Mohammed Kazim, a co-founder of Allinque, talks about how his company is changing its business model to expand. Allinque provides personal assistants to busy executives. We last spoke to the 29-year-old Emirati in August 2011, when he was setting up the business with three other Emirati partners.
How has Allinque evolved since it started in January 2011?
At first, it was open to members. Now, it is open to all and people can avail of the services on a monthly or an hourly basis. Our target customer is still the same: 25 to 40-year-old busy professionals. We also introduced a flexible fee plan a few months ago. Now people can subscribe for a fixed number of hours a month: three, 10, 20 or 40 hours for prices ranging from Dh350 (US$95) to Dh3,350. The other option we call one-offs is where people can hire our services hourly starting at Dh150 an hour.
Anything else?
We are also focusing on a full rebranding exercise. Earlier, people did not understand what we offered and for that reason our growth was slow this past year. But now we are looking at a more user-friendly website. Late this year or early next year, we will look into franchising. We have received inquiries from the Arabian Gulf, Hong Kong and Germany.
How has your customer base grown?
We have around 400 base subscribers and a quarter subscribe to the Dh3,500 a month package. We hope to double the number of subscribers this year. We drew up a list of 100 potential clients during our test phase from October 2010.
How much competition do you face?
We do not have any direct competition. Even one of our clients tried to imitate the model, but I do not think it is going anywhere.
Are you seeing any changes in the kind of services that Allinque's personal assistants are hired for?
We have got more efficient in visa and passport renewals and visa applications for foreign countries and so I think we see more of that. But we also get to do quirky stuff.
A month ago, I personally went out to look for a rusty, yellow school bus that someone asked us to get hold of to host a dinner. I found one in a Sharjah scrapyard. Another time, a guy wanted a car gift-wrapped for his wife.
We also do a lot of hotel, restaurant and even barber reservations.
Allinque entered the reality TV show The Entrepreneur and lost in the finals. Why did you enter and what now after you did not win the Dh1 million in prize money?
We were looking for the funds and also to get the word out. But losing out has not changed our plans. We got private investors and we expect to invest around half a million dirhams in the company this year.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
