The 10 Most Successful Women Leaders in the Middle East

2020 | Volume-01 | Issue-02

THE 10 MOST SUCCESSFUL WOMEN LEADERS IN MIDDLE EAST

Mervat Zohdy Soltan

Change- Its Just the Beginning C

hange, it is said, is the only constant. Sooner or later, situations, people, society, and even co u nt r i e s c h a n g e. T h e f re e d o m a n d opportunities in the Middle East, for women, is the resultant of change movements that started decades ago.

If one thinks of the Middle East of the 20th Century and the situation of women in it, there isn’t much to say about.

Except that the condition was grim. Women weren’t just treated as unequal but under-privileged. They had no say in the matters that mattered. Most of them were kept away from formal education and were taught instead, to follow the orders that the elders and the men in the family gave. They grew up with the idea of being inferior to men and passed on the same to the next generation.

As said earlier, time does change. The end of the 20th Century brought with it new ideas. Ideas that were to change mind-sets forever. Globalization and women empowerment movements in other parts of the world found their way to the Middle East. The expat

community which was slowly increasing in parts of Middle East, especially UAE, was blooming with women of brilliant ideas and a spark to change the world. The Government too, in a bid to woo the world and improve t ra d e - re l at i o n s s a w a n o p p o r t u n i t y t h ro u g h empowering women. It started making changes at legal, political and social levels to welcome women at all levels.

The women realized that there’s more to them than what they have been told since ages. Powered by education and lead by example, slowly and steadily they marched ahead together, uplifting themselves and each other. It wasn’t a smooth ride all the way, but a ride worth taking.

They first had to convince themselves that they can be what they want to be. Once the inner battle was won, the outer ones were resolved with determination, hard work and a lot of help from fellow women.

This issue of Insight s Success celebrates the achievement of the women in the Middle East. “The 10 Most Successful Women Leaders in Middle East” showcases the story of women extraordinaire who

believed in themselves, made it big and are giving it their all to help other women come forth.

The Cover Story is that of Mervat Zohdy Soltan, who has been working in the banking sector for over three decades, achieving one goal after another and currently serves as the Chairperson, Export Development Bank of Egypt.

Also featuring in this edition are Alia El Alami, who journeyed from being a home-baker to the Founder of Looshi’s, a go-to place for delicious desserts; Jane Drury, a Digital Maven and CEO and Founder of ME Digital Group, which helps brands and companies reach their marketing goals effectively; Nashwa Al Ruwaini, a well-known media personality in the GCC and CEO of Pyramedia, which provides world class media services across a full spectrum of television/film production, events, public relations, marketing and advertising; and Nicole Rodrigues, a model turned entrepreneur and Founder of Diva Group of Companies, a company that has placed emphasis on creating opportunities for a lot

Sneha Sinha of people while also providing services to many.

Other significant names include Ofra Strauss, Chairperson, Strauss Group, and Hoda Mansour, Managing Director, SAP Egypt.

The issue also highlights the viewpoints of Fatema Abbas, HOD – Business Communication & Soft Skills, Pune Institute Of Business Management (PIBM) on Women are Born Leaders. Witness how the UAE brought about change in the lives of women in the country in our in-house article The Strengthening Positions of the Emirati Women.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we did while creating it!

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Mervat Zohdy Soltan

An Inspiring Life, Crafted of Sincerity and Passion

Female Punch

Women are Born to Lead

Alia El Alami

Baking Happiness into Every Bite

Jane Drury

The Digital Marketing Maven

Nashwa Al Ruwaini

Changing the World through Dauntless Compassion

Nicole Rodrigues

Pushing the Boundaries of Entrepreneurship

Arabian Bites

The Strengthening Positions of the Emirati Women

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Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Managing Editor Sneha Sinha Publishing Control Team Shruti, Rahul Quality Assurance Team Darshan, Abhishaj Art & Design Head Amol Kamble Associate Designer Poonam Mahajan Art & Picture Editor Asha Bange Co-designer Priyanka Rajage Business Development Manager Megha Mishra Business Development Lead Ashwini Pahurkar Sr. Business Development Executive Pravin Yalameli Technical Head Pratiksha Patil Technical Specialist Amar Sawant Digital Marketing Manager Prashant Chevale SME-SMO Executive Uma Circulation Manager Tanaji sales@insightssuccess.com

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AN INSPIRING LIFE, CRAFTED OF SINCERITY AND PASSION

I

f you have ever followed people who have made it big in their life, you would know and understand that they started small. Taking baby steps, they were able to reach the destination that they had set out for. Any task management lesson too, focuses on the power of breaking down bigger tasks into smaller objectives and ceaselessly conquer them on the road to success.

As human beings, achieving success at regular intervals or say after each task that we handled well, acts as an additional motivational factor. It helps us realize that the target is only as big as the smallest part that we break it down to and not a herculean one. Putting into practice this process to achieve success is Mervat Zohdy Soltan, Chairperson, Export Development Bank of Egypt. She further explains, “I always work by objectives; whereby I set goals and objectives & work on achieving them to reach success.”

Regional Head for Financial Institutions in North Africa & Levant in 2002. She moved to work at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank in 2009; later in the same year, she joined HSBC Dubai as Regional Head for North Africa & Levant Financial Institutions until May 2014. Then, she joined Ahli United Bank (Egypt) in 2015 until she was appointed as Chairperson of the Egyptian Export Development Bank in 2016.

Currently, she serves as the Chairperson of Export Development Bank (EBE) leading the necessary changes required in spearheading EBE’s role to boost Egyptian Exports in line with the country’s strategy to double its exports by 2020. Furthermore, she was appointed as the Chairperson of Export Credit Guarantee Company of Egypt (ECGE) in October 2018, which is a subsidiary of EBE Bank to complement EBE’s role through Insurance and Factoring offered to exporters.

A Progressive Growth More About EBE To understand how Mervat reached at the top, paying keen attention to her journey is essential. As a young girl, she idolized her parents who’ve always been a source of inspiration to her.

Her mother, a smart, sociable and kind woman, was a role model. Her father, being an engineer, was very well organized and wise. Mervat tried to acquire the best in both of them and thus dedicates all her achievements and success to them.

Another crucial impact on her life was that of her math teacher from high school who taught her how to perform a task at hand with love and passion.

Mervat earned both her B.A. in Business Administration and M.B.A. from the American University in Cairo in 1983 and 1989 respectively. Her banking career kick-started in 1983 when she began working with the Egyptian Gulf Bank where she worked for the next 7 years. This was followed by 3 years in the corporate world as a Business Development Director. She then joined the United Bank in 1993 as Manager – Foreign Dept. & Treasury.

Later she joined Bankers Trust Co. in 1995, which was acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999; progressed to reach

EBE Bank was established in 1983 to boost Egyptian exports and support establishments of industrial, commercial, agricultural and services sectors.

The Bank plays a vital role in supporting Egyptian exporters and facilitating the access of Egyptian products to markets worldwide. It does so through the extension of export finance and import substitution projects to help improve the local production. This goes along with the bank’s significant role in participating in syndicated loans and equity participation of these projects. The Bank extends its full-fledged financing and banking services to exporters and its entire customer base.

To pave the way for Egyptian exporters, EBE has built a network of correspondent banks in countries with common interests and economic ties with Egypt; as well as a Trade Finance & Export Promotion department to offer both financial and non-financial solutions. Moreover, the Bank has set up a network of branches throughout Egypt to serve the customers wherever they are based.

One of the main business lines and activities of the Bank is Corporate Banking and Loan Syndication Activities; which provides the necessary finance for export-oriented and/or import substitution industries, supporting non-export industries financing requirements and securing necessary foreign currency needs. Also, EBE provides necessary finance in the form of loan syndications for various industrial sectors, as well as providing diversified financing packages including long & medium-term loans, short term lending to finance working capital requirements for various economic sectors.

EBE also provides all types of financing to SMEs as part of the leading role played by the banking sector in supporting SMEs. Additionally, the Bank is keen to obtain customer satisfaction, through providing a wide variety of banking products and services developed with competitive rates such as: time deposits, saving certificates in various currencies and tenors, different types of mutual funds, saving and current accounts, credit, and debit cards, call center as well as e-banking services.

Passion and People – The Key It’s been over three decades that Mervat has been working in the banking sector, achieving one goal after another.

What keeps her going is her passion for her family, people, work and Country which she terms as priceless passions.

Her goals include creating value in every surrounding, and enabling sustainable institutional growth. She believes in self-development and working hard to seek perfection and

success. The fact that her passion is translating these goals into measurable achievements is visible with the resultant that EBE Team has been able to triple net profit in less than 3 years. Since she took the reins, the bank has raised fresh capital and improved all of EBE’s financial indicators, creating a good working environment that nurtures talent.

Another keyword for success, as Mervat puts it, is the power of people. Being a believer in self-development, she never refrains from motivating the employees as and when required and creating a work culture that inspires. She adds, “Motivating the employees started by listening to them and analyzing the situation. Then, I engaged and encouraged everyone to come forward with challenges, ideas, and solutions. Empowering them and in turn asking them to

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transactions that she had to pull through was related to a large $230 Million trade transaction involving Egypt during the peak of the Arab Spring. At the time, there was no appetite for Egyptian risk by any international bank, but she succeeded to obtain all the necessary credit approvals to conclude the deal.

Words of Wisdom As a banking professional, Mervat understands the dynamics of money and business and has seen many entrepreneurial ventures either flourish or go bankrupt. Her advice, laden with experience, for the entrepreneurs has several significant points. In her advice, she says: • Get your strategy and business plan in place; an idea on its own is not enough.

• Second, never give up because you will have to face challenges.

• Third, get your financials right. Make sure you have enough cash flow to cover all your obligations. Have the right balance and mix between debt and equity.

• Fourth, grow your business to a large scale. Take things gradually at the beginning. Test and then take everything to the next level.

• Finally, make sure you are agile enough to cope with all changes as you start your journey to success.

Life’s Lessons

cascade that empowerment to their teams. Communication, transparency, reward based on merit were the main drivers for a better culture.”

Surpassing Challenges Every story has its own set of zenith and nadir. Mervat’s life is no exception. For her, the most remarkable moment, professionally, was when the Central Bank of Egypt decided to choose her to chair the Export Development Bank of Egypt. She recalls, “The nomination and selection were unexpected and non-traditional being the first Chairwoman at an Egyptian Bank. I was truly overwhelmed yet scared because I wasn’t sure whether I would be able to make a success story similar to what I had achieved previously throughout my career.”

Her latest role also brought along the toughest deal in her career. One of the toughest and most challenging

Life is a lesson for those who want to learn and improve. All these years, life has been an institution for Mervat, giving her lessons in both her professional and personal life. “I think that foremost and most important is to have the sincerity and the passion in everything we do. Second, hard work pays off.

Discipline is a must. Keeping oneself optimistic and motivated even in the toughest time because out of every challenge there is an opportunity. Always have the courage to say you don’t know and learn,” Mervat expresses.

Focusing on these lessons, help a person grow in all aspects.

Everyone is living his or her life, but some lessons transcend individual barriers and serve as a learning for all. Mervat’s story is one full of passion, inspiration, the courage to tread a new path and going outside one’s comfort zone. “I think all these are very important lessons and so many more, but these are truly important. The higher up you go, the more you need to cling to all these lessons” concludes Mervat, reminding us that she takes pride in being a life-long learner.

W MEN

ARE BORN TO LEAD T

he truth – Irrespective of one’s demographic, when one has the qualities of a leader, one can lead…

The eternal truth – All women are born with the traits of a leader, naturally…

Citing testimonies of the eternal truth! * Resembling a transformational leader, a woman in the role of a mother, nurtures, inspires and directs. She transforms a house to home, stimulates her children to do things they never thought they could. Her actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. She believes and practices ‘Walk the Talk’. * Comparable to a visionary leader, a woman in the role of a wife is attentive and interested in the life graph of her spouse. She gathers all points of view in a concerted effort in order to arrive at the best course of action for the family.

She creates a vision for the relationship and is supportive wherever it is essential. She does her best to build credibility in the said association. * Identical as an accountable leader, a woman in the role of a sister displays humility and positivity. She is empathetic and is a great listener too. She displays the ability to be a protective sister. She does not confide and the secret remains a secret thus building integrity in the brother sister relationship. She is like a friend, philosopher and guide. * Resembling an assertive leader, a woman in the role of a friend demonstrates brutal honesty and is vocal of what she needs to state for the betterment of her friend. She is nonjudgmental as she is aware of the fact that the only way to innovate is to withhold judgment. She has the capability to

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accept mistakes and hence there is an easiness in confiding. * Corresponding a credible leader, a woman in the role of a professional exhibits ethics, flexibility, integrity determination and persistence these traits of her have been an inspiration to many. The collaborative nature of a woman, has the ability to influence the people of different skills to work together in harmony. Eagerness and willingness in a woman has always helped her to hone the skills that she possesses, to learn new things, gain knowledge and become a better professional. She respects her counterparts. She gives space to people whom she works with to get the best out of them. * Approximating a supportive leader, a woman in the role of a neighbor understands the needs and requirements of the surroundings where she lives. She is ever ready to lend a helping hand and spread happiness around her. She takes time to stop and talk to know the wellbeing. * Like an adaptive leader, a woman in the role of global citizen has the ability to mold herself and adapt to the new environment. She inspires young people to change their mindsets towards the change and see it as an opening of new avenues for them, which in turn will help them discover a complete new side of themselves. She propagates the essence of ‘Keeping one’s skills current’.

The above sturdy evidences are sufficient enough to prove that women are born leaders. They already possess these characteristics in their persona. However being born as one and becoming one is where the difference lies and the difference is because of lack of opportunities for women for a very long time in history. As a conscious race we must identify this omission, create prospects and hone the already existing competencies.

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Female Punch

ABOUT THE AUTHOR ****************************************************************************************

Fatema Abbas is the HOD – Business Communication & Soft Skills, Pune Institute Of Business Management (PIBM). She also works with over 20 MNC as a soft skill trainer and personality development specialist.

She holds 15+years of experience profoundly impacting performance through the design of personal training programs for the reform, enhancement and advancement of organizational/institutional objectives, values, vision and mission. She also works for several notable NGOs. ******************************************************************************* www.insightssuccess.in

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VALUED THOUGHTS OF FEATURED LEADERS

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Women are leaders by intuition. They are born strong enough to bear and endure the pain in delivering and raising children. Women are the backbone of every family and in many cases she is behind the most important family decisions. When properly educated, she excels in all subjects mostly better than her male counterparts. At work, she has the ability to multitask, work under pressure and take care of her family as well. Throughout history, we have seen many examples of successful women leaders. The only need the chance !!!

- Mervat Zohdy

“

We have an all women senior management team, who together navigate business growth on very firm and well-managed foundations. But no, not all women are born to lead. People are people. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and blessed with opportunities, some will grab them more firmly than others. If everyone wanted to lead, nothing would ever get done.

- Jane Druery

“

I actually believe that everyone who is provided the correct environment is born to lead- not just women. That being said though, women have a very special set of skills that help them to lead, such as their intuition, their ability to multi-task, their compassion and empathy as well as their warrior capabilities that propel them forward and allow them to be great leaders.

- Nashwa

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Alia El Alami Founder

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Alia El Alami Baking Happiness into Every Bite

H

ow many times have you heard the proverb “Life is short. Eat Dessert First”?

And how many times have you munched on it? If you do have a sweet tooth, you would know and understand the importance of a dessert. This last part of a meal is perhaps the most awaited one and an ultimate coaxing weapon for mothers around the world.

Numerous meals of boring veggies have been finished under the prospect of favorite desserts. While they are mostly sweet, there is no dearth of savory and uniquely flavored desserts across the world. The ingredients, their combination, preparation method, secret family recipes and a whole lot of love results into desserts that are colorful, indulgent and lipsmacking. In short, the perfect way to end your day.

The most common form of desserts has to be cookies or biscuits and one can have it any time of the end (because why not!). But if you thought, baking a cookie was an easy task, wait till you you have seen some beautifully baked macaroons.

Originally made from ground almonds and other nuts, macaroons

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come from the kitchen of Italian monasteries which found its way to the masses and became popular as a year-round, any-time sweet snack.

Chances are, you’ll fall in love with them in just one look. The same happened with Alia El Alami, the Founder of Looshi’s.

She recalls her first encounter saying, “I will never forget my first Macaron.

I had seen them before, their vibrant colors glistening in the French patisserie windows. They seemed so delicate and precious, something to eat only on special occasions. When I first broke through that crispy outer shell and into the creamy, chewy, delicious center my taste buds came alive.” Smitten by their taste, Alia decided to make it her mission to bring Macarons to everybody.

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WE ARE ALWAYS OPEN TO NEW METHODS AND IDEAS, ON HOW TO IMPROVE OPERATIONS AND MAINTAIN OUR QUALITY

From Home Baker to Store Owner Alia would regularly bake at her home. Her home, more often than not, would be filled with the lovely aroma that one associates with baking. She would often add her unique element to the recipes to enhance the flavors that drew praise from those who tasted it. After her first son was born, she found herself with more time at home to indulge in her passion for baking.

With positive feedback from family and friends, Looshi’s started off as a home business, selling to clients through its facebook page. Alia adds, “I used to bake at home and sell to offices/birthday/wedding events. I was only baking some pies and macarons. Once I saw a good pick up in demand, I moved the business concept to a small business boutique bakery in JLT, Dubai. And we added a full range of desserts.” Her idea to run the bakery was met with full support from her father and brother who were running a dessert restaurant in Egypt.

Today, Looshi’s is a go-to place for delicious desserts where her team uses premium ingredients and still maintains a good price offering to its clients. It also handles B2B clients,

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where it supplies personalized dessert sections in its menu or supplied directly from the current menu.

whole team a sense of accomplishment and we consider them as proud moments at Looshi’s.”

A Celebration called Life

Alia's entrepreneurial journey has given her the insight to always broaden her knowledge and accept all sorts of information – criticism, and feedback that comes her way. She feels that it's important to do one’s research appropriately to minimize negative outcomes and build a brand that stays with the customers forever.

Alia loves what she does and thinks of her work as an extension of her personality. Her work gives her a chance to offer delightful experiences to the customers at Looshi’s. For Alia in the beginning, it was very hard to understand the market and try to compete with all the established brands. This line of business, being very unpredictable, started to be very stressful. However, with the right plan and motivation in place, situations got better. The competition is most certainly cut-throat, however, when one provides and maintains a unique service, like Looshi's, the customers do appreciate it.

The steady progress acted as a motivational factor, seeing the demand grow and customers liking and wanting Looshi's items. Alia adds, “Seeing customers giving us positive feedback and personalized emails after trying our products definitely pushes us to keep going.

Winning awards and getting recognized for the hard work and efforts that we place into our brand gives the 22 | January 2020

New Recipes in the Oven Alia and her team at Looshi's are very hardworking and are excited to see the brand grow. Every individual places its full efforts and cares about the brand. Going forward, Alia would like to see Looshi's as the neighborhood bakery where everyone can find small boutique shops located in community areas. She would also like to venture into different services within the confectionery sector; Distribution services, getting premium and high-quality brands within the chocolate and confectionery sector.

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Jane Drury CEO and Founder

“

2020 IS THE YEAR OF DUBAI EXPO AND THE MYRIAD OF OPPORTUNITIES THAT IT WILL BRING

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Jane Drury THE DIGITAL MARKETING MAVEN

H

ave you ever wondered what does it take for someone to finish a task? If you think over it, you’ll find yourself zeroing in on attributes like hard work, understanding of the task, determination, skills, dedication, etc.

Now pause, and think if the attribute ‘gender’ came across your mind. Chances are high that you didn’t think about it. That is because it doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.

A task, however easy or complicated, can be done if the doer sets her/his mind on it. If you choose to take it on, there is no endeavor that you won’t succeed in.

Echoing similar thoughts, is Jane Drury, the CEO and Founder of ME Digital Group, Dubai. Jane heads the firm with offices in UAE and Saudi with a completely female leadership team, and her teams across both locations are pretty much 50/50 male/female.

“We have over 30 nationalities working for MEDG with women being well-represented across most business functions. We don’t set out with any male/female agenda when hiring; we’re looking for the best person for the role,” Jane expresses.

families, and as Dubai began to grow as an international hub, she was keen enough to spot the clear opportunity to support the ever-increasing numbers arriving. At the same time, the personal use of the web was just beginning to blossom. She then launched her first website, ExpatWoman.com in 2002; an information portal both to help newcomers and provide ongoing support for residents.

Expat public interest was immediate and exponential.

“We were responding to new opportunities every month, creating new services, channels and verticals to meet the needs of both readers and advertisers – and ideally both concurrently,” adds Jane.

Today ExpatWoman(EW) is the leading information site for expatriate families globally. From a business point of view, it attracts the highest traffic for any consumer digital magazine in the GCC. The site is heavily contentrich and consistently reports 2 million monthly unique visitors, still primarily the Middle East focused. The UAE is the key market for traffic, and Saudi Arabia second. Her team also runs regional EW sites for all GCC countries and has sites for expats living in Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam.

Kick-starting Her Journey Forming ME Digital Jane, a business graduate, started her career with Unilever as a commercial trainee, qualifying with CIMA. Her work saw her successively treading through marketing, financial and internal audit roles, in London and Milan.

In 1997, her family moved to Dubai. Initially, she found it difficult to find information that covered lifestyle for www.insightssuccess.in

Parallel to the development of EW, in 2014 Jane set up ME Digital Group to house EW brands and further develop their digital interests in the region. The Group owns and operates an established and expanding portfolio of brands and web properties across the Middle East, with offices in the UAE and KSA.

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The company operates in the online publishing industry, including the global expat community site, ExpatWoman.com, and in the E-commerce world through the region’s leading deal site, Cobone.com which it acquired in 2015. Cobone is the only English/Arabic daily deals site across the UAE and Saudi Arabia and was one of the first e-commerce sites to succeed in the region. It has a large, well-established following of e-friendly shoppers.

With changing dynamics, the business model now involves digital advertising, mainly sponsored content and banners. In Dubai, ME Digital has added offline advertising to the mix with some fifty ExpatWoman events hosted annually, meeting the needs of both consumers and sponsors. Jane shares, “The ExpatWoman Festive Fair in its 8th year, is our flagship event and bears testament to our reach with a footfall of over 10,000 who come to enjoy a fabulous free day.”

About the acquisition, Jane shares, “It is a very different business model to advertising, being essentially CPA or lead generating. It was a steep learning curve for our Cobone team but one that produced fast results.”

Looking Forward

Gail Livingstone, Cobone’s CEO, with an enduring passion and collaborative approach, has delivered consistent growth, particularly in Saudi Arabia, which is an exciting market right now as that economy continues to open up. Jane further adds, “I would say the social change has been careful but consistent. For Cobone we’re open to exploring all opportunities. It’s still very new – a pleasure to see a lady driver; we always wave!”

In recent years ME Digital has launched stand-alone sites to target niche interest groups – ExpatWomanFood.com, EWmums.com and fashion and lifestyle, ewmoda.com. Its latest investment is in the motoring sector, supporting Expat-Motors, a start-up providing a quality car buying/sales service, that fits with the ethos of its brands. It is moving into the fin-tech space and generally is open to adding more services to the mix that will serve its audience and those who wish to reach them. ME Digital’s offering overall will continue to evolve.

Challenges are Hidden Opportunities

Life as an Entrepreneur

Scaling the business has produced many challenges along the way. Jane states, “Finding the right people for key roles is essential. We have lived by the mantra of continual change, and at times had to deliver on very limited budgets, but we were always moving forward.”

For Jane, the ME Digital Group journey has been long and winding. In a contemplative sense, she expresses, “Coming from a corporate background, life as an entrepreneur is very different, pulling you into all aspects of the business. I have found that nothing is lost and experience from many years ago can suddenly be found to be relevant and useful. It’s a continual learning process and the day that stops, it’s time to give up.”

The ME Digital team feels that the market has been challenging through 2018 into 2019, but there is an air of optimism running through businesses in The Emirates and KSA, as the contemporaries consistently report a buoyant second half to the year and more bullish plans for 2020.

In the meantime, the demographics of the EW site have changed over the years, becoming progressively younger with around 70% of readers under 35. This is a reflection of Dubai’s growing fame as a sought-out destination.

Also, the typical Dubai expat is no longer a mid to senior career male, supporting a non-working wife and children. Young people at the start of their careers actively seek to move to the region for the lifestyle and opportunities.

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THE STRENGTHENING

POSITIONS OF THE

EMIRATI WOMEN T

o gauge the level of development in a country, it is often advised to take a look at the condition of its children and women. The status that they enjoy, reflects the developmental and societal framework. No nation has the right to call itself developed if the women and children do not enjoy the basic rights. The progress of a country is not just indicated by progress in infrastructure and economy but also by its societal fabric. For ages, gender discrimination has been a major issue across the world. It has, and at many places, continues to create disparities at social, economic, psychological, and many other levels.

Changing times, influential change-makers, enlightened Governments, and social reforms have now brought a sea-change in the condition of women. The nations, now realize that keeping women to the confines is keeping

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Arabian Bites

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development and economic progress on a pause mode. The Arab world, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which has been the face of development for few decades, has surely shown the world what a difference can be made with a slight change in mindset.

The UAE has managed to break the stereotypes and preconceptions associated with the condition of women in the region, through slow and steady reforms. The traditional and religious structure of the society in UAE have regarded women as the backbone of a family. With the change in social outlook, the process of modernization and the influence of globalization, the focus has now shifted from being just at home to being at work too. The Government’s vision is to provide women with the tools and facilities that will enable them to live a financially independent and professionally fulfilling life. It aims to create an environment that is conducive to women choosing a professional life in either the public or private sector.

Women at Work The reforms commenced at the Constitutional and Legal levels. The Constitution of UAE gives equal rights to all its citizens including women. With regular amendments, it has been taking into account issues earlier unaddressed, like maternity leave, child custody, nursing breaks and more.

Next came the Gender-Balance issue or the lack of it. In May 2015, the Government established the UAE Gender Balance Council which carries out functions like legislation and policies review and initiating programs to achieve gender balance in the workplace. The Council oversees the implementation of best practices and processes to ensure federal institutions achieve their gender balance targets per UAE’s vision to become one of the world’s top 25 countries for gender equality by 2021.

Education is considered the most potent tool to bring about change. Being a fundamental right, education for Emiratis is free in public schools, colleges, and universities. The UAE government, with a focus on the elimination of gender disparities in education, ensures equal access to all levels of education and vocational training. To bring the compulsory school-leaving age in line with other advanced countries the UAE Cabinet approved a new law in July 2012 making it compulsory for Emirati children to start

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schooling at the age of 6. They shall remain in school until they have completed Grade 12 or reach the age of 18, whichever occurs first.

In 1973, the first women’s meeting in the UAE ‘The Renaissance of Abu Dhabi Women Association’ was held.

Kick-starting the socio-economic empowerment of women. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak envisioning the unitary ideology of her husband, the late Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father of the UAE, established General Women’s Union(GWU) in 1975 joining all women associations in the UAE. Since then, several initiatives have been taken by the Government for economic empowerment.

In December 2012, the Government issued a decision on the mandatory membership of Emirati women in the Boards of Directors of federal bodies, companies, and institutions. In 2015, the GWU launched National Strategy for Empowerment of Emirati Women in the UAE for 20152021(WAM) providing a framework for government, private sector, and civil society organizations to establish work plans aiming at women empowerment.

Things to Look Forward to To show citizens the way, the Government started practicing inclusivity at its own end. Among the 32 ministers of the current government, 9 are women which makes up almost 27 percent. The participation of women in the UAE Cabinet is among the highest in the world, indicative of the strong position of the Emirati women. The UAE also observes August 28, every year, as the Emirati Women’s Day. The changes and reformative steps taken are now reflecting in the social structure of the UAE. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2016, the UAE’s global rank is as follows: • 8th rank for the sub-index of wage equality for similar work • 1st rank for the sub-index of literacy rate • 1st rank for the sub-index of enrolment in secondary education • 1st rank for the sub-index of sex ratio at birth (female/male) The country wishes to stop not and proceed on its path to bring equality that is long due.

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Nashwa Al Ruwaini

Changing The World Through Dauntless Compassion

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uman beings have the power to shape their society by being the change they wish to see.

Individuals and society make each other and reflect each other’s mindset. Thus to shape a progressive and evil-free society, the onus lies on us, to serve, mentor and influence as many lives as we can in a lifetime.

Leaders and other prominent people, besides enjoying the power that they gain through the love that society showers them with, also have a moral responsibility to share and spread love and kindness.

London and expanded to Cairo, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. She dedicated a huge portion of her career to establishing Abu Dhabi as a major media hub in the region. Pyramedia provides world class media services across a full spectrum of television/film production, events, public relations, marketing and advertising, making it the only company in the region with such a varied range of media services.

As the embodiment of kindness, Mother Teresa said, “A life not lived for others, is a life not lived.” And as someone who admires and idolizes her, Nashwa Al Ruwaini, believes that success alone is just not enough.

As a well-known media personality in the GCC, she feels that successful people should serve as role models in every step of their journey and empower all those they meet.

Currently, Nashwa serves as the CEO and Board Member of Pyramedia Group which is a group of companies that has under its umbrella:

A Diversified Company

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Pyramedia-Media Production and Consulting Al Joude Advertising and Publicity in the UAE and Saudi Arabia Al Joude Investments Delma Medical Centre and Spa

This excerpt, about her life and work, helps us understand how she has been standing true to her belief and making a difference

It’s not every day that we see a dynamic young woman, all of sixteen, appear on our television screens and make us look forward to her next appearance. Nashwa started her career as the youngest Arab woman anchor while working for Qatar TV. She loved being a TV presenter and pursued the role for several decades. The next opportunity at The Middle East Broadcasting Center, (MBC), saw her producing several shows, in addition to being a Presenter. She worked diligently on setting up MBC into the media powerhouse that it is today.

A few years down the line, she decided to set up Pyramedia Media Production and Consultancy in 32 | January 2020

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Our role is not just to succeed professionally but we have to give back to the community and be kind to all those in need.

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Setting the Stage

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She also has her very own charity foundation called Nashwa and a line of jewelry called Nashwa Jewelry.

The companies Pyramedia and Al Joude Advertising and Publicity produce all types of media and also offer marketing, PR, social media, event management to name a few in the entire GCC region. Delma is a spa and medical center and her charity works across the globe with a special focus on women and children.

In the UAE, Nashwa has produced several awardwinning TV programs such as The Millions Poet, The Prince of Poets, The Buzzer, and Al Zaman Al Jameel.

She has also produced several historical documentaries on the history of the UAE and namely the late Sheikh Zayed, founder of the UAE. She also worked as a consultant on several Hollywood blockbusters such as Syriana, Kingdom of Heaven, Pirates of the Carribean and Aladdin.

Being the Voice, Not Just an Echo While hosting her TV shows in England, Egypt and the UAE, Nashwa realized the power that her shows had over the masses. With a desire and realization that her role is not just to succeed professionally but give back to the community, she decided to be the voice of the voiceless. Her shows focused on social issues and Nashwa started to break boundaries and speak up boldly about taboo topics. She recounts, “This attitude to work helped me gain the title of the “Oprah of the Middle East” because I was fearless in the topics that I chose to discuss and because I wanted to ensure that what I was saying on TV made a difference and really affected people’s lives.”

She further shares, “My main goal is to be a voice for the voiceless because my main passion in life is helping others.” A passion, so fierce, needs fuel in the form of motivation. And for motivation, Nashwa looks up to her own family. She finds her children as the ultimate source of motivation, for whom, she would like to leave behind a legacy that they can take forward. She also states, “I have several role models starting with my mother and grandmother who taught me the meaning of power mixed with kindness and I also aspire to be like Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, known as the Mother of 34 | January 2020

the UAE. She has taken upon her shoulders the welfare of the Emirati women and children and helped empower women to reach heights never reached before.”

One’s Life is Made of Moments Nashwa has enjoyed success and recognition throughout her remarkable career. We asked her to sum up her favorite moments, to which she said, “I have had several high points in my professional life, such as being able to help people who would call in on my TV shows, or when I launched the Middle East Film Festival which later became the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, or when I celebrated our 10 year anniversary of organizing the semi-final round of the International Emmy Awards. The list is really long.”

Pyramedia boasts of a client list that includes names like Abu Dhabi Airports, Arabtec, Nestle, Mobinil etc. Over the years, the company has been facilitated with many awards such as: Best Practices by European Society for Quality Research in Brussels UAE Business Excellence Award-2017 – Worldwide Business Excellence Award GAMECHANGER OF THE YEAR. From ACQ5 Global Awards 2018 Miles to Go Nashwa’s group of companies and businesses speak for themselves. She feels choosing the GCC for her ventures was a great move because there is so much potential in this region and in the UAE, entrepreneurs are provided with all the tools and resources they need to succeed.

On the same note, she shares her advice for the young entrepreneurs saying, “My first piece of advice is don’t be afraid and don’t let there be a ceiling to your dreams and goals.” And as for the numerous opportunities, she is yet to explore, she asserts, “My goals are to see my businesses continue growing and to keep diversifying my portfolio of business.”

To know more about Pyramedia, visit here

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BE THE HUMAN (ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, FAMILY WORK) AND THE BEING (PRAYER, MEDITATE, SELF-LOVE, ENLIGHTENMENT AND AWAKENING). BE THE COMPLETE HUMAN BEING TO THE HIGHEST AND BEST VERSION OF SELF 36 | January 2020

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Nicole Rodrigues PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

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he art of entrepreneurship is one that requires immense efforts along with the skill to stand through the thick and thin that the company may go through. To dedicatedly follow a certain path and stay on it throughout is what makes an efficient entrepreneur. After all, one's goal is the key to creating plenty of opportunities.

One such personality who has taken charge of these goals of hers and has been working on making her dreams come to true is – Nicole Rodrigues. She has been recognized as beauty with brains and has built a life redefining the cultural ethos of the UAE. Being born in the city that never sleeps – Mumbai, Nicole dreamt of a career that goes beyond the norms of society. One, where equality is of the prime focus.

Before fulfilling these dreams, her journey started with a Bachelor’s degree in Science (Mathematics). It continued to Harvard Business School where she earned a Degree in Owners President Management. She then built her career by taking up various roles such as, a creative director, branding expert, and choreographer among others.

Inception of an Extraordinary Enterprise Nicole Rodrigues forged a career in the fashion industry as a model but, with marriage and maternity in the picture, she decided to take some time off. But in the year 2003, she

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noticed a minor shortcoming in the talent agency industry in the UAE. Knowing the efforts and responsibilities of being in the position, she decided to bring some variation by utilizing her exceptional entrepreneurial skills. The change she wanted to see was to bring some structure in the field of talent acquisition, talent promotion, and any associated initiatives. Her first step was utilizing her knowledge which she earned from being in front of the camera. She understood the courage required and tried to build the same among other aspiring models. The key element to build was for them to feel comfortable in their skin. Elaborating on her appreciation for real beauty, Nicole states, “Beauty is not just about the segregation of looks but about how one view themselves.” This formed the base of the Diva Modeling Agency. The company eventually witnessed tremendous growth, and Nicole broadened her horizon to establish Diva Holding for real estate, Diva Salon, and Diva Laundry. This acted as a catalyst towards the founding of a branched out company which came to be known as Diva Group of Companies.

The One Stop Shop for All Diva Group of Companies has placed its emphasis on creating opportunities for a lot of people while also providing services to many. Each of them is guaranteed to have perfection and is hassle-free. It provides high-quality services including model training, events management, and exclusive productions to all kinds of companies, including various forms of marketing communications. Diva Modelling and Events has transformed the professional promotional industry across the Middle East. A major list of facilities goes as below: • Print Production • Promoters / Hostesses • Video / Still Production • Film Production • Exhibition Staff • Planning / Budgeting • Model Management • Sound / Stage Setup • Production • Fashion Shows • Studio Rentals • Location Permits • Session Stylist • Set Decoration • Government Permits • Stylist • Exhibition Stands • Location Scouting • Entertainers • Catering • Light and Equipment Rentals • Portfolio Services • Logistics • Preproduction • Crewing and Casting • Scheduling • Post-production Building on Motivation Through Passion Being a woman of utmost dedication and love towards people, Nicole has always found her motivation from

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those around her. With no differentiation intended towards a car cleaner or the CEO, she believes every individual has something one can be inspired by. As she states, “We just need to be open, attentive and be willing to learn, and understand. I’m so focused on people I love that I tend to forget myself.” Her passion for her work also stems from this factor, where she believes in learning from others while sharing, what she has learned. She thus aims to share her knowledge with as many people possible and add value to their lives. Describing her journey, Nicole also says that it’s the people who are the ultimate power, and this created a path for her to empower others via her talent agency. Her ultimate goal is to utilize all learnings and experiences into growing and developing, not only as a person but as an entrepreneur too.

Gulf and Its Growing Opportunities 2003 was a phenomenal year for Nicole as she set foot in Dubai to set up her multi-million dollar empire – Diva Group of Companies. This is where she found the platform to grow as an entrepreneur and inspiration under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed. She noticed the country’s immense growth which made it the ideal location for businesses to flourish. Some additional factors also included the level of security, the tax benefits as well as the multi-cultural crowd.

Accolades Galore and Advice for Budding Entrepreneurs Efforts in the right direction usually tend to yield positive outcomes which may also manifest into recognitions.

Nicole’s expertise helped the company grow, and for this, she received a myriad of awards. Some of them being recognized on platforms such as Top SME 100 Award2015, Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards 2015 – Outstanding Category, Colors UMA Show Award, and many more. She was also named in the Forbes – 100 Most Powerful List 2013, in Arabian Business – 100 Most Powerful List 2013 as well as in Forbes 2014 as one of the Top Indian Leaders in the Arab World.

Her advice to many aiming for a position in the business world, is to stay clear of any false beliefs and negative influences. Nicole also urges them to be mindful of their lifestyle by keeping themselves healthy. In her own words, she says, “Never resent, revenge, regret or reject. Love life, pray /mediate be grateful, accept, surrender, eat healthy, sleep well exercise and be happy.”

For more information about Nicole and the wide range of facilities provided by Diva Group of Companies, click here.

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