startup magazine - april 2013
DESCRIPTION
Startup Magazine is an ITP Executive Publication Released from Dubai, Vol 1 - Issue 07 - April 2013 (76 pages)TRANSCRIPT
BEHIND THE GLAMOURHow GlamBox survived the trials of starting a business
WEDDED BLISSOrganisers and SMEs work together at BRIDE Dubai
An ITP Executive Publication
VOL. 1 ISSUE 07
APRIL 2013
FINANCE HOW TOs NETWORKING SOCIALITE LOCATION HOW I DID IT
TheSocialite
HOW ADS ARE HELPING TWITTER TO THRIVE
EVERY ISSUE
WISE WORDS
The voice of experience at the StartUp Academy
We profile ten of the most
powerful Arabic entrepreneurs
POWER PEOPLE
10
Internet boss Samih Toukan on why private businesses must help build a new entrepreneurial ecosystem
INVESTORS:
TheEVERY ISSUEEVERY ISSUEEVERY ISSUEEVERY ISSUEEVERY ISSUEEVERY ISSUEInternet boss Samih Toukan on why
private businesses must help build
INVESTORS:
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AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. Products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Not all products and services are available in every jurisdiction, and insurance coverage is governed by actual policy language. Certain products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Insurance products may be distributed through affiliated or unaffiliated entities. In the UAE these products and services are underwritten by American Home Assurance Company, a member company of AIG.
American Home Assurance CompanyT +971 4 214 3000
[01]
03 EDITOR’S LETTER04 NEWS — Small businesses help
boost the UAE’s travel industry.
— Google and Wamda offer joint events for budding entrepreneurs.
— Saudi micro-SMEs are forced to hire national workers.
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COVER STORYINTERNET CHIEF
SAMIH TOUKAN HAS CALLED ON GOVERNMENTS
AND PRIVATE BUSINESSES TO
BACK THE REGION’S YOUNG
ENTREPRENEURS, URGING MORE
INVESTMENT IN START-UPS
In this issue VOL. 1 ISSUE 7 | APRIL 2013
06 LOCATION, LOCATION...Are International City and Dragon Mart the right places for your business?
08 SHOULD I?We help you decide whether the time is right to expand your company.
09 NETWORKINGDiaries at the ready: we find four of the best networking opportunities this month.
10 SOCIALITE Sarah Rassasse of Prototype Interactive gives us the low-down on Twitter ads.
12 HOW TOFinding a good corporate speaker who is right for your business can be tricky. We help you get the right person for you.
14 FINANCEAn insight into the potentially benefial world of crowdfunding.
17 SAMIH TOUKANThe founder of Maktoob and Al Jabbar Internet Group explains why investors need to help entrepreneurs and create a new mindset for the region’s youth.
26 POWER LIST The keenly anticipated
Arabian Business Power List 2013 is finally here. We profile some of the highest ranking entrepreneurs.
32 GLAMBOX Co-founder of GlamBox
Shant Oknayan gives us an insight into the hurdles a new business faces, from investment to staffing and logistics.
38 TIME FOR TEA Tea is not only big
business, it’s also good for your health. Dr Mona Almunajjed looks at why it’s such a lucrative industry. 49 RADIUS GROUP
The founders of Circle Café and Sushi Counter tell StartUp why they are franchising their concepts.
50 ACADEMY REVIEW We look back at the
second StartUp Academy, where two guest speakers gave the benefit of their entrepreneurial experience.
56 BRIDE DUBAI One of the region’s biggest
wedding exhibitions takes place in April. We get the lowdown from the organisers and participants.
62 CV ADVICE Learn what not to put on
your CV, and discover a few things which could boost your chances of success.
68 BARRY HEARN Charismatic sports
promoter Barry Hearn talks about his long and successful career.
72 HOW I DID IT Gallery owner Khaled
Samawi tells us how he sold his banking business and moved into art.
In this issue
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49
VOL. 1 ISSUE 7 | APRIL 2013
[02] | vol. 1 /April 2013
[03]
AT ONE OF OUR RECENT STARTUP ACADEMY WORKSHOPS, A GUEST SPEAKER MADE IT CLEAR JUST HOW MUCH GROUND-WORK YOU NEED TO DO TO MAKE YOUR START-UP SUCCEED
Alex Andarakis started his company Anda-rakis Advisory Services in 2010, after many years working at a high level for companies such as Emaar and Unilever. For all his contacts and experience, he made a point of doing one thing. Preparing.
Speaking to the audience of young entrepreneurs, he explained just how much research he did, how many studies, how thorough a business plan. From defi ning his brand to identifying target clients, he ensured his company was going to succeed.
He ensured he had a right to enter the market and could make a profi t. He investi-gated everything he needed to investigate to make sure he knew what he was going to do every step of the way.
It may seem obvious to many of us that preparation is key, but all too often people underake some work, assume things will work out, and hope for the best.
What Andarakis teaches us is that you can’t overdo the research. He teaches us to make sure our businesses will work. That they can cope with potential problems, they can thrive against competition, that they do exactly what we want them to do.
A fi ne example to follow.
IF THE STARTUP ACADEMY HAS TAUGHT US ANYTHING, IT’S THAT PREPARATION IS KEY IN MAKING YOUR BUSINESS WORK
Editor’s letterRegistered at Dubai Media CityITP Executive PublishingPO Box 500024, Dubai, United Arab Emiratestel +971 4 444 3000 fax +971 4 444 3030
ITP EXECUTIVE PUBLISHINGCEO Walid AkawiMD, ITP PUBLISHING GROUP Neil DaviesMANAGING DIRECTOR, ITP EXECUTIVE Karam AwadGENERAL MANAGER Peter ConmyEDITORIAL DIRECTOR Anil Bhoyrul
EDITORIALEDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rob Corder, email [email protected] Neil King tel +971 4 444 3142 email [email protected] EDITOR Edward Liamzon tel +971 4 444 3474 email [email protected] Shane McGinley, Claire Valdini, Ed Attwood, Jonathan Blum, Gwen Moran
ARABIANBUSINESS.COMGROUP EDITOR Will Milner tel +971 4 444 3184 email [email protected] EDITOR Daniel Shane tel +971 4 444 3316 email [email protected]
STUDIOGROUP ART EDITOR Daniel PrescottSENIOR DESIGNER Adrian LucaDESIGNER Rey DelanteCHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER Jovana ObradovicSENIOR PHOTOGRAPHERS Isidora Bojovic, Efraim EvidorSTAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Lester Ali, George Dipin, Juliet Dunne, Murrindie Frew,Lyubov Galushko, Verko Ignjatovic, Shruti Jagdesh, Stanislav Kuzmin, Mosh Lafuente,Ruel Pableo, Rajesh Raghav PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTIONGROUP PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR Kyle SmithDEPUTY PRODUCTION MANAGER Basel Al KassemPRODUCTION COORDINATOR Sonam BhoneshwarMANAGING PICTURE EDITOR Patrick LittlejohnIMAGE EDITOR Emmalyn Robles DISTRIBUTION EXECUTIVE Nada Al Alami
CIRCULATIONRETAIL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Osama Baraka tel +971 4 444 3629email [email protected] OF CIRCULATION & DATABASE Gaurav Gulati
ADVERTISINGSALES DIRECTOR Wissam Younane tel +971 4 444 3592, email [email protected] GROUP SALES MANAGER Paul Williams, tel +971 4 444 3348, email [email protected] MANAGER — SALES (KSA) Rabih Naderi tel Direct/Fax +966 1 206 8697 email [email protected]
MARKETINGHEAD OF MARKETING Daniel Fewtrell tel +971 4 444 3684, email [email protected] MANAGER Michelle Meyrick tel +971 4 444 3328, email [email protected]
ITP DIGITALDIGITAL PUBLISHING DIRECTOR Ahmad Bashour, tel +971 4 444 3549, email [email protected] SALES MANAGER, ARABIANBUSINESS.COM Gemma Dickson, tel +971 4 444 3835 email [email protected] APPS MANAGER Mohammed Affan OPERATIONS MANAGER Asad Azizi
ITP GROUPCHAIRMAN Andrew NeilMANAGING DIRECTOR Robert SerafinFINANCE DIRECTOR Toby Jay Spencer-DaviesBOARD OF DIRECTORS KM Jamieson, Mike Bayman, Walid Akawi, Neil Davies, Rob Corder, Mary Serafin
CORPORATE WEBSITE www.itp.comCIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE tel: +971 4 4443000WEB www.arabianbusiness.com
NOTICE The publishers regret that they cannot accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication, however caused. The opinions and views contained in this publication are not necessarily those of the publishers. Readers are advised to seek specialist advice before acting on information contained in this publication, which is provided for general use and may not be appropriate for the readers’ particular circumstances. The ownership of trademarks is acknowledged. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publishers in writing. An exemption is hereby granted for extracts used for the purpose of fair review.
PRINTED by Emirates Printing Press L.L.C. DubaiCONTROLLED DISTRIBUTION by Blue TruckAll photos used in this magazine are by Gallo Images/Getty Images/Shutterstock/Bloomberg Images unless otherwise credited.
PUBLISHED BY AND ©2013 ITP EXECUTIVE PUBLISHING, A DIVISION OF THE ITP PUBLISHING GROUP LTD,REGISTERED IN THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS COMPANY NUMBER 1402846
MAKING SURE IT WORKS
NEIL KINGEDITORNEIL KINGEDITOR
ravel and tourism is growing rapidly in the UAE,
according to research by the World Travel and Tourism Council, with local entrepreneurs and SMEs helping drive the sector.
The UAE’s travel and tourism industry contributed fourteen percent to the economy in 2012 – well above the global average of nine percent – and small
businesses owned by Emiratis have been credited with helping provide the sector with its current boom.
Director general of Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), Mubarak Al Muhairi, said: “We are increasingly seeing Emiratis becoming involved in this sector.
“This involvement is taking the form of Emirati entrepreneurs launching their own tourism-related SMEs, with the help of the
Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, others taking up posts within airlines, the airport, TCA Abu Dhabi, the hospitality sector and within Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company.”
Taking account of direct, indirect and induced impacts, Dhs193.6bn ($52.7b) of the UAE’s GDP came from the industry in 2012 and that contribution is expected to rise by another 3.2 percent by the end of this year.
SMALL BUSINESSES HELP BOOST TRAVEL INDUSTRY
Courses for YEC students
Local entrepreneurs contribute to growth in travel and tourism sector
News >
T
Participants in the Young Entrepreneur Competi-tion (YEC) 2013 have taken part in a series of awareness workshops held by Dubai SME.
Dubai SME held the workshops to help inspire the young businesspeople, as well as develop their concepts and projects.
More than 500 students attended the workshops, taking part in discussions including ‘understanding entrepreneurship’, ‘characteristics of a successful entrepreneur’, and many more.
YEC 2013 is a UAE-wide competition which aims to foster entrepreneurial spirit among students.
Nisrin Mohammed Al Harmoodi, general coordinator of YEC, said: “The most distinguishing feature of YEC is its focus on bringing students to experience the real world of business and grooming them to be knowledge-able and successful entrepreneurs.”
COMPETITION
Tourism to the UAE has increased, with
SMEs helping to boost the sector.
Nisrin Al Harmoodi
[04] | vol. 1 /april 2013
Dubai SME helps young business-people develop ideas
SETTING UP
UAE easiest for project start-ups
Small businesses in Saudi Arabia that employ ten or fewer staff must have at least one Saudi worker, the Ministry of Labour reportedly ruled.
According to English language Saudi Gazette, the ministry recently revealed that 340,000 businesses in the kingdom currently have no Saudi citizens working for them.
The newspaper said that small businesses that do not comply with the new regulation face being stripped of their operating license and hit with fi nancial penalties, while their workers’ residency permits will not be renewed.
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s most populous nation and world’s biggest oil exporter, is in the midst of a major drive to push more of its citizens into private sector employment. According to government estimates, twelve percent of Saudis are currently unemployed, while nine-tenths of workers in the private sector are overseas workers.
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GOOGLE AND WAMDA JOIN FORCES FOR ENTREPRENEURS
[05]
Saudi micro SMEs forced to hire nationals
Dubai-based daily deals website Cobone.com has
been acquired by US investment fi rm Tiger Global Management for an undisclosed amount.
The deal for Cobone.com, which was founded in April 2010 and competes with Groupon in the Middle East,
will see parent company Jabbar Internet Group exit its investment in the online fi rm.
Founder Paul Kenny and other senior executives will remain following the deal, which will provide additional capital to fund long-term commitments in the Middle East.
The UAE has emerged as the easiest place in the Arab world for starting investment projects given its smooth procedures and simple tax system, according to the World Bank.
In its Ease of Starting Business Index for 2013, the Washington-based bank ranked the UAE the 22nd in the world and fi rst in the Arab region. It noted that the country, the second
largest Arab economy, jumped from the 46th rank in 2012.
The Index also classifi ed the UAE the top nation in the world in terms of paying taxes having been eleventh in 2012. UAE was ranked thirteenth in terms of dealing with construction permits, seventh in getting electricity for the project, and fi fth in trading across borders.
Online giants Google and Wamda have announced a new
partnership to help foster entrepreneurs in MENA.
The two businesses have combined to offer Mix N’Mentor 2013 – an expansion of the event series which aims to provide opportunities for people, businesses and communi-ties to meet, engage and exchange ideas.
The updated programme will now offer events in at least eleven different cities in the region, and aims to bring budding entrepre-neurs closer to experienced mentors to discuss and solve challenges which may be facing their start-ups.
Google will provide speakers and mentors, as
well as a technological collaboration to connect to a wider audience via Hangouts on Air on Google+.
Maha Abouelenein, head of communications for Google in the MENA region, said: “Google began as a start-up in a garage and remains a start-up at heart. We are committed to helping build a vibrant ecosystem for startups and enabling the next generation
of entrepreneurs to be successful.”
CEO of Wamda, Habib Haddad, said: “Wamda aims to accelerate the entrepre-neurship ecosystem in the Arab world.
“In Mix N’ Mentor, we deliver hands-on mentorship to promising entrepreneurs, and we are very excited to partner with Google to scale this event across the Arab world.”
Entrepreneurs and industry experts connected through new partnership
Dubai’s Cobone.com bought by US investment fi rm
Google and Wamda are growing their Mix N’Mentor events.
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WHAT’S SO GOOD
ABOUT IT? Its huge, plenty of open
spaces and huge catchment area
THIS MONTH
INTERNATIONALCITY
en
Location, location,
location...
[06] | vol. 1 /april 2013
WHERE IS IT?Head towards Hatta and you will get there
Dragon Mart sells a variety of goods from around the world.
[07]
WHAT’SAVAILABLE? The centerpiece is Dragon Mart but within the communities plenty of space for small shops
WHO SHOULDI CONTACT?Start with Nakheel – Interna-tional City is their development.
International City has a population of more than 200,000, so your business should have high footfall.
WHAT’S THE DOWNSIDE?It’s a fair way outside Dubai, and if you don’t live there you probably won’t visit
CHANCES OF SUCCESS?With the right business idea, pretty good
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW?t.
It’s a fayou pro
With th
Target Dragon Mart – expansion plans are underway, meaning more units available.
Top tip:
INTERNATIONAL CITY
Tower blocks are full of potential customers.
Relatively the lowest rents in the marketHOW MUCH
WILL IT COST?
International City is made up of a series of clusters.
• IF YOU PLAN IT WELL, YOUR BUSINESS WILL GROW AND EARN MORE PROFIT
• YOUR BRAND WILL REACH MORE PEOPLE AND BECOME MORE POPULAR
• YOUR BUSINESS MIGHT BE BETTER SUITED TO SMALL-SCALE OPERATIONS
• YOU COULD GROW TOO QUICKLY
CONS
PROS
EXPAND MY COMPANY?
Should I...
Should I look to expand soon after launching?Most owners of successful start-ups will tell you that it’s important to walk before you can run. It would be much more advantageous to make sure you’re getting the core of your business right and building up what you’ve got than looking to go into new markets without a solid foundation.
I’ve been in business a while but how do I know the time is right?Feasibility studies may cost time and money, but they are a great way to fi nd out if it’s worth expanding into a new country or expanding your services or product range. Look at the competition, market need, infra-structure and resources, your own personal situation, and the economic landscape. It will give you a much clearer picture of whether you should grow.
[08] | vol. 1 /april 2013
Should all businesses expand in order to be successful?No, not necessarily. A lot of businesses can be successful when they stay small. This can be espe-cially for the owner. There can be fewer salaries to pay, fewer logistics to install and fewer chances of failure. Success doesn’t always equate to size, so assess whether your company is better off staying small – it’s down to you to assess whether expanding will make it even more successful.
I have a skeleton staff – who should I hire?In most cases, to expand operations you need to expand your staff numbers. Even if you’re simply having to deal with an increase in orders, you’ll need to hire enough people to keep on top of things. The roles you should be hiring for depends on the type of business you have, but people who can multi-task are often a good idea. If you’re expanding into another country, high quality managers are vital so you don’t have to oversee operations in various places.
Will the laws be same from place to place?Be careful – each country will have different laws. Indeed each Emirate in the UAE has different local laws, despite having the same federal laws. Make sure you’re familiar with employment laws, business laws, etc before expanding into a new country, and also be aware of sensibilities, be they cultural, social, religious, or anything else.
[09]
1> GITEX Shopper 2013WHEN: 3-6 AprilWHERE: Dubai World Trade CentreWHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: Now taking place twice a year, this new spring edition of the consumer electronics retail platform. Here you can learn about and buy technology for your business, as well as meeting people behind the brands.
2> Middle East Film and Comic ConWHEN: 5-6 AprilWHERE: Dubai International Marine ClubWHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: If you’re involved in cult entertainment or pop culture, the MEFCC is a must-attend. Now in its second year, this convention brings together fans, artists, writers, and entrepreneurs within the fi eld, and is the ideal place to meet likeminded people, gather ideas, and forge business ties.
4> Abu Dhabi International Sports Exhibition 2013WHEN: 9-12 AprilWHERE: Abu Dhabi National Exhibition CentreWHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: One of the biggest sports trade shows in the region, ADISE offers local and international brands to showcase their products, and make contacts in the popular sector. Federations, clubs, marketing agencies, venues, event organizers, manufacturers, sponsors and more will be in attendance.
3> 10th Leading CEO ConferenceWHEN: 10 AprilWHERE: TBCWHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT: This day-long conference aims to give you the tools you need to understand and develop into the role of a CEO, as well as rubbing shoulders with some well established and experienced business leaders and winners of the conference’s CEO of the Year Awards.
2222>>> Middle East
44IEWWWrepms
Networking
ubved in cult
Twitter ads
BOOST YOUR SALES WITH
With Twitter now allowing companies to advertise on its pages, Sarah Rassasse, digital consultant at Prototype Interactive, tells us how businesses in the Middle East will benefit from the move
The socialite >
[10] | vol. 1 /april 2013
ompanies in the Middle East can now promote their products and services on micro blogging site Twitter.
This step will surely bring Twitter back to the spotlight. In the past two to three years we have continuously received feedback from clients in different industries about a sense of hesitation when it comes to active engagement on the platform due to the fact that it did not allow anyone to advertise or escalate their brand’s name. This resulted in clients not understanding the importance of the platform and perceived it as just another social media site.
This put Facebook in the forefront as clients in this region like to set certain key performance indicators in place and measure what their return on investment is. The generic feedback from clients also showed that they thought it is best to use Facebook ads only and drive traffi c to its pages than venturing out and looking for other platforms where their customer base might be.
Facebook also allowed companies to measure their page’s performance which gives a company an increased sense of ‘must-have’. They could also set media budgets in their annual spend that increased the importance of Facebook, a feature that Twitter previously lacked in the region.
Another issue that this new service would eliminate is the
fake ‘organic growth of followers’. We have seen in the past few months multiple attacks on some big brand names which have accused each other of buying fake followers (fake accounts) and counting them as a huge follower base. This was a long standing argument as these brands had no way of defending or even explaining the sudden rapid growth in their pages.
We will now see a lot of brands investing in the new advertising service on Twitter, glad to see the analytics that they will have access to.
Promoted Tweets is a service that has been offered in the US for quite some time now. It enables companies to select certain Tweets and promote them in the sense that they will always be visible to their target audience.
This is quite important in the sense that a lot of companies release exciting information and want that tweet to remain visible to users who were not necessarily online at the time of its post. The interesting thing with Promoted Tweets is also that it targets people similar to your own target
audience which maximizes reach. It is also available on a mobile device which is defi nitely a plus as statistics show us that the divide between desktop browsing and mobile browsing has signifi cantly changed, with more people browsing through their mobile phones.
Promoted Trends carry massive importance as they carry a prominent placement on the site. Day in day out, users fi nd certain topics that are ‘hot’ every day and this can assist brands to gain popularity as they can place themselves strategically.
Lastly, it is important to mention that the Promoted Accounts will defi nitely see an increase within the brands in the region as brands can now target followers who have an interest in their offering. This should also eliminate the ‘purchase of fake followers’ as brands will now monitor their followers’ base and clean out their pages.
What we have also seen in the past twelve months is the growth of Twitter’s loyal fans in the region. This is particularly an interesting observation as it tells us something about how this target audience interacts or behaves online.
The local users would rather use Twitter and the likes of Instagram to share their content and reach out to likeminded people as opposed to creating a detailed profi le on Facebook.
“Brands can now target followers who have an interest in their offering.”
Sarah Rassasse works for Prototype Interactive, a digital agency based in the UAE.
[11]
Making the web work for you
[12] | vol. 1 /april 2013
GETTING THE RIGHT PERSON
TO SPEAK AT AN EVENT ISN’T
EASY. INTERNATIONAL EVENT
SPEAKER AND HEAD OF
STRATEGIC CONSULTANCY
TECHSAVVYGLOBAL, SCOTT
STEINBERG, TELLS US HOW TO
GET THE BEST PERSON FOR
YOUR BUSINESS.
authors, their inclusion can often enhance team-building exercises, training programmes and execu-tive summits.
Typically, motivational speak-ing presenters are utilised by executives or meeting planners looking to set a specifi c tone for a programme, galvanise heightened interest in occasions, or inspire teams by sharing authoritative insight and outside perspective. So what should you know if you want to hire a keynote speaker? Let’s start by considering the basics.
TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL SPEAKERSA professional speaker gets paid to provide keynotes, workshops, seminars or breakout sessions at international meetings and events. Options are available on virtually every topic including leadership, management, market-ing, sales, customer service, teamwork, education, diversity and more.
Keynote speakers, who range in presentation style from informative to arresting and even outrageous, may also bring tradi-tional performance skills to the stage, such as a fl air for comedy, drama or eye-catching stunts.
All aim to provide inspirational, motivational or attention-getting programmes that challenge indi-viduals and companies to raise the bar personally and profession-ally, overcome challenges, and see the world from fresh viewpoints.
While standardised presenta-tions are available, professional speakers are most effective when they provide customised speeches tailored to your business, helping put attendees in the right frame of mind and providing viewers with immediately actionable advice. When looking for a keynote speaker, start by considering the role the speaker will play for your conference programme, as many types of key note speakers are available, including:• Motivational Speakers• Inspirational Speakers• Corporate Speakers• Thought Leaders and Authors • Educational Speakers• Training and Development Pros• Futurists and Trend Experts
Ask yourself: Which is appro-priate for the audience and programme in question? Next, think about the results you’d like to achieve, and why you want to hire a keynote speaker, with common reasons including to:
How to...
FIND A GOOD CORPORATE SPEAKER
f you’re planning a corporate meeting or special event for your company, your choice of professional keynote speaker to kick off the itinerary can be every bit as important as the venue, theme and timing for the occasion.
While not every conference may call for the services of these individu-
als, who typically take the form of subject matter experts, thought leaders or bestselling
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• Educate• Motivate• Inspire• Drive Change and Growth• Promote Awareness• Fuel Personal or Professional Development• Inform or Entertain
A KEYNOTE SPEAKER’S ROLE AT MEETINGS AND EVENTSA keynote speaker serves many roles at an event, as determined by the client’s specifi c needs, but several common functions they might provide include:• Setting the tone for new programmes, initiatives or busi-ness ventures, and providing a message that reinforces the cornerstone theme for the event.• Engaging, exciting and motivat-ing attendees, helping raise interest and awareness for issues, events, and topics of interest. • Inspiring individuals, teams and entire organisations to heightened levels of perfor-mance or growth and develop-ment, and encouraging them to venture beyond perceived limitations.• Providing training workshops and seminars that impart new skills, talents and insights to the organisation, and provide for positive learning transfer.• Offering expert insight into evolving global trends, business markets and issues that impact both individuals and corporate enterprises, and giving audi-ences an advance look at what tomorrow might bring.
TIPS FOR PLANNING CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
The right speaker will benefi t your company and audience.
How to FIND A GOOD CORPORATE SPEAKER
Ready to plan your special event? In addition to determin-ing the right kind of keynote speaker to kick-off your event, who can either be engaged directly or through a speaking bureau (i.e. agent or broker), it pays to consider a few practical tips.
Start by establishing a date, time, budget, location and venue for the meeting, and contemplating which profes-sional speakers can service both the industry and area. Also take into account the type of presentation you’d like to offer audiences, and in what form (master class, after-dinner presentation, seminar, inspirational morning kick-off,
workshop, etc.) the message is best delivered.
Note that speakers differ in their specialties as well: Motiva-tional speakers often promote growth and positive action; inspi-rational speakers fuel change and encourage peak performance; and keynote speakers inform, excite and drive greatness on the personal, professional and organ-isation levels. All play useful roles in ensuring a successful event.
OTHER POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN HIRING A KEYNOTE SPEAKERYou’ll want to keep in mind the following when planning your next convention, tradeshow or meeting as well:• Clearly establish the purpose, topic and vision for the event up-front• Consider audience makeup and demographics, and the type of speaker most likely to resonate with them• Ask professional colleagues and connections for key note speaking references and recom-mendations• Think about which types of speakers have been successful in the past with similar audiences• Make sure you align keynote speakers and topics with key decision makers’ vision for the programme.
It is important to fi nd out which type of speaker is right for your event.
SCOTT STEINBERGHAS BEEN STRATEGIC ADVISOR FOR MORE THAN 400 PUBLICA-TIONS AROUND THE WORLD
It is important to find out which type of speaker is right for your event
Finance
[14] | vol. 1 /april 2013
So what is crowdfunding and how does it work?Crowdfunding is an alternative method of raising fi nance for a busi-ness, project or idea.
Unlike angel investment, in which one person typically takes a larger stake in a small business, with crowdfunding an entrepreneur can attract a ‘crowd’ of people – each of whom takes a small stake in a busi-ness idea, by contributing towards an online funding target.
It is believed that, in many cases, this model is more successful than attempting to source the full investment required from a single individual or organisation. Further-more, while some investors may be hesitant to invest in an unproven idea, crowdfunding provides an alternative way to source seed capi-tal from a number of backers.
How much does it cost?The majority of crowdfunding platforms won’t charge you for publishing a pitch, however they typically take around fi ve percent commission when you reach your target – so you need to factor this into your investment total. Usually, if you don’t meet your target, you don’t pay a penny.
To encourage people to invest in your start-up, most websites ask you
to offer staggered rewards (such as exclusive access to your fi rst prod-uct or a fi ve-year discount on your services) according to how much people invest.
How could crowdfunding benefit my business?The main benefi t of crowdfunding is that it creates a strong network of support for your start-up. With the equity model in particu-lar, your investors are likely to become ambassadors for your brand – promoting it among their networks, tracking your progress and becoming returning customers themselves. They may also offer to lend a hand, for example by provid-ing free legal advice or accountancy services.
If you promote your investment bid successfully, crowdfunding can also provide a powerful platform to raise awareness of your start-up. It gives you a newsworthy story to pitch to your local, and national, press (which may attract further new business). If you reach your target it also gives a clear message to potential clients, suppliers or future investors that you have the support of the public behind you.
Furthermore, crowdfunding can provide a very fast way to raise cash
– several start-ups have reached their target in just a few days – and there are normally no upfront fees, keeping the process simple. Most crowdfund-ing platforms will look after much of the legal administra-tion for you as well.
Is crowdfunding right for my start-up?Crowdfunding works best for start-ups that have a story to tell – whether a personal reason for starting the business, a passionate vision for what it could become, or a social mission.
People have to feel inspired to invest so you need to write a char-ismatic pitch to get potential inves-tors’ pulses racing, or else display evidence of outstanding innovation.
If you have a mundane or complicated concept which the public will struggle to connect to, crowdfunding may not be right for your start-up. However, any business can succeed with the right pitch – the key to crowdfunding success is: keep it simple.
What if someone copies my idea?There is always a risk of copyright
HOW DOES CROWDFUNDING WORK AND IS
IT RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS? WE LOOK AT
THE PROS AND CONS OF THIS INCREASINGLY
POPULAR FUNDING PROCESS
By Georgina-Kate Adams
[15]
infringement when you release your concept into a public domain, such as the internet, before you launch. However, the chance of someone copying your idea shouldn’t be any higher through crowdfunding than in the period between launching and your business becoming well-known.
Also, because of the scope for crowdfunding to raise awareness of your business, if your idea is original it may actually gain a reputation as the fi rst of its kind – deterring copy-cats.
It is important to remember that the nature of a crowd is, not every-body will agree. Some people may
think that your idea is fl awed, which may further safeguard
it from imitation.
What happens when I reach my crowdfunding target?As with most business deals, when your online target is reached there will be a short ‘cooling-off’ period. Investors will be asked to confi rm their investment and those who can’t follow through may be given the option to withdraw their pledge.
The crowdfunding platform will then refer the case to their lawyers, who will formalise the deal and the money will be transferred to your bank account.
You will be given the details of your investors, so you can liaise with them directly and begin processing their rewards. If you are offering equity, investors may be sent a certifi cate detailing their shareholding.
How involved will investors be in my business?If you are using a reward-based platform your commitment to your investors offi cially ends when their rewards are delivered. However, the more involved you keep them in your start-up, the more they will support and endorse your business as it progresses.
You may wish to create a mail-ing list to send them newsletters or seasonal discounts to maintain their interest. The same principle applies if you crowdfund through an equity-based model, although you may also want to include evidence that you are delivering on forecasted growth and meeting fi nancial targets.
In the latter case, you do have some level of responsibility to your investors, however you shouldn’t be concerned about interference with the day-to-day running of your start-up. Depending on how much
equity you released, generally each investor will only hold a point of a percentage stake in your business.
What are the best tips for crowdfunding success?
Key to successful crowdfunding is understanding the commitment the process entails. Crowdfund-ing can provide a fantastic oppor-tunity for small businesses, but it should not be entered into lightly and, to be successful, requires a careful strategy.
Make sure you have the resource in place to promote your pitch daily, as well as take every phone call and answer
every email from potential investors. You need to create
and maintain momentum.Prior planning is crucial – how are
you going to create a buzz around your business? Find out who your potential customers are and court them for several months before launching your pitch, fi nding out what kinds of rewards would entice them to invest. That way, when you launch the crowdfunding, people will be excited and you can get your busi-ness off to the best start.
Arabian Business Startup B2B GMS 230x170-E indd 1 10/30/12 2:29 PM
hen Samih Toukan launched Maktoob
in 2000 he helped kick-start the
region’s fi rst e-boom.The Arabic email
provider was the fi rst of its kind and gave
the Middle East a new sense of belonging
online, the importance of which led Yahoo! to acquire the company in 2009 in a deal worth about US$165m.
By that point the company had grown to offer a range of services, including chatting, greeting cards, electronic payments, auctions, a market place, games, a search engine, and more.
The deal was the jewel in the crown of the Middle East’s internet explosion which saw various other high profi le deals take place including Thomson Reuters’ US$40m purchase of fi nance and business website Zawya, and a US$20m cash
injection into online clothing marketplace Namshi from JP Morgan Chase and Blakeney Management.
Looking back, Toukan remem-bers the diffi culties he faced as an e-entrepreneur, but also the conviction he had in making the business work.
“It seems a long time ago,” he says. “It was not an easy environ-ment. I think it is much less diffi cult today, though of course there are still diffi culties.
[17]
XXXXXXX
SAMIH TOUKAN, FOUNDER OF MAKTOOB AND
AL JABBAR INTERNET GROUP, SAT DOWN
WITH STARTUP TO TALK ABOUT THE
CURRENT ENTREPRENEURIAL
ENVIRONMENT AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO
ENCOURAGE MORE PEOPLE TO ESTABLISH
THEIR OWN START-UP BUSINESSES.
> By Neil King
BUILDING AN ENTREPRENEURIAL
ECOSYSTEM
ENTREPRENEURS
“The internet was really very new. It barely existed – user numbers were very low. People didn’t understand at this point what it was – it wasn’t part of day to day life.
“So it was a big challenge, even among family members. Maktoob was the fi rst Arabic email. It expanded into other things but it started just as email. In 2000 it was before the internet bubble burst. At the time it was diffi cult to explain the business model, but we saw the long-term, and if the internet was going to spread in the region then the Arabic language was going to be an important factor.
“Financing at the time, however, was non-existent. We had to do it ourselves. We worked really hard and eventually got our fi rst fi nanc-ing, but it was not easy for any start-up or entrepreneur.”
When Toukan parted ways with Maktoob he decided to set up a new company which would not only act as a parent company to various other websites – including those established by Maktoob which were not part of the Yahoo! deal – but also an investor in e-businesses, as well as mentor and advisor.
Al Jabbar Internet Group, based in Dubai Internet City, is now one of the region’s biggest in the sector, and in this new capacity Toukan has noticed some familiar problems.
He tells StartUp that more needs to be done by governments and private companies to help start-ups, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepre-neurs to fi nd their feet in the world of business, and create an entrepre-neurial ecosystem.
“Financing is still a major issue,” he says. “It’s much better than before but it’s still very diffi cult. When Maktoob exited there was a
“If the internet was going to spread in the region then the Arabic language was going to be an important factor.”
Samih Toukan of Al Jabbar Internet Group.
[18] | vol. 1 /april 2013
lot of excitement for investors. It created hope for entrepreneurs to start their own businesses. Maktoob created a good thing, but that was more than three years ago now.
“There’s a lot of money here but it’s not going in the right direction. Investments need ot go elsewhere – not just real estate or to projects outside the region. The online
Samih Toukan
sector, and entrepreneurship in general, is very important to the Arab world.
“There are lots of ideas here and lots of entrepreneurship, and the more we give them in fi nancing and support, the more we can build an ecosystem.
“I would like to see more investment from private companies and governments towards entrepreneurship.”
In terms of invest-ment, Toukan is prepared to put his money where his mouth is. Jabbar pumped about US$100m into the sector last year alone – half the total investment in the region, according to Toukan’s estimates.
“Last year about US$200m was invested. A lot of that came from venture capitalists in the
US and Western Europe. That’s good because there’s interest from outside, but money in the region is
not being put into this sector.“The UAE relative to other Arabic countries
is better, but there’s still a long way to shift towards helping entrepreneurs. If we saw a shift of just one percent or fi ve
percent of money from oil or real estate,
then that’s a huge amount.
“The more fi nancing we have, the more government support, the more businesses and entrepreneur-ship we will have. Look at the US – a large part of the economy there is from SMEs. Facebook, Yahoo! and the like all grew from people’s garages because they had the right support.
“If we saw a shift of one percent or fi ve percent of money from oil or real estate, then that’s a huge amount.”
Toukan says more needs to be done to encourage a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit in the region.
$200Mwas invested into internet
entrepreneurship in 2012.
[19]
ENTREPRENEURS
“Entrepreneurship represents a big hope in the region.”
A big part of this big hope that Toukan mentions is the region’s youth. Research undertaken by Booz & Company in a 2011 study showed that people between the ages of fi fteen and 25 made up nearly 42 percent of the GCC’s population – a fi gure which is rising in what has been described as the region’s ‘youth bulge’.
Toukan says: “We have a lot of youth here and a huge number of them are looking for ideas. Young people don’t want to just be in government jobs. They have ideas. The internet is a great tool that’s breaking borders and they can create products for not just the region but the rest of the world.”
Through Jabbar, Toukan is in regular contact with young people, acting as an incubator, investor and mentor for entrepreneurs who are trying to break into the online market.
But he is quick to stress more needs to be done.
“An education system that helps teach people about entrepre-neurship is so, so important. Big companies need to do their part as well and support these people and their start-ups. If all the big private companies help just a small number of start-ups, the ecosystem will really start to develop.
“Mentors and incubators are great for initiative in helping entre-preneurs. It’s really needed because people need to know about start-ups and success stories and to help them succeed themselves.
“I’m not worried about the youth and them not coming up with ideas. I see their ideas on a daily basis. The problem is where money, investment and support is directed.
“If all the big companies help just a small number of start-ups, the ecosystem will really start to develop.”
Many entrepreneurs need help in fi nding the right next steps to take.
[20] | vol. 1 /april 2013
young people have fear of losing secure jobs and starting something on their own. My advice would be that if you have an idea and are
passionate about it then you have to remove the fear
and just start it. Learn as you go.
“Our culture is very much about family and friends but too often they are not supportive of people
when they are follow-ing their passion. Our
culture is about having very secure jobs but we
need to support people to go out and create their own projects and companies.”
An offshoot of this potential change in appreciation of entre-preneurship would be the creation of jobs.
Saudi Arabia’s National Commer-cial Bank (NCB) compiled a study in 2012 which revealed that unem-ployment of native GCC citizens
Samih Toukan
At the moment it’s going in the wrong areas.”
Another thing Toukan believes needs to be readdressed is the culture surrounding failure. He believes that the mindset of the Middle East needs to allow for success to be part of a longer process and that failure should be instead viewed as experience.
“Eventually the money will come, but society has to change and allow people to have failures. We learn
“If you have an idea and are passionate about it then you have to remove the fear and just start it. Learn as you go.”
People should value entrepreneurs as much as other more established jobs, says Toukan.
42%of GCC citizens are
aged between fi fteen and 25 years old
from them, and it helps us when we start another product or another company. Failure is something you learn from. We should be teaching that in homes and schools.
“We should support people who try and fail, and not condemn them. In the west they like people who have start-ups and fail because they have experience and can learn from it. That’s something that has to happen here.
“The chances of success the second or third time goes up in multiples. We have to teach young people to see it as experience not failure.
Toukan also advises young people, as well as those outside the ‘youth’ bracket not to be afraid to take the step into start-ups, and urges friends and family to give much-needed support.
“A barrier to creating a culture of entrepreneurship is that a lot of
[21]
ENTREPRENEURS
aged fi fteen to nineteen is 27.3 percent, while for the age bracket for 20-24 the fi gure is 28 percent, and unemployment among 25-29 year olds is 14.3 percent.
Another 2012 study, this time by Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) reported rates of overall unem-ployment among native citizens exceeded 10.5 percent in Saudi Arabia, fourteen percent in the UAE, eight percent in Oman and Bahrain, six percent in Kuwait, and three percent in Qatar.
Toukan says: “People don’t realise that SMEs contribute so much. Even in the west they are a major part of economies. I see that as a solution. You can’t employ all people in the army and govern-ment. People need to create companies. Then if each company employs fi ve, ten or 20 people, there is a huge benefi t to society.
“To solve unemployment in the Arab world you would need to create 22,000 jobs every day. The solution is to create that environ-ment of SMEs and other entrepre-neurs. This is one of the reasons there are so many problems. Obvi-ously politics and other reasons are major factors, but the jobs environ-ment needs to change.”Part of this solution, according to Toukan, could be to bring skilled managers in from other countries in order to train a local workforce.
“When we started out, program-mers and peopl like this didn’t really exist here.
But that’s a good thing about Dubai – you can tap into resources from around the world. In our companies we have something like 20 different nationalities. When we started the gaming company there were no people with the necessary skills in the country, so we went to China. Now the guy we hired has
“You can’t employ all people in the army and government. People need to create companies. ”
Toukan is encouraged by the ideas he has seen young people come up with.
[22] | vol. 1 /april 2013
Samih Toukan
trained a complete team who can pass on their skills too. I believe in cultural exchanges like that.
“Some people say that when you bring somebody from elsewhere that you’re taking away an available job. But I don’t see it like that. You’re not taking a job, you’re helping to create more jobs.
“At Maktoob we had to train so many people. Over the time we had the company there were about 600 or 700 jobs. A lot of the people in those jobs had to be trained from scratch, but they became very knowledgeable. I tried to do a graph of it once, and as a direct result of Maktoob there were fi fteen other start-ups that came about.
“It’s really contagious, and it
creates more and more jobs. That was part of our strategy – to help people start their own businesses and build the sector even more.”
When Maktoob was in need of early investment, Fadi Ghan-dour, CEO of Aramex, backed the
company with vital seed money. Toukan mentions Ghandour when looking ahead to how companies can help build entrepreneurialism.
“There’s a term that was coined by Fadi Ghandour called ‘corporate entrepreneurship responsibility,” he says. “If all companies started funds, then it would help so much.
“We need more players in the market. I met a few companies from Egypt but the problem there isn’t that the ideas aren’t good, or that the people aren’t talented. The problem is that people aren’t willing to invest. So these good companies might go out of business because nobody is supporting them.”
Referring to the Arab Spring, he adds that events across the
“As a direct result of Maktoob there were fi fteen other start-ups that came about.”
Toukan believes more ‘leaders’ need to help small businesses get off the ground.
[23]
ENTREPRENEURS
Middle East have provided the internet sector with more pros than cons, and that investors need to act on this.
“In Egypt in one year more than 2.5m people went online. People understand it much more now, whether it’s Facebook, Twitter, or anything else.
“People are using the technol-ogy, so on the other side people need to come on board to fi nance and mentor the businesses. If people have been in the business for 20 years or so, then they can help. That’s what we’re trying to do with Jabbar. We support entre-preneurs and use our experience to help them. If they say they are starting up in Saudi Arabia, for example, we can say ‘ok, do this, and don’t do this’. It’s all part of the ecosystem we spoke about. But we need more leaders.”
These issues aside, Toukan feels very positive about the future, especially when looking close to home at the companies associated with Jabbar. While shying away from specifi c names or fi gures, he says there are “a couple within the group who will be exiting soon,” and claims that the deals will be “as big, if not bigger than Maktoob”.
Indeed, Cobone.com was recently acquired by US invest-ment fi rm Tiger Global Manage-ment for an undisclosed fee.
Toukan adds that “the the market needs this – it will give a push to entrepreneurs”, and reveals that Jabbar is “ready for investment in opportunities – not just e-commerce”.
What’s certain is that Toukan is a big believer and supporter of entrepreneurship, and with his track record, who is to be against him nurturing some of the next generation’s biggest internet stars?
“These good companies might go out of business because nobody is supporting them. ”
Toukan is looking forward to a bright future for internet entrepreneurs.
[24] | vol. 1 /april 2013
PEOPLE. POWER. PROFITS.NOW ON YOUR iPAD
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In-depth news, expert views, big name interviews andexclusive videos now on the Arabian Business iPad App.
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POWERPLAYSTARTUP’S PARENT MAGAZINE, ARABIAN BUSINESS, HAS PUBLISHED ITS ANNUAL POWER
500 LIST, NAMING THE 500 MOST POWERFUL
ARABS IN THE WORLD. WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME
OF THE LIST’S HIGHEST RANKING
ENTREPRENEURS AND START-UP PIONEERS.
POWER LIST
After nine years of the Arabian Business Power List, Prince Alwaleed remains at the top of the tree.
Last year, when we interviewed the entrepreneur in the Kingdom Tower in Riyadh, the shares of Kingdom Holding, the company which he chairs, had shot up 147 percent in twelve months.
And it’s the last year that has, even by his standards, been extraordinary, with KH’s investment strategy across thirteen different sectors paying off big time. He withstood calls to withdraw from News Corp after the phone hacking scandal, and has now seen its share price hit a fi ve-year high. He resisted the pres-sure to jump on the Facebook bandwagon before its disastrous IPO, and was savvy enough to nab a $300m investment in Twitter last December, which observ-ers suggest has rocketed in value. And his decision to stick with Citigroup through many years of thick and thin also now looks completely vindicated.
Kingdom Holding is active in thirteen sectors; fi nancial services; real estate; hotel management; hotel real estate; aviation; petrochemicals; media and publishing; entertainment; private equity; healthcare and education; consumer and retail; agriculture, and various African investments.
But it’s the Prince’s key investments that have made a huge difference, including a 34 percent jump this year in News Corp’s share price, a company in which he holds a seven percent stake. Kingdom Holding also made a $300m investment in Twitter last year, which sources suggest equates to around four percent of the company.
“I have a very structured life: every day the same thing,” the prince told us last year. “That it is like I am on autopilot and why should I change it? It is a recipe for success. If it ain’t broke, why fi x it?”
Why indeed.
PRINCE ALWALEEDChairman, Kingdom Holding Company
Af i
PPCC
POWER500
#1RANKING
An
ITP
Exec
utiv
e Pu
blic
atio
n
VOL. 14 ISSUE 12 | MARCH 24 - MARCH 30, 2013 www.arabianbusiness.com
2013S P E C I A L I S S U E
POWERED BY:
[26] | vol. 1 /april 2013[26] | vol. 1 /april 2013
PO
WER
FUL EN
TREP
REN
EUR
S
[27][27]
POWER LIST
2012 was the year that Fadi Ghandour fi nally stepped down as CEO of Aramex, the logistics fi rm he founded
30 years ago. New CEO Hussein Hachem has now taken on the reins, while Ghandour remains as vice chair-man. Aramex is one of the great entrepreneurial success stories of the Arab world - founded in Jordan, the outfi t took on the giants of the global express industry, such as DHL and FedEx. Via a canny policy of deals and partner-ships, and later organic growth and acquisitions, Aramex is now worth $700m on the Dubai Financial Market, has 12,300 staff in 353 locations across 60 countries, and was the fi rst Arab company to list on the NASDAQ exchange. Ghandour is a founding partner of Maktoob.com; the world’s largest Arab On-Line community which was acquired by Yahoo!; is a member of the board of Abraaj Capital, is a founding board member of Endeavor Jordan and serves on the advisory board of the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business at the American University of Beirut.
“I am not only a fashion designer, I have the vision of an entrepreneur, a businessman,” Elie Saab
told Arabian Business recently.He couldn’t be more right. Today, the 47-year-old
runs a truly global empire, with boutiques in Beirut, Paris, London, Dubai, Hong Kong and Mexico City. The collections are sold in 50 countries and 70 points of sale worldwide. The Elie Saab story is as original as many of his designs. Born in Beirut to a wood merchant and housewife, his interest in dress making started when he was just nine years old. In 1982, at the age of 18, he opened his fi rst couture atelier in Beirut with fi fteen staff on the payroll. Today, with the expansion and growth of the brand, more than 200 employees are part of ELIE SAAB Group. The brand’s global breakthrough started in 1997 with an invitation to take part in the Camera Nazionale della Moda as the only non Italian designer.
Since 1999, Elie Saab has dressed Hollywood cinema, music, theatre and television A-list stars. A philanthropist, he participated in many charity events: Paris tout P’tits, les Sapins des Créateurs, les Frimousses des Créateurs, Sidaction, Red Cross fund-raisers, but also the Mosaic Foundation in Washing-ton, the fi ght against breast cancer in London, the fi ght against children’s cancer in Beirut. In 2003, he received the title of “Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Cèdre” presented to him by the President of the Lebanese Republic.
FADI GHANDOURFounder, Aramex
2012 was th
FF
POWER500
#41RANKING
ELIE SAABFashion designerEF
POWER500
#19RANKING
[28] | vol. 1 /april 2013
PowerplayPowerplay
Known as the ‘Starchitect’, Zaha Hadid’s designs imme-diately lend superstar quality to any building project.
Last year, the Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre was rated by many as perhaps the most beautiful of all the buildings constructed to host London’s Olympic Games. She is famous for consistently pushing the boundaries of modern architecture and urban design. The Iraqi-born entrepreneur became the fi rst woman to win the prestigious Pritzker Prize for Architecture in its 26-year history in 2004 and has won a string of other accolades since, including the Stirling prize for two years running and a prestigious architecture prize for the MAXXI National Museum of 21st Century Arts in Rome. Right now, Hadid’s work is receiving rave reviews in China, where her Wangjing SOHO offi ce and retail complex is set to open next year.
Hadid, who studied mathematics at the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Archi-tectural Association School of Architecture in London, has designed a number of renowned buildings including Maggie’s Centre at the Victoria Hospital in Scotland and the Bridge Pavilion in Spain. In 2010, her London-based architectural fi rm was commissioned to design the new building for the Central Bank of Iraq, her fi rst project in her native country. Hadid is yet to visit the site, but the plans are still in place. In an interview with the Telegraph newspaper last year, she said: “I have not been back for more than 30 years. My resistance has nothing to do with the state of affairs there; it’s to do with my personal, emotional return. It’s a bit traumatic, going back after so many years and you don’t know anyone.”
The growth of the UAE’s second mobile telco, du, has been nothing short of astonishing. As CEO, Osman
Sultan’s role in the company’s story has been vital. Sultan was behind the launch of the highly successful Mobinil in Egypt in 1998, and in 2007 was behind the launch of du, which more than doubled its profi t after royalties during the fourth quarter to $270m, compared to the same period in 2011.
The fi gure topped off a record year for annual revenues and profi t, with du recording a net profi t after royalties of $540m, up from $300m in 2011.
The company’s revenue increased 14.7 percent to $2.77bn during the year, while net profi t before royalties grew 55.8 percent to $768m year-on-year.
The telco said it attracted more than 1.2m new customers in 2012, including nearly 500,000 in the fourth quarter, taking its market share to an estimated 48.7 percent, up from about 47 percent.
Sultan has been a keen advocate and supporter of entrepreneurship, overseeing du’s Entrepreneur Plan, as well as being a central component to popular TV show The Entrepreneur. He is also a regular speaker on the topic across the UAE and beyond.
Said Khoury is renowned as much for his business acumen as his passion-ate support of the Palestinian cause.
He chairs the Palestinian Businessmen’s Association, he’s governor of Arab Monetary Fund and he’s a major shareholder in the Arab Palestinian Invest-ment Company. But of course none of this would have been possible without his enormous commercial success.
With cousin Hasib Sabbagh, in 1952 he founded Consolidated Contractors International Company (CCC), one of the fi rst Arab construction companies. The company posted revenue of $5.2bn in 2011, and manages construction projects in 40 countries, with a focus on Middle East and North Africa. Among its most notable projects have been Qatar’s colossal gas-to-liquids plant, Dubai Mall, and the Princess Noura Bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh.
OSMAN SULTANCEO, du
The growth
OC
POWER500
#54RANKING
ZAHA HADIDArchitect
Known as th
ZA
POWER500
#57RANKING
SAID KHOURY Chairman, Consolidated Contractors Company
Said Khoury
SC
POWER500
#79RANKING
[29]
POWER LIST
An Eton College and Cambridge Univer-sity graduate, Badr Jafar, has certainly
inked a name for himself. Apart from serving as president of Cres-
cent Petroleum, chairman of Pearl petro-leum and of Gas Cities LLC, Jafar is leading a varied group of pioneering companies in his role as CEO of Crescent Enterprises.
That is not where the list concludes. In fact, Jafar tends to be active in different industries, both regionally and interna-tionally, including aviation, shipping, real estate and private equity. Jafar was recently honoured as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, and hopes to break into Hollywood with plans to produce a pro-Arabian movie.
BADR JAFARExecutive director, Crescent PetroleumBE
POWER500
#85RANKING
[30] | vol. 1 /april 2013
Powerplay
Namir Al Akabi was amongst the fi rst in a new wave of entrepreneurs who moved in to seize opportuni-
ties in the country after the US-led invasion in 2003. Starting from scratch, Al Akabi built up the Almco Group of Companies, which is headquartered in Baghdad, but which also has offi ces in Dubai, Amman, Kuwait, Cairo, India and London.
Almco employs 17,000 people and has made its name by providing a whole host of services, from sanitation to construction, and from manufacturing to logistics. Al Akabi is also owner and group chairman of Amwaj International, a subsidiary of Almco, which focuses on real estate develop-ment. One of its biggest projects is the $238m Baghdad Gate, which includes a fi ve-star hotel, 3,500 residential units and a shopping mall. Don’t be surprised to see Al Akabi climbing up the list in the years to come.
In 2001, she won a PhD in biotechnology and has been credited with the invention of MARS, which combines
the effects of light and sound for use in biotechnology. She co-founded Diagnostics for All, an organisation developing a disease-diagnosing paper that changes colours when dabbed with the bodily fl uids of someone who is ill. Sindi is also a fellow at PopTech, which offers fellowships to scientists promoting innovation. In 2011, she launched the Institute for Imagination & Ingenuity, which helps local scientists create business plans and fi nd investors for their ideas.
Famous to countless numbers as one of the judges on TV show The Entrepreneur, and an active member of the Dubai Start-up
session, Muna Al Gurg is a graduate of London Business School who leads the retail division of the family run Easa Saleh Al Gurg group. She steers the fi rm’s strategy and operational development for its international retail brands which include Benetton, Siemens, Unilever, IDdesign and Dulux paints. She was previously on the board of the Dubai Community Theatre and Arts Centre for about six years. The group started Al Gurg’s Women’s Empowerment Forum. Al Gurg is also a board member of the UAE chapter of Young Arab Leaders and their vice chairperson. She is a recipient of the Emirates Women’s Award.
HAYAT SINDIScientist
In 2001 she w
HS
POWER500
#103RANKING
NAMIR AL AKABI CEO Almco Group of Companies
Namir Al Ak
NC
POWER500
#188RANKING
MUNA AL GURGRetail director, East Saleh Al Gurg group & vice chairperson of Young Arab Leaders
Famous to c
MR&
POWER500
#199RANKING
[31]
BUSINESSTHE
WHEN SHANT OKNAYAN AND THREE FRIENDS STARTED GLAMBOX THEY EMBARKED ON THE EXCITING BUT PERILOUS ROAD THAT ALL START-UPS HAVE TO TAKE. HE TELLS STARTUP HOW THEY NAVIGATED THE DIFFICULTIES IN FRONT OF THEM AND TURNED AN IDEA INTO SUCCESS.
> By Neil King
he story of GlamBox not only serves as a symbol of a successful start-up, but also holds within
it several lessons, hurdles and pleas familiar to entrepreneurs in the region.
Whether it’s logistics, staff-ing, fi nances, or anything in between, GlamBox has been through it and, so far, come out the other side. And with the challenges it still faces, the company’s journey is a telling one in terms of diffi culties new businesses have to overcome.
GlamBox was born in 2011 when four friends attended an event and were inspired to step out into the world of start-ups.
One of this quartet, Shant Oknayan, explains that a thirst for entrepreneurship and a can-do atti-tude drove them to explore how they could go into business together.
He said: “We were listening to the talks, and we all looked at each other and said ‘we can do this – what’s
stopping us from doing it?’ We’re all passionate about entrepreneurship, so why don’t we go for it? I still have the piece of paper where we noted down what we wanted to do.”
Deciding to be an entrepreneur and actually starting a business, however, are two very different things. So the group sat down to work out their plan.
“We took time to understand a couple of things,” continues Oknayan. “What’s working well in the US that’s shooting through the roof in terms of growth? What’s missing in the market here?
“We noticed that women were underrepresented online, and while doing our analysis on what’s hot, we came across Birch Box in the US and found a model for sample beauty boxes.”
The blueprint Oknayan and co had found was for an online company offering subscribers a monthly beauty box full of samples, which users can try before buying from the website.
E-CO
MM
ERC
E
BEAUTYOF
[32] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
BEAUTY
“We all looked at each other and said ‘we can do this – what’s stopping us from doing it?’ We’re all passionate about entrepreneurship so why don’t we go for it?”
[33][33]
Looking at beauty products was a shrewd idea. The beauty market in Saudi Arabia alone is worth about $3bn and growing, while the global beauty care indus-try is due to hit $265bn by 2017.
The quartet’s research led them a specifi c corner of the market.
“Lots of businesses doing mass market offerings in beauty, but not so many doing niche. They do ‘women and beauty’, or ‘mums and babies’ but these are very general. We wanted to do something much more niche than that.”
And so GlamBox was born. In 2011 one of the team took a sabbatical to help develop the busi-ness, and the company offi cially launched in June 2012. They funded the project themselves, aboutwhich Oknayan says: “It was a lot of money, but we wanted to at least try to be entrepreneurs.”
With designs on becoming a beauty hub for the Middle East, GlamBox also introduced an online magazine with expert contributors, and the business opened to a good response.
Oknayan explains: “Beauty prod-ucts are expensive. It’s hard to convince somebody to buy when they’re not sure of a product. We put a box together with estab-lished brands and new brands for them to try.
“This box is sent to your home, with deluxe size beauty samples to use for two weeks. Online you have tutorials, bulletins and so on to help you use the products. You also have the full size product available to buy from the website if you like it.
“There’s value there for the customer and the brands.”
What’s more, GlamBox already has plans to increase its service. One example is that the company hopes to collect a ‘beauty profi le’ of each subscriber and tailor a box to each person’s wants, needs, skin type, hair colour, and so on.
“This would really improve our service,” says Oknayan. “But it’s also great data for the brands. It’s great market research and good exposure for the smaller brands.”
On the surface the GlamBox
BEAUTY
story sounds like plain sailing. Indeed, unusually for a start-up the company was making money from day one, as subscribers pay for the service upfront.
However, behind the scenes a series of diffi culties pushed
Oknayan and his colleagues to the limits of their patience
and business skills.One of the fi rst
hurdles they had to overcome was money. Not just in terms of investment, but also in terms of how custom-
ers pay for their boxes.Oknayan says: “When
it came to money we were putting so much in and it was
disappearing very quickly. Obvi-ously with such a good response from customers we needed to keep things moving smoothly as well as expanding our operations. This requires investment and funding.
“In the latter part of last year we purposefully slowed our growth. We slowed down and spoke to inves-tors – venture capital companies in the UAE, Middle East and Europe.
“The problem was that while venture capitalists understand traditional e-commerce, it required much more back and forth to help them understand niche offerings.
“There’s room for growth in niche e-commerce. Customers are more comfortable buying online, and
GlamBoxes include a range of different beauty product samples which you can later buy online.
“When it comes to money we were putting so much in and it was disappearing very quickly.”
$265bnEstimated value
of the global beauty care industry
by 2017
[34] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
[35]
GlamBox
“Cash is king in the Middle East and small e-commerce businesses have to be aware of that.”
investors are jumping into tradi-tional e-commerce more and more. Companies like Souq.com are big news for the Middle East and I think niche e-commerce is the next big thing.”
Within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), total e-commerce sales are estimated to be about $3.5bn, with the UAE accounting for up to 60 percent of transac-tions. According to a 2012 study by Visa, the e-commerce industry is predicted to continue growing at a rate of 30 to 35 percent year on year to almost $15bn by 2015.
But even though the fi gures are promising, Oknayan says there are still challenges.
“With the payment gateways it’s diffi cult to fi nd a good service offering. When you do it’s very expensive so it’s really eating into your fi nances.
“Also, a lot of people still want to pay cash. Cash is king in the Middle East and small e-commerce businesses have to be aware of that. Paypal has come to the region but it’s still a long way from offering a good proposition and other gate-ways are very expensive.”
The subject of payment gateways is one which Oknayan and Glam-Box have found particularly tricky, citing strict bank regulations as one hindrance to smooth operations.
“Banks are very conservative in this part of the world. That’s good in some ways as they can protect you and your business, but it’s not good in other ways.
“Central Bank has stringent rules. In the US you can subscribe to a service automatically and your details are saved to that website so you don’t have to fi ll them in again. Central Bank won’t allow that here. You have to do a one-time transac-tion every time.
“There’s certain due diligence Shant Oknayan, co-founder of GlamBox.
[35]
BEAUTY
the banks need to do. It’s very thorough and offers protection to the merchant and customer, but it’s very stringent when they don’t understand why you’re selling something specifi c online.
“If it’s something that they don’t understand and that they don’t see the online demand for then it can get really tricky. Why are they stopping consumers from access-ing it? Regulations need to be made specifi cally for e-commerce and things are improving, but payments in general is a problem.”
More physical restrictions have also given the GlamBox team cause for concern specifi cally when it comes to deliveries.
Oknayan explains: “Another thing is the landscape, whether it’s how expensive things are, how reliable, or issues with crossing borders. Here it’s still a P.O. Box-based
system, using a courier who has to get directions.
“People tend to go with Aramex but they are expensive and really kill my margins. A lot of e-commerce businesses are start-ing to use their own fl eet, but I don’t want to be a logistics provider – I want to fi nd the best brands and offer the best service on the business side of things.
“This is a cry for help to logistics companies to help SMEs. Work with them. Offer better rates.”
Logistics, payments and investments aside, you won’t get very far in business without the right team. Starting with the initial quartet, GlamBox had to grow its staff roster fairly quickly, which brought its own diffi culties.
Oknayan explains that convinc-ing people to join an unproven start-up company wasn’t easy.“Finding talent is hard, especially talent that’s willing to take such a big leap of faith. In the UAE we’re relatively lucky because there’s a decent pool of talent, but the prob-lem is they’re already in good jobs that pay well.
“I made a point to only hire an A-team. We need to execute properly and that requires the right people. We can’t offer them job
stability and we might not even be able to pay them a salary, but we can offer them excitement.”
Previously employed by Google, Oknayan has experienced a particular working environment
and is keen to both praise the company, as well as take
lessons from it.“Google is a fantastic
company that really encourages entrepre-neurship,” he enthuses. “Of course they want to ensure you’re not doing
something that they are doing, but other than that
they are very encouraging. They knew I was doing Glam-
Box and they were happy to allow it.“Since we’ve had investors on
board, one of their conditions is that one of the board members go full time. So I was the one. The guys at Google were fantastic and said I was living the dream.
“It’s so great that such a big company can go back to its garage start-up roots and say that if you’re helping people get what they want, then go for it.
“The most interesting thing I learnt from Google was to put the end user fi rst. It’s not about money but about creating a service that’s so good and well loved. The money will follow. I also learnt that you can be serious without a suit, which is very refreshing. I like that a lot. It’s
Well known brands as well as up and coming brands are included in the varied boxes.
“This is a cry for help to logistics companies to help SMEs. Work with them. Offer better rates.”
$3.5bnTotal e-commerce sales withing theGulf Cooperation
Council
[36] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
[37]
a fun working environment. They say people are ‘Googley’. We talk business, revenue, data and so on, then we have a game of foosball.”
With a fun working environment in place, and having navigated the rocky early days, Oknayan is hope-ful about GlamBox’s future.
With plans to both expand the company’s range and its reach, the next few years could be ones of serious growth in terms of geogra-phy and profi t.
“We’re looking at two kinds of expansion,” says Oknayan. “The fi rst is geographic. We’re only in the UAE at the moment and people are asking when we’ll be offering a service in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and elsewhere. Once we have a foothold in the UAE we’ll look at how to approach this.
“Secondly we’re looking at vertical expansion. Currently we’re only looking at women’s products, but some women are saying their husbands would like products, so we’re looking at doing a Groom-Box, and even a BabyBox.
“We’ve got to walk before we can run though, so let’s make sure we get the GlamBox service right fi rst. We want it to be exceptional. In fact, we try to call our customers and make sure we’re getting it right and giving them the brands they want.
“Data is king and data from our customer really helps. Making factual decisions is very important, so you’ve got to have data. You can put your gut into it as well, but data is vital. It speaks the truth.”
While trials and tribulations are surely an unavoidable part of the life of a start-up, based on the data provided by Oknayan, it seems GlamBox is destined for success. Oknayan worked at Google, which he says helped encourage his entrepreneurship.
“The most interesting thing I learnt from Google was to put the end user fi rst. It’s not about money.”
GlamBox
[37]
DTime for teaDR MONA ALMUNAJJED TELLS STARTUP WHY
TEA IS SUCH BIG BUSINESS IN THE GULF, NOT TO
MENTION SO BENEFICIAL TO OUR HEALTH.
uring a recent trip to India, I was invited to stay on a magnifi -cent tea plantation in Vandiperiyar, 169km from Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala located on the Arabian Sea. A tropical and monsoon climate provides the region with the rains essential to growing evergreen forests and cash crops such as coconuts,
rubber, tea, coffee, and spices.More than 150 years old, the tea
estate is situated in the mountains at an
altitude of 1,100 metres, where tea, cardamom, black pepper, coffee and vanilla are cultivated together. I was fascinated by the seemingly unending green acres, the long rows of “manicured” tea trees, and the beautiful fertile hills where both men and women workers were plucking tea leaves.
While gazing at the tea planta-tion, I refl ected on the impor-tance of tea production in the world, the countries that produce it, and where it is being exported. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) indicates that world tea production reached almost 4.3 million tonnes
HEALTH
[38] | vol. 1 /april 2013
DTEA
PR
OD
UCTIO
N
[39]
“The Food and Agriculture Organisation indicates that world tea production reached almost 4.3 million tonnes in 2011.”
[39][39]
in 2011. More specifi cally, global black tea production reached 2.7 million tonnes that year, while green tea production attained 1.3 million tonnes. However, due to erratic climate conditions, global black tea production has decreased in all producing countries and has fallen in 2012 by 2.85 percent compared to the same period in 2011.
For a long time, India has been second only to China as the largest producer of tea in the world. The FAO indicates that in 2010 India produced almost 0.97 million tonnes of tea, making up 24 percent of the world’s total production. China,
Afternoon tea is a popular social passtime across the world.
HEALTH
“The consumption of black tea in the Gulf region started over a thousand years ago.”
the top tea producer, produced 1.4 million tonnes of tea that same year, covering 33 percent of the world’s total production.
Recent estimates indicate that in 2011, India’s production reached 0.99 million tonnes, and China 1.6 million tonnes. Other foremost tea producers are Sri Lanka, Kenya, Turkey, Vietnam, Iran, Indonesia, Argentina and Japan.
When visiting the tea factory, I learned about the different process-ing stages of the tea plant and was told that the wealth of the tea estate in Vandiperiyar is based on its tender leaf, which gives an excel-lent quality of tea, black, strong and full of fl avour. I pondered on the importance of tea consumption in the world and in particular in our Middle Eastern culture.
After water, tea is the most consumed beverage worldwide — four million tonnes in 2010 — and is drunk daily in many cultures and at social events. The FAO estimates reveal that in 2011 the Middle East region’s consumption of 0.6 million tonnes of tea was second only to the Far East in global black tea Dr Muna Almunajjed.
[40] | vol. 1 /april 2013
Time for tea
“In the next decade, tea consumption is predicted to grow considerably in the Gulf countries.”
Tea was orginially brought to the Gulf region by traders returning from Ceylon and Kerala.
consumption (the latter reaching 1.3 million tonnes in the same year) and Middle East consumption is projected to increase to 0.76 million tonnes in the next decade.
Among Middle Eastern countries, black tea consumption in 2011 was highest in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq and Sudan.
The consumption of black tea in the Gulf region started over a thou-sand years ago when Arab traders brought tea from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, and from Kerala in south-west India to the Arabian Peninsula
and introduced it to their culture. Tea-drinking has become for Arabs a popular family and social tradition as well as part of the daily drinking pattern.
The latest FAO data indicates that the highest annual per capita consumption of tea in the region is in the UAE reaching 6.24kg. A recent study on world tea consumption disclosed that in Saudi Arabia, which is the second largest consumer of tea in the Arab region, over 19 million cups of tea were consumed daily.
In the next decade, tea consumption is predicted to grow considerably in the Gulf coun-tries. In 2021, black tea consumption is projected to reach 57,930 tonnes in the UAE and 22,701 tonnes in Saudi Arabia.
Moreover, the tea trade in the Middle East is very important. FAO data indicates that in 2010 the region’s tea imports were among the highest in the world, reaching
486,000 tonnes.Today in agricultural trade, tea
is among the top commodities imported by GCC countries. The biggest tea importer in Gulf coun-tries is the UAE with almost 80,000
tonnes imported in 2010 (FAO estimates).
According to a recent report issued by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, the value of UAE tea imports grew to $485m in 2011, and
the country’s share of total global tea imports
increased to 9.4 percent for that same year.
The UAE, which imports tea mainly from Sri Lanka and India, re-exports the majority of its tea to Iran, the GCC region, and other countries in the Middle East. Dubai, which has been for years a regional commodity-trading centre, has become a worldwide centre for the tea re-export market and an interna-tional doorway for the tea trade. Due to its geographical location, it is a vital link between the tea-producing
6.25kgThe annual per capita
consumption of tea in the UAE
[41]
countries and the tea-consuming market. For the past fi ve years, the UAE has held a 60 percent share of the world’s tea re-export market.
To boost the tea trade in the UAE and to assist its international exten-sion, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC), opened in 2005 the Dubai Tea Trading Centre (DTTC), which warehouses raw tea from the major Asian and African tea-producing countries and provides services such as storing tea shipments, arranging tasting and blending according to the specifi c requirements of particular countries
Tea leaves picked in places such as Darjeeling are exported across the globe.
HEALTH
“In 2010, according to the FAO, Saudi Arabia imported 31,594 tonnes of tea worth $211m.”
and markets, and packaging. It is estimated that in 2010 the centre processed over 10.6 million kg of tea. Saudi Arabia is the second highest importer of tea in the Gulf region.
In 2010, according to the FAO, Saudi Arabia imported 31,594 tonnes of tea worth $211m. Nearly half of its tea is imported from the UAE and the rest mainly from Sri Lanka, India, Kenya, Vietnam and Yemen.
A recent study on the Saudi hot drinks market (tea, coffee and other hot drinks) revealed that the total value of the country’s hot drinks market was $ 624m in 2011. In particular, the value of Saudi Arabia’s tea market is higher than the coffee market, $306m compared to $294m in 2011. The market value of coffee is estimated at an increase of only 2.83 percent between 2011 and 2016.
But, it is predicted that the value of the tea market will reach $420m by 2016, an increase of 6.55 percent.
Unfortunately, recent trends in the Gulf region have revealed that the consumption of carbonated beverages is considerably increasing among GCC population. A recent study on Saudi Arabia indicates that in 2010, 2,481 million litres of hot tea were consumed in Saudi Arabia, projected to reach 2,706 million
litres in 2017 — an increase of nine percent. But alarm-
ingly, over the same period, the consumption of soft carbonates shows an even faster growth rate of 24.6 percent. Further esti-mates indicate that soft
carbonates in Saudi Arabia are expected to exceed the
sales of $2.4bn by 2016.Today, in most of the GCC
countries, young people are heavily consuming carbonated drinks to quench their thirst in a hot desert climate making them addicted to the sweet taste of sodas. Furthermore, they are eager to spend lavishly on fashionable and popular fi zzy drinks.
Although banned in schools,
TRA
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SHU
TTER
STO
CK
.CO
M
60%The UAE’s share of
the world’s tea re-exportmarket
[42] | vol. 1 /april 2013
soft carbonated sodas are strongly promoted and sold everywhere in stores, supermarkets, restaurants and in vending machines.
The consumption of soft carbon-ated beverages has become an extremely controversial public health issue. With rising health awareness, there is growing global concern about the negative health effects of fi zzy drinks saturated with sugar and full of calories. These drinks contribute to weight gain, obesity and other health problems such as diabetes, high blood pres-sure, high cholesterol, heart disease and premature aging.
As for diet sodas, although they have limited or no calories, they still contain artifi cial sweeteners such as aspartame, a chemical compound that may harm the brain and cause serious health problems.
In addition, carbonated sodas contain phosphoric acid, which may lead to calcium defi ciency, softening of bones, and osteoporosis, dental caries, tooth enamel erosion, and heartburn. They also contain high amounts of caffeine, which may trig-ger restlessness, tension, insomnia and gastro-intestinal disorders. It is therefore essential to reduce the daily consumption of carbonated drinks for the sake of our health and that of our young generation and promote a serious transition from soft carbonated beverages to healthy drinks.
After water and natural juices, tea is a healthy alternative to all kinds of sodas. More than a thousand years ago our ancestors used to drink it as a healthy and nutritious beverage. Tea is natural and calorie-free and therefore assists in maintaining a
Tea is a staple of many people’s daily routine in the region.
Time for tea
“Tea’s numerous anit-infammatory factors help to prevent the risk of certain diseases.”
healthy weight.Drinking tea is associated with
longer life expectancy and offers a range of health-promoting benefi ts. Tea contains less caffeine than coffee and carbonated sodas, and is full of antioxidants and amino acids, vitamins C, E, and K, L-thiamine and fl uorine.
Tea’s numerous anti-infl amma-tory factors help to prevent the risk of certain diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Tea also regularises blood pressure and diabetes by lowering blood-glucose activity. It strengthens the immune
system as well as the bones and prevents tooth decay. As a mood-lifter, soothing tea helps to reduce mental and physical stress.
The natural benefi ts of tea make it a valuable health commodity not only for drinking, but also as a business commodity for both men and women’s cosmetics and perfumes. Nowadays, manufactur-ers of cosmetics, perfumes and skin care products are developing new products that integrate the benefi ts of tea. Both black and green teas provide a powerful antioxidant in lotions and treatments to help improve the skin, with rejuvenating and anti-aging properties. Black tea is also a natural astringent and adds strength and shine to hair. All kinds of tea, including jasmine and rose tea, are now used in perfume manufacture.
In early dawn, leaving the tea estate with some bags of the best black tea from the plantation to take home to Saudi Arabia, I realised just how healthy tea is and how much it has become precious and valuable to us in the Gulf region.
[43]
FRANCHISING
EVER INCREASING
CIRCLESWHEN TWO FRIENDS FOUND THEIR
LOCAL COMMUNITY LACKING THE
CAFÉ CULTURE THEY CRAVED, THEY
DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND
LAUNCHED CIRCLE CAFE. NOW RAMA
MAMLOUK AND MIRA AL NAIMI HAVE
ALSO OPENED SUSHI COUNTER AND
ARE STEPPING OUT INTO THE BOLD
WORLD OF FRANCHISING.
> By Neil King
f you speak to entrepreneurs, many of them will say their business is their baby. Having breathed life into their ideas, and grown them from tiny operations to fully-fl edged and profi table companies, these entrepreneurs fi nd it hard to imagine that anybody else should have any control over their beloved brands.
But while aspects of these feel-ings may ring true for business partners Rama Mamlouk and Mira Al Naimi, they have a differ-ent point of view when it comes to franchising.
Founders and owners of Circle Café and Sushi Counter, the two
friends have recently started to franchise out their brands in a calculated move to grow their business and help it reach places it may never have otherwise reached.
[44] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
FOO
D A
ND
BEVER
AG
E
Rather than wanting to keep their ‘babies’ entirely under their wings, the duo want them to go out into the wide world and fl ourish.
The story of their company, Radius Group, is an interesting one, seeing tremendous growth in a short space of time, having initially spent years not looking to expand. From bagels to sushi, and on to franchising, the company has found a recipe for success which promises to continue for years to come.
Having met in Dubai in 1999, Mamlouk and Al Naimi – both from Lebanon – bonded over their love of good food, and four years later opened their fi rst outlet, Circle Café, in Media City.
“We started in 2003. Mira had moved from England and me from he US,” says Mamlouk “The market was emerging – there were no cafes or anything. In the US I used to crave bagels, and we both discovered we had a love of food. I wanted bagels and Mira wanted a café culture.”
Al Naimi adds “We only had six-star hotels or fast food to choose from, but we wanted something more home-grown. So we started Circle.”
Investing their own money, and taking business advice and reci-pes from friends and families, the duo soon put together a strong team, and set up shop.
“The fi rst year was very small,” says al Naimi “We had kids and didn’t think that much about growing the brand. That only came with time.”
But grow they did. From their fi rst branch in Dubai Media City, they opened a second café in Jumeirah in 2009, and another in Dubai Healthcare City, before embarking on a new venture, Sushi Counter.
Opening their fi rst two Sushi Counter branches in Media City and Sheikh Zayed Road last year, the businesswomen are confi dent about the reason the new brand has met with early success.
Mamlouk says: “Because there’s no cooking on the menu, we can be creative with our recipes, where we set up, what the interior is like, and so on. We’ve got a Middle Eastern twist to our sushi at the moment – things Creative sushi is at the core of Sushi Counter’s business plan.
Radius Group
[45]
FRANCHISING
like tabbouleh roll and chicken tikka roll.
“Things like this have really helped us stand out from the crowd. We plan to take inspiration from various different parts of the world and create sushi with a twist.
“We love quality, and we want everything we do to be quality. We want to have the best staff, the best service and to keep inventing and creating the best recipes. It’s defi -nitely our passion. We try to bring out another dimension.”
Al Naimi adds: “Visually every-thing has to be beautiful. The look of the cafes and the food has to be great. People notice that and it makes a real difference.”
On the back of their growth, the duo decided to consider something that had been knocking on their door for a while. Franchising.
A decade after opening their fi rst café, Al Naimi and Mamlouk began to look at how to franchise Circle Café – acting upon a demand that had existed for years.
“We have had so much demand for franchise,” says Al Naimi. “It’s now the in-thing, but we’ve had people asking to franchise our café for ten years.”
Franchising has become a watch-word for the food and beverage industry, with numerous brands from America and Europe keen to set up in the Gulf, as well as an increasing number of cafés and restaurants from the region looking to expand operations overseas.
Franchising allows companies to expand their market share quickly and inexpensively, as well as allow-ing franchisees the opportunity to use an established brand’s business model and product.
The franchisees usually pay an initial fee to acquire the right to the use of the brand, and also pay a percentage of their sales to the franchisor on a regular basis. Most franchisors will be particularly selec-tive over who taken on the franchise, and will have a stringent process in place to fi nd the best people to take on the business.
Al Naimi continues: “The demand was there for Circle, but initially we weren’t ready for it. When we
“We want to have the best staff, the best service, and to keep inventing and creating the best recipes.”
Sushi Counter in Dubai Media City is a popular lunchtime destination.
Quinoa and salmon salad.
[46] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
Radius Group
became ready for it, it was a case of fi nding the right people.”
Mamlouk adds: “We had to get it right in-house fi rst and put all of our systems into place. Then we were ready to franchise it.”
“We have a lot of criteria for people who want to take on the fran-chise,” says Al Naimi. “From obvious things like they should be from the food and drink industry, down to much more specifi c things. It’s very important that we are confi dent in the people taking it on.
“There are a lot of people in Dubai with a lot of money but we have to make sure they are right for us. Having money doesn’t always mean they are good for the business. They have to reach and stick to certain
standards, criteria and rules.”While interest and inter-
views are still coming thick and fast, there has already been a breakthrough for Circle Café, with the fi rst franchise opening in Abu Dhabi. And this year promises to see even more branches set up.
“We have six outlets at the moment and we hope to have twelve by the end of 2013,” says Mamlouk “All of a sudden things are growing really fast.”
The duo are particularly hopeful for the franchise potential of Sushi Counter, citing the simplicity of the concept as the main reason it is possible to grow quickly.
Mamlouk continues: “Sushi Counter is such a simple concept. For every ten Circles you can set up, you can set up 30 Sushi Counters. It really just has to be a counter. That was defi nitely part of the business plan – how best to use the space in order to offer people what they want and in order to run the business in the best and most effi cient way.”
Al Naimi adds: “The move to franchise for Sushi Counter should be very easy. We have a great chef who comes up with brilliant ideas,
we have a concept which allows people to get something quickly and easily, we have quality food, and it looks good too. It’s a simple concept to establish and run, so it should do really well.”
So why did the business partners consider franchising at all?
“After all these years in the business, we found that going the franchise way is the safest way
“There are a lot of people in Dubai with a lot of money, but we have to make sure they are right for us.”
Mira Al Naimi. Rama Mamlouk.
An array of Sushi Counter’s sushi.
[47]
FRANCHISING
to grow the business,” says Mamlouk.
Al Naimi adds: “For the people taking on the franchise, everything is given to them on a platter. We’ve made the mistakes and dealt with them already, so there won’t be any bad surprises for them.
“It’s a good brand with good systems in place and it should be a ready-made success for anybody who takes on the franchise.
“We went to a seminar a while ago where we learnt about franchises for three days. We learnt that usually 90 percent of start-up businesses fail and ten percent succeed, but if you take franchises then ten percent would fail and 90 percent succeed.
“It really helped open our eyes and gave us some great information.”
But working on franchises is not the only thing Al Naimi and Mamlouk are doing to help maintain healthy business.
They have made efforts to improve their online ordering and delivery systems, giving customers more access to their food.
“We want to perfect every aspect of the busi-ness and this defi nitely includes the delivery system,” says Al Naimi
“We put a lot of consideration into this,” adds Mamlouk. “We have tried to make the online system simple and straightforward. I’m not so hi-tech, but even I can order from it. And my seven-year-old can do it too.”
Workforce is also key to the continuance and development of the operation, and is something Al Naimi and Mamlouk are keen to invest time and energy into.
Mamlouk says: “Dubai attracts a lot of people who want to work. Most are already well trained and ready to work but sometimes there is a chal-lenge to get them ready. We try to put them on the right track.We like to promote from within because it’s better for us and better for the staff. We have a waiter who became a manager at Circle – this is something we really like to do.
“I think we are quite relaxed here. We try to treat people fairly and equally. We want them to come to work happy and feeling like they are a part of Circle or Sushi Counter.”
Looking to the future is clearly an important part of Radius Group’s thinking, and there are already plans to establish new ideas away from Circle and Sushi Counter.
Mamlouk says: “We have a concept that we’re working on at the moment in the pasty industry. It’s
Preparing sushi at Sushi Counter
totally different to what we’re doing now. People like new ideas, but they also like big established names, so we really have to fi ght for our place in the market, which is a big creative challenge.”
Al Naimi reveals: “We’re trying to get ahead of the game. We want to look at health food and push that.
“It’s been happening globally for a while now, and Dubai is starting to follow it.”
Mamlouk adds: “Ten years ago people weren’t that receptive to it, but now they like healthy and organic food, which we both love.”
Growth is clearly still on the freinds’ minds. If it’s hard to imagine the size of the growth their business so far, perhaps this fi gure will illus-trate it. Starting with one café and seven employees, the group hopes to have 350 members of staff by the end of the year across its twelve outlets.
Not bad for two women who just wanted a good bagel and coffee.
“It’s a good brand with good systems in place and it should be a ready made success for anybody.”
l Some of the business’s popular sushi.
[48] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
THE ESSENTIAL MONTHLYMAGAZINE FOR DECISION MAKERS
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i n t e r v i e w s a n a ly s i s t r e n d s e x e c u t i v e l i f e s t y l e
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WATCH & LEARNIconic watch maker Bulova is targeting the Middle East. Can it succeed?
RETAIL FRENZYMAF Ventures has found new markets
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How Batelco is competing at home and abroad
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Isa Al Khalifa
SEE PLUSCODED BUSINESSDECISIONS
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HRH Prince Alwaleed Abdulla Al Zamil Reem Asaad Abdulaziz Al Hamwah Tony Jashanmal Elie Khouri Ram Buxani Hisham Ezz Al Arab Khaldoun Tabari Masood Al Alwar Nayla Al
Khaja Kurt Ritter Raju Shroff Zeina Tabari Hashim Shawa Sobhi Batterjee Maurice Flanagan Adel Ali Saad Al Barrak Khalaf Al Habtoor Wadah Khanfar Dilip Rahulan Alex Saber Randa
Ayoubi Mohammed Alshaya Shehab Gargash Subhash Chandra Andrew Elias Ian Johnston Tim Clark Fahd Al Rasheed HH Sheikh Saud Al Qasimi Dr Amina Rustamani Eddy Abramo
SPECIAL INTERVIEW
ISSUE: LOOKING BACK AT 2012
We speak to the Middle East’s most important
players
THE ARABIAN BUSINESS STARTUP ACADEMY CONTINUED AT PACE WITH TWO ENTREPRENEURS GIVING ATTENDEES THE BENEFIT OF THEIR EXPERIENCE. ALEX ANDARAKIS OF ANDARAKIS ADVISORY SERVICES AND SHANT OKNAYAN OF GLAMBOX GAVE THE AUDIENCE AN INSIGHT INTO WHAT IT TAKES TO START A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS.
> By Neil King
VOICE OFTHE
EXPERIENCEEXP
ERIEN
CE
ACADEMY
[50] | vol. 1 /april 2013
xperience is a vital thing in business, so hearing from people who have been there and done that is a huge benefi t to start-ups and SMEs.
At the second Arabian Business StartUp Academy attendees were treated to presentations by two men who, while being at different stages of their entrepreneur-ial journeys, have both been
through the trials and tribulations of starting a new business.
Shant Oknayan gave the audience the inside track on GlamBox, and the ups and downs he encountered while setting up the business. You can read more about his experiences on pages 32 to 37 of this edition of StartUp, in an interview during which he pinpoints how he overcame the hurdles placed in front of him.
While Oknayan is at the beginning of his adventure, the Academy’s other speaker, Alex Andarakis, has several years of success in various fi elds behind him.
The founder and managing director of management consultancy fi rm, Andarakis Advi-sory Services had a 24-year professional career at some of the region’s biggest companies before taking the leap into entrepreneurship and start-ing his own private business.
With job titles such as CEO, managing director and executive director at companies including Emaar Properties, Unilever, Aujan Industries and Al Islami Foods on his CV, Andarakis was well placed to explain to the audience how he made the transition from successful career to owner of a start-up.
Starting at the begin-ning, Andarakis spoke of his upbringing and underlined his experi-ence: “I’m an Australian living in the Middle East. I’m working in Dubai but have worked in Jeddah, Alexandria, and just about every Arab market in the past 20 years.”
Having graduated in marketing and law, he went into real estate, where he says he “learnt a bit about entrepre-neurship.” Something that prepared him for his own step into the unknown.
Using other entre-preneurs’ philosophies, Andarakis spoke
nnnooooouueeellllllEEEEDDDDDDiiiiaaAAAAAA22
mmmmwwwwwwwwwwwwaaannnntttttttttthhhhuuuuuuuu
ppppAAAAAAA Shant Oknayan of GlamBox.
Alex Andarakis of Andarakis Advisory Services.
“Winning is more important than taking part in the competition.”
[51]
about what you need to think about upfront.“Richard Branson’s philosophy is ‘no regrets’. Sheikh
Mohammed’s is ‘build it and they will come’. Steve Jobs says you can’t look back, you have to look forwards. I worked with Alabaar at Emaar – he had a dream. Tony Soprano – he’s an entrepreneur, and so is Tiger Woods.
“What can we learn from them? You’ve got to have passion and determination. Winning is more important than taking part in the competition. You’ve got to have
Attendees networked at the recent Arabian Business StartUp Academy.
“My ambition was still strong but my goals had changed.”a belief system, you’ve got to create followers.”
Pointing out some funda-mentals of entrepreneurship, he added: “It’s a lot of hard work and commitment. You’re going to go through a lot of frustration. A client will call you and say ‘I want to see you at eight in the morn-ing – how can you turn around my business. Give me a proposal tomorrow morning’. Then, if you manage it, it suddenly goes dark. Your client won’t answer the phone for a long time, and then all of a sudden he’ll call and say ‘we’re going to start today’. There
ACADEMY
[52] | vol. 1 /april 2013
[53]
The business of beauty
is frustration at the core of every entrepreneur.”
During his professional career, Andarakis was responsible for the $3.5bn Lipton brand, had eighteen years with Unilever, was CEO of Aujan Industries, executive director at Emaar Properties, managing director at Omniyat Properties and CEO of Al Islami Foods.
But as he admits, “I was burnt out.“I had no life, and I really value
my life and my time playing golf and with my kids.
“One day three years ago I thought ‘I can’t do this any more’. So I took six months off and then I started my own business.
“I didn’t have lack of options – I had offers to stay on with Unilever and Emaar. I was fi nancially secure, so why take the plunge into private business?
“In truth it had left a gap in my personal growth. My ambition was still strong by my goals had changed. Boredom had taken over. All my life I had wanted to be a CEO but when I got there I very quickly got bored. My motivation to run to work had diminished. At my last job I was driving my car 20kph because I didn’t want to get to work.”
And so he set to work looking at how to start his own business. Freely admitting that age was against him and that he felt like he was “becom-ing a dinosaur,” he says he had to retrain himself and become familiar with social media and other impor-tant aspects of business which defi ne the modern era.
“At 46 it was now or never,” says Andarakis. “It’s an old age to start a private business. I could afford for it not to be that successful. I was prepared to invest a lot of money, and I decided that only I would be in the business, nobody else.
“I would literally do it all myself – the books, the IT, everything. I had to focus on leveraging my network. I also had to have strong discipline. Working from home wasn’t an option for me. I had to get up early, put on a suit and go to work. I had to reinvent myself and private business was the best way for me to do this.”
Understanding where he was, and where he needed to be was key to Andarakis and his fl edgling business, and he knew he had to undertake a wealth of groundwork in order to put down strong foundations from which to build.
“I had to decide where to pitch myself, and why I had a right to be successful with my business.
Andarakis and Oknayan’s presentations drew a lot of questions from attendees.
“I had to decide where to pitch myself and why I had a right to be successful.”
[53]
ACADEMY
“I asked myself what preparation I needed to do? Who is my target audience? How can I capture people’s imagination? How can I capture value? What structure do I need in order to develop?
“I also had to work out how I would create awareness, and whether I was prepared for potential struggles and challenges. Was I prepared to do this over the long-run?”
An important thing for Andarakis to do was create his brand, or establish the company’s “brand DNA”. Taking inspiration from Roger Federa, Arabian stallions, luxury sports cars and precision watches among other things, he was able to establish what his new company would look and feel like, and the quality of service it would offer.
Then, he says, he had to look at recruiting clients. Looking at all the possible targets avail-able to the company, he narrowed them down to ‘strategic targets’ and then narrowed them down further to ‘prime prospects’, leaving him with “those with the highest growth potential for building sales, leasing, and brand equity momentum.”
He was left with real estate developers, fast moving consumer goods, retail malls, and hotels and hospitality.
Explaining the process to fi nd his target audi-ence struck a chord with the Academy’s attend-ees, showing how he looked at each possible target, and gave them a ranking of one to fi ve in a series of categories including ‘right to win’, ‘attractive need’, ‘attractive scope’, and ‘attractive fees’ among others. Those with the highest overall scores became his key targets.
And the results spoke for themselves.“We got 42 account wins in 34 months, and 90
individual assignments,” says Andarakis. “We also outperformed our revenue targets
every year. By 2011 we had already beaten our 2014 target.”
Imparting some fi nal words of wisdom, he listed the top ten lessons he and his company had learned since deciding to start-up a business.1) Business development lead time2) Clients lost trust in ad agencies
3) Clients lost intimacy in major consulting groups4) Advance payment critical to gauge client commitment5) Business model needs to evolve continuously6) Reputation is paramount so delivery is key7) Partner networks need careful screening for FIT8) Pricing is secondary if relationship is established9) Customer care – 24hr turnaround come what may10) Be careful not to dilute your brand for short term opportunities
Explaining the risks each lesson posed, he also explained their mitigation options and how Andarakis Advisory Services overcame each issue.
This valuable insight into the inner work-ings of a successful start-up gave the Academy audience an important fi rst-hand example of the challenges facing new businesses, but also the encouragement to forge ahead with their plans, safe in the knowledge that the right kind of plan-ning can lead to the best results.
Listening intently to the presentations.
“We got 42 account wins in 34 months, and 90 individual assignments.”
[54] | vol. 1 /april 2013
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For advertising or sponsorship enquiries, contact:
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2013S P E C I A L I S S U E
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Arne Sorenson, the hotel giant’s global CEO, is staying upbeat despite spending cuts in the US
IN LIMBOEGYPT’S ELECTION
IS DELAYED \\ P42
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LGT GROUP SEES OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GULF \\ P28
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DOING, IT’S NOT A JOB, IT’S A MISSION
MAHMOOD HASHIM
AL KOOHEJI
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Boris Collardi, CEO of Swiss private banking giant Julius Baer, is on the hunt for high net worth individuals in the Gulf
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VEHICLE FOR GROWTHPARAMOUNT’S PLANS FOR THE UAE \\ P32
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COMPARED TO INDIA
DOUG STONEHAM
ENTER THE DRAGON: CHINA’S TIES TO THE UAE ARE GROWING RAPIDLY //P26
July - Dec 2011
23,016
While western weddings have an average spend of
$20,000, Arabic weddings hit an
incredible $82,000.
BRIDE DUBAI
Anybody who has been to an Arabic wedding will know that it’s a serious business.
The traditional western one-day affair demands enough attention to detail, from invita-tions to dress, menu and venue, but marriage celebrations in the Middle East are in a different league.
Whether it’s the henna night, welcoming procession, outfi t changes, jewelery, musicians, feast, or deciding where to hold the wedding, and for how many
BRIDAL EXHIBITION BRIDE DUBAI RETURNS THIS MONTH WITH AN
EXTRA EMPHASIS ON SMALL BUSINESSES LOOKING TO BREAK INTO A
COMPETITIVE AND VERY ACTIVE MARKETPLACE. EXHIBITION DIRECTOR
DAPHNE COTA AND TWO SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS TELL US WHY
WORKING TOGETHER IS A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN.
> By Neil King
days, every details is important. It’s not just the acknowledge-ment of two people’s love for each other; it’s the most precisely planned – and biggest – party you can imagine.
The stats speak for themselves. While western weddings have an average spend of $20,000, Arabic weddings hit an incredible $82,000.
The UAE National Bureau of Statistics record that in 2011 there were a total of 15,105 marriages registered at courts, meaning that – based on the two averages above – somewhere between $302m and $1.24bn was ploughed into the wedding market in that year alone.
So it’s little wonder that the Middle East’s largest bridal and fashion exhibition, BRIDE Dubai, continues to attract more and more visitors.
“We are getting more visitors every year,” says exhibition
AAAAAAAIIIIIII
N BRIDE DUBAI RETURNS THIS MONT
S ON SMALL BUSINESSES LOOKIN
ERY ACTIVE MARKETPLACE.
ND TWO SMALL BUSINESS OW
WORKING TOGETHER IS A MATCH MADE IN
[56] | vol. 1 /april 2013
WED
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WEDDED BLISS
[57][57]
director Daphne Cota. “This year we’re expecting more than 16,000 – that’s an increase of about seven to eight percent on last year.
“We also have about 350 exhibitors – a ten percent growth compared to last year.”
Taking place between 10-13 April and organised by Informa Exhibi-tions, the reason both visitors and exhibitors fl ock to the show seems obvious. With fi fteen editions already behind it, as well twelve editions of its sister event in Abu Dhabi, BRIDE Dubai has become an institution, giving exhibitors huge exposure, and giving visitors a one-stop-shop for all their wedding needs.
“We promote it as a consumer show,” continues Cota. “You can buy
BRIDE DUBAI
the products on display and people buy a lot of them because you can’t fi nd them in the stores here. We try to balance the different items in the show, from wedding dresses, jewelry, wedding organisers, and so on.
“Over the years we’ve tried to give a platform for exhibitors, both local and international, to showcase their products. It’s really a place where people can buy something different and unique – there are things at the exhibition that you won’t easily fi nd anywhere else.
“What’s good for us is that the global market crash didn’t really affect the wedding market. It’s growing by 20 percent each year, which is really impressive. Numbers are still growing at the exhibition, which is great to see.”
One of the important aspects of the show, according to Cota is the inclusion of start-up businesses and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
Teaming up with Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development, BRIDE Dubai now features more young
“We are trying to give a platform to young designers.”
Make-up is vital to bridal preparation.
Wedding paraphernalia of all types will be on display at BRIDE Dubai.
[58] | vol. 1 /april 2013
Weddings
designers, business owners and entrepreneurs than ever before.
“It’s a very good initiative to tie up with Dubai SME this year,” continues Cota. “It gives us a broader range to show and it’s a good opportunity for SMEs.
“It’s sometimes really hard for them to be able to launch, so we are trying to give a platform to young designers, as well as giving them stalls at cheaper rates to encourage them. Most of these brands won’t have a store, so being visible at the show and establishing so many new contacts is great for them.”
Cota explains that the show attracts a lot of clothing brands and designers, particularly from the UAE but also from Saudi Arabia, Jordan Lebanon, and further afi eld. She says the traditional robe-like dress – the abaya – is especially popular for both the exhibitors to display and attend-ees to buy.
One such exhibiting company, Malik Alabaya, is a prime example of a small business which is benefi tting from the show’s tie-up with Dubai SME. Owner Mohammed Al Muhairi explains the exhibition is vital in order for his business to grow.
He says: “This exhibition is one of the major exhibitions not only here but in the region. For small busi-nesses like mine it’s a platform to reach another level. It broadens the market for my shop and gives me access to a much wider network.”
Al Muhairi says the help govern-mental groups have provided him with have given his business the impetus and contacts it needs to develop quickly.
“I’m not new to this business,” he says. “Before this I was in textiles, but I wanted to start a business with a small workshop and tailors.
“I went to the Mohammed bin Fashion shows form a large part of BRIDE Dubai.
Exhibition director, Daphne Cota.
[59]
Rashid Al Makhtoum Founda-tion and the management courses they gave me really helped. They gave courses on how to target differ-ent markets and target different audiences – for example, if we were designing a particular abaya then how would I attract the market in Abu Dhabi and not Ras Al Khaimar. Since these courses the business has grown considerably. We now have a huge villa in Jumeirah with 25 workers.”
These courses and subsequent growth helped give Al Muhairi extra knowhow on how to approach the exhibition, maximising the compa-ny’s impact and attracting as much interest as possible.
“When we fi rst decided to be part of the show earlier this year we decided to have a new strategy and improve the collection,” he says.
“We changed the fabric and textiles
BRIDE DUBAI
Businesses will display a range of their products.
so that they are top quality because a show like this has a lot of other abaya designers and they want to stick out just as much as us. So we decided to take a new path in order to up our game.
“Everything we are showcasing will be new and has never been on the market before. It’s very innovative and very different and will hopefully awaken interest.”
Cota adds that this is one of the great things about having so many start-ups and SMEs taking part of the exhibition.
She says: “The small businesses and young designers are always creative and keen to bring something new to the exhibition. They are more eager to present something different because the competition is so much higher at the start-up stage.
“We’ve worked in the past with young designers and new designers
and they really make a huge effort to do something special. On the show fl oor they are pitted against estab-lished international brands so they have to do something creative.
“We’re actually streamlining our process of fi nding and helping SMEs. We don’t just want to help them fi nancially – we want to give them advice as well to help them develop. The government is really helping and local businesses are on the increase.”
Another Emirati entrepreneur making the most of BRIDE Dubai and government projects is Alham Al Rabeea, owner of SOL Fashion Boutique in Jumeirah Plaza Centre.
Having opened the boutique in October last year, she has seen a big change in the development of her business.
“Before 2012 I had just a workshop and I was working from home. It was all just the internet and a phone – that’s it.
“Dubai SME has really helped with things like contacts, and this exhibi-tion is one example of that. I’m really grateful for what they’ve done.
“We now have more than 30 designers at our store – mostly local designers but also from all other parts
“The small businesses and young designers are always creative and keen to bring something new.”
One of Malik Alabaya’s designs. Mohammed Al Muhairi of Malik Alabaya.
[60] | vol. 1 /april 2013
of the world. Originally we were a company just making abayas, but we wanted to grow and now we’ve been able to do that.
“At the exhibition I really want to meet new people – new designers, suppliers, customers. It will be of great value to me and my company – a huge credit.”
Al Muhairi expands on the way his and other small businesses have been able to grow, saying: “For a long time we only had four employees, but since joining the foundation we have gone from four to 25.
“The growth is not just because of the interesting courses they gave
us but also we get special discounts on things like employment visas – if the visas normally cost AED7,000 we get them for AED3,000. This kind of help really offers us a shortcut into business.
“Sheikh Mohammed has also given ten percent of government authori-ties permission to give SMEs a special service. We can go into a particular line and get help much more quickly. We’re also exempt from tax if we send products out of the UAE.
“Because of this kind of help the future is very bright.”
According to offi cial statistics, SMEs contribute to about 40 percent of the UAE’s GDP, with more than 230,000 registered throughout the
Weddings
“At the exhibition I really want to meet new people – new designers, customers.”
Numerous wedding dresses will be showcased at the exhibition.
country – a number which is set to grow as numerous banks launch SME campaigns, including preferential loan rates, as well as business advice.
Growth and development is not confi ned to SMEs, however, as Cota explains that the established BRIDE Dubai exhibition is always looking for something new to offer visitors.
“Trends shift, and we’re always looking for the new designs and trends to be in the show,” she says.
“Jewelry is of course very important to every bride, so we have opened a new jewelry pavilion. We’re looking forward to the visitors seeing that. I’m also really excited to see the new lines from the local designers. This is the fi rst time we’ve had so many design-ers coming to the Dubai show – it’s really booming at the moment.”
Daphne also reveals that a new exhibition is on the horizon for Dubai. Beyond Beauty Arabia has already launched in Abu Dhabi, and will be arriving in Duabi in 2014, expanding on many the beauty aspects featuring in the BRIDE shows.
It’s clear to see that growth is infec-tious. From the exhibitions, to SMEs, to the products businesses offer, the bridal market doesn’t look like it will be slowing down any time soon. Cota tailors the show to the latest trends.
[61]
THE DOs AND DON’Ts OF JOB APPLICATIONSTHERE’S A LOT YOU SHOULD AND SHOULDN’T DO WHEN
SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION. WE TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE
MOST COMMON MISTAKES, AS WELL AS WHAT EMPLOYERS ARE
LOOKING FOR IN NEW STAFF, WITH THE HELP OF REED GLOBAL
AND THE BRITISH COUNCIL.
CV advice
[62] | vol. 1 /april 2013
ob-seekers based in the Middle East are committing simple errors when apply-ing for positions, hampering their chances of landing a dream job, according to the recruitment company REED Global.
With job applica-tion activity increas-ing signifi cantly since the New Year, REED’s Dubai-based team
compiled UAE-specifi c research from 2012 analysing common
factors that led to job applications being rejected
Examples included applicants distributing multiple versions of their CV containing signifi cant content differences, having errors in the subject line of their email, and making blanket applications for a company’s available positions.
Other mistakes included apply-ing for jobs using informal email addresses, failing to update contact details and replying “yes” to every question on a screening question-naire.
Addressing job-hunters who use informal email addresses when submitting CVs or applications, Ash Athawale, recruitment manager at REED, said: “You don’t get a second
chance to make a fi rst impression. These fi rst impressions are abso-lutely vital and using an unprofes-sional email address that starts with something like ‘partygirl’ or ‘gamer-boy24x7’ won’t impress a recruiter.”
Recruiters are also wary of candidates who send out multiples versions of their CV, sometimes including signifi cant differences in content.
“Both internal and external recruiters will have a copy of your resume already on fi le and if the ‘latest’ version you send varies signifi cantly from what they have already, you’re setting off red fl ags, said Mr Athawale.
He advises job-seekers to adapt their cover letter or summary according to the position they’re applying for, but to leave job titles, dates of employment and scope of work done unchanged.
Another common mistake is making blanket applications for a host of jobs, rather than choosing positions that match specifi c skills. Recruiters receive applications in one central email box and will delete applicants who respond to multiple jobs that a company posts, REED stressed.
REED also warned people against answering positively to all screening questions on job boards.
“Not all answers to job application have an expected answer of “Yes”, said Mr Athawale.
“I have periodically posed ques-tions where the answer should be ‘No’. For example ‘Do you have a work ethic that is questioned by your superiors?’ or ‘Are you apply-ing for this job without reading the description?’”
Job-seekers should also check the contact details they provided in past applications, with some listing a work phone number or email address that became out of date after changing employers. Companies also have the right to scan employ-ees’ work email meaning there should be no expectation of privacy if you are found looking for a job on company time.
And those who think their
[63]
private lives are private should think again, REED warned.
“The fi rst thing recruiters do when they see a good profi le is look up the applicant on LinkedIn, Facebook or other professional and social networks and perform a general web search on their name or email address,” said Mr Athawale.
“Finding out about your social life outside of work, including embarrassing pictures, will guar-antee you don’t get a call back.”
If you want to know how you can increase your chances more positively, then new research by the British Council in part-nership with Booz Allen Hamilton and Ipsos Public Affairs can lead the way.
Finding quali-fi ed candidates and keeping up with technological innovation are the two most pressing business challenges facing UAE employers, according to the research.
Employers were asked what skills and qualifi cations were most required to meet business needs.
It found that intercultural skills are currently amongst the most valued by employers in the UAE: 59 per cent said staff with intercultural skills are likely to be promoted more quickly (compared to 37 per cent average across the nine countries surveyed) and 57 per cent of UAE employers actively screen for intercultural skills in their recruitment process (compared to 46 per cent average).
When asked to defi ne ‘inter-cultural’ skills, UAE employers said these included the ability to understand different cultural contexts and viewpoints, adapt easily to different cultural settings, demonstrate respect for others, and communicate in foreign languages.
They reported that employees with these skills are more likely to bring in new clients, work well in diverse teams, and build trust and relationships with clients. Employ-ees who lack intercultural skills leave their organisation suscepti-ble to risks including confl ict and miscommunication within teams,
“Those who can develop their skills will have a clear advantage.”
CV ADVICE
loss of clients and loss of sales.The research also revealed that
fi nding candidates with good communications skills is a more pressing human resources issue for UAE employers than fi nding candidates with the right formal qualifi cations. A high 71 per cent of employers felt that UAE educa-tors could do more to develop good communications skills in employees of the future.
The research was launched at the British Council’s annual conference for the world’s educa-tion leaders, Going Global, held
earlier this year in Dubai. Speaking at the event, Gordon
Slaven, UAE country director of the British Council, said “Employers in the UAE are looking to the country’s educators to play a greater role in developing good communication skills so students are able to meet the demands of an increasingly fast-paced global marketplace.”
Clifford Young, managing director of Ipsos Public Affairs’ public sector research and political polling in the US, added: “In an increasingly globalised world, the market is demanding more than hard skills.
“UAE employers are placing an especially high value on candidates who have the fl exibility to adapt to new technological innovations, new ways of thinking, who demonstrate respect for others and who under-stand different cultural contexts and viewpoints.
“Those who develop these skills will have a clear advantage in their own careers and will help ensure the UAE continues to grow its infl uence in the global market.”
When applying for a job, be aware that employers may check your Facebook profi le.
[64] startup | vol. 1 /april 2013
Joining ITP Executive’s market leading portfolio of business publications, StartUp is a much needed publication for the Middle East focusing specifically on small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
Subscriptions are free for qualified professionals in the Middle East. Simply visit www.itp.com/subscriptions to start receiving your new monthly tool
for building your business.
Providing monthly updates and advice on the topics that small businesses need to know to boost their bottom line and
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MEET THE TEAM CONNECTING
SPORTS FANS ACROSS THE UAEMEEMEET TT THEHE TETE
SPORTING CHANCE
THE SOCIALITEWHY LINKEDIN IS
GOOD FOR BUSINESS
RISKS
ENTREPRENEURS
SHOULD TAKE
10
DOING IT LEGALLYWe meet the lawyers who
are offering free advice to
start-up businesses
JOBS FOR THE GIRLSHow Glowork is giving
Saudi women a helping
hand in the job market
SPORTINVOL. 1 ISSUE 5 | FEBRUARY 2013
An ITP Executive Publication
HOW AHMED DAWOOD
IS BRINGING BRANDS
INTO THE DIGITAL AGE
SOCIALPHENOMENONWAYS NOT
TO SPEND
for SMEs which want to save
THE LIFE OF LUXURYTalking high end holidays with
Liam Wholey of The Travel Attaché
FINANCE HOW TOs NETWORKING SOCIALITE LOCATION HOW I DID IT
5
An ITP Executive PublicationVOL. 1 ISSUE 06 MARCH 2013
TheSocialiteMAKE YOUR COMPANY
BLOG WORTH READING
EVERY ISSUE
Human touchHow to put
together an HR department
which can help
your business flourish
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CHARISMATIC SPORTS PROMOTER BARRY
HEARN HAS MADE MILLIONS REVAMPING
SECOND-TIER SPORTS. NOW HE HAS SET
HIS SIGHTS ON THE MIDDLE EAST.
> By Courtney Trenwith
SPORT
A GOOD SPORT
t would make a great trivia question: what is the second highest rated televised sport behind foot-ball? The answer would stun many. It’s darts.
The arrow-throwing game that hails from English pubs has evolved into a multi-million-dollar phenomenon and its heading to Dubai, where the inaugural World Darts Masters will be played in May.
The game is now the largest growing sport in the world, according to the man who has made squil-lions from it, Barry Hearn.
The former London accountant also has reaped fortunes from games such as snooker, live fi shing, tenpin bowling, poker, boxing and more recently,
[66] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
PER
SON
ALITY
“The very first ingredient you have to have in any sport is characters, it’s a
soap opera.”
[67]
a ticket to watch a game of darts. It astonishes me but I’m taking all the credit.”On paper he may seem arrogant, but in real life Hearn has a sense of humour and invigorating personality that reduces it to simple confi dence.
And when you consider the snob-bery he initially endured, you
can’t blame him for being cocky.
“I’m not shy and modest, unfortunately,” Hearn admits.
“We’re at a level now where we’re a private company, we live a
dream life and we just do whatever we want to
do and if it makes money, which invariably it does, [that’s
good] but it’s not the end of the world if it doesn’t.
“We invest in a lot of sports that we believe in and we wait and see. To be honest, we have just the greatest time and the greatest life.”
It seems bizarre that the man who has probably made more money promoting sport than anyone else
SPORT
ping pong, turning them into money-churning empires that contribute more than 40,000 hours of television from 570 professional competition days each year.
It’s a long way from having fellow Londoners look down their noses when he fi rst bought a series of snooker halls in 1974. Back then, snooker was a game for the unem-ployed and beer-guzzling men. Even Hearn could not imagine the money-making potential.
But around the corner was something of a sporting revolution
that would turn not only Hearn into a multi-millionaire but numerous others into sporting heroes with bank accounts as large as their fan base.
The top darts players can now earn AED11m ($3m), while snooker tournaments offer the equivalent of nearly AED1.5m ($400,000) in prize money.
“People have never heard of money like that within that sport because people think it’s a pub game, it’s just a friendly chuck of the arrows,” the founder of Matchroom Sport says.
Hearn is the fi rst to admit he’s proud of what he’s created, and he has no reservations in saying ‘I told you so’.
“Darts absolutely slaughters golf, cricket, rugby, horse racing [and] boxing in every number you want to think of,” he says.
“It tears it to pieces, it’s the hottest ticket in town. If you don’t buy a ticket to the [darts] world champi-onships in the fi rst week... you ain’t getting in. The dearest is now $400
“If you don’t buy a ticket to the darts world championship in the fi rst week... you ain’t getting in.”
Hearn has helped make darts, snooker and table tennis lucrative spectator sports.
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top dart playerscan now earn
[68] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
Barry Hearn
has done so from centuries-old games that originate from the work-ing class, which had the least amount of cash.
Even more so, the games were traditionally slow paced, lacking in entertainment and rarely respected.
But anyone who has watched the fanfare of darts on TV will understand Hearn’s explanation that it’s all about inspiring fans and creating an event that enlivens them.
“The very fi rst ingredient you have to have in any sport is characters, it’s a soap opera,” he says.
“Everybody’s got to have a separate character and the people have to get involved with the characters as well as the sport.
“Then you need to construct a formula to make them tele-friendly.
These days that means a lot faster action.
“Then you need to make the customer experience for the fans that go so they have a good time. The idea is that every fan should leave a match or sport event with a smile on their face feeling they have value for
money and they were entertained.”For Hearn’s latest foray — a
knock-out ping pong world tourna-ment — that means reverting to the old sandpaper hard bats that create a relentless pace.
In darts, it involves attractive women clearing the dartboard, rock music and player nicknames.
“You’re building this menu of excitement and then you have to make sure that you’re delivering world-class sporting action on top of that,” Hearn says.
“That’s a mixture that can’t fail.”Hearn’s success relies on the
masses – millions of everyday people who long to excel at a sport but lack the physical ability or money required by typical sports such as football and tennis.
“This is one of the amazing things about darts — people look down their nose ... [but in fact] it’s a sport for everybody,” Hearn says.
“It’s so affordable. I don’t like sports only the rich and the elite can play.
“Some little fat kids can’t play football, they go and play darts; some kids are bullied at school and don’t want to go out, they put a dart board in their bedroom and these kids are coming out of their bedrooms and they’re amazing players.”
For example, sixteen-time world darts champion Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor was a high school dropout who made a living from making ceramic toilet roll handles before becoming a professional darts player in 1988.
For all his bravado, Hearn admits much of his success has been a “total, complete fl uke”, thanks to a deep slice of luck.
When he bought his fi rst snooker halls nearly 40 years ago for £632,000 he had no idea what he would do with them.
“But I’ve never told anyone it was a fl uke,” he says after a long pause, as though it has only dawned on him during this interview. “When I bought those snooker halls I actually bought them for the property value. The business was terrible, but six of them were in main street high positions.
“While I was thinking what to do with them, suddenly the BBC put it on TV [and] suddenly there were queues of people every morning waiting to get in and suddenly, more importantly, I started playing and I fell in love with the game. Put the three together and instead of selling it ... [I thought] ‘we’re going to buy more’”.
“The idea is that every fan should leave a match or sport event with a smile on their face.”
Promoter Barry Hearn champions sports which are open to every part of society.
[69]
SPORT
Eight years later he sold the snooker halls for a mint and consid-ered retiring, at 34.
Boredom led him to develop Matchroom Sport and begin promot-ing snooker and boxing champions.
“I thought I might have some fun [and] travel around but of course it started developing and snowballed out of control and now my son is my chief operating offi cer with responsibilities for the boxing [and] my daughter is director of all my TV platforms globally,” Hearn says.
But there was a period when the money, fun and success dried up.
On Christmas Eve in 1991, Hearn caught a train in the snow to beg the chief executive of a hotel company to sponsor his impending boxing event. Without £400,000, Matchroom Sport would go under. It seemed Hearn’s luck had run out.
“I’m the most enthusiastic, positive person you’ll ever meet [but] this was as low as I’ve ever been,” he says. “I made the worst pitch with no enthu-siasm. The chief executive said ‘I’ve got no money’ and I thought ‘well that’s probably it, that’s probably as far as it goes; it’s been a great run’.”
Instead, he was offered £400,000 worth of hotel rooms and, in true Hearn style, by the time he had walked back to the train station he had sold the lot and pocketed £260,000.
“That money saved my business,” Hearn says.
“I haven’t had a bad day since.”Matchroom Sport has gone on to
change the value of multiple sports by turning them into broadcast entertainment. The company is now one of the world’s largest sporting programme suppliers and owns most of the world events for darts, snooker, tenpin bowling and ping pong, as well as the knockout boxing competi-tion Prizefi ghter and the world’s only
live fi shing event, Fish’O’Mania.Hearn’s success is a slap in the face
to those who once looked down on him and his sports.
“We’re like the Cinderella of sports but, you know, we’re going to the ball now and the ugly sisters have disap-peared,” he says.
Hearn says the business has boomed since the advent of pay TV, with stations such as Sky Sports and Showtime requiring endless hours of programming.His live events have become particularly successful since the global fi nancial crisis.
“People don’t go out as much [so] when they do go out they want to have a great time,” Hearn explains.
“They might go out to darts on a Thursday and they have a fantastic time, they blitz it and that keeps them [feeling] good. When these people go back to work I want them to talk about one of my events that
they’ve been to.“Without a customer we’re
fi nished, but I don’t want to see big ticket prices for the normal people because I know it’s diffi cult for them to afford it; what I want is volume.”
The Middle East is a central part of Hearn’s plan to grow that volume. He expects 4,000 people to attend the fi rst World Darts Masters at the Dubai Tennis Centre on May 23-24. He also intends to bring back professional snooker within twelve months after a ten-year hiatus in the region.
A major boxing tournament also is on the cards as Hearn taps into the Middle East’s growing appetite for live professional sport.
“If you’re looking at a global expan-sion, I don’t think you can ignore the Middle East any more,” Hearn says.
“You’ve got a high standard of living, you’ve got excellent facilities, you’ve got great TV production [and] it’s a good time zone as well.
“It ticks an awful lot of boxes. The box we don’t know about is the live audience box. Do we get, as we get in every other event around the world, sold-out notices? That’s the key, and we won’t know that until we do it. So time will tell.”
It’s ironic that a game originating in a pub would potentially become so popular in a Muslim country, but Hearn insists the game has cleaned up since he took it to TV.
“It’s changed, it’s no longer a pub game,” he says. “In the world of darts now we play at every major arena in
Hearn is known as one of the sporting industry’s most charismatic personalities.
“Without a customer we’re fi nished, but I don’t want to see big ticket prices for the normal people.”
[70] | vol. 1 /APRIL 2013
Barry Hearn
Europe... with crowds of up to 12,000 people watching. Part of that spread is down to our desire to take the top professional players to exotic places and entertain people that haven’t had the opportunity to be at a major darts event, and obviously the Middle East comes to mind.”
Such is the popularity of snooker and darts, the television stations are crying out for more. Hearn simply sends the invoice.
“We can do anything in the world; there’s no restrictions,” he says. “This event in the Middle East... will be televised globally; all over the world will see the Middle East Masters and the reason [the TV stations are airing it] is because I’ll ask them to and, if necessary, I’ll say ‘do us a favour’ and... they can’t say ‘no’.”
These days, Hearn has so much cash he waits for others to ask him to take his events to their cities, such as Done Events and Radar, which have brokered the Dubai event Presumably, Hearn could run a gold tap on nearly any sport, but he says he’s only interested in those he enjoys.
For example, ping pong — which had players from nearly 20 coun-tries compete in a fast-paced world tournament in London in January — comes from his love of playing with his mother as a kid.
“The rather selfi sh rule is, if I don’t like a sport I don’t promote it because without the passion there’s no point,” he says.
“I don’t like motorsport and I don’t like tennis, so I don’t touch either of them. Lots of people say to me you could do this in motorsport, you could make millions, well, I’ve got millions and I don’t really have to have any more. I’m not going to do it if it takes up my time; the one element that I’m short of is time.” Hearn is bringing darts to Dubai this year.
“The rather selfi sh rule is, if I don’t like a sport I don’t promote it because without the passion there’s no point.”
[71]
KHALED SAMAWI
How I did it
FORMER BANKER KHALED SAMAWI HAD ALREADY MADE A FORTUNE BY THE TIME HE ENTERED THE ART MARKET. HE EXPLAINS HOW HE BROUGHT ART INTO HIS LIFE AND MADE IT HIS BUSINESS
rt has been pretty good for Samawi. His Ayyam Gallery is considered the benchmark for Arabic art. With galleries in Damascus, Beirut, Cairo and Dubai, the
gallery is pushing the envelope in the promotion of top Arab art.
Ayyam Auctions is also the fi rst regional auction house with auctions in Dubai and Beirut. Ayyam Publishing has published more than 50 art books in the last fi ve years. The Ayyam Art Centre in Dubai was the fi rst private museum in the Gulf dedicated to the exhibition of Arab art.
This is clearly a good time to be in the art business. Experts suggest that the market has really
grown in the Middle East during the past fi ve years, with prices rocketing close to 500 percent. Never mind gold and silver. Art, says Samawi, is where the real action is going to be.
“It’s not too late because it was ridiculously underpriced before. And when compared it globally it is still underpriced. When you invest in anything you need to be clever. But art is not a number on your stock portfolio, you enjoy it every day and you also make a good investment. You can buy from $500 to $50m. In the Middle East 99 percent of the art is trading between $5k to $100k. There are some in the millions.
“If you are buying art today to sell it in fi ve years, you shouldn’t be buying it. It’s almost like
buying the home you are living in. If you lived and enjoyed your home for 20 years and you made a profi t… its same as art, you enjoy it and live with it. In 30 years you sell it, because you outgrew it. And you make a fair bit of money as well.”
In 2010 Samawi’s auction houses saw close to $5m in sales, compared to just $500k when they were launched the year before. Add to that around $10m in revenues, and the art business is clearly good business.
“The key is fi nding good art. There are a lot of great Arab artists that have been discovered in last fi ve years and those that have not been discovered. You just keep your eyes and ears open and you fi nd good art,” he says.
Luckily for Samawi, he doesn’t have to worry too much about how much he makes. The ex-banker has always had an innate love of art and, in his previous life as a banker, each year he would go skiing in the Alps and browse the latest collections that the top galleries hoped him and his colleagues would spend their “fat bonuses” on.
In 2001, he sold his banking business but was brought out of semi-retirement when he realised he could combine his business acumen with his love of art.
Opening his fi rst gallery in Damascus in 2006, he expanded to Dubai in 2008 and to Beirut in 2009. London, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Cairo are also on his radar. He clocks up attendance at around ten art fairs a year, and despite no formal training, is renowned in the industry for his ability to spot great art.
“I didn’t study it, I am not an art scholar but I have eyes that have been well trained. At the end, if I like something and I can afford it, I will usually buy it — and I don’t worry about the price in fi ve years,” he says.
Samawi says his own house is full of art, with the most expensive piece coming in at around $250,000. “I couldn’t imagine life without art, I just couldn’t,” he says.
Given the rate of his success and his growing reputation, it is likely the industry cannot imagine life without him.
A[72] | vol. 1 /april 2013
NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALS IN THE GCC
An ITP Executive Publication
THE FIRST AND ONLY MIDDLE EAST PUBLICATION DEDICATED TO MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALS
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Manufacturing Executive Middle East is a must read for professionals from the manufacturing industry across the GCC. It covers all aspects of the industry and keeps its readers up to date with the latest news and trends in the region. It includes in-depth interviews, features and special reports as well as a project focus section that gives full details on upcoming events across the Gulf.
EDITORIAL
ANIL BHOYRULEditorial DirectorTel: +971 4 4443000Email: [email protected]
Sectors covered by Manufacturing Executive Middle East includeMotor industryFMCGChemicals and PharmaceuticalsPower and EnergyOil and GasConstruction
SALES
ADAM WHITEHEADSales ManagerTel: +971 4 4443744Email: [email protected]
CONTACTS
Contact one of our team today to f ind out more about th is exci t ing new t i t le
NEWS, DATA, ANALYSIS AND STRATEGIC INSIGHTS FOR MANUFACTURING PROFESSIONALS IN THE GCC
An ITP Business Publication
MARCH 2013 / VOL. 2 / ISSUE 3
LATEST TRENDS: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE GCC P28
Learn how Ducab managed the growth and expansion
of its cable business through the worst of the downturn
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Temporary and back up power options examined P32
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An ITP Business Publication
MARCH 2013 / VOL. 2 / ISSUE 3
LATEST TRENDS: FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE GCC P28
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