Leaders of Tomorrow, India’s largest platform for entrepreneurs has been empowering upcoming businesses, and enabling SMEs & MSMEs with the right guidance. Going beyond the Indian shores and exploring India-UAE trade ties, the Leaders of Tomorrow came up with a special series called, ‘Eye on Dubai’. The series focuses on the entrepreneurs based out of the Dubai-UAE market, and who are doing something different and innovative.

Dubai is pushing ahead with plans to build a vibrant and thriving digital economy owing to the advanced technology available with them. On one of the episodes of Eye on Dubai, Lee Clark explores Dubai Internet City and all about fostering tech based business in the UAE. Dubai Internet City is a dynamic free zone that is home to 1600 companies ranging from iconic tech giants to upcoming startups.

Ammar Malik – Managing Director, Dubai Internet City talks about how Dubai’s technology sector has contributed to the Emirates’ economy post COVID recovery. He says, “As soon as COVID hit, the economy was shut, people were sitting home. Therefore, technology played a critical role in connecting people, getting business done, and getting the economy moving. Technology played the central role in getting everything done in terms of the infrastructure to keep people moving and businesses moving.”

On another episode, Karen Osman explores the education sector in the UAE, as she gets candid with Dino Varkey – Chief Executive Officer, GEMS Education. Varkey talks about how competition within the sector has contributed to the growth of the sector and how the institution has embraced technology to address the changing needs of the students. He also speaks on reopening of schools months after they had been shut down to restrict the spread of coronavirus infections.

“It’s always been about delivering the promise of the potential of every child that we have the privilege of educating. That purpose and vision has not changed. The nature of competition in the market is welcome. We always say that greater the competition, better and more is the choice that families have. We have been doing this for 60 years and we have generations of alumni out there making an incredible impact in the world,” Varkey said.

Karen also spoke with Karl Feilder – CEO, Neutral Fuels where they discussed the growth and adoption of biofuels in the Middle East, how the market has expanded over the last 10 years, and what are the factors that have contributed to the growth.

Feilder explains, “Well, it’s taken a long time to get there, some people have been looking forward to the advent of biofuels in the Middle East for quite a long time, more than 10 years. But really, what has happened is that the international community started to drive the adoption of biofuels. It is part of some companies’ corporate policy that they have to run on biofuels and this has trickled down into the multinational companies here. We have also seen adoption by the local fuel companies that started to sell our fuel into the local market and that has triggered widespread adoption,” he added.

Zanubia Shams, Co-Chairperson, Zulekha Healthcare Group talks about brand Zulekha’s position in the UAE, and the support that the country has offered to the brand for its growth, over the years. She shares how her parents were motivated to make UAE their base and create their brand in the UAE, “We received familiarity and confidence in the economic systems and the regulatory environment in this country, along with a sense of safety & security. So many factors came together to encourage my parents to make a life for themselves in the UAE.”

Against the backdrop of GITEX Global 2021 event that was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from October 17^th – 21^st, Eye on Dubai featured a host of insightful interactions covering various sectors. The tech event brought digital innovations on a single platform.

Talking about how Moro Hub is working on creating technologies for promoting sustainability and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Mohammed Bin Sulaiman – CEO, Moro Hub (subsidiary of Digital Dewa) said, “Last year at the GITEX, we launched the green data centre in the region that is 100 per cent energised by solar power and today, the utilisation rate is around 90 per cent. In the beginning of this year (2021), we have awarded our partner to build a new data centre, and hopefully it will be launched in March 2022. The objective behind this is to achieve the target that the government has set i.e. to be carbon neutral by 2050.

Present at the same platform, Simon Harrison – Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Avaya talks about how the pandemic helped to accelerate businesses, especially in the digital space. “What the pandemic did was simply accelerate what was already happening. In terms of Avaya as a company, we started flexible working to empower people to make them feel good about where they work. A happier staff means happier customers, and this pandemic has brought to the light this aspect very strongly.   

The highly engaging series also captured the vibe of Dubai’s tourism industry during the launch of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Dubai is one place that has set an example for others in attracting potential businesses as well as tourists. It stands 16th in terms of ease of doing business and second in tourism, worldwide. According to Dubai Tourism data, 4.1 million overnight visitors visited the city from July 2020 to June 2021. The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) created a lot of buzz with the launch of a new global campaign, ‘Dubai Presents’ in the month of September 2021.

Issam Kazim – CEO, Dubai Tourism shared his views on the Dubai Presents campaign, “It brings together the story of Dubai across different genres, addressing all of the needs that people have when they come to travel, whether it’s for a romantic getaway, business getaway, adventure getaway or just a relaxation getaway. The aim is to generate a dialogue and conversation to attract people to visit Dubai.”

To better understand the idea behind Expo 2020 and to shed light on the cooperation with nations, Eye on Dubai featured an insightful conversation between H.E. Reem Al Hashimy – UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation & Director General of Expo 2020 Dubai and Shekhar Kapur, Filmmaker and Advisory Board Member of Expo 2020 Dubai.

Sharing her views, H.E. Reem Al Hashimy said, “When we submitted our bid in 2011, it was for 2020 which turned into 2021 because of the pandemic. The aim was to fully and truly manifest the story of this country and this city i.e how people from around the world can live together in peace, harmony and prosperity. The expo was a physical manifestation that proves the vision that we set up decades ago. Dubai is home to about 200 nationalities, and we are stronger and better because of it. We have lived in this multicultural community – learning from one another, growing with one another, and becoming richer as a result of one another.”    

This year, the Eye on Dubai series went a step further to explore the latest happenings in UAE’s trade circle, India-UAE trade ties, digital technology trends, post pandemic scenario, and what major companies are doing to adopt sustainable business practices. It also covered sectors like tourism which lies at the core of UAE’s economic triggers, education sector and bio fuels sector, to name a few.

Stay tuned for more insightful conversations and the latest updates on Leaders of Tomorrow’s Eye on Dubai.