2016 10 Entrepreneur Middle East

Modern marketing Five tips for building your brand from the ground up (in today’s market)
Capital
welcome Soaring
ambition
Hong Kong investor The aspiration to become
an entrepreneur in
Oswald Wong the MENA region is on

the rise- and so are the
physical attempts at
The President and CEO of establishing a business
CIDIC is looking to invest up
to US$2 billion on Middle
East projects (and he’s
looking to partner with
SMEs along the way)
Commanding
attention
Entrepreneur
Leanne Kemp
Startup
Everledger
makes a
knockout first
impression
9 77231 1 541 008 >
october 2016 | www.entrepreneur.com/me | UAE AED20

Naushad Ansari, Plant Director Jindal Shadeed
Our search for the ideal location

became a journey of partnership.
With a substantial and expanding

cluster of metal industries, investments
of $25 billion and seamless sea-road-air
access to the region’s largest markets,
it’s no wonder so many companies
choose to start their journey in SOHAR,
one of the world’s fastest growing
Port and Freezone developments.
october 2016
CONTENTS
20
Oswald Wong with H.E.
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak
Al Nahyan and artist Shi
Dachan at the latter’s
exhibition in the UAE
30 24 20 42
CULTURE: CULTURE: INNOVATOR: TECH:
BUSINESS UNUSUAL DESIGN Capital welcome SHINY
Inspired pursuits Fashion focus Hong Kong investor #TamTalksTech
Turn your passion into a The MENA region is making Oswald Wong Gadgets and doodads that
viable business- MENA ‘treps a concerted attempt at The President and CEO of you might’ve missed out on,
talk what works (and what nurturing entrepreneurship in CIDIC is looking to invest sourced by a tech aficionado.
doesn’t). the style sector. up to US$2 billion on Yes, it’s okay to want them
Middle East projects (and all… and no, it’s not our
he’s looking to partner with fault.
SMEs along the way).
44
70 CULTURE:
TREPONOMICS: TRAPPINGS
SKILLSET ‘Trep gear
Building values The executive selection for
Founder and CEO Omar the entrepreneur on your list
Kassim on how he and his that has everything. Okay,
team are building JadoPado maybe for a little self-reward
as an organization. as well.
24 FFWD on the evolving role of designers
october 2016 Entrepreneur 3

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CONTENTS october 2016
38 62
TREPONOMICS: ‘TREPONOMICS:
PRO MARKETING
Soaring ambition Modern marketing
The aspiration to become an Ramzi Haddad, Managing
entrepreneur in the MENA Director, Carat UAE and
region is on the rise- and so Lower Gulf, offers five tips
are the physical attempts at for building your brand from
establishing a business. the ground up (in today’s
market).
54
CULTURE: 72
LIFE IN PICTURES:
Learning to be creative Plugging in
James Clear enlists five steps Alibaba Cloud and DSOA host
72 Pieter Sleeboom, MD, Marhababy; winner of the Dubai edition of CACSC to enable more innovative startup challenge to reward
thinking. Middle East entrepreneurs.
50 68
TECH: CULTURE:
THE FIX LIFE
Paradigm shift Question the status quo
IBM’s Juan Jose De La Torre Contrary to popular thought,
on the need for MENA having entrepreneurial
businesses to embrace employees in your
digital transformation. organization is a good thing. 42
HTC Desire 10
Pro
jj de la torre Image location courtesy of St. Regis Dubai
50
Juan Jose De La Torre,
IBM, Digital Transformation
Leader for Middle East
and Africa
10 Entrepreneur october 2016

CONTENTS october 2016
34
Leanne Kemp at IBM Edge 2016
58
‘TREPONOMICS:
MARKETING
All about the #feels
76 Melissa Moubarak, Strategy
START IT UP: Manager at UM MENA,
Q&A offers a perspective into
Breaking (linguistic) the future of targeting-
barriers customized communication
Morocco-based Sahih is the way forward.
Business provides
accounting software in the 16
Arabic language for MENA EDITOR’S NOTE
64 82 small businesses through By Aby Sam Thomas
‘TREPONOMICS: START IT UP: its Aliphia platform.
MARKETING ECOSYSTEM 80
Crowdsourcing customer Global ambitions 52 START IT UP:
acquisition Shant Oknayan, Regional ‘TREPONOMICS: STARTUP FINANCE
According to Melltoo Head of E-commerce, ESQUIRE GUY “We got funded!”
co-founders Morrad Retail, Online Services and The don’t-be-a-schmuck compareit4me.com gains
Irsane and Sharene Lee, Media at Facebook Middle guide to rescheduling US$2.4 million in latest
for startups, the most East and North Africa, Yes, it happens to investment round, which
cost-effective way to get says it’s a lot easier now everyone, but there’s a means the startup has now
customers is through other for MENA businesses to right way and a wrong way raised a total of $6 million in
customers. venture into new markets. to go about it. funds to date.
30
Omar Samra, founder,
Wild Guanabana

etro.com
27
Henri Asseily,
Manager Partner,
Leap Ventures
MIDDLE EAST
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Fresh from his summer in France, Gary Rhodes returns to Rhodes W1 at Grosvenor House
with an Anglo-French menu. Pick innovative pairings and taste fabulous French flavours
while you sip selected ‘Rhodes Round The Clock’ drinks from AED 25, whatever time you dine.
For reservations call 04-3176000 | Grosvenor House | Dubai | www.rwl-dubai.com

EDITOR’S NOTE
Impact investments
First, we put in time and effort into the ecosystem-
and now, capital
W
hen Entrepreneur us working over weekends, so as
Middle East was to catch up with time we lost over
launched two years the week!), and we were keen on
ago, one of the foun- using our platform to throw the
dational principles spotlight on not just the business
that we laid out people who had “made it,” but
for ourselves as a also the fledgling new enterprises
publication was that we needed to that showed the potential to actu-
be more than a mere spectator of ally affect change in the region.
what’s happening in the region’s It is thus this particular founda- At Entrepreneur Middle East,
business arena- our mandate tional value that is governing our we’ve so far put in time and effort
was to be active participants of newest initiative at Entrepreneur to helping build this ecosystem-
the entrepreneurial ecosystem Middle East: a contest that will and now, we are putting in
here, cheering, supporting and see us give away US$25,000 each capital as well. Stay tuned for
enabling the men and women to two deserving startups operat- #EntMEStartups.
trying to make a definite impact ing in the Middle East. You’ll
in the MENA region through their hear more about this competition
professional endeavors. and how you can enter it over
Now, I’ll be the first to admit the course of October- keep an
that having such a directive eye out for #EntMEStartups on
hanging over our heads has been our social media channels; that’s
a daunting affair for those of us the hashtag we will be using to
working under this banner. Our refer to this contest over all our
desire to be different from the sta- platforms. At its very essence, our
tus quo meant that we had to be aim with #EntMEStartups is to
inventive in how we went about find enterprises in the region who
doing things- we became purpose- are being (at the risk of sounding
ly choosey about what we feature cliché) really innovative, and Aby Sam Thomas
as content; we made it a point to award them with this prize that, Editor in Chief
be at as many ecosystem events as we hope, will contribute to their @thisisaby
we can (this is why you often see success in the long term. aby@bncpublishing.net

IN THE LOOP
The search is on
Global startup competition The Venture
T
2017 launches US$1 million fund
he Venture, a
global competition
staged by Chivas,
NYUAD
is back this year
seeking promising,
up-and-coming
startups that also
have a positive impact. The com-
petition is open to startups that Dumyé founder Sahar Wahbeh’s pitch at the
have a working business model, Gulf finals of The Venture 2015 in Dubai, UAE
and at the same time, create
social good with its endeavors. crafted eco-friendly dolls that
With 32 countries taking part, can be personalized and donates
each region will have its regional to an NGO with every purchase,
round, whose winners will then while the 2016 GCC winner was
A scene from a prior edition of NYUAD Startup Series participate in the grand finals Taka Solutions, presented by
for a chance to win and share founder and Managing Director
a stake from the US$1 million Charles Blaschke and co-founder
Kicking off social entrepreneurship fund. and Commercial Director Chris
NYUAD and Flat6Labs launch Startup Last year’s judges at the grand Burkhadt, a startup that aims
Series 2016 in Abu Dhabi finale in New York included Eva to use its tech to save money
Longoria, Sonal Shah, Joe Huff and reduce the world’s energy
N
ew York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and Alexandre Ricard. consumption. Think you have
and Flat6Labs Abu Dhabi have come The contest has had an impres- what it takes to represent the
together to organize the newest edition sive line up of social entre- GCC region and have a stake at
of Startup Series, a four-month-long program preneurs over the years: the the $1 million fund? Head to
comprising of panel discussions and group 2015 GCC winner was Dumyé, The Venture and apply before
activities aimed at promoting a culture of presented by founder Sahar November 30, 2016.
entrepreneurship among its students as Wahbeh, a brand creating hand- www.theventure.com
well as the community at large. As part of
NYUAD’s startAD entrepreneurship initiative,
the Startup Series talks aim to create an
“interactive educational experience” with
expert speakers sharing technical advice
and experiences with existing and aspiring
entrepreneurs.
Structured as 90-minute talks, the Startup
Series and other startAD community
education programs are designed to
function as a source of guidance for aspiring
entrepreneurs and also “engage public and
private organizations.” The Startup Series
sessions will be held at NYUAD during
September to December, and they will cover
topics such as team dynamics in business,
customer development, crafting a pitch, and
managing burn rates, among others. Besides
the Startup Series, the startAD initiative
also includes other concept programs open
to all, such as Tech Tuesdays, a tech startup
community meetup, Legal Clinic, sessions
connecting the startup community with legal
professionals, and others.
Charles Blaschke and Chris
http://sites.nyuad.nyu.edu/nyuadstartad/ Burkhadt of Taka Solutions,
winner of The Venture GCC 2016

Charles Blaschke and
Chris Burkhadt of Taka
innovator
Capital
welcome
Hong Kong investor Oswald Wong
The President and CEO of CIDIC is looking to invest up
to US$2 billion on Middle East projects (and he’s looking
to partner with SMEs along the way)
By Aby Sam Thomas
I
t’s hard not to be at least a little company based out of Hong Kong, CIDIC
flabbergasted when looking is focusing primarily on infrastructure
through China International and property development, with its
Development and Investment business activities stretching all around
Corporation Ltd. (CIDIC) the world. Projects under its current
President and CEO Oswald .
purview include a US$1.4 billion
Wong’s career summary- besides mixed-used development at Arizona
details about the senior executive in the United States, a $1.2 billion
roles and responsibilities he has had to biofuel project at KwaZulu-Natal and
shoulder in his various jobs so far, the Mpumalanga in South Africa, a $125
resume that I looked at (which is eight million residential development at
pages long, by the way) is peppered Alberta in Canada, and a $350 million
with images of Wong’s meetings hospital project in Saudi Arabia. When I
with several distinguished business asked Wong if there was an approximate
personalities from the Middle East. amount that he thinks CIDIC would
These include H.E. Saeed Mubarak be investing in projects in the Middle
Al-Hajeri, Chairman of the Board at East, he replied that the enterprise
Abu Dhabi National Energy Company is targeting projects that go from a
(TAQA), Aabar Investments CEO “minimum $50 million, up to $2 billion
Mohamed Hamad Al Mehairi, Sobha in construction value.”
Group founder and Chairman P. N. C. The sheer size of the investment
Menon, Emaar Properties COO Amit his company is considering to spread
Jain, and so forth- Wong’s resume thus around in to the region is, indeed,
makes it seem that this Hong Kong-er impressive and welcome, with Wong
is quite comfortably connected to this noting that CIDIC’s target sectors
region’s business community. As for in the Middle East include property
how this came to be: well, that’s where development and infrastructure, with
Wong’s enterprise, CIDIC, comes into the latter focusing mainly on power
the picture. A diversified investment projects like solar energy, and –perhaps >>>

innovator
Wong reveals that his enterprise is

looking to involve SMEs in the region
in certain capacities as well. “We try
to use the local companies for all the
local support,” he says. “We try to use
local [entities], rather than going for
international ones- even if the local
[entity] may charge us a higher price
than the other. This is one form of
support we show for the local SME
sector. Secondly, we are trying to
cooperate with various SMEs in the
local space- like, say, recently, we were
planning an event, and we decided to
use a local company to handle media,
a local company to organize the event,
etc. And thirdly, we are also targeting
to do investment in SMEs, but again,
Oswald Wong with H.E. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan and artist Shi Dachan at the latter’s exhibition in the UAE
that depends on the company. At the
moment, we are not investing in any
SME; it’s not in the scope of our works
“Collaborating with other countries right now, but maybe in the future,
and their growth initiatives with yes.” In line with CIDIC’s project
strategy in the region, Wong says that
young dynamic entrepreneurs benefits he’d look out for SMEs working in the
the progress of both countries, and we fields of property and infrastructure
development, but adds industry to the
look forward to building bridges with mix, especially in the power sector.
this exhibition.” For the record though, Wong is indeed
putting his money where his mouth
is- CIDIC recently partnered with the
surprisingly- waste management as And the last [factor] is the vision of the UAE-based SME Sulty Events and
well. “I have good faith in the waste country, its local utilities, infrastructure, Entertainment to put together an
management [sector] in this region,” etc.” exhibition showcasing the ink paintings
Wong says. “I do believe there’s a big Given these parameters, and the of acclaimed Chinese artist Shi Dachan
chance and opportunity on the waste industry sectors that CIDIC is interested for the first time in the country. In a
management sector, especially in waste- in, it should come as no surprise that statement, Vanessa de Caires, owner
to-energy [projects].” Wong reveals that the Middle Eastern countries that Wong of Sulty Events and Entertainment,
he’s already in discussions with various is currently keeping an eye on include said, “As a well-organized organization,
entities in the region, with the aim being the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. we are delighted by the confidence
to have local partners for the projects But while these big projects will see shown by CIDIC to our firm, and we are
CIDIC chooses to invest in. “Although CIDIC working with, well, big entities, committed to making our first Chinese
we cannot say we are very new to the
market, this world is a totally different
Oswald Wong, President
one to the Western one,” he explains. and CEO, CIDIC with
“So it’s better to have someone locally Vanessa de Caires, Owner
as [a partner].” According to Wong, of Sulty Events and
Entertainment Dubai
these partnerships will be realized in the
form of SPVs (special purpose vehicles)
with CIDIC, thereby enabling projects to
be executed without too many hitches
along the way. But what are the factors
that govern the selection of a project
by CIDIC in the first place? “The first
is the location of the projects,” Wong
explains. “Second, we need to see how
is the purchasing power of the locals.
Third, we need to see the local law and
regulation- is this something that’s
feasible and good for us? Fourth is the
local contribution [to the projects].

CHINA BY THE NUMBERS
1,364,270,000 Population of
China according to the Doing
Business 2016 report
7,380 Gross National Income per

capita (US$) of China according to
the Doing Business 2016 report
84 China’s “Ease of Doing

Business” rank as of 2016, a drop
www.cidicgroup.com/
from the rank of #83 in 2015

according to the Doing Business 2016
report
$19.39 trillion The 2015 estimated

GDP (purchasing power parity) of
art related project for the a little bit of a hesitation to and CIDIC in the Middle East China, an increase from the 2014
exhibition and cultural use local [talent]- they have in the future. And Wong’s estimated GDP of $18.14 trillion, as
exchange a success.” In no localization. And this is insistence on making local stated by the CIA World Factbook
the same release, Wong a major difference between participation a key part of
reiterated his commitment us and the [other] national CIDIC’s agenda here can only 6.9% China’s 2015 estimated GDP
to empowering the local SME companies.” Wong believes mean good things for this real growth rate, a drop from 2014’s
sector, while enhancing the that while capital and region- and it’s something 7.3% estimated GDP real growth
China-UAE relationship as know-how from China may that will be worth looking rate, as stated by the CIA World
well: “Collaborating with be used to govern overseas forward to. Factbook
other countries and their projects under the “One Belt,
growth initiatives with young One Road” scheme, there $2.27 The number in trillions (US$)
dynamic entrepreneurs also needs to be a concerted of China’s estimated 2015 exports,
The Executive
benefits the progress of attempt at utilizing the an increase from 2014’s estimated
Summary
both countries, and we look local resources, and creating exports at $2.244 trillion, as stated
Oswald Wong,
forward to building bridges job opportunities for the by the CIA World Factbook
President and CEO, CIDIC
with this exhibition.” talent in those markets as
It’s easy to see from well. This thus explains Oswald Wong has more than $36.3 The value in billions (US$) of
Wong’s statements that his CIDIC’s modus operandi in 10 years of capital raising Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma, as
strategy for CIDIC in the the Middle East- Wong is and project development stated in the Bloomberg Billionaires
Middle East is adherent to keen on not just paying lip management experience list, Ma was ranked #14 out the
the “One Belt, One Road” service to the “One Belt, working across Mainland total list of 200, and #1 of China’s
initiative being spearheaded One Road” initiative; he’s China, GCC countries (UAE, billionaires
by the Chinese government. insistent on making regional Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi
As a development strategy collaboration a key aspect of Arabia), other Middle East 11 The number of Chinese billionaires
aimed at increasing China’s his company’s endeavors in countries (Jordan, Syria, listed on the Bloomberg Billionaires
cooperation and connectivity this region, and he’s in it for Yemen, Turkey, etc.), Africa index
with Eurasia, “One Belt, One the long haul. “Long-term (Senegal, South Africa,
Road” was unveiled in 2013, plans, we’ll stay here at least Libya, Egypt, etc.), and North Industries World leader in gross
and has since been making till a minimum of 2025,” America (USA and Canada). value of industrial output; mining
headlines for its potential to he says. “We are trying to He has primarily worked in and ore processing, iron, steel,
reshape global trade. While have more investment in the senior management roles aluminum, and other metals, coal;
many Chinese companies infrastructure side- that’s that saw him getting directly machine building; armaments;
have signed up to be a part our target, frankly speaking.” involved in the fundraising textiles and apparel; petroleum;
of the “One Belt, One Road” Wong adds that the future procedures and leading the cement; chemicals; fertilizers;
drive, Wong says that CIDIC could also possibly see business operations and consumer products (including
is hoping to differentiate him look at other sectors project teams for overseeing footwear, toys, and electronics);
itself in the manner it like industry, media, and the delivery of mega projects, food processing; transportation
implements this particular hospitality in the region, which include mixed-use equipment, including automobiles,
scheme. “They [other Chinese given the grand visions and hospitality properties, rail cars and locomotives, ships,
companies] try to bring countries in this region infrastructural developments aircraft; telecommunications
everything from China- labor, have for themselves- which like solar power stations, equipment, commercial space launch
equipment, management, essentially means that we’ll sewerage treatment, etc., and vehicles, satellites1
etc.,” Wong notes. “They have be seeing a lot more of Wong industrial projects. 1 Source: The World Factbook
www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

CULTURE business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
Amato at FFWD
Fashion focus
ping the market here, UAE Vice Presi-
dent and Prime Minister and Ruler of
Dubai H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin
Rashid Al Maktoum set up the Dubai
The MENA region is making a concerted attempt Design and Fashion Council (DDFC)
at nurturing entrepreneurship in the style sector to steer design and fashion initiatives
in the Emirate. If DDFC was meant to
By Sindhu Hariharan be the umbrella entity for all things
F
design and fashion, the move was fol-
or a long time now, the Middle large spenders, but it also needs to ce- lowed up with the creation of Dubai
East region’s ties to the fashion ment its place in the evolution of the Design District (d3), a free zone to
industry has been primarily a industry. house and nurture the region’s crea-
commercial one- the region’s Take Dubai, for instance. In many tive thinkers. To make the space a hub
prominence as a retail hub, ways, 2013 was a landmark year for its for the region’s creatives, d3 aims to
owing to its purchasing power, fashion ecosystem. It was a year when create a close-knit community, where
and its population’s flair for the country took a leap to get closer to designers can share space, collabo-
elegance and opulence are what came the billion-dollar industry dominated rate on ideas, and attract talent from
to one’s mind when thinking of the by the Europe, the U.S. and others. across the globe. In the meantime,
region’s fashion sector. But while the With top fashion brands already tap- the region also got its own official
early goals of the region (especially the
UAE) may have stressed on wielding
influence as a powerful customer base “the design industry is gaining grounds at a rapid rate.
for Western creations, the narrative Its market value surpassed US$100bn in 2014, and now
has, in recent years, shifted to a focus constitutes over 4.5% of the global design market. The
on developing a fashion ecosystem sector has grown at more than double the pace of the
right here. Policymakers and stake-
holders have begun to realize that it’s global industry over the last few years, and is expected
not enough for the region to have just to continue outperforming the global design industry.”

fashion week, the Arab Fashion Week “With an average growth
(AFW). Organized by the Arab Fashion of 6%, the MENA design
Council, AFW has earned a name as
industry will grow at
a high-profile showcase event in the
league of similar fashion weeks held in twice the pace of the global
New York, London and Milan. design sector and by 2019,
“As we found through the MENA its contribution to the
Design Outlook report released by global design sector will
DDFC in collaboration with d3, in the reach 5.2%.”
MENA region, the design industry is
gaining grounds at a rapid rate,” says with the region’s designers and had
Nez Gebreel, CEO, DDFC. “Its market noted a feeling of “displacement”
value surpassed US$100bn in 2014, among the emerging talent. Endorsed
and now constitutes over 4.5% of the by DDFC and operating in partnership
global design market. The sector has with d3, FFWD follows a two-pronged
grown at more than double the pace of approach, addressing both education
the global industry over the last few and real-world experience for fashion
years, and is expected to continue out- entrepreneurs. With their bi-annual
performing the global design industry. fashion events, FFWD helps fledgling Industry insider
With an average growth of 6%, the designers go through the process of Nez Gebreel, CEO, Dubai
MENA design industry will grow at putting together shows. “Every six Design and Fashion Council
twice the pace of the global design months, we make them think of the Tips for aspiring ‘treps in the design
sector and by 2019, its contribution business aspects involved- collections, industry- from those in the know
to the global design sector will reach production, costing, marketing, work-
5.2%.” Gebreel notes that there’s ing with a team of professionals, and 1. It’s really all about the product.
been a strong influx of design-focused exposing them to a large audience,” Everything else will follow.
initiatives and events over the past Nakad explains.
few years, one of them being Fash- Aspiring fashion entrepreneurs had 2. Research your landscape and
ion Forward Dubai (FFWD). Sensing more reasons to rejoice with FFWD differentiate your business angle.
a need for a platform to give more extending their involvement in the Determine how your business will
visibility to designers and hone their sector recently, launching EPIC (Em- stand out within a market where
skills, Ramzi Nakad and Bong Guer- powerment Program through Industry numerous emerging designers are
rero launched Fashion Forward Dubai Collaboration), a program to provide vying for a spot of visibility.
(FFWD), an organization aiming to business development opportunities
streamline the fashion industry’s ef- to regional fashion talent, in collabo- 3. Find a niche market.
forts. Having run Brag, an experiential ration with Samsung MENA, d3 and Understand who your core
lifestyle marketing agency, the duo DDFC. The initiative came about as a customers are and what they are
had developed a strong relationship result of the MENA Design Education >>> looking for.
4. Know your competitors. Being

FFWD on the evolving role of designers aware of what is going on in the
design and fashion industry is key.
It is an ever-changing industry
with new trends and topics making
the news on a daily basis.
5. Communication is key. It is
important to get the word out on
your business and your product on
the best channels for it. Know your
target audience and aim for them
through the popular channels that
they frequent.
6. Learn about the basics

of copyrights, patents and
trademarks, and understand
your rights. Intellectual property
protection is very important for
design and creative businesses.

management, and also enable tie-ups “There will inevitably be

with key social media influencers in challenges that any industry
the region, to galvanize further sup- will face as it achieves
port for local designers. growth. “Ensuring that these
One can’t take an analytical look at challenges are identified
the region’s fashion industry without through in-depth research,
addressing the massive contribution and then working together
and influence of Islamic or “modest” as an industry to address
fashion as well. Thomson Reuters’ these gaps is what will help
State of Global Islamic Economy Re- us continue on this positive
port 2015-16 lauds the modest fashion
trajectory.”
space to have continued to expand
even amid all the pressures faced by
the mainstream fashion industry. The
Islamic Fashion Design Council (IFDC) Industry insider
Industry insider is leading the charge for growth and Ramzi Nakad, co-founder
Alia Khan, founder and development of the sector globally, and COO, Fashion Forward
Chairwoman, Islamic Fashion with a presence in seven countries. Dubai
Design Council Alia Khan, founder and chairwoman, Tips for aspiring ‘treps in the design
Tips for aspiring ‘treps in the design IFDC says that the organization was industry- from those in the know
industry- from those in the know launched to “keep a finger on the
pulse of the modest fashion industry,” 1. Be patient. Patience is the
1. Firstly, have a vision that’s beyond with IFDC offering consultancy ser- key. A lot of designers from this
yourself. Those with a vision that vices, assisting designers and creating generation expect things to go
doesn’t relate to self always end up a community for this sector. While fast.
building a legacy. the council engages with government
agencies on what Islamic fashion 2. Follow your passion. Do it
2. Second, don’t try to do things could mean for their economies, Khan because this is what you love,
that you think should be done a says she would like policymakers to not for fame or because you
certain way. Fashion is a unique work more closely with them. “We want to get rich.
space, and what works in other have knocked on doors, and people
industries may not necessarily be have not understood the importance 3. Collect as much knowledge
the course that you should take. of it [Islamic fashion],” she says. “But as you can. Learn every day.
I think we will get there.” Reach out if you need support.
3. Thirdly, be very committed to However, even with external factors There are a lot of things
who you are. In modest fashion, it rooting for the industry, it’s difficult happening in the region.
really is about your beliefs. Know to take an ecosystem to the next level
what you stand for, and let your without sufficient human and mate- 4. Discover yourself. Carve out
work show it. rial resources. “There will inevitably an identity for yourself.
be challenges that any industry will
face as it achieves growth,” says
Gebreel. “Ensuring that these chal-
Outlook study, conducted by DDFC lenges are identified through in-depth
and d3. Besides noticing a skills research, and then working together
gap in the industry, the report drew as an industry to address these gaps
attention to business development is what will help us continue on this
challenges for fashion entrepreneurs. positive trajectory.” For instance, the
“What came out [from the report] MENA Design Education Outlook
was that designers need more support study estimates a substantial skills
inTCA
retail pop-up opportunities,” says
Abu Dhabi gap in the design industry (which in-
Nakad, which EPIC aims to address,
activity guide cludes fashion) to support the growth
along with showroom retail. “Since projected for the sector. But educa-
most large multi-brand retailers buy tion in this sector is a weak link for
in showrooms, we decided to set up a the region, given the lack of specialist
FFWD showroom in Paris during Paris educational institutions. But there is
Fashion Week, where we pick design- change happening here as well: while
ers, who we feel are ready to go global, Gebreel notes that DDFC is working
and help them get buyers,” explains on implementing initiatives for higher
Nakad. Besides that, EPIC will also of- education as well as K-12, institutions
fer scholarships for courses in fashion like ESMOD Dubai (part of the global

ing Director Tamara
Hostal also highlights
the school’s ESMOD
Fashion Designers
Incubator, which was
created after being
disappointed “seeing
students who stop try-
ing to become design-
ESMOD
ers because they don’t
www.dubaidesignandfashioncouncil.ae
Dubai
get any support from
the industry.” Gebreel
notes DDFC is aware of of the economy, we have to focus on
this issue too. “There is creating brands that we can export to
also a need for dedicat- countries,” says Nakad. “We need to
ed training and men- convince the end consumer to shop
torship,” she says. “One local; to shift part of the spending
of our most recent power from imported or interna-
initiatives is a partner- tional brands to regional ones.” Nakad
ESMOD group), which bills itself as ship with Chalhoub Group. As part of believes that providing more exposure >>>
Dubai’s “first and only fashion insti- the partnership, Chalhoub Group will
tute,” are also a move forward. The provide expertise to designers on a
school stresses that building a fashion wide array of topics.” “We need to convince the
business requires skills in “creation, Like in other industries, the con- end consumer to shop
production, marketing and commu- sumer mindset on dealing with local local; to shift part of
nication,” and offers courses such as brands is a key hurdle for the fashion
fashion design, fashion management, sector too. Nakad believes that that is
the spending power from
luxury management, fashion buying, a primary challenge they focus on at imported or international
and others. ESMOD Dubai Manag- FFWD. “If you look at sustainability brands to regional ones.”
Zaid Farouki
with his design
Dripping Amends

“We live in a day and age of

collaboration. Technology
and lifestyle can be a great
combination and I would
definitely encourage angels
and VCs to see how they can
collaborate or cross-promote
different industries.”
www. dubaidesigndistrict.com
As for the road ahead for the fashion
industry, while it’s easy to look back
and be awed by the distance covered in
such a short time, industry insiders say
that there’s a need to continue chasing
progress. Nakad believes that just like
entrepreneurs, d3 and DDFC too are
going through an interesting learning
to local talent and offering products can collaborate or cross-promote differ- curve of their own. “We want to help
“on par or even better” than global ent industries.” He believes growth of them [policymakers] to help position
brands can help the cause. Designer sectors such as e-commerce and mobile Dubai as a global fashion capital and
Zaid Farouki says cost pressure is also commerce can aid the ecosystem’s more success stories will help material-
an issue, along with talent sourcing and growth, owing to their inter-relation. It ize this,” he says. As for the entrepre-
retention. “The majority of the tai- is this connection that also prompted neurs in this space, Farouki believes
lors, embroiders, pattern makers, have global consumer electronics giant it is the responsibility of designers to
learnt the trade through inheriting it Samsung to back the EPIC program. fight the internal struggles of pleasing
from their parents, or through practice, Abdo Chlala, Regional Head - IT & both the creative and business sides
but it is very little talent that you find Mobile Division, Samsung MENA, says of their ventures. “As a creative, your
that went to school to learn the trade; that the company saw the potential to business model needs to be updated
therefore, you really have to filter the “enable the fashion space in the region all the time to last, and you need to see
talent pool down.” Aya Sadder, lead or- through meaningful technologies.” “The eye-to-eye with investors,” he says. But
ganizer of this year’s edition of Startup primary challenge in fashion and design at the same time, dreaming big is good-
Weekend Dubai that focuses on the industry today is that yesterday’s wow and Farouki encourages that whole-
fashion sector, adds that practical chal- is today’s new normal,” Chlala says. heartedly. “Everything will fall into
lenges every entrepreneur faces in the “It (technology) is key to maintain the place eventually, but work for what you
region also applies to designers. “SMEs excitement and longevity of fashion dream for every day and every hour,
have to pay various amounts like rents, content, and remain relevant in today’s and let the world work in its mysteri-
employee cost, and other bills, even be- world.” ous ways.”
fore you start creating any magic with
your designs,” she notes. She adds that
Abdo Chlala,
without a family to back you monetar- Regional Head
STARTUP WEEKEND DUBAI 2016
ily and in other ways, it’s difficult for - IT & Mobile Startup Weekend Dubai Fashion
designers to get their name out, given Division, will bring together industry experts,
the regulatory hurdles. IFDC’s Khan Samsung
designers and developers to
MENA
highlights a need for aspiring designers brainstorm and “create the best
to focus on affordable production solu- MVP’s” in relation to wearables,
tions without comprising on quality. design and technology products,
“Sourcing, production [management], on October 13-15, 2016 in Dubai.
quality control, and challenges of The startup crash course, which
securing enough orders from retailers,” encourages “learning by doing,”
are other issues, she notes. invites participants to pitch an
Be it a tech startup, or a fashion idea, start building on the ideas,
venture, every business needs money to and present their prototypes to the
grow, and according to Nakad, getting judges- all in 54 hours. Advocating
investors to look at fashion in a “futur- the lean startup methodology, Startup
istic” way is the way to go. “We live in Weekend Fashion aims to help fashion
a day and age of collaboration,” he says. entrepreneurs to go out there and
“Technology and lifestyle can be a great “actually do it.”
combination and I would definitely en- www.dubai.startupweekend.org
courage angels and VCs to see how they

Inspired
pursuits
Turn your passion
into a viable business
MENA ‘treps talk what works (and what doesn’t)
Hussein Bazaza
Ali Mansoor
Nada and Noor Alawi
Rosemin Manji
Omar Samra
Sultan Al Qassemi
Michelle Karam
Brought to you by

business unusual | LIFE | TRAVEL | DESIGN | TRAPPINGS
CULTURE
Hussein after all the pieces of my story

are put together, we walk Ali technology and organization-
wise. You can run a company
Bazaza through it step-by-step all the
while creating outfits to match
Mansoor from your bedroom or front
porch. The internet has made it
Founder, Hussein Bazaza the tale.” As someone who be-
lieves local designers are often
Co-founder and CEO, easier and more fun to become
an entrepreneur by giving us
Ever since his debut collection wary of being risky, Bazaza is Baroque constant access to the best and
came out in 2012, Lebanese keen on differentiating himself newest knowledge right in our
fashion designer Hussein Ba- from the crowd- and he cer- “Our unique selling point is a hands. Creativity now has the
zaza has been steadily climb- tainly seems to be winning on mixture of technology, heart most optimal life conditions
ing up the popularity charts that endeavor. and guts.” That’s how Baroque and inspirational resources. Tip
thanks to his signature style co-founder and CEO Ali Man- number two is educate yourself
and, of course, the slew of Q What’s your advice for crea- soor hopes to make his UAE- constantly– get used to getting
industry awards he has been tives who want to break into headquartered (and newly smarter every day. And tip
winning along the way- these the fashion industry? launched) creative production number three is don’t be afraid
include the Elle Style award company stand out in what is of failure. Have the guts to
for Best Upcoming Middle A “Those who want to break quite a crowded market out follow your visions and to enter
East Designer in 2013 and into fashion need to be confi- there. Mansoor’s credentials uncharted territory, to do crazy
the Dubai Design and Fashion dent and fearless enough to work to his advantage though-
Council - Style.com/Arabia do so. First and foremost, they he boasts of 15 years of experi- Ali Mansoor,
Fashion Prize in 2015. “Every must study and fully under- ence in the advertising indus- Founder
collection I ever launch has a stand their target market to be try, and his passion for the and CEO,
Baroque
fairytale behind it,” he says. well aware of its needs. They sector easily comes through
“My creative process starts also must have a creatively in the projects he has done so
by researching a specific topic unique sense of style to have far. “The freedom of no limits
at first. After the extensive their own character in the fash- bestowed on creatives today,
research and data retrieved ion scene all the while creating combined with the freedom of
from the subject, I make up a artistic pieces that are sellable. consumers to ignore us with
character to go with the theme For me, in the beginning, it was a click, has created this new,
of the collection. Later on, rather hard, because it was a fantastic, vast and exciting
confusing time where some frontier for fearless creative
“Those who want to would give me so much advice, and innovative entrepreneurs
break into fashion need and others would throw criti- who are committed to merging
to be confident and cism my way, so the challenge technology with heart and
fearless enough to do was to deal with all of that guts,” he says. “Creatives who
so. First and foremost, and choose which comments are not seeing the fast, ever-
they must study and among them all would be a changing, increasingly com-
fully understand their kind of guideline. The most petitive global marketplace things, to do things opposite of
target market to be important lesson I learned was as a problem, but instead as a what is the norm. Tip number
well aware of its needs.” to always believe in myself.” huge inspirational incentive to four, don’t only have three tips
skip the nonsense, to skip even to offer. So, my fourth tip is
knowledge and experience, and never lose sight of what it’s all
to dare to jump off the cliff. about: people. Fellow human
And they are jumping off the beings. Communicating value
cliff in order to challenge their to your fellow human beings
ability to fly and land securely, in order to improve their lives–
as they break new ground in not to make you look sexy and
uncharted territories.” As important in a Porsche. There’s
someone who has taken such nothing more important than
a leap by creating Baroque, enriching other people’s lives.”
Mansoor’s journey promises to
be one to watch out for- and “The internet has made
others should follow suit. it easier and more fun to
become an entrepreneur
Q What are your top three tips by giving us constant
for an entrepreneur to start a access to the best and
business in the MENA region? newest knowledge right
in our hands. Creativity
Hussein Bazaza, A “Tip number one is that now has the most optimal
Founder, there are no limits anymore. life conditions and
Hussein Bazaza
Nothing is impossible. Both inspirational resources.”

Nada and Noor

Alawi, co-founders,
Annada
with two highly celebrated artists; Ab-

Nada and bas Almosawi and Hassan Haidar. We
set up our shop online at
Noor Alawi annadaonline.com, and from there, the
collection continued to grow. We have
Co-founders, Annada now collaborated with over twenty
artists from the region, and have
The Bahrain-based Annada made quite gained a loyal following to whom we
an impression when it launched in are ever so thankful.”
2011 offering scarves featuring original
artwork by two regional artists, and Q What’s your advice for designers
co-founders (and sisters) Nada and looking into developing their own line of
Noor Alawi have since proved them- niche products?
selves to more than just a flash in the
pan- the company’s range has grown A “Listen to where your heart wants to
to includes apparel as well as leather go, then show up, and do the work to
and paper goods built in collaboration get there. It’s as simple as that. Every
with regional artists. The venture’s day will be a new challenge, as if you
success should serve as an inspira- were in a reality show, and each episode
tion for other wannabe entrepreneurs has a different theme. The key is to
wanting to follow their passion- Crea- break apart the challenge into small
tive Director Nada Alawi, for instance, pieces, and tackle them one at a time.
used to work in the oil and gas indus- Throughout this nonstop journey, you “We have now collaborated with
try, before launching Annada with her will have your ups and you will have over twenty artists from the
sister. “The brand is in our DNA, we your downs, but always remember, the region, and have gained a loyal
know it, we’ve developed it, it is our most beautiful things await you on the following to whom we are ever
way of life,” she says. “We had set off other side.” so thankful.”
Rosemin Having worked in the fashion industry

for more than 17 years, Rosemin
aesthetics and values, than someone
for the numbers only. Honestly, readers
Manji Manji’s influence in the sector

shouldn’t be measured based off
and followers are intelligent to know
what’s real and what’s just a paid post.
just her social media presence- the I also believe that the influencer has
Founder, RR & Co. Bespoke founder of RR & Co. Bespoke Luxury to personify the brand on and offline.
Luxury Management Management has worked with the That’s a true brand ambassador. I
likes of Tom Ford, Burberry and Gucci get a lot of offers to endorse brands
over the course of her career, and her and products, but I say no more often
efforts at building personal relation- than yes because like everything in the
ships with these brands and designers world, it has its ups and downs, and
then have certainly contributed to her right now, there is a surge in social me-
success today. And even as the nature dia, but I strongly believe by maintain-
of the region’s luxury sector changed, ing integrity is what will stay true and
Manji smartly set herself to be one last. I think about the long term.”
step ahead of these trends- and made
herself a force to reckon with in the “I think where brands make an
business of fashion.
error is choosing ‘influencers’
Q As someone who’s been repeat- by numbers and not by quality.
edly lauded as a prolific digital media It’s better to be associated
influencer in the region, how do you go with a celebrity/influencer
about maintaining your presence? that naturally fits the
brand’s aesthetics and values,
A “There is no doubt that social media than someone for the numbers
is impactful. I think where brands make
an error is choosing ‘influencers’ by
only. Honestly, readers and
numbers and not by quality. It’s better followers are intelligent to
to be associated with a celebrity/in- know what’s real and what’s
fluencer that naturally fits the brand’s just a paid post.”

CULTURE
Omar Samra, Founder, them beyond a certain

Wild Guanabana point, it’s impossible
to stay true to the
ethics [it was founded
with]… So when I
looked at myself and
my business, I believed
that I had to maintain
a certain sort of scale
in order to be faithful
to the values of the
business, and be able
to serve every single
client the way we
wanted to, a personal
service that is of high
quality and still caring
of the host commu-
nity, the environment
and so on. And even
though we are a small
company, we can play
a much bigger role
if we stay faithful
to the sustainable
guidelines that we
have. We can become
a champion of our
Omar Q For a business such as Wild

Guanabana that was founded
pass things like, the people
that work with you, are they
industry, and hopefully inspire
other companies, big and small,
Samra on a very specific set of ethical

principles, how do you go about
being inspired in the place that
they work and able to create?
to start adopting more ethical
practices.”
measuring the company’s The people that you serve, the
Founder, success and growth, while stay- clients, are you changing their
“Value creation
Wild Guanabana ing true to your foundational
values?
lives, are you having a mean-
ingful impact in what they do? cannot just be
It’s almost impossible to not How are you conserving your about increasing
feel inspired hearing Omar A “In terms of measuring environment, raising awareness shareholder value
Samra’s story of how he went success, I personally think, about current issues through or selling more
about setting up his adventure and it’s something I feel very the work that you do? And so,
travel company Wild Guana- strongly about, that, looking at in a way, I never intended for
things, it’s about
bana. This Egyptian entrepre- the world in general, the way Wild Guanabana to become an what kind of value
neur used to have a corporate we measure value is inher- empire kind of thing- certain you can add to the
career in finance before he set ently flawed. How we measure kinds of businesses, if you grow world and to society.”
up his own enterprise that value in the world right now, in
was driven off his own passion terms of companies, is basically Omar Samra
for travel- a zeal, really, which based off shareholder return, at TEDx
has seen Samra travel to more or if it’s a private company, the
than 80 countries around the bottom-line and so on. But this
world already. Wild Guana- sort of measurement is actually
bana differentiates itself by flawed, because it might have
offering memorable, out-of- been effective in the times of
the-ordinary and ethical travel the industrial revolution or pre
experiences for its customers, that time, but now the world
and Samra is keen on main- has limited resources. And so
taining the company’s small- value creation cannot just be
but-intimate feel- the goal, as about increasing shareholder
he puts it, is not to become value or selling more things,
supremely rich, but rather to it’s about what kind of value
“make a change, to be a part of you can add to the world and to
something bigger than myself.” society. So it has to encom-

Sultan the dialogue, and distancing

ourselves away from the ste-
Michelle Karam,
Founder, Travel
Al Qassemi
Junkie Diary
reotypical discussions that we
have surrounding the Middle
East and Arab world.”
Founder, Barjeel Art
Foundation Q From your perspective,
what’s the case you’d made
As the founder of an organiza- for a company in the region to
tion dedicated to the develop- invest in a MENA-based artist?
ment of the art scene in the
Arab world, Barjeel Art Foun- A “To begin with, you are
dation’s Sultan Al Qassemi is creating a distinct environment
keen on shifting the narrative by injecting culture into the
about the region in the global space that makes a state-
landscape- and he’s using ment about your vision as a
the digital arena to make this corporate leader. It’s a unique
change. “It’s important to use
the internet to respond to
statement about the corpora-
tion; it says that ‘We differenti- Michelle who turned their passion into
a successful career closer to
people who generalize about
the Middle East,” Al Qas-
ate ourselves.’ There is also a
CSR responsibility, as many of Karam reality.
semi said at the 2016 STEP these companies are not taxed Q How do you make sure your
Conference in Dubai. “I think in the region so it’s a way to Founder, platform, Travel Junkie Diary,
the onus is on us -whether
it’s appearing on television,
give back to the community.
It’s an immediate investment in
Travel Junkie Diary continues to remain innovative,
stay relevant and appealing to
going on radio- we have to culture and community- it’s not It may be easy for people to your current followers, while
always counter the narrative.” a CSR initiative that doesn’t dismiss Travel Junkie Diary attracting new ones as well?
And that is essentially what have a direct return to the founder Michelle Karam as
he is doing with Barjeel as institution. These artworks will “just another digital influenc- A “Creativity is the key, and
well. “My aim for Barjeel is go up in value, [as] the more er,” but a closer review of what you cannot get creative without
to establish a collection that people that buy quality work, this entrepreneur does on her research. Getting to know what
has a unique identity,” Al the more certain the valuations online travel platform (curated the brand represents makes
Qassemi says. “A collection of are in these artworks.” trips, creative content, brand it easier for me to deliver the
Arab artists that is accessible, campaigns) and associated so- right message in my content,
approachable and available “My aim for Barjeel is to cial media channels (check out and curate the right itinerary
for loan, that kind of nur- establish a collection her Instagram presence) may for guests. It’s about learning
tures cultural understanding, that has a unique cause you to reconsider that the trends in travel and creat-
tour-able in that you can take identity. A collection notion- the digital revolution ing it at the same time. Being
it out of the country, show it of Arab artists that is has changed the way consum- consistent is always great, but
elsewhere and bring it back, accessible, approachable ers shop for travel products, sometimes, a change every
and contributes to broadening and available for loan.” and Karam is simply capitaliz- now and then can help you
ing on this shift in the market. increase your followers. A new
“Travel Junkie Diary is not destination that has not been
Sultan Sooud just about a beautiful Insta- done over and over is always a
Al Qassemi, gram image,” Karam explains. fabulous appeal to attract new
Founder, Barjeel
Art Foundation “It’s true, our followers cannot (and maintain) followers. Being
see what we do behind the informative in almost every
scenes, but we give our clients, post I do also helps a lot. At the
the brands we work with, same time, branching out and
a digital solution, consult- writing for different print and
ing them on the right path online publications in English
for using social media on the and Arabic helps me to reach
right platforms, and making a wider audience across the
sure they work with the right globe.”
influencers or bloggers.” And
in an era where quantity over “Being consistent
quality seems to be the norm, is always great, but
Karam is keen on moving in a sometimes, a change
different direction with what every now and then can
she does- making her dream of help you increase your
becoming known as someone followers.”

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Building Tomorrow.
TREPONOMICS ETHICS | ESQUIRE GUY | SKILLSET | MARKETING | PRO
Reasons for preferring to seek employment in a company
Soaring ambition
The aspiration to become an entrepreneur in the MENA
Regular income
Learning new skills %41

%44
Stability of employment / job security %35

region is on the rise- and so are the physical attempts at Benefits and perks %31
establishing a business
Fixed working hours %28
By Lama Ataya
I
Lack of finances to start own business %26
t is hard to think of a time Entrepreneurship represents Enjoy the social aspects of an office
%16
when the economic and a key process in creating environment
job-related conditions in economic value and employ- Unaffordable economic conditions %14
the Middle East and North ment opportunities across
Africa (MENA) region were all industries and sectors. Current political system %11
static or predictable. The Entrepreneurs often revolu-
Consistent resources / flow of work %11
region is highly dynamic to tionize existing products and
the extent that daily occur- services; they fill in the gaps Little risk involved %10
rences create new and criti- by addressing unmet consum-
cal data for those of us keen er needs and desires, shake No investment required %9
on navigating our respective up dormant competition,
industries and job markets. and, along the way, generate Lack of necessary skills to be self-employed %9
Given how damaging the ever- new investment platforms
Severity of the self-employment decision %5
growing instability has been and career opportunities for
to the region’s economies, the their countries. Therefore, it Lack the confidence for running own business %5
automatic prediction would is undisputable that entrepre-
point to a stagnant environ- neurship is a positive phenom- Lack of an appropriate business idea %4
ment for all types of employ- enon and is becoming a more
ment, investment, and entre- integral part of the MENA
preneurship. Yet, it comes to economy. When Bayt.com con- stronger than before. This is unemployment. 2016 brings
many as striking that aspiring ducted the Entrepreneurship particularly true among recent about a highly enriched, yet
entrepreneurs are on the rise in the Middle East and North graduates and millennials, challenging, environment for
across the MENA region and Africa Survey, August 2016, it currently experiencing the employment and retention;
are taking more steps and was evident that more people, highest unemployment levels one in four young people in the
exerting more effort to join the when compared to the survey in the world. MENA region are unemployed.
force of the self-employed. findings of 2015, are opting for This number is much
self-employment. Addition- Why entrepreneurship is higher, in fact, if we include
State of self-employment ally, more aspiring entrepre- on the rise informal unemployment and
neurs in 2016 are taking the It may still sound counterin- underemployment figures.
necessary steps to launch their tuitive that more startups are Despite the fact that persistent
businesses. For instance, 71% popping up across the MENA unemployment is economically
21% of the 2016 survey respond- today when the economic con- and psychologically taxing,
ents prefer self-employment ditions seem more challeng- it can motivate job seekers
while 64% preferred self- ing than ever. There are, in to explore alternative routes
4%
employment in 2015. It is not fact, a few factors that further such as entrepreneurship. This
merely about preference, as explain this trend. ultimately creates jobs for the
75%
more respondents in 2016 said entrepreneur and for many
that they have taken the first 1. The unemployment others.
steps towards establishing effect We can think
their own business and have, of self-employment and Entrepreneurs often revolu-
hence, began implementing unemployment as alternatives. tionize existing products and
their ideas on the ground. It is a simple analogy to show services; they fill in the gaps
Between 2011 to 2016
Based on the survey find- how higher unemployment by addressing unmet consumer
(in the last 6 years)
needs and desires, shake up
ings, entrepreneurship is works as an incentive for
Between 2006 to 2010 dormant competition, and, along
(in the last 10 years) certainly not declining in the aspiring entrepreneurs. At the way, generate new investment
More than 10 years ago
MENA region; in fact, it is the end of the day, many of us platforms and career opportuni-
(2005 or before) appearing more favorable and prefer self-employment over ties for their countries.

incentive for a millennial to en-
Ease of setting up own business ter and exit a specific field. Yet,
there are other equally valuable
attributes that millennials are
looking for in their job search.
6% 12% 28% 36% 18%
In fact, many of these at-
tributes are also what make
self-employment very attrac-
tive. The Bayt.com Entre-
Extremely easy Somewhat easy Neither easy nor difficult preneurship in the Middle
Somewhat difficult Extremely difficult East and North Africa Survey
looked at the reasons entre-
preneurship is so desirable
nowadays. The most cited
In its Middle East Job Index 2014, eight in 10 respondents Millennials in the Middle motive was the greater sense
Survey, February 2016, state that unemployment is East and North Africa Survey, of independence at work (39%
Bayt.com measures the Hiring a significant issue in their among respondents who are of respondents). Being able to
Expectancy Index (HEI) for respective countries. Higher looking for a job, work-life choose working hours, dress
countries in the MENA region. unemployment among balance and personal fulfill- code, and vacation allowances
This year the index presents millennials suggests that more ment come on top. Millennials are highly wanted perks of
a three-point decrease as of them are likely to seek self- look beyond the salary; they entrepreneurship. Large com-
compared to June 2015, which employment as an alternative. are interested in a career that panies with excessive hierarchy
suggests that those seeking Another area that explains parallels their passion and often diminish independence
employment in a company may the millennial effect on en- career goals; a career that is at work. Entrepreneurs value
face even more difficulty in the trepreneurship in the MENA ethically sound; and a career self-management and find that
future. However, if entrepre- region is the career attributes that affords them a balanced it enables them to better focus
neurship continues to grow as that millennials value the most. life. Without doubt, seeking a on what they want to achieve
an alternative for unemploy- According to the Bayt.com higher salary is a significant in their careers. >>>
ment, we can assume that
those who launch a successful
business will help offset the
decrease in hiring expectancy. Challenges faced in starting a business (those who tried but couldn’t / failed to do so)
Entrepreneurs who seek to
grow their business and sur-
vive the competition will most Unable to obtain financial support %52
likely need to build a team Not able to self-finance the start-up of the business %51
and will hire more job seekers.
Cost of acquiring technology was prohibitive %22
Ultimately, those who pursue
the self-employment path will Economic uncertainty %19
secure jobs for themselves and Lack of resources required %19
a few others. Today’s entre-
preneur can be thought of as Strict government regulation / Bureaucracy %17
tomorrow’s employer. Difficult to obtain information on starting business %17
Strong competition in the line of business %14
2. The millennial effect
The fact that the MENA region Lack of skilled workforce required in the business %14
is very youthful cannot be
Unable to meet licensing and regulatory requirements %13
overlooked when it comes to
entrepreneurship. Millennials Fear of failure %13
comprising the largest Do not have the requisite skills and experience %10
proportion of the job-seeker
population means that they Difficult to reconcile with family situation %10
highly influence the trends Unable to establish the 'right' contacts / wasta %9
and changes of the job market.
Corruption in business %9
First of all, unemployment
is more prevalent among the Too much hard work and effort %6
millennials. As indicated in Lack of confidence / risk taking spirit %3
the Bayt.com Millennials in
charts © bayt.com
the Middle East and North Other %3

Africa Survey, February

Perceived image of entrepreneurs

They only think about
29% 30% 21% 11% 8%
their own profit North Africa Survey, October
They only think about
their own profit
29% 30% 21% 11% 8% 2015, examined the attractive-
They create new
products/services for 34% 37% 19% 7% 3%
ness of cities based on many
They create
the society’s benefitnew economic and entrepreneurial
products/services for 34% 37% 19% 7% 3% variables.
the society’s benefit
They help in creating
47% 34% 12% 5% 2%
new jobs The fact that the MENA region
They help in creating
new jobs
47% 34% 12% 5% 2% is very youthful cannot be
They are opportunity- overlooked when it comes to
48% 37% 12% 3% 1% entrepreneurship. Millenni-
driven
They are opportunity- als comprising the largest
48% 37% 12% 3% 1%
driven proportion of the job-seeker
They are a source of
41% 33% 18% 5% 4%4%
4% population means that they
innovation in society
They are a source of
41% 33% 18% 5% 4%4%
4%
highly influence the trends
innovation in society and changes of the job market.
They are effective risk-
42% 34% 16% 7% 2%
takers The entrepreneurship factors
They are effective risk-
42% 34% 16% 7% 2%
takers consist of aspects that have an
They mentor young
people and promote the 32% 21% 11% 2% 6%
impact on a city’s economic
They mentor young prosperity. These include
entrepreneurial spirit
people and promote the 32% 21% 11% 2% 6%
entrepreneurial spirit taxes, ease of setting up a
business, bureaucracy level,
Strongly agree Somewhat agree Neither agree nor disagree ability to find finance and
Strongly agree Somewhat agree Neither agree nor disagree talent, market willingness to
Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
accept new ideas, as well as
Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree
market saturation. Some of
Another reason many indi- Middle East and North Africa Indeed, entrepreneurs have the cities that scored highest
viduals in the MENA region is a very diverse region had diverse experiences set- on the entrepreneurship fac-
prefer self-employment is that and its entrepreneurial ting up business operations tors include Dubai, Abu Dhabi
it allows them to do exactly environment varies greatly across the MENA region. Some and Manama. This means that
what they are interested in. from one country to another of these differences are as these cities are more likely to
According to the same survey, and from one city to another. perceived, but the attractive- experience most of the entre-
58% of respondents find that There is a number of factors ness of the host environment preneurial fever and incubate
starting their own business af- that aspiring entrepreneurs remains different across the more startups in 2016, when
fords them a sense of personal consider before launching an region. The Bayt.com Top compared to other cities in the
fulfillment. Millennials who investment in a particular Cities in the Middle East and region.
are driven by a mission, more city. These factors include
so than a dollar figure, will find laws and regulations of setting
entrepreneurship ideal for real- up a business, regulations Best time to start a business
izing their passion. Those who of existing competition,
seek to start a new business taxes, and access to investors
often start with their passion and talent. The Bayt.com Anytime 37%
as a guiding map to formulat- Entrepreneurship in the
ing their business idea. Middle East and North Africa
Survey found out that the Right after college/university 12%
What these trends mean most important factor for
for your country entrepreneurs was the ease of
The aspiration to become setting up the business. What
an entrepreneur is evidently this means is that potential Mid-career 37%
on the rise, and so are entrepreneurs will look at
the physical attempts at the process of obtaining a
establishing a business. licence, registering a business,
Nonetheless, succeeding at and setting up the facilities After a lengthy career 12%
establishing a business that and evaluate whether it is
adds economic value and inviting enough. Based on
survives the competition that, different cities will
is partially dependent on witness different levels of Never 2%
the host environment. The entrepreneurial activity.
charts © bayt.com
Lama Ataya is the Chief Marketing Officer at Bayt.com. In this role, she heads the Marketing department at Bayt.com, and within that role, she is also
responsible for communications, content, community experience, and corporate social responsibility.

TECH SHINY | WEBSITE TO WATCH | GEEK | MOBILE TECH | ONLINE ‘TREP | THE FIX
From slick smartphones to ultra-thin laptops, this month’s tech lineup showcases products that you’d
need in your day-to-day life. Yes, it’s okay to want them all… and no, it’s not our fault!
Worldly desires
HTC unveils its new flagship smartphones
HTC has unveiled two new a 20MP main camera with pre- mode. A fingerprint sensor that to 2TB of expandable memory
smartphones, the HTC Desire set options like sport mode and recognizes your finger from and share the same stunning
10 Pro and the HTC Desire 10 night mode, electronic image every angle and position sits on look with metallic gold trim that
Lifestyle, both of which feature stabilization to provide smooth the back of this model too. The complements the matte finish.
stunning design and flagship- videos even with shaky hands, HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle boasts Available in four distinct colors
level features. The Desire 10 and auto HDR on both the front a 5.5-inch, 720p HD screen, up -Stone Black, Polar White, Royal
Pro has a 5.5 inch, 1080p Full and rear cameras. Snap your to 3GB of RAM, 32GB storage Blue and Valentine Lux- the
HD display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB best selfies with the 13MP front space and HTC BoomSound Hi- HTC Desire 10 Pro and Lifestyle
storage space and amazing camera that features a new Fi Edition plus 24-bit Hi-Res au- blend function and fashion…
high-resolution cameras. It has 150-degree Selfie Panorama dio. Both smartphones offer up flawlessly.
HTC Desire 10
Lifestyle
IMAGES COURTESY htc, acer, homeiq

Style quotient
Acer introduces new Swift Series
Acer has launched the Swift rest- yes, there’s a place to

Series, a lineup of lightweight, rest your palm. It works in
ultra-thin laptops. The Swift conjunction with Windows
3 model combines a 14-inch Hello for enhanced security,
HD or Full HD IPS anti-glare and takes less than one sec-
display with 6th or 7th Gen- ond from scanning a fingertip
eration Intel Core processors, to access the desktop. The
512GB SSDs and up to 8GB scanner can also recognize
memory in a slick aluminum specific people and link ac-
chassis. Other specs include tions to approved individuals.
a USB 3.1 Type-C port and All-in-all, the Swift 3 promises
Acer Swift 3 an HD webcam with high to be a slick device with im-
dynamic range. Its design is proved safety.
rounded out with an optional
backlit keyboard that’s paired
with a large 72mm touchpad.
Perhaps the most novel fea-
ture is the built-in fingerprint
scanner located at the upper
right-hand corner of the palm
Smart home
HomeIQ offers a wireless management system for your home
HomeIQ’s connected home hub that works with other smart by restricting access to game
wireless system is an easy and device like A/C thermostats consoles and TVs to specific
efficient way to manage your that program themselves, flood times through the installation of
home. The system requires no detectors that shut off water a simple smart switch. The sys-
drilling or technical expertise supply when a leak is detected, tem is entirely customizable and
to install and allows you to smoke alarms that send notifica- available through HomeIQ’s on-
automate lights, locks and appli- tions in case of fire, and smart line platform. Once installed you #TAMTALKSTECH
ances as well as protect against locks that can remotely unlock can manage your smart home Tamara Clarke, a former
leaks, fire and theft. Hardware a door. Got kids? HomeIQ can using an app on your Android or software development
professional, is the tech and
for the system includes a central help automate their lifestyles too iOS mobile device.
lifestyle enthusiast behind
The Global Gazette, one of
the most active blogs in
HomeIQ the Middle East. The Global
Gazette has been welcomed
and lauded by some of the
most influential tech brands
in the region. Clarke’s goal is
to inform about technology
and how it supports our
lifestyles. See her work both
in print regional publications
and online on her blog where
she discusses everything
from how a new gadget
improves day-to-day life
to how to coordinate your
smartphone accessories.
Visit www. theglobalgazette.
com and talk to her on
Twitter @TamaraClarke.

‘Trep trimmings
The executive selection
F
rom better goods to boardroom wardrobe bests, each issue we choose a few items that
make the approved executive selection list. In this issue, we present the COS AW16 men’s
range, a new timepiece for travelling ‘treps, and our suggestions for eyewear to include in
your better accessories collection.
GEAR UP
OMEGA SUNGLASSES
Keeping an entrepreneurial spirit is

essential- even for a prestige brand
that already has a loyal following
since its establishment in 1848. Swiss
watchmaker OMEGA is expanding its
brand to luxury eyewear with its first
summer collection in partnership with
Marcolin Eyewear in Italy. We’re a fan
of the pilot style shades- suitable for
both office wear and leisure attire. And
if you’re familiar with OMEGA’s high-
caliber aesthetics, its influences are
found in the collection too- scratch-
resistant and anti-reflective lenses and
its shiny black finish is reminiscent
of OMEGA’s Dark Side of the Moon
timepiece lineup- a hat tip to the
OMEGA Pilot Style Sunglasses
brand’s beginnings.
www.omegawatches.com
COS AW16 COS AW16
Editor’s pick
COS AW16
The COS AW16 collection is

rich in both color and texture-
partly because the collection
is inspired by the work of
Berlin-based artist Lev Khesin
whose works consists of
semi-transparent layers and
deep muted, gradient colors.
It’s evident that the range is
intent on conveying a mixture
of deep pigments and subtle
layering, displayed by high
turtlenecks and elongated
sleeves in geometric defining
cuts. One ensemble we’re keen
on? A navy merino wool top
images courtesey omega, cos
paired with a classic navy wool

tailored jacket and trousers,
finished off with a pair of black
leather sneaker. It sure looks
good to us.
www.cosstores.com

CULTURE
Patravi
TravelTec II
TIME MACHINE
PATRAVI TRAVELTEC II
Hopping on and off so many flights that features a distinctive chronograph with
you’ve lost track of which time zone three time zones, and boasts water
images courtesey Patravi TraveltTec
your next conference call is in? We’ve resistance up to 50 metres. Finished

got the solution: Patravi Traveltec’s with a rose gold case and lightweight
newest timepiece. A worthwhile titanium pushers, this watch will
addition to your watch collection, it ensure that you’re on time and looking
was designed with the passion and fine at it too. Include this in your travel
craft of renowned watchmaker Carl essentials, and you’re ready to go.
F Bucherer. The Patravi TravelTec II www.carl-f-bucherer.com

SPECIAL REPORT
IBM EDGE 2016
Mai Medhat, co-founder and CEO, Eventtus with

President Barack Obama, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and
other entrepreneurs at GES 2016
IBM Edge 2016
Commanding
from a personal standpoint,
the Edge 2016 speaker that
particularly stood out to
me –entrepreneur Leanne
attention
Kemp- didn’t belong to a
“big” company per se: Kemp
is the founder and CEO of an
18-month-old startup called
Everledger, that currently
employs a team of 20 people.
But as Kemp outlined the
Startup Everledger makes a KNOCKOUT first impression work that her enterprise
Entrepreneur Leanne Kemp was doing, the technology
it was using to do this, and
F
By Aby Sam Thomas
the scope of its applications,
it was easy to see why the
or an event States in September at the President Tom Rosamilia London-headquartered
that was MGM Grand in Las Vegas, took to the Edge 2016 stage Everledger (with offices in
organized by Edge 2016 aimed to inspire to deliver this message, Australia and New York)
IBM, one of its attendees to “outthink the which was further bolstered warranted a presence on the
the largest status quo,” with IBM using by its partners in these Edge 2016 stage, despite the
(and oldest) the event to showcase how endeavors, which included company’s relatively young
technology it was enabling great strides bigwigs like Red Bull Racing, age and small size- this
companies in and delivering value in fields Welch’s, and Hortonworks. startup definitely seems to
the world, it was no surprise as varied as cognitive busi- But while all of these be on to something with its
to hear “innovation” being ness, cloud technology and prolific industry names gave offering, and Kemp’s passion
the center point of this year’s collaborative innovation. presentations that were and drive for her company
edition of the Edge confer- High-ranking IBM executives impressive in their own was, quite simply, grand and
ence. Staged in the United like IBM Systems Senior Vice right, I must admit here that, infectious.

SPECIAL REPORT
IBM Edge 2016
“We knew what the problem was, and we luxury goods Leanne Kemp with a
few of the awards won
and more. “You
had the ability to say, hey, there is some by Everledger
know, Amazon
technology here that could actually started with
really solve this. And these problems are books, and
problems that have not yet been solved Everledger
before today- so we truly are trying to started with
solve a problem that is real world issue.” diamonds,”
Kemp says.
“Our vision is
Everledger describes itself Everledger offers can be so much bigger.
as “a permanent, digital, put to good use in diamond You go from
global ledger that tracks verification processes by diamonds to
and protects diamonds and banks, insurers, law enforce- colored stones,
other valuable goods on ment, and even the owners rubies and sap-
their lifetime journey.” With themselves, who can now be phires; you can
the use of technology like confident about their asset’s go to watches
blockchain, smart contracts, sourcing. “I think the real to art to wine.” It’s a bold vi- think that’s a testament
machine vision and AI, this game changer for us is when sion- but it’s one that Kemp to our ability to distill the
startup essentially creates an we are able to give enough is confident that Everledger technology to its pure potent
immutable digital footprint transparency with a depth can accomplish because of form to really understand
for a diamond, thereby pro- of data over time, so that the ingenuity of its solution. the core building blocks that
viding a secure, transparent the consumer can have the “I think the reaction to were never going to change
record which stakeholders full consciousness of mind Everledger from day one has through the evolution of the
throughout the supply chain around the purchase of the been somewhat of an ‘aha!’ tech, and to apply that to a
can use to track and protect diamond,” Kemp says. “I moment for many, many problem… We knew what
their assets. Given its cur- think the horizon for us is people,” she says. “And I the problem was, and we >>>
rent focus on the diamond to bring full spread of the
industry, Kemp explains that true provenance, the chain
Everledger’s clients include of custody, and the reputa- “the real game changer for us is when
banks, insurance companies tion of the diamond to the
we are able to give enough transparency
and certification houses, and consumer.”
its technology has, so far,
with a depth of data over time, so that the
And while Everledger’s
been used to certify over a technology has been consumer can have the full consciousness
million diamonds. That’s no currently put to use for of mind around the purchase of the diamond.
small feat for a company that diamonds, the underlying I think the horizon for us is to bring full
was founded only in April ledger concept can be used spread of the true provenance, the chain of
2014, which also boasts of to track other valuable assets custody, and the reputation of the diamond
having won a number of in- as well, like gemstones, art, to the consumer.”
dustry awards, like the 2015
BBVA Europe Open Talent
Competition, the 2015 Meffy
Awards, and the 2016 Fin-
tech Finals, to name a few.
The value of what
Everledger brings to the
table can be best understood
when one looks at what is
at stake here: the diamond
industry is worth about
US$80 billion, but it is
rattled with problems like
theft and fraud, as well as
www.everledger.io | images courtesy ibm
concerns over their sourc-

ing from conflict zones.
According to Everledger,
insurance fraud is a global
problem, with US$2.5 mil-
lion spent a year by insurers
to tackle this problem. With
this in mind, the solution

SPECIAL REPORT
IBM EDGE 2016
had the ability to say, hey, “IBM is one of the chosen companies that’s the million diamond mark,
there is some technology been around for 100 years. They’ve continued and it was actually quite a
here that could actually to re-innovate themselves; innovate the sobering moment for me at
really solve this. And these market. And they understand security. They Christmas, because it had
problems are problems that understand hard architecture. And they dawned upon me that whilst
have not yet been solved a lot of people were applaud-
understand enterprise level applications. So,
before today- so we truly ing the engineering efforts
are trying to solve a problem
for me, it was around, really, being counter- of our team, the reality is
that is real world issue.” intuitive, around some of the decisions that we need to go from a million
Kemp, a serial entrepreneur we were making as a startup.” to 10 million to 30 million
who has built and sold start- diamonds. How do we scale
ups successfully in the past, diamonds space, Everledger can consume it, and we can that securely, how do we do
says that Everledger was announced at Edge 2016 solve problems,” she ex- that globally, and how do we
predominantly funded from that it has now extended plains. “We have some of the also bring the elasticity in
her own personal wealth. its technology to tackle the brightest minds in the insur- terms of that service offering
The startup was invited to be trade of rough diamonds as ance business; we have some to market? And so, to bring
a part of the 2015 Barclays well, certified through the of the brightest engineers that elasticity, as well as the
Accelerator program in Lon- UN-mandated Kimberley that are working with us. But rigidity ensuring that if you
don, which afforded it an in- Process, and thus enabling we are not a protocol-based stretch it too long, it’s not
vestment of US$120,000 as transparency at every stage engineering team, so we’re going to snap, [we chose to
well. “We were supported by of a diamond’s journey. reliant upon the emerging work with IBM].”
an industry name this year, Everledger’s presence at Edge fabrics that come to market. And Kemp doesn’t seem
but we haven’t publicly an- 2016 is also reflective of the And there have been very to regret her decision one
nounced that,” Kemp reveals. good working relationship many startups that have bit- she was quite gracious
“We will announce that as between the startup and attempted in the space that of IBM’s efforts in relation
part of our Series A that IBM, and I was curious to have built certain architec- to Everledger. “IBM is one
will come out in the next hear from Kemp how this ture, and we’ve embraced of the chosen companies
number of months.” Having partnership came about. “We that architecture. But when that’s been around for 100
showcased its digital encryp- are a company that enables we got to the first year [of years. They’ve continued to
tion expertise in the polished technology, so that industry the company], we achieved re-innovate themselves; in-
Leanne Kemp at IBM Edge 2016

SPECIAL REPORT
IBM Edge 2016
IBM Edge 2016
novate the market. And they and to weather the storms “we’ve invested a lot in understanding the
understand security. They that happen is really the key challenges of us wanting to really take
understand hard architec- to success. You know, for ourselves to new heights. But IBM has been a part
ture. And they understand me, we’ve invested a lot in of that sherpa process for us. And, you know,
enterprise level applications. understanding the challenges we have not necessarily spent a lot of time in
So, for me, it was around, of us wanting to really take the business-facing end of IBM; we really have
being counter-intuitive ourselves to new heights. But
been spending a lot of time with the technology
around some of the decisions IBM has been a part of that
team. We’ve been making the engineering
that we were making as a sherpa process for us. And,
startup. Actually kind of do- you know, we have not nec-
investment. We’ve been contributing to the open
ing the old Wayne Gretzky, essarily spent a lot of time source initiative.
you know, let’s go to where in the business-facing end
the puck is likely to be, of IBM; we really have been ten that. So, at the very core tivities that we’ve brought to
rather than trying to be there spending a lot of time with of IBM, you know, they really the engineering framework.
right this very second. And, the technology team. We’ve have the embodiment of We really understand the
you know, that intuition is been making the engineering trust. And I remember hav- acuteness of the problems
paying off right now for us.” investment. We’ve been con- ing a conversation with some in the marketplace. And you
Given Everledger’s successful tributing to the open source of the top management team, know, we’ve been agile in our
collaboration with IBM, I initiative. You know, we’ve and looking them in the eye approach. I mean, a 20-hour
ask Kemp if she had any tips been giving first; we’ve been and saying, you know, this working rhythm for us, 24/7
for other entrepreneurs who giving it out, and respect- could potentially be a David across three countries in 18
may be, like her at one point, fully, IBM has supported us and Goliath moment. I mean, months, is really something
weighing the pros and cons through this journey, and there’s no reason why you that I guess they probably
of working with an industry quite rightly, probably to the couldn’t shove Everledger haven’t seen too many times
giant. Kemp replies with a benefit of them, as well as it to one side, and actually in a startup. I mean, we’re
mountaineering analogy. is to the benefit of us.” put an engineering army of hungry. We want IBM to
“There are ways to scale But weren’t there ever any 200 people to it, and take work with us. We’ll do what-
the heights of Everest. And concerns about working with us out of the market in five ever it takes to be sure that
I think that the air is thin a giant like IBM- perhaps split seconds. But I really the industry can consume
when you get up there quite worries about the startup think, and, you know, maybe this technology. And for me,
high. But the ability to find being swallowed by it? I’m putting words in IBM’s I want to be the crazy old
images courtesy ibm
the right sherpa in industry “You know, IBM was once mouth, but I really think lady in a nursing home that
to bring you through those a startup,” Kemp replies. that they’ve enjoyed the true tells the story, that there was
parts, and the challenges and “They were once a startup. collaboration. I think that something that we did to
the potential avalanches, And I don’t think I’ve forgot- they have enjoyed the sensi- change the world.”

TECH SHINY | WEBSITE TO WATCH | GEEK | MOBILE TECH | ONLINE ‘TREP | THE FIX
Juan Jose De La Torre, IBM,

Digital Transformation Leader for
Middle East and Africa something that requires pro- action. “You need the right
cesses in the company to be talent to drive this- people are
re-examined and most of the the key component for trans-
time to be updated; it requires formation,” he says. “At the
technologies to be reevalu- end, when we’re talking about
ated. It requires changes to be evolutions, this reinvention,
made in how companies work. we need to focus on people. It
In other words, the mistake needs to be not only about the
comes in taking the shortcut. vision, the customer experi-
The shortcut is, I want to do ence, what’s going to generate
digital, I just go and do some- profit, or how we’re going to
thing without transforming do it, but also, we need to
how I operate, without trans- have a focus on how we’re
forming how we do things. going [to] transit our orga-
Paradigm shift So then I start creating these

islands, scattered islands of
nization from today to that
future state, and how we’re
digital components, which are going to transit people. Don’t
IBM’s Juan Jose De La Torre on the need for MENA not cohesive and not part of a underestimate the impact on
businesses to embrace digital transformation single experience.” people- the people that are
By Pamella de Leon Keeping that in mind, inside the organization that
T
what is the one thing that need to embrace this, and the
ech has changed the part of our customer journey, businesses, large and small, people that you need to bring
way we work and we’re still not there.” As for should keep in mind when in to help you to actually
live, and with that, why this is the case, De La thinking about their digital conduct this.”
more so than ever, Torre feels there’s a misun- strategies? “What’s the end?
the need for enter- derstanding of sorts about What do you want to get out
prises and startups to shift to what digital transformation of it? It’s a very simple ques- Executive speak
strategize the digital market exactly entails when it tion, and it’s basic, but an J. J. De La Torre’s
is high. Businesses are called comes to a business. “Digital important one- are you going impressions on the MENA
to create more efficient and transformation now is a to use technology to commu- startup ecosystem
seamless ways to incorporate buzzword,” he says. “Everyone nicate to your customers? You
consumer-centric experiences is using it, everyone wants it, want to use it to understand “What we see in the region
with digi technologies, and and everyone wants to have them better? You want to use when it comes to startups,
IBM’s Digital Transformation it as part of their strategy- it to increase your sales? You are regional replicas of global
Leader for Middle East and but digital transformation want to use it as customer trends. There’s a global
Africa Juan Jose De La Torre is very difficult, [and] very care? What is the aim? And startup that is becoming
focuses on addressing this different to digitalization.” that aim should be translated successful, then we have our
demand. According to De La As an example, De La Torre to vision. From aim, we go to own local version, which then
Torre, digital transforma- points toward the onslaught vision, from vision we go to comes down to a matter of
tion is all about helping of businesses getting on social customer experience: so what execution and a matter of
clients leverage technology media channels like Twitter, is the customer experience time to market, like, local vs.
“to actually reinvent their for instance, and then failing that you want to create? And global, who will win- the one
business models to reinvent to keep an up-to-date and how that is going to encom- that is able to grab the most
their operations, to reinvent responsive presence on the pass [digital]? Then you take traction in the market in the
the processes, and basically platform. Another instance is that customer experience short time. What I would like
to transform.” Enhancing when a retailer creates an e- and decompose it into KPIs, to see is more unique value
customer experience needs commerce side to the existing objectives, etc. This [might propositions that were born
to be the centerpoint of this business- but while it should look a bit] disconnected, but out of the region, based in the
transformation strategy, aim at channeling the same this is the way to do it and be region, and basically that solve
which should essentially re- kind of customer experience successful. When you design, a particular situation from
late to the consumer’s specific it already has, it’s often a dif- you design with an intention the region, that we can scale
needs and wants. “You need ferent operation entirely, with of a behavior, and by having then to the globe. Again, IBM
to change how you actually different pricing, strategies, that, you achieve your busi- is helping startups, not only
create, and how you actually etc. ness goals. It’s exactly the in the region but across the
Image location courtesy of St. Regis Dubai
build the proposition,” he “Digital transformation is same. When I open a digital world, by putting a number
explains. not about digitalization, it’s channel, I need to understand of tools at their disposal by
While De La Torre agrees about transforming your op- why I’m opening it, or if I’m supporting the ecosystem. It’s
with the notion that the rate eration,” De La Torre explains. going to digitize, why I’m not about pushing technology,
of digital adoption is high in “If I open a new channel, that going to digitize.” Once the per se, it’s about identifying a
the MENA region, when it channel needs to be consis- operating model has been put need that then can be solved
comes to “using these digital tent with experience. It needs in place, then the focus, De for a value proposition, that is
technologies embedded in to be actually something that La Torre says, needs to be on fueled by digital technology.”
us as part of the business or elevates the experience. It’s the people putting this into

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leyball. “When’s good?” pops the onus

over the net, and then the other person
lobs it back with a “Not sure, crazy
week.”
You canceled, so you offer new times.
Give two or three. Be specific. “A mistake
I see people make over email is not
responding in a way that moves the
conversation forward,” says productiv-
ity expert Maura Thomas, founder of
RegainYourTime.com. “Don’t just say,
‘Tuesday’s good.’ Say, ‘How’s 1 p.m.
Tuesday?’ Take the conversation to the
next step.”
The power of deference

And let me reiterate: you need to reiter-
ate. You just canceled a meeting, so you
need to remind the other person just how
important this meeting -and they- are
to you. This is simple work. Say that you
know the other person is busy, and that
you don’t take their schedule lightly. Add
a personal, complimentary note. Say why
you’re looking forward to the meeting.
Say what you think both sides will gain
from having met.
The don’t-be-a-schmuck guide It’s flattery, sure. It’s also compensation
to rescheduling for the irritation of rescheduling. Maybe
they’ll do it in return. Now you’re playing
Yes, it happens to everyone, but there’s a right way flattery volleyball.
and a wrong way to go about it
The pointlessness of
By Ross McCammon explanation
No excuses. Rarely, if ever, give a reason
H
i. Sorry. I know you came all pendable they are in business. The re- why you need to postpone. If you do,
this way, but I’m gonna have scheduling request is both minefield and you’re just telling them where they are
to reschedule this reading opportunity. But mainly: opportunity. on your hierarchy of responsibilities. But
experience. You didn’t confirm, when someone reads, “Unfortunately,
so I thought it wasn’t going to work for The mechanics of rescheduling I have to reschedule our meeting for
you. So, anyway, I’ll get in touch about Earnest times call for earnest words. If tomorrow,” they imagine any number of
another time, OK? Sorry, it’s just been you’re going to bump that lunch meet- scenarios- from the mundane to trau-
really crazy the past few days. I’ve been ing, you need to show that the meeting matic. But, importantly, they can’t judge
sick, and I’m just, you know: “Aaah!” is still important and that your profes- the situation.
Let’s analyze why the above’s such a sional bond remains intact. That means Let them fill in the blanks. Don’t give
bad way to reschedule. expressing four things: contrition, avail- an excuse. Preserve the leverage that
1. It happened too late. ability, deference and reassurance. “Use discretion affords.
2. It placed blame on the other party. words like important or I need to change If you do it wrong, rescheduling weak-
3. The rescheduling is left open-ended. the schedule or Let’s get this rescheduled ens a business relationship through
4. “It’s just been really crazy” is not a as soon as possible,” says Jeffrey Seglin, irritation and complication. If you do it
valid reason to postpone anything in director of the communications program right, you will irritate and complicate,
business. at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy but you will make the other feel like
See this article in its entirety at Entrepreneur.com
5. “I’ve been sick” is unnecessarily bur- School of Government. they matter more than they did when
densome information. you first scheduled the meeting. You’ll
And 6. “Aaah!”? Aaah! And then get down to the turn a mundane scheduling matter into
No professional action is more revealing rescheduling. an occasion to prove sincerity, persever-
than the manner in which a person re- But don’t just ask, “When’s good for ance, respect and ownership of one very
schedules a meeting. It indicates how im- you?” says Greg Avola, co-founder and impressive onus.
portant the person thinks they are, how CTO of Untapped. “If you say, ‘When are Speaking of, I’d like to get next month’s
important they think the other person you available?’ it puts the onus back on column on your calendar. How’s a month
is and how efficient, considerate and de- them.” And now you’re playing onus vol- from now for you?

Eugene Ives. He went on to become a

trailblazer in the field of photography
The creative process and held over 70 patents by the end of
his career. His story of creativity and
Five steps to enable more innovative thinking innovation, which I will share now, is a
By James Clear useful case study for understanding the
five key steps of the creative process.
A
lmost all great ideas follow A problem in need of a creative A flash of insight
a similar creative process, solution Ives got his start as a printer’s ap-
and this article explains how In the 1870s, newspapers and printers prentice in Ithaca, New York. After two
this process works. Under- faced a very specific and very costly years of learning the ins and outs of the
standing this is important problem. Photography was a new and printing process, he began managing
because creative thinking is exciting medium at the time. Read- the photographic laboratory at nearby
one of the most useful skills ers wanted to see more pictures, but Cornell University. He spent the rest
you can possess. Nearly every nobody could figure out how to print of the decade experimenting with new
problem you face in work and in life can images quickly and cheaply. photography techniques and learning
benefit from creative solutions, lateral For example, if a newspaper wanted to about cameras, printers, and optics.
thinking, and innovative ideas. print an image in the 1870s, they had to In 1881, Ives had a flash of insight
Anyone can learn to be creative by commission an engraver to etch a copy regarding a better printing technique.
using these five steps. That’s not to say of the photograph onto a steel plate by “While operating my photostereotype
being creative is easy. Uncovering your hand. These plates were used to press process in Ithaca, I studied the problem
creative genius requires courage and the image onto the page, but they often of halftone process,” Ives said. “I went
tons of practice. However, this five-step broke after just a few uses. This process to bed one night in a state of brain fog
approach should help demystify the of photoengraving, you can imagine, over the problem, and the instant I
creative process and illuminate the path was remarkably time consuming and woke in the morning saw before me,
to more innovative thinking. expensive. apparently projected on the ceiling,
To explain how this process works, let The man who invented a solution the completely worked out process and
me tell you a short story. to this problem was named Frederic equipment in operation.” >>>

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CULTURE
Ives got his start as a printer’s Most important, the ability to gener- was constantly tinkering and experi-
apprentice in Ithaca, New York. After two ate new combinations hinges upon your menting with different ways of putting
years of learning the ins and outs of ability to see the relationships between ideas together.
the printing process, he began managing concepts. If you can form a new link Third, Ives stepped away from the
the photographic laboratory at nearby between two old ideas, you have done problem. In this case, he went to sleep
Cornell University. He spent the rest
something creative. for a few hours before his flash of in-
of the decade experimenting with new
photography techniques and learning Young believed this process of creative sight. Letting creative challenges sit for
about cameras, printers, and optics. connection always occurred in five steps. longer periods of time can work as well.
Regardless of how long you step away,
Ives quickly translated his vision into re- 1. Gather new material you need to do something that inter-
ality and patented his printing approach At first, you learn. During this stage, ests you and takes your mind off of the
in 1881. He spent the remainder of the you focus on 1) learning specific mate- problem.
decade improving upon it. By 1885, he rial directly related to your task and 2) Fourth, his idea returned to him. Ives
had developed a simplified process that learning general material by becoming awoke with the solution to his problem
delivered even better results. The Ives fascinated with a wide range of con- laid out before him. (On a personal note,
Process, as it came to be known, reduced cepts. I often find creative ideas hit me just as I
the cost of printing images by 15x and am lying down for sleep. Once I give my
remained the standard printing tech- 2. Thoroughly work over the brain permission to stop working for the
nique for the next 80 years. materials in your mind day, the solution appears easily.)
Alright, now let’s discuss what lessons During this stage, you examine what you Finally, Ives continued to revise his
we can learn from Ives about the crea- have learned by looking at the facts from idea for years. In fact, he improved so
tive process. different angles and experimenting with many aspects of the process he filed a
fitting various ideas together. second patent. This is a critical point
and is often overlooked. It can be easy
3. Step away from the problem to fall in love with the initial version of
Next, you put the problem completely your idea, but great ideas always evolve.
out of your mind and go do something
else that excites you and energizes you. Ives stepped away from the problem.
In this case, he went to sleep for a
4. Let your idea return to you few hours before his flash of insight.
Letting creative challenges sit for
At some point, but only after you have longer periods of time can work as well.
stopped thinking about it, your idea will Regardless of how long you step away, you
come back to you with a flash of insight need to do something that interests you
and renewed energy. and takes your mind off of the problem.
The printing process developed by Frederic Eugene Ives used
a method called “halftone printing” to break a photograph
down into a series of tiny dots. The image looks like a 5. Shape and develop your idea The creative process in short
collection of dots up close, but when viewed from a normal based on feedback Robert Frost said, “An idea is a feat of
distance the dots blend together to create a picture with For any idea to succeed, you must re- association, and the height of it is a good
varying shades of gray.
lease it out into the world, submit it to metaphor.”
criticism, and adapt it as needed. The creative process is the act of mak-
The five stages of the creative ing new connections between old ideas.
process The idea in practice Thus, we can say creative thinking is
In 1940, an advertising executive named The creative process used by Frederic the task of recognizing relationships
James Webb Young published a short Eugene Ives offers a perfect example of between concepts.
guide titled A Technique for Producing these five steps in action. One way to approach creative challeng-
Ideas. In this guide, he made a simple, First, Ives gathered new material. He es is by following the five-step process
but profound statement about generat- spent two years working as a printer’s of 1) gathering material, 2) intensely
ing creative ideas. apprentice and then four years running working over the material in your mind,
According to Young, innovative ideas the photographic laboratory at Cornell 3) stepping away from the problem, 4)
happen when you develop new combina- University. These experiences gave him allowing the idea to come back to you
tions of old elements. In other words, a lot of material to draw upon and make naturally, and 5) testing your idea in
creative thinking is not about generat- associations between photography and the real world and adjusting it based on
ing something new from a blank slate, printing. feedback.
but rather about taking what is already Second, Ives began to mentally work Being creative isn’t about being the
present and combining those bits and over everything he learned. By 1878, first (or only) person to think of an idea.
printing process image jamesclear.com
pieces in a way that has not been done Ives was spending nearly all of his time More often, creativity is about connect-
previously. experimenting with new techniques. He ing ideas.
James Clear writes at JamesClear.com, where he uses behavior science to share ideas for mastering your habits, improving your
health, and increasing your creativity. To get useful ideas on improving your mental and physical performance, join his free newsletter
JamesClear.com/newsletter. To have James speak at your entrepreneurial event contact him jamesclear.com/contact

All about the

By Melissa Moubarak
#feels
A perspective on the future of targeting
By Melissa Moubarak
P
ersonalization, an age-old tactic used by marketers to lure us into think-
ing we’re special. Especially in today’s era of mass communication –the
one-size-fits-none model– personalization remains potent. Just ask
anyone who bought a can of Coke with their name on it. Digital media
has opened up new ways to customize communication, but so far, most
of it remains focused on demographic personalization; basically, your gender,
name, and date of birth1.

Advertising doesn’t mean that I need to
Getting personal since be served ads about “single
1432* men near you” and “losing
While the aforementioned weight fast.” Or maybe that’s
personalization still works, Tinder and MyFitnessPal
our view on segmentation is betraying me. The point is,
continuously expanding. As consumers are more than
beacon technology spreads, just ad blind; in MENA, 27%
ambient targeting becomes of them installed an ad-
poised to change the retail blocker last year3.
environment. For its most Unlike some sensational-
recent Galaxy 7 launch, ist naysayers, I don’t see
Bentley Inspirator Car-Configuration App
Samsung used smartphone the rise of ad blockers as
weather data to push an the death of the industry.
ad around the waterproof In fact, an IPG Media Labs big data, which is pivotal for sion making process, and
features of its new phone. study found that contex- successful behavioral target- marketers have long tugged
Ads were also day-parted tually relevant ads raised ing, helping us gather insight at our heartstrings to change
around sunset to remind po- purchase intent by 13%4. on tastes and preferences. behavior because emotion-
tential consumers about its Which means that done ally connected consumers
low-light camera features. right, behavioral targeting Targeting are 52% more valuable than
As webrooming and show- can make advertising useful Becoming emotional highly satisfied consumers5.
rooming become the norm, again, seamlessly introduc- starting 2016* But we’re not talking here
in-the-moment messaging at ing consumers to products Beyond contextually relevant about a Don Draper-esque
point-of-sale increases the they might want or need. ads, the same IPG Media 30-second tearjerker. We’re
number of incremental store Or don’t need, but want, Labs study points out to envisioning the possibility
visits on average, compared like that really cool banana a further 11% increase in of seeding a funny influencer
to online purchase conver- ice-cream maker I insist on purchase intent, this time video when we pick up on
sions. These are store visits keeping. resulting from an ad that cues that you’re feeling
that otherwise would not But can we produce matches the emotional tone bored.
have happened, proving the personalization at scale? of the content it runs before. Brands are already offering
substantial offline impact Well, some bold brands are No longer satisfied with just emotion-based services such
delivered by mobile search already setting the bar. Axe reaching consumers with the as mood playlists on iTunes
ads2. deodorant in Brazil created right message at the right and Anghami; but these re-
100,000 versions time, brands that are ahead quire active consumer input.
of their content of the curve are now ensur- You need to tell Movie Twist
series Romeo ing their consumers are in what you’re feeling for it
Reboot. The the right frame of mind. The to make suggestions about
team broke their next big thing for media is what to watch, the same
consumers into targeting emotions. Emo- goes for Hoppit recommend-
four segments, tions are focal in our deci- ing restaurants by mood. >>>
offering 25,000
permutations of Figure 1:
the same video The Personalization Pyramid
to each segment. Emotion
You saw a differ-
UM MENA
ent version based
UM MENA Media Trends Report 2016 on your musical Behaviour
tastes or brands (purchases, tastes)
We are also aware now you identified with. Burger
that age and gender are King Australia did something
Ambient
not accurate indicators of similar with its Anti-Pre Roll (location, weather)
interest, making a purely campaign. Creating 64 dif-
demographic segmentation ferent pre-rolls that incor-
redundant. You hear that, porated the type of content Demographics
bentley inspirator app youtube.com
Facebook? Just because I’m being watched on YouTube. (gender, name, date of birth)
a single female in my 20s Special mention here goes to
* Not a historical fact, nor an actual forecast 4 IPG Media Labs, “The Power of Relevance”, January 2016.
1 UM Strategy. 5 Harvard Business Review, “The New Science of Customer Emotions”, November 2015.
2 Google Beacon August 2016. 6 CANVS, “Teen Wolf S5 Finale” White Paper 2015
3 Festival of Media 2016.

generates a “baseline mood

profile” for a user. It can
then infer how a user is feel-
ing at a given moment and
serve up an appropriate ad.
Mood-associated charac-
teristics can be physical,
behavioral or spatial-tempo-
ral. For example, heart rate,
blood pressure, adrenaline
level, perspiration, body
temperature, and vocal
expressions may all be used
to determine a user’s mood.
And this is where wearables
come in, extending the per-
sonalization by connecting
our physical signals to the
internet of things.
We are already feeding
heart rate data into our
phones, but a slew of upcom-
ing emotion tracking weara-
bles such as Thync, Doppel,
and Moodmetric, indicates
we can soon tap into more
sophisticated emotional da-
tabases. Lightwave, debuting
at the SXSW Festival in Tex-
as, sent audience interaction
Figure 2: metrics such as temperature
Plutchik’s wheel and mood to the performer
who then customized their
live sets in reaction to the
Yet technology is quickly posts, by extracting intent all others are derived (Figure crowd’s experience.
leading up to more passive and emotion. Using mixed 2). These basic emotions are Data isn’t intrinsically
analysis of emotional signals. content signals like text and joy, sadness, trust, disgust, emotional, but people are,
Skyscanner is using Face images, it seeks to improve fear, anger, surprise, and so we need to make it so. By
Recognition Analysis to gauge the user experience and anticipation. leveraging a growing stream
feelings and suggest holiday make calls to action more By associating each emo- of emotional data from ac-
destinations accordingly. seamless. tion with a set of local tive and passive sources,
Bentley is also dabbling in A study by Canvs found key words, we can target brands should become able
face recognition software to emotional analysis 2x more emotionally charged mo- to craft more relevant and
create individually designed accurate than traditional ments with the right type of personalized messages.
cars. The Bentley Inspirator sentiment social listening6. content. These will be targeted at the
uses emotion metric algo- Which is why at UM, we are right time, when the user is
rithms based on data from going beyond the positive- Making it count in the right frame of mind.
3.4 million faces in more negative-neutral paradigm A vision for the future The applications of such
than 75 countries to create a adopted by most sentiment of media emotional targeting will even
customized model car. analysis tools, social listen- How will we monetize all transcend screens, moving
Beyond neuroscientific ing, to pick up on emotional this mood analysis into ad into TV and OOH, which are
cues, emotions targeting is cues around conversations. targeting? Well, Apple has increasingly becoming smart
being built upon text and Robert Plutchik’s psycho- already filed a patent for an and connected. That’s how
emoticon use. Facebook’s evolutionary theory pro- ad service that targets users media will be combining
DeepText is pioneering a vides a framework for eight based on emotions. Accord- mass awareness with per-
method to better understand primary feelings from which ing to the filing, the system sonalized engagement.
plutchik’s wheel the commons
Melissa Moubarak, Strategy Manager at UM MENA, is responsible for the creation of inspiring and measurable media communication
campaigns for the entire client portfolio across the regional offices. With a unique skill set and background of marketing research and financial
analysis, Melissa’s contribution to all the brand teams has been a crucial element of their campaigns successes. She is a storyteller at heart and
an evangelist for the importance of data in marketing, with five years of experience operating in startups across London and Beirut. Melissa has
a strong penchant for words and is a regular contributor to UM’s thought leadership initiatives, including the MENA region’s first media trends
report, Next Thing Now 2016.

1. First, know that where

and how consumers shop
has changed
Consumers now interact and
transact at the same time on
the same mobile device, so
brand building and influencing
have to go hand in hand with
selling. With the shopping fun-
nel being turned upside down,
there are more chances for
your consumers to interact and
buy immediately, without the
need for a physical showroom
for them to touch and feel the
brand. The showroom is now a
five-inch screen that needs to
offer an intuitive, quick to load
and easy to navigate stories
about your brand or product,
and a one-step click to buy.
A lot of marketers still judge

creativity in old-fashioned
ways, on a big screen, or an
A3 printout. Put that piece of
creative on your mobile and see
what it looks like. That’s when
you’ll really get a sense if it
works for your product or
not. Long narratives are just
too much for your potential
customer to invest time in.
2. The traditional
approach to advertising
is dead
The key launch visual that
you used to usher a campaign
Modern marketing into existence with, and then
the follow-up promo ad to
Five tips for building your brand from the ground up sell your product are both
(in today’s market) deceased- may they both RIP.
D
Think of the story, not the
By Ramzi Haddad
visual. Remember that a story
today is told in multiple parts
rive down Sheikh in time, selling took over from statement should be taken to on multiple media, and it will
Zayed Road, one storytelling. heart by companies and corpo- most probably start on a mo-
of the longest I was in Tokyo two years rations in the region that need bile and not on a TV, because
highways run- ago when I heard one of our to think different. A friend of that’s where consumers are
ning through executives say: “If you’re not a mine just launched a new tech spending most of their time.
Dubai, and startup, you’re a turnaround.” company out of Beirut, and his Brand building used to be ref-
an average of In this fast moving economy of current focus with his small erenced as a long-term objec-
18,000 visuals the digital age where consum- team is driving the quality of tive tracked with research on
will bombard you with their ers are constantly online, and his high tech product up to a brand attributes over time, and
messaging. I’ve been in the ad- the way they interact and standard by which it will be then correlated to the general
vertising industry for 15 years, transact with brands is shifting ready to launch commercially. sales pattern of a brand. Brand
and I can’t help but notice that closer to the convenience of When he came up to me for connections today, however,
the majority of messaging to- wherever they might be, and advice on media choices to are created on the fly, and just
day has become promotional in farther away from the brand’s promote his product, I told like the human relationships
nature, because at some point actual physical store, such a him these five tips: of today, they are volatile,

| MOBILE TECH |
instant and easily substituted

if you don’t “feel the love.” The
user to go through every day. Is
your story compelling enough
Fix it up
build-up to campaigns needs to watch, comment and share? MIT Lab is building a self-assembling
to deliver quicker reach via A lot of marketers still judge mobile phone
new frequencies offered by creativity in old-fashioned
media players like Snapchat ways, on a big screen, or an Move over Ikea, there’s a new product on the
and Instagram, where you A3 printout. Put that piece of assembly line. Developed at MIT’s Self-Assembly
click out of interest, and if the creative on your mobile and Lab, researchers led by Skylar Tibbits are
content is quickly relevant, it see what it looks like. That’s experimenting on developing a working mobile
captures you and directs you when you’ll really get a sense phone that can assemble itself. Yes, all by itself.
to an e-commerce portal to if it works for your product or The phone is put together quite simply: the
complete the purchase. not. Long narratives are just phone comes in six parts with a tumbler and
too much for your potential unassembled components that will only lock itself
Think of the story, not the customer to invest time in. with compatible parts (Fast Company). The parts
self assembling phone parts Source: Self Assembly Lab MIT, Vimeo.com
visual. Remember that a story They’re already online four are placed in the tumbler and shaken at an optimal
today is told in multiple parts
hours a day, if not more, and speed until the parts lock together, all in under a
on multiple media, and it will
most probably start on a
they don’t have the time to minute.
mobile and not on a TV, because watch a long piece of content
that’s where consumers are about your brand or product.
spending most of their time.
5. Remember that cash is
3. Find a set of influencers still king
who can show and try In this region, customers still
your product seek the emotional security of
You can’t build a brand today not storing their credit card
if you don’t have cool people to data online on any portal,
talk about it, show it, and try simply because they don’t
it as well. A YouTuber recently trust regional websites to be Self assembling phone parts
got bumped into first class by so robust when it comes to the
Emirates, and he filmed his ex- security of their data. One out The MIT Self Assembly Lab based its process on
perience with the flight. More of three people who shop on- the similar way of how proteins work when cells
than 3 million views later, the line in the UAE still prefer pay- are formed- and the team is trying to learn as
airline is still benefiting from ing in cash on delivery. They much as it can from the biological ecosystem to
the exposure with potential also want the guarantee to apply concepts to its products. The idea for the
customers who want to know return something if they’re not phone comes from MIT professor David Mellis,
what first class is like, without happy with it. That’s a reality who proposed a DIY cell phone kit, open-sourcing
having to actually be there. that any business built around instructions for a basic cell phone design with parts
The “showroom” is on their e-commerce needs to come worth US$200. Proposing a cheaper and easier
screen, and that recommenda- to terms with. Even cashless alternative to high-cost consumer electronics, the
tion from someone trusted on companies like Uber have team has been working on Mellis’ phone, with
a major video portal to provide started offering cash payment Tibbits and his team developing prototypes for its
“cool” and “real” reviews is all for rides in the UAE, because parts to assemble itself since 2013, its concept low
they need to trust the experi- they finally understand that budget and simple. All details can be optimized-
ence. I’m sure many business they’re missing out on the with various tumbler speeds or more parts in the
travelers who watched this “cash is king” customer. tumbler to assemble faster. The team hopes to scale
video will seriously consider it for mass production, as well as that the method
upgrading to first class on Consumers now interact and can help reduce the cost of automated assembly.
their next flight. transact at the same time on the It’s not the team’s first foray into experimental
same mobile device, so brand manufacture: in 2011, Tibbits set up a team to
building and influencing have to
4. Make sure the brand conduct research with 4D printing and has received
go hand in hand with selling. With
story is creative and fast the shopping funnel being turned funding from Defense Advanced Research Projects
A good story needs to build up upside down, there are more Agency (DARPA) to conduct experiments with
quickly. Just think: there are chances for your consumers to materials that can assemble itself. So far, they’ve
2000 stories on Facebook for a interact and buy immediately. come up with a self-constructing Ikea table, self-
replicating spheres, and à la Back To The Future,
self-lacing sneakers. An exciting aspect of it is
how other blocks can be mixed in the tumbler for
Ramzi Haddad is a communication professional with 15 years
of experience in building brands. He’s worked with advertising
different functions as well, akin to the now defunct
agencies the likes of Saatchi & Saatchi and BBDO on Google’s Project Ara phones. It’s just the start, and
multinational brand assignments in the GCC and in Europe. we can’t wait for more.
He now leads Carat, one of the fastest growing media agencies
in the UAE and Lower Gulf.

To figure out what your

customer acquisition strategy
should look like, you need to
understand what your users
want, and how that can drive
your business model. In other
words, how can you “pay” users
with your product (and not
actual money), and still motivate
them sufficiently? Customer
psychology matters: you must
think like your customers.
But this is the case only if you can

pay them. If you don’t have marketing
budgets that rival your competitors,
getting attention for your enterprise
can be difficult. Organic reach on
Melltoo co-founders social media is pitiful, except in cases
Morrad Irsane and
where you have a niche (aka small)
Sharene Lee
audience that are actively seeking
you out. However, if you are a mass
consumer-facing product (the best
Crowdsourcing customer kind to be in small markets like the
GCC), trying to reach people organi-
acquisition cally on social media is like trying to
get someone’s attention at a crowded
party, while they are deep in conversa-
For startups, the most cost-effective way to get tion and the music is on at full-blast
customers is through other customers as well.
What about content and SEO, you
By Morrad Irsane and Sharene Lee
ask? These options will only work
O
if your content is truly unique and
ur startup, Melltoo, hit a luxury we cannot yet afford. Right doesn’t exist elsewhere, and again, you
an important mile- now, what matters is growth that is need to appeal to niche audiences. It
stone in June this year, quantifiable by revenue or users. This makes sense to devote resources to
when we reached US$1 is not to say that brand marketing this if you are in the business of con-
million of sales on our is irrelevant, but given our limited tent, where content is your product;
peer-to-peer market- resources, brand marketing is not cur- otherwise, you cannot compete with
place for secondhand rently the priority. people who sell content. Just think of
things. For a small, not-very-well- pitting your content against Michelle
funded startup, we are very proud of What worked before doesn’t Phan and PewDiePie, or Entrepreneur
ourselves. We had no fancy marketing work anymore and CNN.
campaigns, no popup booths, no pro- Customer acquisition strategies that As technology accelerates change
fessional PR, no outdoor advertising, were once successful in the past have in customer behavior, marketers are
and only a limited PPI (pay per install) been copied a lot, and many have struggling to keep up. One thing is
budget. What we do have is a product lost their effectiveness over time. for sure: there is no one-size-fits-all
people love, which makes it possi- For example, cold emails (aka spam) marketing; every startup, every busi-
ble for us to crowdsource customer to targeted users were very effective ness, is different, and therefore, how
acquisition. when Airbnb first automated this on you acquire customers must also be
First of all, it’s important to note Craigslist in 2009. Today, however, different. The best practices of the past
that customer acquisition is not like most people have trained their email don’t apply anymore. Today’s customer
brand marketing, where impressions clients to recognize spam, and when acquisition strategies are best crafted
and awareness are the key metrics. these emails do land in the inbox, not by professional marketers, but by
What counts in customer acquisition people delete them without so much the people at the frontlines interacting
is when someone becomes a customer as a glance. with customers. Focus on what cus-
that generates revenue, or becomes a The same can be said with social tomers want, and craft your customer
user of the product. For most early- media. Startups assume that acquiring acquisition strategy accordingly.
stage startups, such as Melltoo, devot- customers must be easy with plat- Acquire, convert, retain: you’ve no
www.meltoo.com
ing resources to brand marketing is forms like Facebook and Instagram. doubt heard of this paradigm before.

Once you get the customer in the
door, you’ve got to convert them to
perform the desired action, and then
you need to figure out a way to get
them to come back. A good prod-
uct and service is half the battle,
onboarding is vital, and continued
engagement lowers your overall cus-
tomer acquisition costs. This article
discusses the first part of this funnel,
getting customers into the door.
Crowdsourcing customer
acquisition: what’s in it for
them?
The best advertising for startups is no
advertising, because people are condi-
tioned to ignore advertising. So unless
your budget rivals Apple, you’re not
going to get far. You might build brand
recognition, but you won’t acquire
customers. For startups, the most YouTube. At the same time, YouTube and thereby benefits individual
cost-effective way to get customers also allows people to embed videos users. Each additional buyer means
is through other customers. Think in external websites, which is akin to sellers have a greater chance of
about it as crowdsourcing customer dropping breadcrumbs all over the in- selling quickly, and each additional
acquisition. Instead of paying Face- ternet for users to find. Website own- seller means buyers have a greater
book and Google, figure out a way to ers get value from this because they chance of finding what they want at
“pay” your customers instead. Pay don’t have to write their own video the right price. Hence, our customer
them with your product, which means streaming code, nor do they have to acquisition strategy focuses on
your product better bring value or bear server costs of hosting videos. making our users partners in our
this won’t work. YouTube shares ad Another example is Facebook: I can’t network. Through Melltoo’s referral
revenue with their content produc- think of many websites today that program, we incentivize users by
ers. Therefore, content producers are don’t let you sign up with Facebook. rewarding referring and referred
highly incentivized to get people onto The Facebook login is an incredible buyers with credit to purchase in-app,
user acquisition tool. You can’t avoid which in turn helps sellers sell faster.
it, and you can’t ignore it. Why do We further incentivize referring
developers use Facebook logins and users if the friends they’ve referred
promote Facebook for free? Because to purchase or sell in-app by sharing
Facebook shares their user data with a portion of the revenue with them.
developers, and that’s how Facebook Every member of our network benefits
“pays” them. and is highly motivated to grow the
marketplace.
The best advertising for startups
is no advertising, because people Psychology and details matter
are conditioned to ignore To figure out what your customer
advertising. So unless your budget acquisition strategy should look like,
rivals Apple, you’re not going to you need to understand what your
get far. You might build brand users want, and how that can drive
recognition, but you won’t acquire your business model. In other words,
customers. For startups, the most
how can you “pay” users with your
cost-effective way to get customers
product (and not actual money), and
is through other customers. Think
about it as crowdsourcing customer still motivate them sufficiently? Cus-
acquisition. tomer psychology matters: you must
think like your customers. All market-
At Melltoo, we make our customers ing messages are essentially calls to
our partners. By virtue of being a action, an attempt to get someone to
two-sided peer-to-peer marketplace, do something. So whenever you put
we benefit from network effects. Every a marketing message out there, think
new user that joins the marketplace about how a potential customer would
adds value to the network as a whole, react to it. >>>

Friction is the root of all Look forward, not backwards

churn: it’s all about the flow Startups are innovative, and yet, start-
Details make or break customer up marketing often isn’t. Startups tend
acquisition strategies. If your strategy to fall back on tried and tested market-
takes place digitally, then “the flow” ing strategies and find that they aren’t
or “the funnel” is where all the details effective for them. This is unsurprising.
are. What is the first thing that people Just as technology changes our daily
see? What is the call to action? What lives, it changes our behavior as well. It
happens when they click? Where do changes how we respond to marketing
they go, what do they see next? What messages and necessitates changes to
should they do next? What are they marketing strategies. Today, the best
thinking along this entire process? startup marketing is done by people at
The best way to figure this out is to get the frontlines. Your customer service
it tested out by other people. people probably know how to acquire
If you want people to do something, customers better than your marketing
reduce the friction- like they say, keep team does. By virtue of regular interac-
it simple, stupid. Friction is at the tion with customers, customer service
root of all churn. If something is too people know what customers want.
difficult to do, you will confuse your Thus, to get started on crowdsourcing
audience and lose an opportunity customer acquisition, start with what
to convert a customer. So when you customers want, and then figure out
The greatest objection to overcome is design your customer acquisition how to give it to them.
the “too-good-to-be-true-so-it-must– strategy, break it down into baby
be-a-scam” syndrome. As startups, steps, and make sure each step leads At Melltoo, our referral program is
it is our modus operandi to build into the next one seamlessly. At each effective, because it requires users
great products that are genuinely “too step, customers should have only two to work for it. Users have to refer
their friends in exchange for free
good to be true.” But be careful about options: continue or quit. If there is
credit to be spent in-app. Referrals
marketing it in this way, because, well, more than one link or call to action
take a bit of effort since their friends
nobody will believe you. Human psy- at each step, you’re doing it wrong. have to sign up and get verified. In
chology dictates that there is “no free Ideally, there shouldn’t even be many effect, giving referral credit is
ride in life,” and people expect to work steps at all. And most importantly, equivalent to giving users a discount
for something, especially if it’s of value. when you finally get the customer when they purchase something.
At Melltoo, our referral program is into your “shop,” make sure he finds
effective, because it requires users to what he’s looking for and what you
work for it. Users have to refer their promised him he would find.
friends in exchange for free credit to be In our case, as soon as a new
spent in-app. Referrals take a bit of ef- user successfully signs up, he gets
fort since their friends have to sign up AED20 in his Melltoo wallet, which
and get verified. In effect, giving refer- is plainly visible on the main screen
ral credit is equivalent to giving users a in-app. It’s not buried in his email
discount when they purchase some- inbox, and he never has to hunt for
thing. However, psychologically, having a coupon code. The free credit is
to “earn” referral credit makes it seem applied automatically at the time of
a lot more valuable than simply being checkout, so the user can see exactly
given a discount (that everyone else how much he saves. That AED20
is given as well). What’s more, seeing thus hangs over his head throughout
that free credit balance grow gives us- the app experience, which constantly
ers a sense of ownership, like watching reminds him that he has “hard-
a bank balance grow. These factors may earned” money to spend. This triggers
seem rather specific, but in the digital the psychology of loss, (i.e. people
age, details matter more than ever hate to lose something more than
before. In a time where everything is in they enjoyed gaining it to begin with)
sound bites and the average adult has a which motivates him to spend it in
five-second attention span, details af- order not to lose it. After the customer
fect customer psychology, and they can makes the first effort of completing the
work to either build, or destroy, trust signup process, he never has to think
and credibility. twice about it.
www.meltoo.com
Morrad Irsane and Sharene Lee are the co-founders of Melltoo, a mobile marketplace for secondhand goods, based in the UAE. The startup launched
in March 2014 and has experienced explosive growth since then. CEO Morrad is is a lifelong entrepreneur, having founded multiple businesses in the
past, including two successful prior exits internationally. COO Sharene is a serial entrepreneur, with Melltoo being her third major venture and two prior
successful exits in Los Angeles and France.

Intrapreneurs understand the

importance of both efficiency
and effectiveness, and tend
to be “efficiently effective” to
the point of ruthlessness. This
means they tend to cut out the
unnecessary or the redundant,
especially when they see it is
irrelevant to the outcome.
intrapreneurs can thus be linked to the

fact that organizations often tend to be
really bad employers of highly entre-
preneurial employees. It is no coinci-
dence that Airbnb, Bain and Company
and GuideWire (ranked the top 3 in
Glassdoor’s 2016 Best Places to work)
are themselves examples of highly in-
novative companies, whose success is
made possible by the intrapreneurial
tendencies they seek out and nurture
in their own employees. That’s why in
this article, we turn our focus toward
the perspective of that of an organi-
zation- here are the five key traits of
Question the status quo intrapreneurs that employers should
look out for:
Contrary to popular thought, having entrepreneurial
employees in your organization is a good thing 1. Intrapreneurs question
the status quo
I
By Tarig El-Sheikh and Dr. Petar Stojanov Organizations run on rules, lots and
lots of them. The structures, systems
t was some time ago, over a employees, and how can we identify and processes that are necessary to
shared coffee, when I found them? run the existing business require rigid,
myself frustrated, complaining Vilfredo Pareto of the Pareto Prin- structured thinking. The problem
about having started working ciple fame noted that roughly 80% arises when the same rigid structured
for a corporate organization. of the peas in his garden came from thinking is applied in innovation and
My observant coffee companion just 20% of the peapods. Whilst it is the creation of new business models.
listened patiently, before sud- amusing to draw a comparison between Without questioning the status quo,
denly retorting, “Well, of course, peapods and employees, we observe a any attempts at innovation are doomed
you can’t stand working there! You’re similar phenomenon in the workforce, from the outset.
an entrepreneur at heart, and we all where both productivity and talent are Intrapreneurs are driven by purpose,
know that entrepreneurs make terrible disproportionately weighted amongst not by process. Rather than being mo-
employees.” high-performing employees. There is tivated by answers, they are motivated
This is when I began to wonder: do an undeniable link between high-per- by questions. Filing a weekly team
entrepreneurial employees really make forming employees and intrapreneurial report or a regular meeting simply “be-
for bad employees, or is it something tendencies. The litmus test for the cause it was always so” will invite vig-
else that’s causing the problem? long-term health of an organization is orous questioning. The phrase “that’s
Entrepreneurial employees, commonly when their highest-performers begin to just the way we do things around
labeled as intrapreneurs, are employees leave. In fact, most organizations will here” will never be acceptable to an
that embrace entrepreneurial thinking readily admit to not being able to retain intrapreneur. Apple, itself famous for
in order to bring value to their organi- their top-performing talent. At the challenging the status quo, embodies
zations. My companion’s misjudgment same time, a recent Bayt.com survey the philosophy of its former CEO Steve
was the same that tends to run through of entrepreneurship across the MENA Jobs, who famously said, “It doesn’t
most organizations, which is that intra- region found that 64% of respondents make sense to hire smart people and
preneurs make bad employees. would rather be self-employed. With tell them what to do; we hire smart
But are they really such a bad fit? In that being the case, this bad rep for people so they can tell us what to do.”
reality, nothing could be further from
the truth. When correctly nurtured and
managed, intrapreneurial employees Tarig El-Sheikh is an experienced entrepreneur and finance professional with a 15-year
track record across emerging markets in building global businesses, technology
can become standouts, contributing startups and finance. His most recent enterprise, Beneple, an HR and health
broad-ranging benefits to their employ- management platform was successfully acquired in August 2015 after only eight
ers and organizations. So who are these months of operations.

2. Intrapreneurs work best
unfettered and without
note: intrapreneurs tend to ask “why?”
a lot. Whilst many employees in cor-
REFER A
boundaries
Leading on from the first point, another
stereotype of intrapreneurs is that they
porate organizations don’t wish to feel
rushed or pressured, and are happy to
ride along the organizational wave, in-
FRIEND
AND
GET
have issues with authority. This also trapreneurial impatience acts as a proxy
couldn’t be further from the truth. for the fact that they connect their own
During my time at Lehman Brothers, purpose with that of their work; other-
our teams were actively supported and wise they simply wouldn’t care.
encouraged by the organization to work Impatience is a virtue to be nurtured,
outside of conventional boundaries. not a failing to be punished. It is this
Given that Lehman hired the very best ambition to “get the right stuff done
talent in the market from an extraor- properly” that should be encouraged in
dinarily diverse range of backgrounds, all employees as part of the organiza-
the single common rule was that senior
management never attempted to micro-
manage.
tional culture.
5. Intrapreneurs know
REWARDED
Intrapreneurs despise being kept on the value of time
a short leash, as most talented and Intrapreneurs understand the impor-
independent-thinking employees would tance of both efficiency and effective-
agree. In the right work environment, ness, and tend to be “efficiently effec-
intrapreneurs can be enormously pro- tive” to the point of ruthlessness. This
ductive; however in the wrong one, they means they tend to cut out the unneces-
can be more difficult to handle than sary or the redundant, especially when
petulant problem children. they see it is irrelevant to the outcome.
Politics, the social lubricant of the
3. Intrapreneurs are focused corporate environment and a wholly
on the pursuit of excellence necessary evil for career success, tends
Intrapreneurs strive for excellence, to be seen as both inefficient and inef-
whilst there are plenty of organizations fective by intrapreneurs, who tend not
and people within them that strive to involve themselves with politics.
for mediocrity. Average employees, Large corporates tend to be incubators
conscious not to disrupt the status quo, of inefficient cultures and processes,
can be excellent at creating a façade of riddled with layers of bureaucracy and
“busyness,” spending vast lengths of endless, pointless meetings. If you’ve
time trying to do as little work as pos- been following me so far, you can imag-
sible. New ideas and new ways of doing ine how this would spell disaster for an
GET UP TO
2,500
things are seen as extra chores with no efficiency-seeking intrapreneur.
direct benefit. The feeling extends to In conclusion, the negative stereotype
the higher ranks, with former employers of the entrepreneurial employee simply
of mine having openly said, “Let’s not isn’t true. In fact, it is exactly the oppo-
question the status quo,” or worse, “We site. Given the benefits, it makes sense
don’t get paid for this.” for organizations to embrace intrapre-
On the other hand, intrapreneurs are neurs by creating an environment with
keenly aware of connecting the dots the right support, leadership, rewards AED
between their work and the broader and compensation structures. Only then
BY INTRODUCING
vision of the company, tending to view can organizations win over the people
disruptions to the status quo as oppor- who hold the key to enormously posi-
tunities to make a difference, fueled by tive impacts on companies.
their purpose. YOUR FRIENDS TO
Intrapreneurs are driven by purpose,
4. Intrapreneuers are impa- not by process. Rather than being mo-
tient (and that’s a good thing) tivated by answers, they are motivated
This isn’t a misconception; I must ad- by questions. Filing a weekly team
mit that this one is true. Intrapreneurs report or a regular meeting simply E S TA B L I S H I N G S I N C E 2 0 0 9
tend to be extremely impatient. But it “because it was always so” will invite
+971 4 457 8200

is important to understand why- side vigorous questioning.
www.vz.ae
Dr. Petar Stojanov is co-founder of Ebtikaar, a boutique consultancy whose aim is to
change the entrepreneurship and innovation landscape in the MENA region. Petar has
also facilitated strategic growth workshops for the Dubai SME Top 100 companies,
as well as working with regional banks and finance partners to close the SME funding TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY
gap following the recent economic downturn.

Building
yourself going off track, your attempt to live by a set of
values should guide you back simple common sense rules
in the right direction. that worked for the 98%,
rather than the 2%. And
Designing organization thus was born unlimited
values
policies leave.
As we began to think more After much discussion and
about the organizational debate, this is our current
policies that were loosely in leave policy:
place, but were poorly de- “We have an unlimited
fined, we realized that most leave policy. Take as many
How we’re building JadoPado as an organization organizations build policies days off as you want.”
By Omar Kassim for what we call “the 2%,” That’s it. We’re typically
I
those individuals who have a met with skepticism and
n October 2015, we them the unfortunately typi- tendency towards disruption then incredulity, before
closed our first external cal lip service, he sent out an and therefore need rules to the realization that we’re
funding, raising US$4 email (we don’t do internal govern their organizational not trying to pull one over
million in a round led email, making this a pretty behavior. Unfortunately this them. The top two questions
by BECO Capital, a big deal) to the rest of our leads to long documents that are usually a variation of:
fast-growing VC firm based team, and simply asked what no one reads (until there’s a “Surely this can’t work?”
out of Dubai. As the t’s were they thought our most im- problem), and a complicated closely followed by “What if
crossed and the i’s were portant values were and used set of policies that the other it’s abused?” The response
dotted, Aamir Kassim, VP of their responses to create a 98% have to live by. More tends to be pretty simple.
People Operations at Jado- long list. These were then rules aren’t the right solu- Firstly, make sure that your
Pado, and I started mulling carefully distilled down to tion. team and whoever is manag-
over what the future of Jado- thirteen values that capture One of the issues that we ing you is ok with you going
Pado would look like. What the essence of JadoPado. came across very consistent- on leave. Unlimited leave
sort of organization were we While this may be seen ly was the confusion around doesn’t mean that you go on
building? How could we in- as clichéd, taking the time leave. How much leave had leave whenever you fancy.
still the values that were im- to define and express who one taken, how much they Secondly, if someone were
portant to us, while evolving you are, what you’re doing had left, what type of leave to abuse the policy, with the
and dissipating our culture and where you’re going is were they eligible for and the reasonable assumption that
as we grew into a larger and an important foundational list goes on. It was compli- we had the right individu-
more diverse team? building block for your cated and messy. Long being als in the organization, they
Aamir had already started organization. From whom admirers of Netflix’s incred- would be pushed out, as
work on defining the values you hire to what you end up ible people management they’d have a net negative
that we implicitly shared building can and should boil framework, we knew in our affect on team and organiza-
into a base from which to back down towards whether hearts that we would col- tional performance.
build. Rather than creating you’re fulfilling what you lectively be doing ourselves Six months later, unlimited
them in a vacuum or paying set out to do. When you find injustice if we didn’t at least leave is ticking along and it
has given everyone one less
thing to think about. We
strongly encourage taking
time off to travel, learn,
discover and unwind before
returning for the next big
push.
Flexible and remote

Next, we tackled when and
where you work.
Many jobs do not need to
happen between 0900 and
1800, and can actually hap-
pen at anytime, as long as
tools are available to allow
teams to work asynchro-
nously. Slack, an incredibly
WWW.jadopado.com
strong chat-based collabora-

tion tool and Trello, a task

| startup finance |
tools and a good

“We got funded!”
Dubai-based MoveSouq.com closes
approach to US$3 million series A funding from Russia-
being able to based AddVenture
quickly evolve
our processes. Dubai-based online home services marketplace
While the first MoveSouq.com has managed to capture investor
few days of attention all the way from Russia. MoveSouq has
#Ramadan- closed a US$3 million Series A funding round led by
Omar Kassim, founder and CEO, JadoPado
Remote went AddVenture, a Russia-based global venture capital
well, by the first firm. Founded by former consultants Bana Shomali
management platform, are Wednesday, save for one and Wim Torfs in 2013, MoveSouq provides quotes
two without which we would person, everyone else was and connects users to service providers for a host of
not be able to run JadoPado back in the office. By the end home services including moving, cleaning, handyman
the way we do today. of week two, I threw in the and insurance services in four cities in the Middle East.
Our VP of Engineering, towel and decided that we The platform claims to have an extensive network
Jobin George, is incredibly were done- for now. Perhaps of more than 300 service partners, and counts over
productive between 0000 it was a Dubai summer thing. 50,000 households in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, who
and 0300. Asking him to We’ve not written off work- discovered and booked services through the platform
come into the office at 0900 ing remotely and instead in the last year. The current fundraising is the startup’s
just because everyone else moved back to what was pre- third round, after seed and angel rounds in 2013 and
does so (a hangover from the viously working well. This 2015.
industrial age), doesn’t feel allows whoever needs to,
right. This led to the logical to work remotely when the
conclusion that we should need arises, while strongly
allow anyone who wanted encouraging them to come
to, to work the hours they in and use the resources
wanted, with some overlap that are at their disposal in
availability to allow for col- our physical environments,
laboration, whilst recogniz- but more importantly spend
ing that our approach needed quality time with their col-
to shift towards being able leagues, face to face.
to measure outcomes rather Today, being able to work
than hours worked. remotely at JadoPado is an
Occasionally, Aamir and earned privilege rather than MoveSouq co-founders Bana Shomali and Wim Torfs
I amuse ourselves thinking an absolute right. This feels
through what a truly remote like a good way to dip our Commenting on the investment raised, Bana Shomali,
organization would look collective toes in the water, founder and CEO, MoveSouq.com, says in a statement:
like. Could we, no, dare we while we get comfortable “The home services market in the region represents a
operate without a physical with making the shift to- significant untapped opportunity, estimated at US$5
presence anywhere? While wards not all being together billion per year in the GCC alone, and consumers are
building a remote organiza- in a physical space. starting to buy these services online. We will utilize the
tion from the ground up Organizations tend natu- new funding to aggressively go after this opportunity
has its challenges, evolving rally to lean towards being and maintain our first-mover advantage.” Elaborating
an existing organization to secretive and insular, and on the specific areas where the funds will be utilized,
go remote is significantly even more so as they grow Shomali says that the company intends to focus on
harder. into large monoliths. Human both “cementing leadership in the UAE, while growing
During Ramadan earlier nature is to protect what one services to new cities in the region.” She adds that
this summer, we pushed knows and to use it to build MoveSouq also intends to expand their services
(read: forced) the JadoPado a competitive advantage. portfolio, deliver “premium, personalized customer
team based in Dubai to not Unexpectedly, being trans- experience,” and ramp up the technology framework,
come into JadoPado HQ. Giv- parent can be even more with the support of the investment.
en our existing experiences powerful, which is why we’ve MoveSouq expects AddVenture’s expertise from
working with the other half made it our mission to get working with similar platforms globally to be a positive
of our team who are based as much as we can out there, for its business. As per AddVenture’s website, the VC
in Colombo, we roughly for everyone else to be able firm looks for startups with “strong teams committed
knew that we had the right to build on top of. to business” that have a business model proven
globally and a “large addressable market.” Aggregator
businesses, e-commerce, and online marketing are
Omar Kassim is the founder and CEO of JadoPado, a marketplace where people a few focus sectors for the company, which makes
around the world come together to buy and sell great stuff. Omar runs the business investments in different stages of a venture.
from a strategic and operational level and immerses himself across all aspects of
the business to ensure JadoPado continues to build itself as an industry standout.

IN THE LOOP
information, expert advice

and samples- a starter kit of
sorts for expecting mothers.
Speaking about Marhababy’s
expectations from the
challenge, Managing Director
Pieter Sleeboom noted that
the mentoring they hoped
to receive from Alibaba and
regional business leaders is
bound to be “very valuable
for every young and fast-
growing business.” Sleeboom
added that the team will use
the feedback from the Dubai
event to compete in the global
finals. “We also hope to
build new relationships and
learn a lot, because China is
leading in digital areas like
mobile, social, and video,
that are super relevant for
Startup Marhababy’s MD Pieter Sleeborn; winner of CACSC, Dubai Marhababy,” he adds.
Marhababy emerged as the The CACSC Dubai session
winner of the competition, invited applications from
Plugging in
landing US$50,000 credits companies registered in the
to be redeemed on Alibaba Middle East which met the
Cloud’s products and services. criteria laid down by the
Alibaba Cloud and DSOA host startup The startup also heads to global challenge, i.e. “have
China to compete in the a clear business model,
challenge to reward Middle East international final to be held innovative products and a
entrepreneurs later this year, thus enjoying good potential to grow.” The
an opportunity to network startups showcased their
A
libaba Cloud, the partnership with Dubai with investors and business business potential to a jury
cloud computing Silicon Oasis Authority leaders in China’s market. panel, which included Dinesh
arm of Chinese (DSOA) and held at Dubai Alibaba Cloud also announced Ajmera, SVP of Technology,
e-commerce giant Technology Entrepreneur $10,000 credits in cloud Souq.com, Prashant Gulati,
Alibaba, hosted Centre (DTEC), the contest resources for all the other founder, The Assembly,
the Dubai edition saw ten technology startups participating startups. Wissam Younane, CEO, BNC
of Create@Alibaba Cloud working across e-commerce, The winning startup Publishing, among other
Startup Contest (CACSC) multimedia, gaming, social Marhababy is an e-commerce ecosystem stakeholders.
–a global entrepreneurship media, and other sectors, firm that creates and provides Souq.com, Careem, PayFort,
challenge- on September come together to present their soon-to-be mothers with free In5, Flat6Labs, and others
21, 2016. Conducted in ventures. E-commerce startup gift boxes filled with relevant were partners for the contest.
Alibaba Cloud CACSC, Dubai Edition The participants in Dubai edition of CACSC

IN THE LOOP
Yiping Gong, Regional Manager,
Moving Mainstream Alibaba Cloud MEA & India, with the

Marhababy team
Yiping Gong, Regional Manager, Alibaba Cloud

International -MEA & India, on her company’s
inroads into the MENA region
E
stablished in 2009, by the end of this year.
Alibaba Cloud Excerpts from a chat with
develops cloud Gong, who was in Dubai for
computing and CACSC:
data management
platforms, and provides What were Alibaba
an array of cloud services Cloud’s reasons to
to Alibaba Group’s e-com- launch CACSC in the
merce ecosystem, and to Middle East?
third-party businesses. As “We are looking for innova-
part of its growth strategy, tions in all kinds of busi- What kind of support competing startups too will
the Chinese heavyweight nesses. We are a platform, can startups in the each get $10,000 [in] cred-
has already set up data and startups can use our region expect from Ali- its. Further, all the startups
centers outside China in the platform to reduce their baba Cloud? will also receive mentor-
US, Hong Kong and Singa- costs, and to improve their “Different startups have ing and guidance from
pore. Sensing a potential efficiency. So, we are here to different needs for cloud, the judges panel and from
in the Middle East cloud host and support this kind based on their industry. At Alibaba on a continuous
market and seeing global of a challenge. Our target is Alibaba, we can take care basis. This is one of Alibaba
providers marking their purely to support startups, of all their needs, which Cloud’s first initiatives for
footprint in the region, since we understand their can save time and cost. We entrepreneurship, and we
Alibaba Cloud has entered need. We wanted to see have an office and a local look forward to more.”
the region in a joint venture if the entrepreneurs have team based here in Dubai,
with Meraas Holding in the market understanding, and we can provide onsite How is the adoption of
2015 with an entity called if their product has the supports to the startups cloud-computing tech-
Yvolv. This joint entity is market potential- regional in the region, giving them nology by businesses in
working together to build a or international, the kind of the best of cloud infra- the region?
data center in Dubai, which technology they are using, structure and service. The “Though there are no
according to Yipin Gong, whether they have a clear winning startup today [in trends specific to the
Regional Manager, Alibaba go-to market strategy. All the CACSC challenge] gets Middle East market, we
Cloud International - MEA these are of importance to US$50,000 in cloud credits believe that the market is
& India, will likely open us.” from us, and all the other well placed to leverage the
global trend towards cloud
adoption. Yes, people need
to understand cloud first.
For example, the US market
is several years ahead, and
in the beginning companies
there too hesitated to move
on to cloud, but now more
and more people think
moving on to cloud is the
correct way. In this market,
it will indeed take some
time. We need to educate
the market and the cus-
tomer but we are confident
that it is the future. With
regards to the security and
data privacy, yes, we defi-
nitely ensure we align with
regulations, but we see it as
a potential opportunity for
us to grow.”
www.yvolv.ae

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ecosystem | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
start it up
Mohammed Adnan
Morabet, co-founder
and CEO, Sahih
Business
Breaking (linguistic)
barriers
The Aliphia platform offers accounting software in the
Arabic language for MENA small businesses
By Sindhu Hariharan
M
anaging fi- Being an SME themselves, co-founder and
nances, invoic- Morocco-based IT solutions CEO, Sahih Busi-
ing for products company Sahih Business was ness, summarizing
or services quick to realize that using the key proposition
provided, and large accounting systems of Aliphia. “Aliphia
other financial required a “long curve of offers a true Arabic
tasks may not be learning,” and needed users user experience
alluring aspects with prior experience with interface. That
of starting a business, but such software. In case you means that the soft-
they are undoubtedly key re- are wondering what’s unique ware was made to
quirements for running and about a startup creating a support the Arabic
scaling it. While established financial software, consider language from the
companies or even startups this: after launching its SaaS beginning, and
with deep pockets have the accounting product in 2011, not translated or
luxury to hire a large finance Sahih Business decided to “hacked” to poorly
team or implement systems go one step ahead in 2013 offer it,” he ex-
to automate finance function, with its flagship product plains. The cloud-
it’s often a budget that small Aliphia- the “first” Arabic based platform is
businesses cannot afford cloud-based SaaS accounting specifically tailored for small financial reports on its dash-
in early-stages of business. software for SMEs. businesses and freelancers, board, and supports Arabic
“Our objective is to offer allowing them to create and text formatting, including
Growing from feature to
feature, Aliphia now counts
a solution, easy to use, that customize invoices, maintain Persian numbers. As for why
an average of 14,000 active encourages the use of cloud, accounts, manage clients, they decided to create a sepa-
users for the product, and has and actually fits company and track financial progress, rate Arabic solution, Morabet
crossed the 500 customers requirements,” says Mo- among other functions. Al- says, “We should consider
mark just last quarter. hammed Adnan Morabet, iphia also offers personalized that only a few languages are
actually written from right
Aliphia dashboard to left in the globe, meaning
that a translation is required
to have your software ready,
and that was never a priority
for software vendors, due to
the market requirements.”
But governments across the
MENA region have increas-
ingly been adopting Arabic
as a legal mandatory for
businesses. For instance, in
the UAE, Dubai’s Depart-
ment of Economic Develop-
ment (DED) has instructed
commercial establishments
to use Arabic as the main
language for receipts and
invoices by 2017, in addition
to a language of their choice.
Morabet’s passion for web
design, and his work expe-
rience of over 10 years in >>>

㄀　　匀倀䔀䄀䬀䔀刀匀㄀㔀一䄀吀䤀伀一䄀䰀䤀吀䤀䔀匀
䠀唀一䐀刀䔀䐀匀伀䘀圀伀䴀䔀一䤀一
匀䌀䤀䔀一䌀䔀䄀一䐀吀䔀䌀䠀
ecosystem | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
start it up
Aliphia team been the startup’s biggest

at work challenge, Morabet men-
tions difficulties faced in
customer conversions and
misconceptions about local
providers. He feels that the
region’s customers tend to
look favorably at foreign
vendors, and often see local
ones as “less competent [or]
trusted.” Another challenge
Aliphia faces is inadequate
feedback from users, which,
Morabet says, leaves them
wondering about their reten- ‘TREP TALK
Morocco and Spain’s SaaS English, Turkish and French, tion strategies. “Most of the Mohammed Adnan Morabet,
market, kept him going as he Morabet says an average of customers use it and never co-founder & CEO, Sahih
spent nearly three years in 3,000 Arabic invoices are come back, and you need to Business
developing and refining his created each month on the know why [this happened]
product, a process in which platform. Saudi Arabia is when you have just started.” On entrepreneurship in
he was ably supported by its biggest market with a There is also the awareness Morocco
co-founder and CMO Asmae 74% share, and the startup gap with regards to cloud- “I think that countries like
Bouabdellah’s marketing ex- also has users in Egypt, the based solutions, especially Morocco should learn more
pertise. Being a firm believer UAE, Kuwait, Libya, Jordan, when it comes to their target from the UAE and KSA; they are
of a “solid business model” Palestine, and Yemen. Boot- customers- SMEs. a clear example of successful
and “strong product,” Mora- strapping and re-investing But as small businesses Arab nations growing an
bet says that the startup revenue back into the busi- struggle to scale up with- entrepreneurship ecosystem
continues to build varied ness, Aliphia is focusing on out access to sophisticated with fundamentals. Contests,
value-add features, and has growth through partner- financial management tools, incubators, mentorship and
structured itself to suit both ships with key players in and regulators insisting funding are needed in the
product and services busi- online payments, finance and on making Arabic a legal [Morocco] region to help
nesses. Following a freemium telecom in KSA and UAE, in business requirement in the entrepreneurs. They must be of
business model, Aliphia the coming year, and is also region, Morabet is convinced quality, and serve a real purpose
accepts e-payments thanks working on implementing that there is a sizable market to the entrepreneurs and not the
to its integration with digital their software on third-party for Aliphia, but also a long organizers.”
systems, such as PayPal and products. way to go for the startup.
2Checkout. As Morabet puts With installable software However, true to his com- Tips for aspiring
it, the company’s mission (that are sometimes free) and pany’s objective, Morabet is entrepreneurs
goes beyond selling software, simple spreadsheets posing very clear on where Aliphia’s “First, start selling as soon as
and it is keen on providing a threat to Aliphia’s adoption, focus lies: “We want to help possible, and from there improve
full stack support for small Morabet counts “a low price, Arabic businesses achieve your product and margins.
businesses to scale. In line and pay-as-you-go model,” their objectives of success The quantity of customers
with this, Aliphia is also and unique Arabic support by giving them access to the doesn’t matter if they are happy
offered in local mode- cli- as their selling proposition. right tools that will help using your product; you need
ents with poor connectivity Elaborating on what has them pursue their goals.” customers to learn about your
can enjoy the same Aliphia business from them. Second,
experience even without an know your competition, and
internet connection with don’t do only what they do. Do
Aliphia BOX, a server that what they thought they cannot
hosts Aliphia in LAN/WAN. do. Many businesses doing the
Growing from feature to same stuff can also be a lot of
feature, Aliphia now counts businesses doing the wrong
an average of 14,000 active things. Third, don’t believe the
users for the product, and information you find over the
has crossed the 500 custom- internet about the MENA region;
ers mark just last quarter. there is a lot of wrong data. Take
Going by flow of orders, the it into consideration, but always
company expects to reach take decisions using your own
over 1,000 customers at the business data mixed with in-
end of 2017. While it sup- Aliphia product
house tests.”
ports bookkeeping in Arabic,

start it up ecosystem | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
aged to surpass its goal and received
“We got funded!” $2.4 million in its latest round of

bridge funding from an array of inves-
tors. It’s certainly a testament to their
compareit4me.com gains US$2.4 million in track record, as previous investors
continue to join in for future rounds-
latest investment round
more than half of the investment has
By Pamella de Leon been contributed by existing investors
Wamda Capital, STC Ventures and
L
aunched in August 2011 in surance. It has also grown its markets, Dubai Silicon Oasis, and this comes
the UAE, compareit4me.com with operations in nine countries to- after they joined the previous $3 mil-
started as a finance comparison day: UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, KSA, lion Series A funding round in 2015.
site for bank accounts and in- Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Oman. Mulverhill Associates, one of its origi-
surance, growing since then to include With a steady growth over the years, nal angel investors in its first round of
comparisons between personal loans, the fintech startup has continued to investment in April 2014 with a sum
mortgages, car loans, and is further garner investor interest. of $300,000, and later on in Decem-
diversifying its product portfolio to While it was aiming to achieve US$1 ber the same year, invested another
letting users compare and buy car in- million new funds, the startup man- $200,000, continues to show its sup-
port. As for new investors, SANED, a
VC fund focusing on MENA early-stage
startups, has joined in the ring, as well
as private investors who are executives
at e-commerce and financial compari-
son businesses, and VC firms. This new
round means that compareit4me.com
has raised a total of $6 million in funds
to date.
“Typically, raising money in the

Middle East is a six-to-nine-month
process. Our insurance business
has been killing it- it’s been growing
by 30% to 80% per month, so we
thought the time was right to
add additional funds so that we
can acquire more customers and
continue that growth.”
Mulverhill Associates Managing
Director Jonathan Hall notes how the
startup has grown since co-founders
Jon Richards and Samer Chehab
started working from coffee shops in
early 2014, to how it has progressed
in the past years. Hall says that one
of the reasons his company continues
to invest in the startup is after noting
how finance comparison businesses in
the UK have become profitable in the
sector, and therefore, he feels similar
businesses that can meet the market
here would also be successful. This also
echoes Wamda Capital’s attraction to
the startup, with Managing Partner
Khaled Talhouni saying how traction on
the site exceeded initial expectations,
www.compareit4me .com
which added to his good impressions

on the team’s execution of
compareit4me.com’s goals.

With an impressive line up of inves- Mulverhill Associates, one of its INVESTOR’S
tors, Richards points out that when original angel investors in its OUTLOOK
they were considering which investors
to pursue, they weren’t just looking
first round of investment in April Regional investors explain
for financial clout, but rather, the CEO 2014 with a sum of $300,000, and why they decided to support
says what mattered was investors later on in December the same compareit4me.com
who could support, provide insights year, invested another $200,000,
and further connect the startup to a continues to show its support. Khaled
network of investors. Another factor Talhouni,
was having investors with backgrounds WHAT HAPPENS NEXT Managing
in e-commerce, who could steer The team is already considering Series Partner,
them to upcoming challenges and B funding, as they’ve started talks Wamda
opportunities, especially given the with investors in Middle East, Europe Capital
diversification of their product lineup. and the US. Richards says they plan “We believe
“Launching our insurance portal has to raise an additional $10-15 million in investing in businesses that
meant a shift in business model, as it’s in the next round to strengthen its leverage technology to address
a transactional business with custom- UAE market, and grow in KSA, Egypt inherent inefficiencies in the
ers buying their insurance online,” and the rest of MENA. Richards also market place. With comparison,
Richards explains. talks about expanding their insurance we are enabling individuals
platform in MENA, saying, “Our users to actively compare financial
THE PROCESS are saving up to AED1,000 per year services and then also (with
“Typically, raising money in the Middle on their insurance, and we want to the insurance offering) help
East is a six-to-nine-month process,” bring those sorts of savings to as many them select and acquire the
says Richards. “Our insurance business people as possible.” right product/service for them.
has been killing it- it’s been growing by While compareit4me.com currently The power of the insurance
30% to 80% per month, so we thought lets users compare and buy car, home, product is that it not only allows
the time was right to add additional travel and life insurance, the startup consumers to compare but also
funds so that we can acquire more cus- is also looking at expanding into other gives them the ability to acquire
tomers and continue that growth. We insurance verticals such as health in- a policy directly through the
wanted to find the quickest way pos- surance. “We see the opportunity and site.”
sible to raise money, and a convertible know we have the right mix of technol-
was the way to do it. Creating a con- ogy, experience and funding to make
vertible document is the quickest way a difference. Our goal is to save users Angus
to raise funds, as you reduce the legal time and money, and I’m confident we Paterson,
work and streamline the documents. can do that for those buying health Partner,
This meant the whole process took six insurance, just like we do for users STC
to eight weeks from start to finish.” buying car insurance.” Ventures
“Since
investing,
compareit4me.com co-founder and CEO Jon Richards the team has continued to
demonstrate their ability
to execute well and deliver
impressive growth, against
a backdrop also of a tougher
banking market and economy
generally, and in a capital
efficient manner. They have
reinforced their leading
market positioning in banking
comparison, deepened the
management team with the
addition of strong new talent,
and have developed and been
first-to-market with a real-
time transactional insurance
comparison product, which
offers huge regional potential.
We’re delighted to be backing
them a second time around.”

start it up ecosystem | who’s got VC | Q&A | STARTUP FINANCE
‘TREP TALK ME
Morocco using services from The Business
Facebook. Careem was able Park Key www.parkkey.com
to successfully scale its cam- The ‘Trep
paign across the Middle East Founder Adnan Masood
using the Lookalike Audienc- Q Can you give us a brief
es tool to further refine its overview of what Park Key is all
ad targeting across Facebook, about?
Instagram and the Audience A “The online platform Park Key
Network, which ensured that helps to connect parking seekers
it could reach more people at with parking providers. For the
a reduced frequency. parking seeker, the platform
Many more businesses in allows them to find parking
the MENA region have the locations, pricing and other site
potential to cross geogra- specific details. They can choose
phies into new markets. In the parking spot they like and
fact, across the UAE, 74% of make a booking with a click
people are already connected of a button. The user receives
to at least one business in a confirmation instantly. We also
Global ambitions foreign country. In Egypt and help user to navigate to the park-
in Saudi Arabia the figure ing spot. For parking providers,
It’s a lot easier now for MENA businesses to venture is at 63%. Regional busi- we offer a platform to advertise
into new markets By Shant Oknayan
T
nesses can easily leverage the parking spots to active parking
connectivity on Facebook to seekers, with secure cashless
oday, people this hold true. For example, grow and expand. Other than payments and efficient use of
around the 95% of the UAE economy is Lookalike Audiences, we’ve their parking spots. In short, Park
world are more comprised of SMBs; this is developed Worldwide Deliv- Key offers ‘on-demand, cashless
connected not just an inspiring statis- ery, which helps businesses parking for all.’”
than ever be- tic, but also demonstrates set up a global campaign Q What kind of effort went into
fore. In 2012, the potential of the SMB and find efficient conver- building the network of partners
there were sector in playing a role in sions. Additionally, Country and customers that you now
only 2.7 billion people on the the economic progress of Snapshots and Insights serve? Also, how are you getting
internet. By 2018, that num- nations. Playbook help businesses the message out about your
ber is expected to be 3.82 But one question we always create customized cam- business?
billion– a growth of over receive is: what next? For paigns in each country. As an A “We have been very fortunate
40%. And last year, more SMBs that have achieved entrepreneur, this means you in that partners have welcomed
than 900 million people a certain size, how do they can be located anywhere on us, and it only took a couple of
around the world had at least scale up further, secure the planet but still be able to appointments to sign partner-
one international connection new customers, and grow engage with the rest of the ships. The bigger challenge is
on social media. revenue? One solution is to world and achieve measur- to reach to the masses, and we
As technology brings the simply look at a map of the able results. use mix of online and offline
world closer together, it world, point and go! At Facebook, as we seek to marketing strategies to reach
not only connects people to Today, with the help of connect the world, we want customers. We are very pleased
people, but people to busi- technology-based tools and to be able to help businesses that the conversion rate of
nesses. The ease of access to solutions, engaging in inter- achieve global ambitions. customer reached to customers
modern day technology, and national markets has never That is why we’re evolving who bought the service is very
the reach it provides, has led been easier. The region’s our solutions to help busi- high, so we are only limited by
to the emergence of first gen- geographic location means nesses connect with new how much awareness as we can
eration entrepreneurs while that most Middle Eastern customers in new countries. spread.”
allowing existing small and and North African countries Being a partner in the growth
medium businesses (SMBs) have easy customer and of small and local businesses
to achieve scale. logistical access to the rest of means we are able to directly
In nations where SMBs the world. Take for example impact a nation’s economy
form the backbone of the Careem, the region’s app- positively from the grass-
economy, the opportunities based chauffeur-driven car roots up. By leveraging the
are massive. booking service. From a base power of technology, we are
Across the Middle East and in Dubai, Careem has entered able to create an ecosystem
North Africa, we have seen markets from Pakistan to that spurs economic growth.
Shant Oknayan is the Regional Head of E-commerce, Retail, Online Services and Media at Facebook Middle East and North Africa. As part of his
role, Shant leads efforts to enable e-commerce, retail and online services businesses in the region to scale growth and engage with consumers
on Facebook. Oknayan brings with him over 15 years of experience in leading business development, with subject- matter expertise in digital and
investment strategies for governments and corporations. His understanding of the startup space saw him co-found GlamBox, the first and leading
beauty e-commerce company in the MENA region. He holds a MBA from MIT and a MEng with Hons from Imperial College London.

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Issued by HSBC Bank Middle East Limited U.A.E Branch, P.O.Box 66, Dubai, U.A.E, regulated by the Central Bank of the U.A.E for the purposes of this promotion and lead regulated by the
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Modern marketing Five tips for building your brand from the ground up (in today’s market)

Oswald Wong the MENA region is on

9 77231 1 541 008 >

october 2016 | www.entrepreneur.com/me | UAE AED20

Our search for the ideal location

With a substantial and expanding

24 FFWD on the evolving role of designers

october 2016 Entrepreneur 3

jj de la torre Image location courtesy of St. Regis Dubai

10 Entrepreneur october 2016

12 Entrepreneur october 2016

COLUMNIST Shoug Al Nafisi

All rights reserved © 2016.

In addition to our print edition, we’re bringing EntMagazineME

14 Entrepreneur october 2016

For reservations call 04-3176000 | Grosvenor House | Dubai | www.rwl-dubai.com

16 Entrepreneur october 2016

18 Entrepreneur october 2016

20 Entrepreneur october 2016

Wong reveals that his enterprise is

22 Entrepreneur october 2016

7,380 Gross National Income per

84 China’s “Ease of Doing

from the rank of #83 in 2015

$19.39 trillion The 2015 estimated

october 2016 Entrepreneur 23

24 Entrepreneur october 2016

4. Know your competitors. Being

6. Learn about the basics

october 2016 Entrepreneur 25

management, and also enable tie-ups “There will inevitably be

26 Entrepreneur october 2016

october 2016 Entrepreneur 27

“We live in a day and age of

28 Entrepreneur october 2016

30 Entrepreneur october 2016

Hussein after all the pieces of my story

october 2016 Entrepreneur 31

Nada and Noor

with two highly celebrated artists; Ab-

Rosemin Having worked in the fashion industry

Manji Manji’s influence in the sector

32 Entrepreneur october 2016

Omar Samra, Founder, them beyond a certain

Omar Q For a business such as Wild

Samra on a very specific set of ethical

october 2016 Entrepreneur 33

Sultan the dialogue, and distancing

34 Entrepreneur october 2016

sofa cum bed sofa cum bed

HAWTHORN SUITES BY WYNDHAM® JBR

Reasons for preferring to seek employment in a company

Learning new skills %41

Stability of employment / job security %35

38 Entrepreneur october 2016

the Middle East and North Other %3

october 2016 Entrepreneur 39

Perceived image of entrepreneurs

40 Entrepreneur october 2016

IMAGES COURTESY htc, acer, homeiq

42 Entrepreneur october 2016

Acer has launched the Swift rest- yes, there’s a place to

october 2016 Entrepreneur 43

Keeping an entrepreneurial spirit is