It is no surprise that Rowdha Al Sakit has become an entrepreneur. The Emirati founder and chief executive of the Dubai architectural and design services firm D-Town Enterprises comes from a long line of business figures. Her great-grandfather used to have his own dhow and would trade on the seas, while her grandfather is the founder of Al Abbar Group – the family-owned architectural cladding and facades company that has installed the interiors for many of the city’s landmark buildings.
“Dubai is about businesses,” says Ms Al Sakit. “Right now, when [people] look at Dubai, they say oil built Dubai. But if you look before the oil, what were the people in Dubai doing? They used to be traders. So I think it’s something in the DNA.”
Ms Al Sakit, 26, spent about a year working in the family business and a similar amount for another company, but says she has had ideas and concepts for running her own business from a young age.
“I started creating businesses even before attending school. I created them in my mind, on my laptop. I always had concepts, and I studied them through my university years,” she says.
She has a bachelor’s degree in architecture and interior design from Zayed University and a second degree from the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano.
“My family used to spend their summers in Milan every year,” says Ms Al Sakit. “I’m not the type that loves to have a very long vacation doing nothing, so I used that to enter their classes and schools and I really loved it.”
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It was a concept created as part of her architecture course at Zayed University in Dubai that led to her starting her business, D-Town Enterprises. She had drawn up a concept design for a floating hotel, which was displayed as part of an exhibition of students’ work.
“An investor came and said: ‘I like this – I want to do it’.”
D-Town was then launched in 2014, with Ms Al Sakit putting together a team and finding office space in Business Bay. Although the hotel project remains unbuilt, the company picked up other commissions to design eco-friendly villas.
One of these, a 10,000 square metre property on a 20,000 square metre plot in Al Khawaneej, which had to be built in three phases, incorporated solar panels to provide some of its power and was designed with a central water feature in the house that actually treated wastewater, allowing it to be reused for irrigation. Other commissions have included a range of commercial and residential projects for private clients.
D-Town Enterprises now employs 12 staff and offers services from architectural and interior design to project management, branding consultancy and a store that offers its own ceramics and tableware designs for existing clients.
The company is now embarking on its biggest venture to date – a huge materials library that is expected to cost about Dh24 million to build.
The D-Town Library was announced last month and is proposed to be the world’s biggest materials library. Ms Al Sakit did not disclose the location of the site, but said it would be a 50,000 square metre building and would open at the end of this year. She said that when planning some of its own projects, D-Town Enterprises had to search extensively for materials.
“If we, as a design office, are creating a hospitality project, and we need to gather the right resources for that project. It will take us one month to just gather the right information, the right pricing and ship it from all over the world,” she said.
Work is under way on selecting the materials that will be featured in the library, as well as the people who will run it.
“We don’t have salespeople, or people with random backgrounds. They’re either material engineers, architects or designers – that’s it. Why? Because they will help you find what you want and will have a knowledge of all of the materials that will be showcased.”
Ms Al Sakit said the creation of the library was in tune with the vision of UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid to make Dubai a knowledge capital, and that it has been supported by his daughter, Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed, who is the vice chairwoman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority.
“It will put Dubai on the map for the largest materials library in the world. It’s going to be a destination,” Ms Al Sakit said, pointing out that many of Dubai’s existing design consultancies service projects not just in the Middle East but across much of Africa and South Asia.
“After we’ve run the one in Dubai, we’re going to be taking the concept internationally. We’ll be taking it to the design capitals of the world,” she said.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
FIXTURES
December 28
Stan Wawrinka v Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Milos Raonic v Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 29 - semi-finals
Rafael Nadal v Stan Wawrinka / Pablo Carreno Busta, 5pm
Novak Djokovic v Milos Raonic / Dominic Thiem, no earlier then 7pm
December 30
3rd/4th place play-off, 5pm
Final, 7pm
Greatest Royal Rumble results
John Cena pinned Triple H in a singles match
Cedric Alexander retained the WWE Cruiserweight title against Kalisto
Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt win the Raw Tag Team titles against Cesaro and Sheamus
Jeff Hardy retained the United States title against Jinder Mahal
Bludgeon Brothers retain the SmackDown Tag Team titles against the Usos
Seth Rollins retains the Intercontinental title against The Miz, Finn Balor and Samoa Joe
AJ Styles remains WWE World Heavyweight champion after he and Shinsuke Nakamura are both counted out
The Undertaker beats Rusev in a casket match
Brock Lesnar retains the WWE Universal title against Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Braun Strowman won the 50-man Royal Rumble by eliminating Big Cass last
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WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
The%C2%A0specs%20
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
The%20specs%20
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GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
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