Business best practices for F&B ‘treps Dubai-based Aseel Group organized the Imago initiative, an accelerator program specifically targeting the F&B market
F&B ‘treps can now accelerate with the Aseel Group
T
“
Naaz Noor talks hospitality acceleration
he region in general is seeing a growth in the fast casual segment, and that seems to be the recurring theme even in the businesses that have applied to be part of the Imago program,” says Naaz Noor, founder and Managing Partner of the Aseel Group. She is talking about Imago, and where she sees the MENA region’s F&B industry headed. F&B ‘treps in the MENA region were in for a treat when the Dubai-based Aseel Group organized the Imago initiative, an accelerator program specifically targeting the F&B market.
The GCC and the rest of the MENA region have seen their respective industries in this sector soar, and it’s exciting to know that there are little to no signs of a slowdown. What inspired her to launch the Imago initiative? “Our
28
Entrepreneur october 2015
F&B consulting firm and restaurant clients have witnessed some interesting shifts in the industry. For instance, five years back, we witnessed a lot of Western brands coming into the region as franchisees. Over the
last couple of years, we are seeing a lot of new creative concepts coming from local entrepreneurs. Some of these local concepts have been extremely successful and are now in their growth stage, but don’t have the right kind
of resources and knowledge to grow their companies. This is what inspired the foundations for Imago: the thought process was if we can provide these entrepreneurs with mentorship, funding and some marketing and outreach help, these brands can not only span across the region but can also be international brands in their own right.” What’s the need for an accelerator that’s restricted to just F&B startups, as opposed to the other more general accelerators already in existence? “Imago’s first series will revolve around F&B, but subsequent chapters may explore other growing industries as well. What remains common is our drive to encourage homegrown talent and Middle East-based