REAPING THE REWARDS THE MENA REGION’S ACHIEVING WOMEN
“YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR LIFE AT WORK, AND IT WOULD BE A WASTE OF YOUR LIFE IF YOU DID NOT ENJOY THE WORK.”
APARNA VERMA Founder and CEO, Scholars International Group
T
he entrepreneurial path of Aparna Verma, founder and CEO of Scholars International Group (SIG), is one that started at a very early age, fueled by her desire to continue her parents’ legacy of providing quality education for the youth of the UAE. Dubai Scholars, the first of three educational institutions forming SIG, was set up by her mother in Deira, Dubai, in 1976 as a nursery to serve the primary care needs of the early expatriate population in the UAE. Having lost her parents at the age of 17, Verma has bravely grown the nursery into a school that delivers extended
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“EGO CAN BE THE BIGGEST BUSINESS KILLER, AND YOU NEED TO BE COMFORTABLE IN DEALING WITH UNPLEASANT PERSONALITIES, KNOWING THAT GETTING A SMALLER PART OF THE SHARE IS STILL A WIN.” and enriched National Curriculum of England and Wales program from Early Years Foundation Stage to Year 13. “I took over in 1984 after my parents passed away, as it was part of my legacy to keep the school in the family, and along with
that came growth and expansion,” Verma says. “Although the initial inspiration for Dubai Scholars was to maintain a legacy of my parents, the feeling of going to work every day and knowing that you are doing something meaningful, and making a positive difference in the world is what makes being in education fairly unique. That is what motivates me every day.” Over the years, Dubai Scholars has grown from one to a few villas and to finally finding its home at the Dubai Scholars campus in 1993. In 2007, Verma ventured into building Scholars International Academy (SIA) in Sharjah, having noticed that a large number of students had travelled from the Emirate to attend Dubai Scholars. Today, Dubai Scholars educates nearly 1,800 students, while SIA has a cohort of just over 1,200 students. Verma explains that the main challenges of starting a school are similar to those in other industries. “As a new entrant, you have to have a markedly better offering for people to switch to, while having less room for error,” she says. “Hence, one can be in pre-development for years, so as to start off on the best footing. This obviously adds to the cost, but effective planning gives you the opportunity to be more proactive than reactive as an organization. There are always going to be unforeseen challenges when you go to market and you need to ensure you have the bandwidth to deal with that quickly. Hence, try
to take care of the challenges you know beforehand.” With respect to her own educational path, Verma earned a BSc degree from Georgetown University, and then continued her education by attending the
QUICK TAKES APARNA VERMA’S INSIGHTS ON BEING A GOOD LEADER FOR AN ENTERPRISE 1. STICK TO THE BIG PICTURE “Have a vision and make sure everyone is aligned. There is a network effect of value creation.” 2. HIRE THE RIGHT PEOPLE “The impact of a wrong hire, especially in more senior positions, cannot be understated. It can ruin an organization or push it back several years.” 3. IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED “Do not take ‘no’ for an answer. There is much to be said for persistence.” 4. BE EXPANSIVE IN YOUR THINKING “You need to run now just to stay in place. However, never take on an opportunity where you cannot recover from failure.” 5. ENJOY WHAT YOU DO “You spend most of your life at work, and it would be a waste of your life if you did not enjoy the work.”
IMAGE COURTESY APARNA VERMA
Aparna Verma, founder and CEO, Scholars International Group