced freezone would come into scope of VAT. However, it is quite clear now that all free zones will be directly impacted by VAT. Freezone companies are now treated as follows: ϭϭ Non-designated zone companies will be treated the same as any onshore company. ϭϭ Designated zone companies will for the most part also be in scope for VAT except for transactions between designated zones.

This was a surprise to many who operate in the freezone areas and particularly those who operate in the designated or fenced freezone areas.

So, what does this mean for companies?

This means that companies that up to now have been hoping to avoid VAT have been awakened to the complexities of VAT and will now need to very quickly get their house in order. Here’s what you need to do: Step 1: Get VAT registered immediately.

BILL ANDERSON PARTNER, ARGENT GULF CONSULTING

SME ADVISOR

ϭϭ This is not a particularly difficult

process to complete, but you will need to take the time to put all the various documentation together to allow you to get registered properly. You will also need to get some Arabic translation done.

Step 2: Get a VAT compliant solution in place before December 31, 2017. ϭϭ This is the difficult part of the plan.

Depending on the size and complexity of your business, you will to perform a detailed due diligence review and identification of risk within your company so that a bespoke VAT solution can be designed and implemented in your business. ϭϭ This review will look at the nine key areas that may be impacted by VAT including Legal, Supply Chain, IT, HR, Finance, Procurement, Strategy, Projects and Company Structure. ϭϭ Ultimately, this VAT compliance solution needs to satisfy the Federal Tax Authority requirements for the forthcoming launch of VAT in the UAE. Step 3: Implement a VAT compliant accounting system before December 31, 2017

ϭϭ This involves designing and

implementing an accounting system which is VAT compliant and is capable of report turnover by Emirate. The set up and testing must be done before your company goes live with VAT in January 2018 and failure to do so will result in potentially large penalties ranging from AED10,000 to AED50,000.

It is vitally important that your business gets this work done by a bona fide VAT qualified and experienced expert. How do you know if your adviser is an expert in VAT? Ask some questions: • Where did you get your VAT experience?

• Have you worked as a VAT expert in Europe or South Africa?

• Have you implemented VAT or just processed VAT invoices?

• What exactly was your role?

I ndustry focus 033

Freezones Vat Impact Matrix Free Zones --VAT Matrix Goods

Services

Free Zone Type

ND to D

D to ND

D to D

Consumed in DZ

Designated Zone

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

ZR - 0%

SR - 5%

ZR - 0%

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

ZR - 0%

Non - Designated Zone

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

ZR - 0%

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

SR - 5%

ZR - 0%

Key :

Export

ND to D

D to ND

D to D

Export

ND - Non Designated Zone D - Designated zone

SR - Standard Rated : 5% ZR - Zero Rated : 0%

Unfortunately, many of the so-called VAT experts have never actually worked in a VAT implementation project or even a VAT environment. There is a cost in getting VAT compliant, but even greater is the opportunity cost of not getting VAT compliant including fines, penalties, suspension of trading and even jail.

Benefits: What are they?

If you get your business VAT compliant and implement the right VAT complaint accounting system then you will reap the rewards of having better information and financial management systems in place which will lead to better and quicker decisions, more information on the dynamics of your company, faster invoices and better cash management. These improvements will allow your company to grow quicker and make you more competitive than you peers.

If your business is more systemised it will be easier to manage and ultimately easier to sell to an interested third party.

Funding and credit quality In an environment where it is difficult to acquire funding or credit from investors or banks, having a sound financial accounting system in place will make it easier to show potential investors or lenders that you are a good operator and as such present a lower risk to them and their investment. This will in turn secure better rates and improve your credit scoring.

SME ADVISOR

I ndustry focus 034

““

Depending on the size and complexity of your business, you will to perform a detailed due diligence review and identification of risk within your company so that a bespoke VAT solution can be designed and implemented in your business.

Transparency and implications: The good, bad and ugly One of the outcomes of this new transparent operating environment is that for probably the first time ever, many firms will now be submitting their financial information to the authorities and complying with international accounting standards. This will force companies to start looking at how they have set up their company structures and how their trade licences may or may not cover their activities. This will lead to restructuring of companies, which will be a good thing in the overall scheme of things. Companies will be made fit for purpose and many of the redundant structures will be replaced with new, more efficient ones.

There will be a culture of change and openness in an environment where privacy is highly valued however this should lead to better Corporate Governance for many of the companies operating in the region.

For many companies, automated and quicker reporting will highlight operating inefficiencies. This can help flush out unsavoury and fraudulent practices in areas including procurement, finance and operations. This will benefit the owners of business in a big way and will ensure

SME ADVISOR

that the likelihood of fraud and theft is significantly reduced.

While some may moan about the cost, the time and the challenges of this new regime, in most cases this will lead to better, more transparent and more profitable companies. For the UAE, it will lead to more promising opportunities for Foreign Direct Investment as international companies see the rise of a new and more adaptable Emirati business operating environment. It is a sign of the evolution of the UAE business model.

For family businesses, it will bring the opportunity of better succession planning without all the usual drudgery, with the financials being managed by the accounting systems and more use of dynamic dashboards and exception reports being delivered daily to the mobile phones of the CEOs and CFOs. This will help the younger generation to step into the shoes of the previous generation in a more structured and integrated manner than was previously possible. As we know the younger generation loves technology and spend hours looking in to their phone screens but now instead of snapchatting they’ll be checking the latest numbers and sales figures of their family businesses.

036

GEARING UP FOR

A R O U N D - U P O F T H E P R E D I C T I O N S, T R E N D S A N D O P PO RT U N I T I E S

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037

FORECAST FOR THE FUTURE

4%

7.4%

6.5%

is the global GDP forecast for 2018 as estimated by Goldman Sachs.

is the projected growth for the Indian economy.

is the projected growth for China’s economy

US$1 bn

20%

60%

is the estimated amount of business value that will be derived from the use of blockchain-based cryptocurrencies.

of CEOs will risk their businesses by ignoring the urgency of digital transformation.

and more business executives report being behind in terms of digital transformation.

50%+

33%

US$100 bn

of enterprises will spend on bots and chatbots over mobile app development in attempt to reshape customer interactions.

of retailers understand – and are prepared for – intelligent agents and their impact on the sector.

is the estimated value that the global mobile health market is poised to reach by 2022.

20%+

37.6%

37%

of companies would have operationalised blockchain by 2020 according to IDC Health Insights.

of US-based SMEs have expressed interest to launch new products and services in 2018.

of small businesses in the US consider staying ahead of changes as their biggest challenge in the next one year.

IDC HEALTH INSIGHTS, MICROSOFT STORE AND SURVEYMONKEY SURVEY SME ADVISOR

Top C hange makers 038

Making money management simple Young entrepreneur Nadya Tereshina is challenging conventional personal finance apps with her functional, lifestyle-focused, solution. We explore her foray into the world of entrepreneurship.

SME ADVISOR

Top C hange makers 039

SME ADVISOR

Top C hange makers 040

EDITOR’S PICKS 01. Nadya knows her challenge, but the best part of starting at the bottom is that the only way is up!

02. Having crossed these major milestones, the entrepreneur now firmly has her eyes set on her next big moment: the beta version launch before the end of the year.

Established: March, 2017

Employees: 06

Unique Selling Point: Introducing Money Nanny – your conscious, your friend, your guide.

SME ADVISOR

M

oney Nanny is a platform that offers the best combination of finance and lifestyle features allowing users to keep track of their finances, savings and expenses. Think of it as more than just a budget controller because it uses machine learning to help users make better decisions.

As is the case with most entrepreneurs, Nadya’s concept was born out of a personal experience. It was at a time when she was looking for a tool that would help her with her own personal finances. While the tools available were many, none of them offered the right mix of features. Nadya asked the question: “Why do finance apps have to be so mechanic and soulless?” In that moment, she decided to take up the challenge of creating a personal finance app that would include lifestyle features to create a more humanised customer experience.

With a Master’s Degree in Journalism and a 13-year stint in advertising as a TV producer, Nadya had little experience in the field, so she fell back on her intuition and focused solely on creating a quality application. “When I ventured out to start Money Nanny, I didn’t know much about the industry. It was very tough initially.

On one hand, I was trying to build the right infrastructure for my product and on the other hand, I was testing the solution and focusing on its launch. It was a lot of juggling, but in the end, it all works out,” she shares.

Leveraging her strengths In the year since Money Nanny’s inception, the team has grown from two members to six. It’s now also part of the prestigious in5 accelerator and has managed to get a small pre-seed amount

““

In the year since Money Nanny’s inception, the team has grown from two members to six.

from a private investor. That’s a lot of boxes ticked for a small start-up.

“Within a short period of time, we’ve combatted several challenges of getting access to data, collaborating with the banks, learning how to position our solution (we’ve already restructured it once now) and getting an investor on board. We also had to change the UX completely, as it turned out that what we thought would be clear and easy to navigate wasn’t really the case. It’s learning curves like these that bring us a step closer to success,” remarks Nadya.

Having crossed these major milestones, the entrepreneur now firmly has her eyes set on her next big moment: the beta version launch before the end of the year.

Top C hange makers 041

SME ADVISOR

Top C hange makers 042

““

While Nadya has a lot of positives to draw inspiration from, what really keeps her going is competition.

“We are looking to launch before the end of 2017 and it’s a really exciting moment.

We’ve come so far and being able to finally unveil our new solution is a testament to all the hard work we’ve put in. We estimate to start generating some minor revenues (meaning above zero) within a year from launch,” she beams.

NADYA TERESHINA FOUNDER, MONEY NANNY

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A breath of fresh air in the crowded finance landscape Nadya knows her challenge, but the best part of starting at the bottom is that the only way is up! She is looking to expand into APAC as she is on her mission to help people get rid of personal finance stress. “APAC would be our primary focus due to the infrastructure it offers and its market potential. We might also consider cooperation with remittance platforms and reward points payment gates.”

She’s also preparing herself for the digitalisation of the banking system, a trend she predicts will disrupt the industry in the foreseeable future.

“I see digitalisation of the banking system upon us. We will see a shift from branches to fully digital banks.”

While Nadya has a lot of positives to draw inspiration from, what really keeps her going is competition. “We always get asked the question: how will you set yourself apart from the more established apps out there? My answer is simple: by keeping our solution user-friendly and easy-to-use. I’m here on a mission and want to prove that logging income and expenses CAN be fun!” she laughs. “But, I’ll also say this. It’s harder than you think, you will hear tons of ‘no’, be ready for that, lower expectations, pull up your sleeves and get to work.”

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Health on-the-go When we met Joseph Debs and Anirudh Gupta of Healthigo, the first reaction was “Finally, a health solution that does more than just basic alerts and bookings”. As we dug deeper into their proposition, it was clear that their solution was far superior to anyone else in the market. But, do they have a plan to capitalise on their product? We take a sneak peek into the diary of the entrepreneurial duo to discover how they are navigating life as a start-up…

EDITOR’S PICKS 01. Joseph Debs grew up in Lebanon and graduated with a BA in Business Administration & Finance from the American University of Beirut.

02. Healthigo is based in Dubai, UAE with a technology centre in India.

03. The entrepreneurs recommend watching out for Patient Engagement, Integrated Care and Preventive care segments.

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ealthigo is a home-grown start-up that is designed for markets like the GCC and Africa with its vast expatriate population. Every action on Healthigo is delivered considering patients and care seekers as it’s central beneficiary.

With its unique approach, the app is helping transform healthcare discovery and engagement experiences. “We go beyond regular appointment bookings and address key pain points related to patients, family and community. From intelligent and quick search to personal health management for self and family, personalised health news and intuitive reminders and alerts, we enable users to engage and move from responsive to preventive healthcare. We believe Healthigo, as a patient-focused platform, will improve the community’s access to healthcare, drive productive lifestyles and in the future also fuel medical tourism,” explains Joseph Debs.

Identifying the problem Joseph looks back to the time when work and family visits took him to locations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the USA. In the time that he spent away from home, he realised how difficult it was to find the right doctor, access his medical records, find medical institutions that were covered by his insurance and simply stay connected to quality healthcare.

“Maintaining engagement with the healthcare community and getting any sort of consistent service was proving to be quite difficult. Of course, this also concerned me because I wanted to ensure that my family had easy access to accurate and timely health-related information. Many others from my family and friends circle echoed these sentiments. This is when the thought of doing something to help solve these problems arose. Soon after, I met fellow entrepreneur Anirudh Gupta, hailing

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From two founders just 11 months back, today Healthigo is a team of 22 and growing.

Established: November 2016 Employees: 22 Unique selling point: Healthigo, as a patient-focused platform, will improve the community’s access to healthcare, drive productive lifestyles and fuel medical tourism.

Challenge takeaway: Build a dedicated team, trust them to deliver their best.

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from a technology applications background who shared a similar passion, and we started working on our platform Healthigo,” reminisces Joseph.

Gathering the data and building the product Joseph and Anirudh spent a good four months on market research and conceptualisation. Speaking of the time and effort they spent on gaining market intelligence, Joseph says: “We are firm believers in the intelligent assimilation, analysis and usage of data. This reflected into our research across major cities in GCC, Levant and Africa. From the data arose the actual needs of individuals and communities and it has helped shape our product and services strategy. Development

means three things to us – quality, security and timeliness – each on its own or without any of the other loses its true meaning.

From technical project management and team collaboration to client facing CRM tools, each of our team members is trained and helped in usage optimisation.

This consciousness and adherence to core processes reflect in our products and services.” Thereafter, production has been in the works for the last seven months and they are looking to launch the platform with these capabilities before the end of 2017.

Securing the funding The duo started off with a self-funded seed capital of US$ 100,000 and maintained a bootstrapping approach to operations. They secured an angel funding of US$ 700,000

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Joseph and Anirudh spent a good four months on market research and conceptualisation.

from two marquee investors in the region.

The funds are being judiciously utilised to grow the technology and business teams and to achieve quick market penetration.

“We propose to tap VC funding in early 2018 to raise Series A funding of US$ 5 million to augment product development and market penetration initiatives. Our vision is to build value across the healthcare discovery ecosystem, centred around patients. While we have firm multi-layered revenue models, we are focused on growing our healthcare provider network and consumer user base,” quips Joseph.

Tackling the challenges Challenges have taught Joseph and Anirudh a better way of doing business. They share their candid experience: “From technology

development to key staffing, we have seen and overcome several challenges. Breaking down issues into smaller parts and focusing on each helps us to address them in the best manner. We believe one of the major challenges start-ups face is the ability to build good teams and scale effectively.

From decisions like outsource development or to build your own team, to marketing and sales models; crucial decisions that affect the success of start-ups need to be addressed. In the longer run, building a great team that is dedicated, focused and available, combined with the ability to work with cross-location cross-cultural personnel, and the financial acumen of controlling costs is key to success. We have been there, with the intention of controlling costs we depended on technology partners to deliver

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With its unique approach, Healthigo is helping transform healthcare discovery and engagement experiences.

a quality product within reasonable time.

Unfortunately, this did not happen and on seeing the signs of this we quickly resorted to building our own team, and this has been a good decision for us.”

Preparing for competition and industry trends “Like all markets globally, competition abounds and is spurred on by the success of another. Too much competition leading to market saturation and price wars can be crippling, but on the other hand, competition, if recognised and dealt with early, can spur quick market adjustments and turnarounds,” says Joseph pragmatically. He also foresees more niche players addressing specific health segments as a definite development. He points out that the most important shift will come with a move from responsive to preventive healthcare, with a much more dynamic approach to patient engagement allowing for personalised care. The entrepreneurs recommend watching out for Patient Engagement, Integrated Care and Preventive care segments.

JOSEPH DEBS CO - FOUNDER, HEALTHIGO

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Celebrating the milestones and gearing up for the future From two founders just 11 months back, today Healthigo is a team of 22 and growing.

Soon, the company will begin operation in GCC countries followed by LEVANT and Africa. So, there’s a lot to celebrate at the

Healthigo HQ! Joseph proudly adds: “We are the region’s largest healthcare discovery platform with over 90 per cent providers listed and searchable over the web and mobile app. But, there’s much left to do like building cross-border healthcare discovery capabilities. 2018 will see a rollout of features which will weave the healthcare ecosystem together, forging partnerships and offering even greater patient and care seeker value. Geographical expansion in key MENA regions will commence in the second half of 2018. We have a host of deployable feature sets coming up. From IoT, Teletech, to at home services, we will work with healthcare providers to reach out to and better manage those who matter most – patients and care seekers.”

Reflecting on lessons learnt The hardened entrepreneur has a long way ahead of him, but believes he’s already wiser with the lessons he has learnt so far.

Sharing a few tips, he advises: “Turning an idea into a successful start-up and business requires multiple alignments, but it is surely possible. Above all, keep your eye on what your consumers and market needs are, and build for that. Start small, vet your idea and don’t get intimated by other’s failure/ success stories, rather use their experiences to learn yourself. Build a dedicated team, trust them to deliver their best. Manage funds wisely and raise funds well before you need them.”

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MELLTOO:

MOBILE MARKETPLACE Sharene Lee and Morrad Irsane are rewriting the rulebook on traditional classifieds with their muchacclaimed platform Melltoo.

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EDITOR’S PICKS 01. Peer2peer marketplaces like Melltoo will become dominant in the online space because consumers are active participants on the platform, not simply buying what is shown to them, but actively shaping the types of inventory available and customising their experience in the marketplace.

02. Participatory e-commerce is superseding traditional e-commerce. Consumers don’t just want to buy stuff online anymore, they want to engage with e-commerce platforms to shape their shopping experiences.

Established: March 1, 2014 Employees: 22 Unique selling point: No-meetup classifieds.

Buy and sell second hand without the hassle of meetups.

Challenge takeaway: Knowing what not to do is harder than knowing what to do, so focus on one thing that you can be great at and abandon the rest. .

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he premise is simple: Melltoo, nomeetup classifieds, is a peer2peer marketplace for second-hand things.

Individuals can buy and sell secondhand without the hassle of meetups.

But, it’s only when you take a closer look that you realise that there’s more to the concept than meets the eye. As Sharene puts it: “Melltoo is the best way to unlock the value of things you no longer use, to save the planet by reselling and to give back to social causes through #Resell4aCause.

It is our vision to contribute to responsible consumerism by helping people buy and sell second-hand easily and enjoyably. In addition, our used stuff can be used to do good. We help charities transform in-kind donations into cash for social causes. People can list items they wish to resell for a cause, once sold, we collect and deliver the item and sale proceeds go directly to social causes selected by the seller.”

Sharene and Morrad fully understand that today companies can’t simply compete on existing technologies, they need to differentiate themselves in other ways. And, the duo is doing exactly that. What sets Melltoo apart is that it is focused on having a triple bottom line that contributes to environmental protection, social welfare and profits. “If your e-commerce offering is not highly differentiated, you will fail,” quips Sharene.

“There is a generational shift in consumer sentiment that favours socially responsible businesses like ours. Gen X (practical and financially-conscious) are being replaced by millennials (aspirational and sociallyconscious). This is a social change that has an economic impact. As a social enterprise, we are well-positioned to engage with consumers on this basis and this has changed our branding and communications strategy greatly.”

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If you put customers first, customers will put you first.

Masters of marketplace The success of the platform is evident even as it is in its growth stage. Melltoo has hit $2 million in Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) and has seen 35K transactions completed.

On average, users are spending 18 minutes in-app per day. Revenue is doubling yearon-year. “Growth is primarily organic, through user word of mouth and referrals.

What we are most concerned about is user satisfaction with their experiences; the rapid growth shows that users are happy,” remarks Sharene.

To amplify its growth, founders Morrad and Sharene are currently mostly focused on the team and product. “These are the two elements that determine customer satisfaction. So, we are on building and maintaining a healthy work culture and focused on improving the product based on customer feedback. As a tech company, our product and service are constantly evolving. We continually work on rolling out new features and optimising existing ones. We are not only focused on productivity, but we are much more concerned with continually improving the customer experience. And again, because we are in close contact with our customers through our platform, we let the customer take the lead in our product development. Ultimately, if you

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simultaneously cultivating relationships with investors. If you absolutely need some seed funding to start, seek out incubators and friends and families.”

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Melltoo is focused on having a triple bottom line that contributes to environmental protection, social welfare and profits.

put customers first, customers will put you first,” she adds.

Perhaps it is this focus on customer experience or the company’s ability to efficiently execute its vision that has helped it bypass conventional e-commerce players and attract the attention of leading investors.

Having successfully closed a round of funding in December 2016, it is now eyeing its Series A funding in March 2018. Reflecting on all the effort it has taken to get this far, Sharene shares: “It’s a long game. Start building your networks from Day One. Don’t expect investors to invest at the first meeting, you need to build relationships and credibility over time. Don’t wait for investors to invest before building your product. Today, unless your product requires a lot of R&D and hardware, no investors will give you money to build software. Work on your business and keep growing it while

Taking on the challenges of growth Naturally, with rapid growth comes a raft of operational challenges and Melltoo has dealt with a long list of them since its inception. Building and maintaining longterm relationships has been on top of the list explains Sharene. “Unlike traditional e-commerce, we are asset-light in that we don’t have inventory and we don’t have our own logistics fleet. Having said that, our biggest operational challenge is managing relationships with buyers, sellers and logistics companies. That means getting and providing timely and accurate information so all parties can fulfil their role with minimal friction. The greatest difficulty here is obtaining and dispatching timely information. When information is not efficiently communicated, delays occur and there is friction and customer dissatisfaction. For instance, if a seller changes location and fails to inform us, the courier will make a wasted trip and the pickup will be delayed. Or if the courier fails to inform us of the reason why a pickup or delivery failed, then we do not know to contact the user to rectify the problem. Any delays in collecting and delivering orders impact the user experience and overall customer satisfaction.”

To get around this, Sharene and her team are roping in all stakeholders (buyers, sellers, couriers) to ensure that everyone understands their role. She outlines her strategy: “Sellers need to get their items ready for collection and provide us with accurate location info. Couriers need to respect seller availability and call ahead of time. Buyers need to be ready to receive their items and provide us with accurate location info as

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Any delays in collecting and delivering orders impacts the user experience and overall customer satisfaction.

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well. Fortunately, these are issues we can rectify with more intelligent software, UI/ UX and good onboarding for all parties. A lot more software automation can take place to improve operations and reduce human labour and error.”

The mobile-first, social sharing future As for the future, the entrepreneurial duo has plans for expansion into Egypt in Q1 2018 and into KSA in Q2 2018. Sharene is also optimistic about where the industry is headed when she says: “It’s exciting times for e-commerce start-ups. Participatory e-commerce is superseding traditional

e-commerce. Consumers don’t just want to buy stuff online anymore, they want to engage with e-commerce platforms to shape their shopping experiences. Pure play e-commerce will be absorbed into Omnichannel retail as all offline retailers will inevitably come online while online players will go offline. Peer2peer marketplaces like ours will become dominant in the online space because consumers are active participants on the platform, not simply buying what is shown to them, but actively shaping the types of inventory available and customising their experience in the marketplace.”

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S A R W A

FOR THE FINANCIALLY SOUND Entrepreneur Mark Chahwan is filling an important gap in the market with his solution Sarwa that reaches out to millennials for financial management. Here is an overview of his offer...

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EDITOR’S PICKS 01. Sarwa.co is the first hybrid automated investment platform for young professionals in the Middle East. The platform makes investing simple and affordable by combining proven investment strategies with technology that drives down costs.

02. Mark and Jad know that greater advances will be required to meet the challenges ahead. Bureaucracy and entities not accustomed to working with FinTech are prime hurdles currently holding them back.

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t one point or another, we’ve all faced the dilemma of not knowing where to invest our money or who to trust with our financial management. For years, the finance industry has faced little to no disruption with traditional services being offered to customers as the norm, but now technologies like FinTech are gaining ground. This means that customers are no longer interested in conventional, they are looking for more sophisticated solutions with quick, efficient service. When they ventured out into the world of entrepreneurship, Mark Chahwan and Jad Sayegh’s research reinforced the need for better quality financial tools.

Mark came across this problem quite early on during the time he was working as a financial management consultant himself.

“Before we launched Sarwa.co in 2016, I was a management consultant focusing on financial services and Jad was a software engineer at a high-speed hedge fund. Jad has been a friend since childhood, and we’d discussed launching a venture together multiple times. We witnessed all the progress across a variety of industries in the region, but when it came to wealth management and personal finance, there was a big gap.

It was very expensive, complicated and inaccessible for people to build their wealth and have their money working for them. A lot of our friends and family were building great careers and knew they should be saving.

They had financial goals to save for a home, a dream trip, or family, but didn’t know how to get there. They either didn’t have access to sophisticated financial advice due to high account minimums, or they didn’t have the time or knowledge to invest their money themselves,” he adds reflecting on his days working on the inception of his company.

He dug deeper to find out that not only was there was a dearth of options, but there was also a lack of transparency and trust.

He realised that about 40 per cent of UAE’s population i.e. millennials were lacking a financial champion. Using insights that he collected from this initial market research, he teamed up with his friend Jad to launch Sarwa, which cleverly translates to wealth.

Engineering the perfect solution So, what exactly does Sarwa offer? Sarwa. co is the first hybrid automated investment platform for young professionals in the Middle East. The platform makes investing simple and affordable by combining proven investment strategies with technology that drives down costs. On one hand, users get a personalised investment strategy based on their risk appetite, financial goals and current situation using inbuilt algorithms. On the other hand, they have the option to get

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The entrepreneurs plan to continue testing the limits of their technology and know that every challenge they combat is bringing them one step closer to their dream.

in touch directly with financial advisors to get insights. So, the platform strikes the right balance between human and technology.

“Sarwa.co is a solution to empower people in the region to reach their goals faster with affordable, expert investing.

There’s no reason why people in this region shouldn’t have access to trustworthy digital wealth solutions. We help our clients build their wealth with a personalised, low-cost, diversified portfolio and provide access to ondemand investment experts,” Mark explains.

Celebrating the milestones Sarwa was among the 12 start-ups to participate in the FinTech Hive at DIFC, the region’s first accelerator programme launched by the DIFC in partnership with Accenture. “The FinTech Hive at DIFC accelerator has been the ideal platform for Sarwa.co to take off, with support and mentorship across all areas of the business,” shares Mark.

And, this has just been the first of many milestones Sarwa has achieved. Early November, Sarwa.co became the first FinTech company to receive, in-principle, approval for the Innovation Testing License (ITL) by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA).

This special class of financial services licence allows it to launch and bring to market expert investing for everyone while making it easy to sign-up online and within minutes by leveraging facial recognition technology.

That’s not all. Sarwa has also doubled its team by adding a chief marketing officer as well as a web developer.

But Mark and Jad aren’t ones to rest on their laurels and are already busy looking for funding to further their growth. “We closed a pre-seed in October with Shurooq Investments led by Mahmoud Adi and Shane Shin, and individual investors working primarily in the financial services industry.

We’re deploying this funding to expand the team with expert financial advisors.

Human advice is important for people in

the region, and we want to provide access to an on-demand advisory to answer any questions our customers have with regards to investing or the investment plan our algorithms recommend.”

Mark credits the confidence from investors and his initial success to his business model, which is built uniquely for the Middle East market. He believes it is in line with customers’ values and religious beliefs, whether it’s by having access to on-demand human advice or access to Islamic portfolios.

“Our focus and speed of execution are our biggest strengths. Moreover, we were the earliest stage start-up to get accepted into the DIFC FinTech Hive and graduated with the programme as the first to obtain the Innovation Testing License. We’re building a track-record of execution and delivery on milestones we set out with investors,” he beams with pride.

Putting the best foot forward

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On one hand, users get a personalised investment strategy based on their risk appetite, financial goals and current situation using inbuilt algorithms. On the other hand, they have the option to get in touch directly with financial advisors to get insights.

Established: September 2016 Employees: 04 Unique selling point: Reach your goals faster with expert, affordable investing without the high fees and steep account minimums.

Challenge takeaway: A regulated business takes time to build.

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These recent successes have given the Sarwa team confidence to improve their offering and build on their current platform. “We launched a waitlist with a referral program three weeks ago to engage with our early customers as we prepare for launch. This resulted in 350+ signups of adopters and friends that we’ve made throughout the FinTech Hive accelerator.

The exposure is from social media as well as informal get-togethers such as the FinTech Breakfast Club or Pizza Night, where we share lessons learned on the rules of investing and the importance of starting early.”

He adds: “We’re launching new digital campaigns to gain further visibility and awareness, ultimately growing our customer base. We’ll be working closely with the DFSA to comply with the standards of a top-tier regulator. We’re deploying onfido’s facial recognition technology to allow our customers to get started in investing within minutes and from the comfort of their couch. We’re also using technology and proprietary algorithms to recommend low-cost, diversified portfolios that consider our customers’ age, etc.”

Getting ahead of the tech curve Mark and Jad know that greater advances will be required to meet the challenges ahead. Bureaucracy and entities not accustomed to working with FinTech are prime hurdles currently holding them back.

These challenges are delaying timelines, but the duo is engaging in constant followups, integrating structure and building partnerships to mitigate that. “Changing the state of the wealth management industry in a region requires a lot of collaboration with multiple players. Collaboration from the regulator, technology providers, banks and early customers has been key to marry innovation with consumer protection. We are prepared for the work that needs to be undertaken to achieve this.”

The entrepreneurs plan to continue testing the limits of their technology and know that every challenge they combat is bringing them one step closer to their dream. “Our plan is to become the leading digital financial advisor of the region, starting with the UAE. To achieve this, we will stay as close as possible to our customers by hosting events at the DIFC FinTech Hive to brainstorm with them on all things money related and get their feedback. Expert investing will be extremely accessible and resemble a user journey closer to that of experiences like Airbnb’s,” he quips. “The proven business model of robo-advisory is expected to reach more than US$2 trillion globally, according to research by the consultancy firm AT Kearney. And, that’s one economic development we’re BANKING on!” he laughs.

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BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN EDUCATION AND WORK By adopting mobile technology, GLEAC is helping its users access learning tools seamlessly and efficiently. Sallyann Della Casa, Lead Tree Shaker, Growing Leaders Foundation, spotlights her new education app.

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EDITOR’S PICKS 01. GLEAC launched on Google Play at the end of August and on iOS at the end of September. The app has only been on the market for the last 30 to 60 days but has hit over 300 downloads organically with active use over 30 days at over 25 per cent.

02. Sallyann aims for GLEAC to become a global leader in education technology and position itself as a solution to that can reinvent learning worldwide.

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ost people realise that traditional learning models have become cumbersome and irrelevant as we move into an increasingly digital future that demands a fresh skill-set. To solve this problem, Sallyann developed GLEAC, which is an education technology that helps users hone on skills that will help them in the job marketplace. “Simply put, we are solving the problem of the 21st first century skills gaps happening all around us. A large proportion of the youth and even older adults do not have the skills needed by businesses to compete in the world we live in today. Our patent pending method delivered through an app helps a user to build, measure, visualise and share their 21st century skills. For the firsttime ever a school transcript or a resume can reflect your ability to learn and your complete range of non-cognitive skills.”

GLEAC has three elements: Activities, Grid and Social. Here’s how it works:

• Step One: In 10 minutes per day,

build new habits using deliberate practice. Think of it as going to the gym.

• Step Two: This is where your Established: May 2013

Employees: 40 employees

engagement gets calibrated quantitatively and qualitatively using a unique methodology that is currently patent pending.

• Step Three: Share your report on

your resume, school transcript or social profiles.

Unique selling point: ServiceMarket helps you find and book any service you need at home with the click of a button!

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Adding further, Sallyann remarks: “What we’re essentially doing is enabling people to find someone based on 21st century skills and assess their capability

in modern areas of learning. Moreover, our product can integrate and change how we profile ourselves on LinkedIn, Facebook, employment sites etc.

That’s groundbreaking!”

Building the product GLEAC launched on Google Play in the end of August and on iOS in the end of August. The app has only been on the market for the last 30 to 60 days, but has hit over 300 downloads organically with active use over 30 days at over 25 per cent. “We are growing at over 100 per cent per month and are measuring our growth with Firebase. We have pilots running in schools across entire grades,” she beams proudly.

The innovative concept is also gaining traction beyond the realm of education.

“HR companies and consultants who have viewed our product are interested in licensing it and our algorithms to push their own learning and development agenda so this is a new business model that opened to us.”

One of the biggest challenges the app currently faces, however, is building its network of subject matter experts and tutors. “Subject matter talent in the region in areas of neuroscience, psychology, data science etc. is proving to be a challenge.

This is something we look to invest in when we do go for funding. We would like to bulk up on subject matter experts, data scientists and an in-house product/bus development team. Our pending patent on a method to completely transform the education and employment sector is a key driver for an investor to invest with us.”

Sallyann explains that her team is working all over the world virtually, but this doesn’t pose too much of a threat to her business as she has significant experience running other businesses with

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One of the biggest challenges the app currently faces, however, is building its network of subject matter experts and tutors.

virtual teams. “Not everyone has to be sitting in the same office in one location to get the job done,” she says confidently.

Now, she’s focusing her energy on growth, engagement and perfecting your product. “We are first to market on this product so we have every opportunity to stand out by staying on the cutting edge of what is happening in transforming education to ensure the skills gap is closed. This means perfecting the product based on User engagement and feedback. Users drive your product design and development.”

Shaping the future of education When it comes to the education sector, Sallyann believes we are just scratching

the surface. She foresees a lot more Edutech start-ups entering this space since OECD and every major global organisation is focused on bridging the skills gap. “The skills and what we share on resumes, school transcripts and what we learn in school as we know it today will be entirely different, or at least so I hope!”

In terms of her own product, Sallyann aims for GLEAC to become a global leader in education technology and position itself as a solution to that can reinvent learning worldwide. Speaking of her ambitious plans, she adds: “We launch internationally in January 2018. The plan of action is simple: to work on growth and engagement as well as seek feedback on

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A large proportion of the youth and even older adults do not have the skills needed by businesses to compete in the world we live in today.

how we can deliver and solve the problem better for stakeholders.”

She reflects on a piece of advice that she implemented during her inception days and something that she would like to share with budding entrepreneurs: “Don’t wait for perfection to get started. You want to be embarrassed by the first version of a product you put out there. Keep perfecting and prototyping based on your customer feedback. Stop watching on the sidelines and get into the game.”

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GETTING SMART ABOUT LIQUIDATION At a time when businesses pause and reflect on how far they’ve come, liquidation is probably one of the options on the table.

Samy ElSheikh outlines the various aspects to bear in mind and explains why the process doesn’t have to be painful.

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EDITOR’S PICKS 01. A liquidation is the procedure according to which a company dissolve its business.

02. The Liquidation Preference term is frequently used in fundraising rounds.

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he Liquidation Preference term is frequently used in fundraising rounds.

It is a major economic term to be negotiated in the term sheet between the founders and the investors, and is arguable the preference of the preferred shares.

Definition of Liquidation A liquidation is the procedure according to which a company dissolves its business.

Prior to such resolution, the company goes through several steps with the aim of settling all its financial obligations to third parties and distributing any excess assets to the shareholders. Such liquidation occurs with a trigger, which is commonly named a “Liquidation Event” Liquidation Events usually include:

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In venture capital deals, the Liquidation Preference functions as a protection to the investors, granting them the right to get paid first when a liquidation event occurs.

ϭϭ A merger or consolidation (other than one in which shareholders of the company own a majority by voting power of the shares of the surviving or acquiring company).

ϭϭ Sale, transfer of all or substantially all the assets of the company.

Liquidation Preference In Venture Capital (“VC”) deals, the Liquidation Preference functions as a protection to the investors, granting them the right to get paid first when a Liquidation Event occurs. There are two types of Liquidation Preference:

ϭϭ Participating “Double Dip” ϭϭ Non-participating The Participating Liquidation Preference “Double Dip” In the Liquidation Preference with Participation, the preferred shareholders (ex. the investors) are eligible to receive the

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Original Subscription Price (The Original Subscription Price is the price of each share issued to the shareholder. It differs based on valuation.) in addition to accrued dividends plus declared and unpaid dividends. Thereafter, the preferred shareholders will participate along with the ordinary shareholders (ex. the founders) on a pro rata basis in the distribution of the remaining assets. In effect, the preferred shareholder receives its invested amount first, the shares in whatever is left, if any.

The Non-Participating Liquidation Preference In Liquidation Preference with NonParticipating, the preferred shareholder will only be eligible to receive the Original

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liquidation preference. For a better understating of this term, let’s assume the following:

• The investor invests US$ 1,000,000

in a company and receive preferred shares.

• The pre-money valuation of the company is US$ 3,000,000.

• The post-money valuation of

the company is US$ 4,000,000 (investment amount + pre-money valuation).

• This means that the investor will have 25 per cent of the company’s share capital (investment amount divided by the post-money valuation of the company).

Looking at case studies

Subscription Price in addition to the accrued dividends plus declared and unpaid dividends. But this does not mean that the shareholder does not participate in the upside, because fundamental to such election is the preferred shareholders right to convert their shares to ordinary/ common shares at any time. Therefore, if the liquidated assets after the satisfaction of third party obligations are equal to or less that the Original Subscription Price, the preferred shareholder will not convert, and will receive all the liquidated assets.

If, however, the liquidated assets less obligations are more than the Original Subscription Price (i.e. the company was

sold for a profit), the preferred shareholders will convert their shares to ordinary shares and receive Pro-rata a portion of such assets.

There are two (2) more commercial terms that are commonly used in the Liquidation Preference and frequently negotiated between the founders and the investors and they are as follows: ϭϭ The Multiple ϭϭ The Cap The Multiple In the Multiple, the preferred shareholders shall have the right to a multiple of the Original Subscription Price. This can be added to a participating or non-participating

Case 1: The parties agree to a 2x Participating Liquidation Preference.

In this case, the investor will have the right to receive US$ 2,000,000 (the investment amount x2) in addition to the accrued dividends plus declared and unpaid dividends, thereafter the investor will have the right to participate along with the ordinary shareholders (usually the founders) on a pro rata basis in the distribution of the remaining assets. So, if the Company had sold its assets and had US$ 10,000,000 to distribute to the shareholders, the investor will receive US$ 4,000,000 (2x investment amount + 25 per cent of interest). If the Company had US$ 4,000,000 to distribute to the shareholders, the investor will receive US$ 2,500,000. If the Company had US$ 2,000,000 to distribute, the investors will take it all.

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““

The Liquidation Preference is a major term in VC investments, and we highly advise all the founders to fully understand it and to appoint a counsel to negotiate it on their behalf.

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Case 2: The parties agree on a 2x nonparticipating Liquidation Preference.

In this case, the investor will have the right to obtain US$ 2,000,000 (the investment amount x2) plus in addition to the accrued dividends plus declared and unpaid dividends without participating with the ordinary shareholders in the distribution of the remain assets.

Otherwise, they can elect to convert their preferred shares to ordinary shares, forgoe the liquidation preference and participate pro-rate. If the Company sold its assets and had US$ 10,000,000 to distribute to the shareholders, the investor can elect between remaining preferred shares and receiving US$ 2,000,000, or convert and receive US$ 2,500,000 (25 per cent of US$ 10,000,000) of course they will convert. If the Company had US$ 4,000,000 to distribute, the investor will keep its preferred shares and receive US$ 2,000,000.

The Cap The Cap is designed to protect the founders and keep a balance between all the shareholders by putting a ceiling on how much the investor can receive.

Following the above example, the below demonstrates the use of the Cap in a Liquidation Preference clause.

up to US$ 3,000,000. However, their participation shall not result an amount more than US$ 3,000,000 (the investment amount x3).

If the Company sold its assets and had US$ 10,000,000 to distribute, the investor will receive US$ 4,000,000 as the example before. But if had US$ 20,000,000 to distribute, the investor will receive US$ 5,000,000, only (2x investment amount + 25 per cent of the rest with a cap of 3x investment amount). Without the cap, the investor would have received US$ 6,500,000.

Case 1: The parties agree on a 2x Participating Liquidation Preference with a 3x Cap. In this case, the investor will have the right to obtain US$ 2,000,000 (the investment amount x2) in addition to the accrued dividends plus declared and unpaid dividends. Thereafter, will have the right to participate along with the ordinary shareholders on a pro rata basis in the distribution of the remain assets

Conclusion The Liquidation Preference is a major term in VC investments, and we highly advise all the founders to fully understand it and to appoint a counsel to negotiate it on their behalf. The Liquidation is not necessarily a disaster or unfair for the company, but if not negotiated, it can remove the incentive of the founders to sell early, and cling on to a higher valuation.

S TA R S O F B U S I N E SS LEADERSHIP AWARDS 2017

For over a decade now, we’ve been focusing on recognising companies and entities for their growth, achievements, aspirations and position in the market. We’ve honoured some fabulous, well-merited institutions and received much appreciation.

We took a slightly different route in 2017. We pledged this year to those who dedicated their entire livelihood to that one passion, one dream, one ambition. We awarded those visionaries, who use their leadership skills and innovative thinking to drive an entire team forward with them.

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When passion meets power The Late Mr. BK Menon and Mrs. Omana Menon are truly a power couple perfecting the combination of passion, profit and purpose. Meet 2017’s Lifetime Achievement Award honourees.

In the many years of organising Stars of Business Awards, we’ve seen heroes in the business landscape that we celebrate every day; we hear about their accomplishments and get inspired by their achievements.

But, we’ve never really scratched the surface to reach a small segment of heroes that operates behind-the-scenes. They are the ones that continue making an impact without ever looking for recognition or instant gratification. They leave a legacy behind without even knowing it. They seek happiness in the happiness of those they help and relish in the joy of those around them. Even though these types of heroes make up a very minute part of our society, the impact they create truly cannot be measured.

The Late BK Menon and his wife Omana Menon are two such exemplars that have undertaken work that can’t be summarised in numbers or figures. The number of people that consider them as their mentors, role models or friends, is remarkable. Over the last few decades, they have dedicated much of their lives to building families, renewing hope and simply being there for those who need it the most. They imbibe the spirit of ‘giving’

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like no one else has and have championed causes close to their heart.

Mapping their journey of giving The Late BK Menon was one of the pioneering fathers of the country. He made significant contributions towards the establishment of the Ghurair Centre as well as the early development of the Masafi brand. His legacy is deep-rooted within the nation’s business landscape. Even in his corporate roles at Larsen & Toubro and Allana Group of Companies, he continued to raise the bar with his passion for business.

His contributions to the country as an expat resident were unparalleled.

Omana Menon, on the other hand, has held several roles as the Founder-President and Board Member of the Indian Ladies’ Association as well as being on the Board of the Indian High School. More importantly, she has been engaged in community and charitable causes from as early as 1986.

She is the accredited authority for the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), India’s nodal agency for adoptions under the Indian Ministry of Women and Child Development and has been helping couples with adoption.

In recognition of this work and to the many years they selflessly dedicated to this country, the SME Advisor team was thrilled to bestow upon them the Lifetime Achievement Award. The couple has been stimulating hearts and minds and creating a culture of ‘people-first’. At the end of the day, every corporate, start-up or partnership, is incomplete without these values.

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The embodiment

of kindness, humility and intelligence Honouring the long-lasting impact of the work undertaken by our Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Her Excellency Shaikha Al Maskari.

S

ome personalities create an impact that can’t be defined in numbers, figures or statistics. Their impact isn’t within the confines of what’s conventional.

It knows no boundaries, it’s limitless.

Our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Her Excellency Shaikha Al Maskari, is one such exemplary.

Throughout her life, she has added immense value in terms of economic, social and corporate impact. Starting from her role at the ADNOC Group in 1989, during her beginning of her career, Her Excellency Al Maskari stood out from the rest. She focused on ideas that had a long-term impact and would constantly think about how she could push the boundaries. As she rapidly climbed up the corporate ladder, it was this ingenuity and passion that helped her emerge to the forefront of any initiative she was involved in. In fact, recognition came in the form of prestigious Awards and titles:

ϭϭ The Federation of GCC Chambers

ϭϭ Forbes Middle East named her in their

ϭϭ The Order of Polar Star being

‘100 Most Powerful Arab Women in Business’ in 2015.

ϭϭ She has been bestowed the title of “AsiaPacific Woman Entrepreneur of the Year”

by Enterprise Asia in 2016.

ϭϭ She has the Women Leadership

Achievement Award 2015 by the WWLCA to her name.

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of Commerce & Industry conferred Her Excellency with the “Award for Excellence in Leadership and Contribution to the Economic Empowerment of Emirati women”

The list goes on. But, Her Excellency Al Maskari was only scratching the surface. She slowly started getting involved in causes close to her heart when she launched her own family charity – United Mercy Foundation. What followed was selfless contributions to those who needed it the most. Some of her most prolific achievements were:

ϭϭ A tribute by the UK Parliamentary Debates (HANSARD), House of Lords Official Report, for her time dedicated to refugee camps.

bestowed upon her by His Majesty King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf for outstanding service to Sweden.

Her Excellency Shaikha Al Maskari’s name embodies kindness, generosity, humility and intelligence,and one that will continue to inspire generations to come.

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Enroute to success Meet Joy Ajlouny, Co-founder and Creative Director, Fetchr

WINNING CATEGORY: STARS OF BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR – OVERALL

J

oy is the co-founder of Fetchr, a Silicon-Valley backed technology company based in Dubai aimed at solving emerging market shipping logistics. Fetchr is the first start-up in the Middle East to be funded by a top venture capital firm in Silicon Valley.

Prior to Fetchr, Joy founded Bonfaire, an internet-based VC-backed discovery platform for luxury footwear and accessories. Bonfaire was acquired in 2013 by fashion e-commerce giant Mode Operandi.

While only 2.7 per cent of venture capital funds world-wide have been raised by women, Joy has successfully raised funds for two companies from some of the most prestigious Silicon Valley venture capital firms.

The winning edge Fetchr is a pickup and delivery service that uses its very own patented proprietary technology to convert your phone’s GPS location into an address. It offers an easy-to-use app that makes the whole experience quick and hassle-free. Fetchr also GPS tracks its drivers to ensure customers have the most accurate ETA. Messengers also work off a tablet which automatically tells them the fastest drop-off route.

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A snapshot of achievements Fetchr raised US$11 million in series A funding, led by NEA. The investment was the largest ever received by a start-up in the Middle East from US based venture funds for a Series A. That’s not all. In May, the company announced US$41 million in Series B funding.

The company has over 1500 employees and is enjoying rapid growth across markets such as UAE, KSA, Egypt and Bahrain.

4X vision: four years into the future Fetchr recently shared that it has partnered with Eniverse Technologies and Skycart to develop the UAE’s first autonomous drone delivery service. The company will be seen implementing its geolocation technology capabilities to enable this service.

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US$52 Million Investment received

Moment of Pride

Only woman to have raised US$ 41 million in Series B funding

First stint as an entrepreneurship

8 year old managing her very own lemonade stand!

Meet Joy’s team 700 employees 40+ Nationalities 11+ Cities 6+ Offices

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A well-connected entrepreneur Meet Ali Al Madani, Partner and Managing Director, Blackwire

WINNING CATEGORY: EMIRATI BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

B

lackwire provides IoT enablement and offers solutions to carriers and commercial operators to meet the rapidly growing demand for mobile Wi-Fi solutions that support high bandwidths with the highest quality of experience. The company was founded in 2009 by an entrepreneurial team committed to the vision of an increasingly connected world, where high-quality voice, video and data are available virtually anywhere, anytime through Wi-Fi. The winning edge “We always look at many aspects of our business operations apart from simple revenue. We put our clients first and work towards designing ROI generating solutions that can be easily applied to their business needs. We operate via exclusive partnerships with key industry players that our organisation will benefit from while offering added value in return. For instance, we work with a media partner that can advertise across Blackwire platforms and learn more about consumer behaviour. At no additional cost and without any service interruptions for the end user, we are monetizing in-vehicle Wi-Fi, this would be one of the best examples of how we maximise our resources to widen our business opportunities and go beyond our main service and hardware offerings,” says Ali. A snapshot of 2017 Ali explains: “The work we have done so far is already positively influencing the way smart cities are developing. Blackwire has been pioneering in-vehicle internet connection in the UAE since 2009 by fitting more than 4,000 Abu Dhabi taxis, 1550 RTA Dubai Hala taxis and 150 Jumeirah Group hotel limousines with Wi-Fi infrastructure.

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I see this as a great indicator of how we contribute towards the mobility and innovation.”

Leadership mantra Ali strongly believes that currently connected vehicles and IoT are of paramount importance as they are enabling cities to become safer.

He adds: “Mobility is a commodity that we offer to our customer and end users. We know that very soon driverless vehicles will be on trend and to ensure that the progress moves as fast as it is possible, we need to work towards developing and planning solutions that will become relevant. We need to be pioneers of solutions of the future to drive it on our terms and to make it happen and not to follow but lead.”

4X vision: four years into the future Looking to the future, Ali believes that his company will be playing an active role in bucking trends. “We know that flying taxi is our future in the next couple of years, could we imagine this in 2007?

Our role as young leaders of our own nation is to look beyond something we know is determined and create new opportunities that other people may not see or recognise. The UAE is already a perfect platform on its own that promotes growth and innovation and I am very grateful to be Emirati and to be able to create something new and extraordinary. The dynamics and rapid development of the smart city ecosystem in the UAE require innovative solutions and new fresh thinking, we always need to look to the future and are careful not to stagnate on what is relevant today. Our strategy is to always focus on what the future will bring and the role we will play in building it,” he concludes.

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150+

Wi-Fi in

4000+

Jumeirah Group limousines have been powered with this solution

Abu Dhabi taxis

Wi-Fi in

1550+

Championing in-vehicle Wi-Fi since

Dubai Hala taxis

2009

Major Partners Etisalat Passengera SSBS

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Cups of joy Meet Rafih Filli, Founder, Filli Café

WINNING CATEGORY: STARS OF BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR – MALE

F

illi is a F&B brand that has 25 snazzy looking cafés. Already a huge hit in the UAE, the brand aims to take its unique taste across the world by reaching out to all the tea lovers. The company sells over 30,000 cups of tea a day and has managed to carve a niche for itself in the industry as a frontrunner in its space.

to have at least 50 UAE stores open by 2018. “We serve 40,000 cups a day on average across all the outlets and this can go up to 50,000 a day during the weekends,” says the founder.

The winning edge Over the past three years, Rafih’s company has been growing at a rate of 8-10 stores per year. He is known as the man that transformed the traditional ‘tea drinking’ experience in the UAE. Rafih’s brand sells over 30,000 cups of tea in a day. Currently, the business owner is eying expansion across new markets using franchising as a model for growth.

Leadership mantra “In the beverage industry, tea wasn’t given as much importance as coffee was. Cafes were only meant for coffee and the concept of conversing over a cup of tea didn’t exist in the UAE. I created a homely ambience at Filli that made visitors feel at home. The Signature Zafran Tea was appreciated by people and thus began a new trend that is going global. I have always strived for perfection in my life. Building Filli from a single non-descript location and expanding it has been my sole focus.”

A snapshot of his achievements Today, Rafih owns around 29 outlets called ‘Filli Tea ‘n Talk’ spread across the Emirates. The company’s current turnover is about AED 50-60 million annually. The entrepreneur has struck a chord with the local market as he has unearthed a horde of tea lovers in the UAE, a market that was traditionally thought to be dominated by coffee drinkers. Growth has been steady for Filli, who opened his second store in Dubai’s Mankhool area in 2008. The home-grown chain aims

4X vision: four years into the future Rafih shares: “We have some exciting developments in the pipeline. We will be opening new locations in Downtown Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall. Apart from this, we also have plans to launch additional stores in India, Bahrain and Qatar and the UK. We would also be launching our franchise operations in Saudi Arabia. In terms of new product offerings, we have some exciting new menus launching across all our stores shortly.”

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Over 26

outlets across Dubai & Ajman

2004

year of founding

200

more cafes to be open across the globe in the next 5 years

50,000

more cafes to be open across the globe in the next 5 years

100

more cafes to be open over the next 5 years in the UAE

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A taste of success Meet Nadine Benchaffai, Managing Partner, Taqado Mexican Kitchen

WINNING CATEGORY: STARS OF BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR - FEMALE

T

aqado Mexican Kitchen was created back in late 2011 and opened its first store in Mall of the Emirates, in September 2012. There was a lack of any fast-food casual Mexican options in Dubai as the typical Mexican offering was sit-down with pretty average food and an unhealthy image. The fast-food casual sector in itself was still under-developed and the ability to customise meals didn’t exist. The market was also still recovering and landlords were looking for new concepts. All those factors combined meant there was a great opportunity for a strong brand that would allow customers to customise their meals with high quality and fresh ingredients.

The winning edge Nadine has led the phenomenal growth of Taqado Mexican Kitchen from a young start-up to a burgeoning brand with over 150 employees. What particularly stands out about Nadine is her focus on her employees; from the very onset, she has focused on training her staff and has invested a lot of time integrating the right values within her team. In 2018, she wants to continue focusing on quality and health within her brand.

A snapshot of achievements Taqado is becoming a more established brand; it is looking at growth of circa 25 per cent in sales vs. last year and an increase in profit of over 100 per cent as it maximizes efficiencies across the business.

All whilst maintaining top quality in ingredients and reducing staff churn rate (typically quite high in F&B) to less than five per cent this year. The brand is looking at similar sales growth for 2018 but a more moderate increase of profit.

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Leadership mantra “In the first two-three years, we were very focused on getting sites open and trying to hire enough people on time and ensure food quality remained great. We’re now past that stage with more structures in place, systematic reviews and tests to see where we are and how do we get better. I’ve seen brands get complacent over time, focus so much on the bottom line that they stop innovating and quality and service decline. We know we can never stay still,” remarks Nadine.

4x vision: four years into the future Nadine explains: “Overall, it’s about understanding the phases that a start-up to growing business will go through and adapting to those needs. Our preparation for 2018 is completely different to how it was for 2017 and it’s because we understand that we need to constantly change and evolve to get stronger.”

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2012

Year of founding

Corporate Experience Kraft Foods Nestle Purina Yoplait UK Innovation

Interesting

FACT

She’s an investor in UKbased Mexican chain Tortilla; she was a pivotal part of the launching team in 2006.

14 STORES Currently in operation

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A healthy workforce is a happy workforce Meet David Cook, CEO, Project Partners

WINNING CATEGORY: OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO WORKPLACE WELLNESS

P

roject Partners is a bespoke Project Management Consultancy based in Dubai. The company works alongside clients to ensure a swift and effective delivery of their projects.

The winning edge “Since the business rebranded in 2015, the company and its people has seen significant growth both in maturity. As a direct result of listening to clients and team members, the company revenue has benefitted tremendously.” David emphasizes on employee happiness and believes he is constantly learning to better himself and the people in the business. He has invested heavily in training.

He conducts team building exercises at least once a quarter and his team get to let their hair down and discuss the challenges they’re facing - which ultimately helps further develop and shape the business. “We don’t believe in having a hierarchy. All employees are members of the same team with different responsibilities – no one person trumps the other, but everyone is accountable for their deliverables to each other,” he adds.

A snapshot of 2017 David recaps the year: “We were honoured with the Consultancy of the Year Award 2017, I was ranked 50 in the top 100 most influential people in Dubai 2017 as well as getting recognised in the 45th Smart Business Leaders 2017. We are also the offcial Project Management Partner for the Prime Minister’s Office, delivering five outstanding projects in the last 18 months and counting. All that with just eight people! For such a small company, we’ve a lot.”

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Workplace wellness leadership mantra David shares his approach to workplace wellness: “Whilst we are still learning about workplace wellness, it is constant. None of us stand still for a second - we are always evolving and developing ourselves, our product and business to better suit everyone. We hold regular team meetings outside the office, where we discuss the challenges that we are facing - whether personally (work related) or as a team. Together, we then discuss ways to solve these challenges - letting all people know that their voice is heard and that their opinion matters.”

He continues: “We have made a conscious effort to improve the work experience of our team members and have gotten them involved in almost every decision that affects them. “In terms of the environment, for instance, we wanted to make sure that the work surroundings supported the team members’ ability and performance so we hired a consultant to help us design a space that inspires and breeds productivity. We incorporated several features that may contribute to improving employee wellness in the workplace such as – sit stand desks, open plan seating arrangement, ergonomic chairs, open and closed meeting rooms, large digital imagery of landscapes on the walls and a whole load of greenery. When the team choose to work in the space, it is now somewhere they want to work. There’s a common misconception that money is the key driver to performance. While that may be the case for some, it’s not the case for all. Taking the time to understand what motivates your staff will encourage and deliver outstanding results. From feedback received, we’ve now introduced incentives such as company car upgrades, weekends away or a few extra days of holiday every year – and what a difference that made.”

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When passion meets purpose Meet David Stockton, CEO, Dulsco

WINNING CATEGORY: OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO SUSTAINABILITY

D

avid Stockton is responsible for leading the 82-year old company with 12,000 employees towards a successful transformation. Driven by the corporate vision of Dulsco, Stockton is committed to creating powerful synergies among employees, customers and community. He believes that linking those three pillars starts with empowering the people and consolidating their sense of responsibility towards their communities, which will transcend to customers, bringing them together for the march towards a prosperous and sustainable future.

After two decades spent in leading strategic planning, manpower and financial management, both globally and in the Middle East, Stockton knows how to motivate his employees, enhance their feeling of ownership, and relentlessly pursue impactful results.

target for waste diversion with a customer in Abu Dhabi in Q1 2017. It assisted Jumeirah Group and Movenpick Chain of Hotels to achieve Green Globe certifications. Dulsco has assisted many other hospitality clients in achieving their green globe certifications by meeting the set KPIs as part of their waste management and recycling targets. Dulsco has addressed specific areas in Hazardous waste management and has successfully handled a mercury spill cleanup in Dubai and for disposal of the mercury under Basel Convention norms. The company has provided a unique solution to ENOC group with an emergency first responder service for any spill in their pipeline operations from Jebel Ali to the airport. Dulsco received an award at ENOC’s Strategic Suppliers Recognition Awards event for providing valuable support and service to their organisation and has addressed six United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through external CSR activities.

The winning edge Dulsco has adapted with changing times and now looks upon the next decade with great enthusiasm. David adds: “We are actively expanding our base by looking at new geographies and service verticals. It is our goal to contribute to the economic growth of the UAE and increase the sustainability of the nation by pioneering new environmental services (recovering energy from waste, recycling etc.). Dulsco is addressing every specific area of waste management including Municipal Solid Waste and solid & liquid hazardous waste. We continuously address and evaluate various technologies from global leaders in the field and try to adapt the appropriate technology for the region.”

Leadership mantra “Because a sustainable future is our main goal, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. The reason why many of the leading organisations across the various sectors count on Dulsco to support them in their sustainability journey is because Dulsco has made concerted efforts to address many key areas of importance in waste management segment not only as a transporter of waste but as an integrated environmental solution provider in the view of providing more sustainable solutions.”

A snapshot of 2017 Dulsco has enabled almost 80 per cent of its clients to achieve their sustainability targets, working with them closely to push the boundaries and take their first steps into the march for a sustainable future. The company achieved the target of 15 per cent recycling through education, awareness campaigns at Dubai Municipality for the ‘My City… My Environment’ initiative and overachieved its SME ADVISOR

4X vision: Four years into the future David explains: “Significant reduction in energy usage, water usage and our recyclable collection drive is already seeing a significant improvement. We are targeting to reach 65 per cent waste diversion by 2018 and 85 per cent by 2020. Achieved 11 per cent reduction in electricity usage and 35 per cent in water.”

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Age is no barrier Meet Sirman Vedvyas, Founder, SynergY Youth

WINNING CATEGORY: YOUTH LEADERSHIP AWARD OF THE YEAR

A

s founder of the youth group SynergY, Simran engages with hundreds of students and youth from various institutions in the UAE to act together by convening, converging and collaborating. At the nascent age of 12, she took a pledge to collect 1000 pairs of shoes to support diabetic patients, especially children in Africa. “I happened to encounter Ms. Lu, a 23year old young girl who was suffering from Type II Diabetes and had visited Dubai to share her experiences at a conference just before her last journey. She was someone I never met or saw, just a picture of her and a story narrated by my father with sadness. Yet, I made up my mind to fulfil her last wish. I campaigned and began collecting shoees in my school and neighbourhood. I was supported by the local press and media and that enabled me to complete collection in less than a month. However, I continued to collect 3,000 pairs of shoes that were distributed in Kenya and Uganda to the diabetic patients in Africa & Middle East through US aided AMPATH and supported by a pharmaceutical company,” shares Simran.

The winning edge Simran came into the spotlight when she was chosen as the youngest person in the region to carry the Olympic torch during the London Olympics in 2012. Ever since she has been using her influence and reach to inspire youth to take up social causes.

Till date, Simran has led over 75 successful youth engagement campaigns through her youth group SynergY- including ‘Green Space New Life’ that witnessed 3,000 trees planted at landfills across UAE and ‘Convoy to Feed’ that distributed food supplies to nearly 4,000 workers at various landfills.

She adds: “The world needs promising youth leaders for global healing and sustainable peace. A sustainable and peaceful world with young people, their institutions’, and their guardians promising to follow ‘eco lifestyle’ supported by ‘all possible means’ is essential to. A fresh perspective by talented young leaders can invigorate the greatest holistic and sustainable approach needed to help develop creative and pragmatic solutions to the many challenges we face today.”

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Youth leadership mantra Simran says: “I believe that the youth constitute a vibrant and resourceful segment of our society. They are determined to scale greater heights. They are the next champions. There can be no greater cause for development consensus than bringing the needs, rights and expectations of the youth to the centre-stage. I am a believer and supporter that everyone can make a difference to simplify the life of others.

The challenge today is to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

Each one of us has a responsibility to live peacefully without jeopardising natural resources. The choices that the youth will make today will pass on to the future generations so the responsibility of finding and implementing innovative and strategic pathways is on the youth.”

4X vision: four years into the future “My passion grows as I achieve new feats. I love being creative in any way I possibly can. I believe that the more I connect and meet new people, the more my passion builds. I try to learn new things from anybody around me and use it in my next projects. Ultimately, I would like to incorporate the ideals behind a sustainable world into the world of medicine. I want to continue being an advocate for a sustainable and healthy environment and engage with the younger generation by connecting platforms. Medicine is being revolutionised every day and I want to be a part of that change. I wish to take on global projects and connect them to serve local benefits. For me, there are only two choices: either we let it roll down as it is going on or we take a collective effort to make some paradigm shift to pull it back and make the world more sustainable for a better future. My vision for the world in future will encompass a fair and peaceful world, where sameness of all will find its place,” she concludes

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For the people, by the people Meet Louise Karim, Mums@Work

WINNING CATEGORY: SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP LEADER OF THE YEAR

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ums@Work has one very simple aim: re-connecting professional women to the workplace after they have taken a career break and supporting working women to find more flexible work options. Mums@Work is bringing a mass of untapped talent back to the workforce, changing the playing field for women in the UAE. Since its launch in 2016, Mums@Work has created a community of 10,000 professional women; of which it have trained and placed over 1,500 candidates.

The winning edge “With a small team, all mothers and working flexibly, we have built this business to what it is today, giving our all. Breaking even within a year and delivering outstanding client and candidate service has led us to build the Mums@Work brand to be the number one recognised go-to-platform for women looking for flexible work in the region. I believe we have started a trend in the region for flexible work and we are creating a movement, which is echoed by the UAE government of creating opportunities for women to succeed in the workplace and providing support and training along the journey,” explains Louise.

A snapshot of the achievements Louise proudly remarks: “To date we have trained and placed over 1.5k women in the region in our first 18 months. As a new concept in the region, we have over 10k women signed up with us, we have 50k social media followers and over 85k website hits a month. We never charge our candidates for content, events or any services – this is our social purpose. Clients and advertising allow us to make money to run the business. There are many initiatives we work on to build our social cause that we do at no charge. For example, the Return to Work programme took weeks of our team’s time, but was done at no charge, as it was a key tool to highlight the amazing talent we have in the region.”

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Leadership mantra “Being a mother of two small children with a professional career of over 15 years in marketing, I personally understand the struggles in this region of developing in a professional role, and balance it all with managing a family and a household, without your wider family network. I personally see the masses of talented women, who are going to waste in the community as they are unable to find a role that provides the flexibility they require. Mums@Work wanted to change this social problem. Not only educating businesses throughout the region of the amazing talent they are missing out on, but providing professional support and training to women looking to return to the workplace. Gender balance, diversity and inclusion are all hot topics globally – our vision is to positively raise the bar in the region and support the UAE in becoming a leader in gender parity,” says Louise.

4X vision: four years into the future “With new programmes being launched frequently to support the growth of women in the workplace, including the first flexible return to work programme with multinationals including Visa, IBM, Virgin and APCO International, bespoke training events with industry leaders including LinkedIn and Facebook and bespoke packages for SMEs, we without doubt have so much further to grow Mums@Work. We have had interest through various partners throughout the region and have many opportunities to partner with global programmes, which will further develop our goal, including the UN Women Empowerment Programme.”

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It runs in the family!

Meet Rizwan Sajan, Founder and Chairman, Danube Group

WINNING CATEGORY: FAMILY BUSINESS LEADER OF THE YEAR

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tarting out at a young age of 13 years selling books and firecrackers in India, Rizwan has had a humble beginning into the fierce world of business. With the help and guidance of his uncle in Kuwait, he learnt business etiquette and worked passionately for a few years moving from salesman to being the right-hand man for him, while taking care of the complete business. But, it all came to sudden halt with the invasion of Kuwait.

“I was in India for a few months and subsequently, I moved to Dubai and involved myself in trading of building materials after great hardship I started out in 1993, with my wife being my first employee,” remembers Rizwan.

Today, Danube Group provides over 25,000 products to its customers.

The Group takes pride in not just designing and building, but also nurturing long-lasting relationships with clients. From a small trading firm, Danube has grown into one of the top building materials company in the region, with its diversified branches worldwide including UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and India, in addition to procurement offices in China. Danube has a team of 3,000 plus people working across strategic locations in GCC, China and India.

160,000 sq.ft. of organised retail space. Danube Properties successfully sold Resortz in Arjaan and then launched Bayz, another premium residential building in Business Bay close to the canal which is more than 85 per cent sold out. The company has also launched a new range of Milano water purifiers across GCC. 2017 also saw several other accolades being awarded to Rizwan and his company including “Top Real Estate Company in the Arab World 2017’, “Gulf Business Best Real Estate Company in the Arab world 2017” and being Listed among the “50 most powerful Indians in the UAE for the year 2017”.

The winning edge What really stands out in Rizwan’s profile is the fast-paced growth of his company. In a short span of time, he’s achieved significantly more than industry veterans. More importantly, he has slowly and strategically led his company to become the market leader in the price segment which he operates. He has created this niche for himself and that has propelled him to new heights. What makes him suitable for this category is that his family members have been a core part of his team from the very getgo; building the company’s ethos with him from Day One.

4X vision: four years into the future Danube Group’s future growth plans have been drafted keeping in mind the overall plans of the nation. Rizwan adds: “We are geared up to meet the challenges ahead keeping the Expo 2020 vision in mind. As a Group, we aim to achieve 15 to 20 per cent year-on-year growth till 2020. I hope that Danube Home will endeavour to become amongst the top three home improvement retailers, Danube Properties continues its pole position in the affordable housing sector and Milano will grow both vertically and horizontally by adding more product lines and creating more business opportunities.”

A snapshot of 2017 In 2017, the company opened three new Danube Home stores, one in Kuwait and two in Oman in Nizwa and Sohar, thus adding more than SME ADVISOR

Leadership mantra Rizwan says: “I believe a true leader doesn’t produce followers.

A true leader creates more leaders. So, for me the basic mantra is to find the right people and then trust and empower them to run the business. I am a great admirer of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his vision. He is a true leader with a vision to grow this country by nurturing his staff.”

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Shaping the future of healthcare Meet Akbar Moideen Thumbay, Vice President – Healthcare Division, Thumbay Group

WINNING CATEGORY: LEADER SHAPING THE FUTURE

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stablished by the Founder and President Thumbay Moideen in 1998, Thumbay Group is a diversified international business conglomerate with presence across 20 sectors of business.

Thumbay Group’s healthcare division presently operates academic hospitals in the UAE (Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah & Sharjah) and Hyderabad – India, as well as a network of day care centres and state-of-the-art family clinics at various locations in the UAE. They treat patients from over 175 nationalities, and are staffed by doctors, nurses and technicians from over 25 different countries, speaking more than 50 languages. Thumbay Group also operates CAP-accredited diagnostic labs (Thumbay Labs) and retail pharmacy outlets (Thumbay Pharmacy), in the UAE and India.

The winning edge With the onus to take forward Thumbay Group’s legacy, Akbar has a daunting task ahead of him. But, he’s taken it up with flair and immense dedication.

Akbar explains: “I look after operations of all Thumbay Hospitals in Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai and Hyderabad (India), as well as the networks of Thumbay Clinics, and Thumbay Labs throughout the UAE and in India. Under the banner of Thumbay Group’s Retail Division, I initiated Nutri Plus Vita, a series of health nutrition and wellness store, in addition to the pre-existing branches of Zo & Mo Opticals and Thumbay Pharmacy located across the UAE. It was my idea to launch the Thumbay Marketing and Distribution Company (TMDC).

One of my key initiatives has been to promote Thumbay Hospitals in the medical tourism segment in an aggressive manner. The hospital’s world-class healthcare services and excellent facilities have brought in patients from as far as Africa and Southern Europe, seeking treatments from executive check-ups to complicated surgeries.”

He adds: “It took me over 10 years to reach the position I am in, today.

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A snapshot of 2017 The Healthcare Division of Thumbay Group launched multispecialty day care hospitals and ELITE clinics across the UAE, last year. Thumbay Hospitals welcomed its 6000th medical tourist last year in addition to becoming a partner to the Dubai Health Experience; it won the Dubai Human Development Award at the 23rd Business Excellence Awards, Dubai and the ‘International Excellence Centre of the Year’ Award at the International Indian Medical Tourism Conference (IIMTC), Hyderabad.

Thumbay Hospitals joined the ranks of the largest network of JCIaccredited private academic hospitals in the region and Thumbay Labs became one of the largest CAP-accredited networks of private diagnostic labs in the region. Thumbay Hospital entered the Guinness Book of World Records for creating the largest online photo album of people holding the sign “Be Happy, Be Healthy”. “Marhaba” fast-track services for patients were launched across all Thumbay Hospitals and ELITE Clinics, to maximise patient convenience.

Leadership mantra Akbar says: “Thumbay Group’s Healthcare Division has a team that has been trained and oriented to maximise business opportunities.

Whenever we sense an opportunity, we immediately seize it, which is one of the primary reasons for our rapid growth and global expansion.

Through constant trainings we ensure that they are always geared up for challenges.”

4X vision: four years into the future The first phase of the 500-bed Thumbay Hospital, the Thumbay Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation Hospital the 60-chair Dental Hospital are nearing completion at the Gulf Medical University Campus in Ajman. These will open shortly. The hospital will be equipped with modern infrastructure and will focus on medical tourism. The hospital will feature a special robotic pharmacy, a first of its kind in the region, and will have quaternary care facilities. The hospital will also have a full-fledged radiology department with a PET-CT scan, a first of its kind in the northern Emirates.

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Dedicated to making a difference Meet Habiba Al Marashi, President and CEO, Arabia CSR Network

WINNING CATEGORY: Special Jury Prize

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rabia CSR Network is a multi-stakeholder organisation that promotes CSR and sustainability among the public and private sectors through a range of service offerings.

Structurally, it is a professional independent think tank and research centre. Its key areas of work are training, research, advisory, awards, forum, external assurance and partnership facilitation.

The winning edge “Our initiatives have engaged institutions and individuals spanning 13 countries in the Arab Region and representing 31 business, government and industry sectors. Hundreds of organisations participate annually in the Arabia CSR Awards that has bolstered the strategic value of CSR and sustainability. The influence and repute of Arabia CSR Network, our trainings, the awards and forums, among others has placed us ahead of many organisations that provide sustainability related services. We are commonly acknowledged as a leading think tank and knowledge centre in the Arab Region.”

A snapshot of her achievements Habiba is the first Arab woman to become a board member of the UN Global Compact from 2006 to 2012. She is a member of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Stakeholder Council and is serving her second term. She is also on the advisory committee of the DNV Certification Advisory Board for the Middle East and a member of the Patronage Committee of myclimate – an international climate protection organisation based in Switzerland. She was unanimously elected as the global NGO representative to UNEP’s Major Groups Facilitating Committee and served from 2013-2015 inclusive.

Leadership mantra “Our focus is on sustainable development which means ethical and equitable economic growth, inclusive social development and

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environmental sustainability. There are countless problems associated with irresponsible and unsustainable growth such as natural resource depletion, climate change and global warming, waste and pollution, exploitation of labour and scant regard for human rights, corruption and unethical practices, risks to health and wellbeing, lack of opportunity for local populations particularly youth and women, and many more. Business, therefore, has a critical role to play in finding solutions to these problems, which are often a fall out of irresponsible business models and unethical corporate practices. Through CSR and sustainability, we are tackling all these problematic issues and helping organisations to overcome challenges in finding innovative solutions and creating both business and societal value.”

A synergy between social and financial impact Habiba says: “There is really no conflict between financial growth and societal value creation. They can be completely aligned and complementary to each other. Enterprise sustainability is crucially important without which there is no intent and commitment to social issues. By establishing the business case of CSR and sustainability, one can seamlessly synergise these two objectives. By utilising social needs as business opportunities and drivers of growth, market differentiation and competitive advantage, organisations can tie social purpose to the business model.”

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HeyDoc – Redefining the future of health Meet Ahmad Al Hidiq, Co-founder, HeyDoc!

WINNING CATEGORY: Pitch Please – The Incubator Challenge

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eyDoc! is global and award-winning telemedicine platform that connects patients with doctors for medical advisory when they are struggling with a non-urgent medical issue. Through HeyDoc! patients can communicate with highly qualified doctors for medical advice, a second opinion or follow-ups.

The winning edge HeyDoc has a holistic approach to healthcare. It focuses on innovating communication channels and creating a highly-scalable platform. The app has been installed over 3000 times and about five to 10 interactions take place daily through the platform. After a successful close of the pilot phase in March 2017, Ahmad’s team started working on HeyChat! - a new feature that the app was adding to its existing functionality. “When we first launched our pilot, our goal was to target the UAE as a starting point and then continue expanding. But our first advisory came from Chicago, second from Vienna and third from Nigeria. Then we started getting advisories from the UAE and the region. That’s when we realised that we are a global platform. In fact, over the course of our pilot stage, we have recruited doctors from the US to Malaysia and have had patients from all over the world.”

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A snapshot of achievements The start-up concept has many feathers in its cap in the form of awards it has won: The Pitcher Istanbul 2017; ShortList Dubai’s Health App of the Year 2016; and Ministry of Health X-Innovation Challenge 2016. Also, WSA selected HeyDoc! as the most innovative health solution in the UAE. It was shortlisted in several regional competitions such as: MBC ElShabab - top 30 (so far); MIT Enterprise Forum - Innovate for Refugees; Dubai Chamber’s Smartpreneur; and Dubai Future Competition.

4X vision: four years into the future Ahmad is firmly focusing on product development process optimisation. He is finding the best way to optimise the feedback and enhancement loops and ensuring the best utilisation of his team’s time and efforts. He adds: “We are always considering new technologies to enhance our platform and the backend processes that help develop it (from server and product optimisation, task management, source control and security). We have seen this aspect grow and evolve quite well over the past two years and hope for it to keep evolving over the next few years.”

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The marketplace with a cause Meet Sharene Lee and Morrad Irsane, Co-founders, Melltoo

WINNING CATEGORY: Pitch Please – The Incubator Challenge

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elltoo is a no-meetup classifieds concept that is revolutionizing buying and selling second-hand products.

The company has built a mobile marketplace, where users can interact with one another in a user-friendly manner.

One of the most prominent features of the app is real time messaging that enables users to talk to each other.

A snapshot of achievements The platform has hit US$2 million in Gross Merchandise Volume and enjoys over 35,000 transactions. On average, users are spending 18 minutes in-app per day. It has also managed to close a round of funding in December 2016 and is currently looking to close another round in March 2018.

The winning edge The platform is selling for a cause, which means that its users can contribute to making a social impact. Sharene Lee explains: “Our used stuff can be used to do good. We help charities transform in-kind donations into cash for social causes. People can list items they wish to resell for a cause, once sold, we collect and deliver the item and sale proceeds go directly to social causes selected by the seller.

So, we’re focused on having a triple bottom line that contributes to environmental protection, social welfare, and profits.”

4X vision: four years into the future “We will be expanding to Egypt in Q1 2018 and to KSA in Q2 2018. We, as founders, are mostly focused on the team and product. These are the two elements that determine customer satisfaction. So, we are focused on building and maintaining a healthy work culture and on improving the product based on customer feedback,” remarks Sharene.

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Partners in success Reinforcing its commitment to research and continuing to build its imperative to support the SME sector, Orient Planet Group released an exclusive report in association with Utalenta Research and SME Advisor.

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n the prestigious platform of the recent SME Beyond Borders conference, the report was released to over 1200 business owners in attendance.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Nidal Abou Zaki, Managing Director, Orient Planet Group, said: “The UAE’s SME sector is in a particular juncture where itneeds to address the new challenges and opportunities of the digital age. We find it important to understand SMEs’ needs beyond the financial aspects of the business, which is often cited as the most common concern, to be able to contribute to economic growth. While financing is essential, SMEs and business developers need to look at a multitude of factors, including acknowledging the main composition of businesses since the country began diversifying from oil as its main source of revenue. The need to transition to a post-oil era in the GCC impels SMEs to capitalise on new growth markets such as digital technology, innovation and the knowledge-based economy.”

Nidal was also the recipient of the “Honourable Research Partner Award” at the glittering Stars of Business Leadership Awards 2017.

For a more detailed report, please visit: http://smebeyondborders.com/OrientPlanet.pdf SME ADVISOR

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DIFFERENT PRODUCTS

Expo 2020 Dubai is calling for skilled artisans, designers and artists to create distinctive merchandise that reflects the vibrant heritage and culture of the UAE, and the wider region.

We are looking for a range of high quality licensed products that demonstrate traditional methods of manufacture, utilise local materials, or are inspired by historical themes.

Products could include handmade rugs and carpets, creatively designed furniture, ceramics and pottery, camel leather products, textiles (Sadu) and jewellery.

We want regional artisans, designers and artists to participate in the upcoming tender that will be launched on 5 December.

To participate, sign up now at esource.expo2020dubai.ae

To find out more, contact us at licensing@expo2020dubai.ae

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