We take a look back at the small and medium enterprises we featured during the past 12 months. If you would like your company to be featured in 2016, email business@thenational.ae
Careem
The limousine booking service uses technology to match customers with chauffeurs in the Middle East. Launched in Dubai in July 2012, the company was founded by Mr Olsson and Mudassir Sheikha. Both were management consultants at McKinsey, specialising in technology. The name Careem is derived from the word “generous” in Arabic. They replaced the K with a C because of the limousine- booking business. Careem presently operates in 18 cities in the Middle East and North Africa.
Metelco
the Middle East Telecoms Company – is the regional representative company for a variety of products in the telecommunications field. It supplies software for services in call management and load balancing, vital aspects of modern communications. Some of its products, like Proteus, Redbox and Jetnexus, are blue chip brands in the telecoms business.
Captain Tony’s
It began in 2012 as a one-man, one-boat operation offering romantic cruises, fishing trips and general scenic views via waterways in Abu Dhabi. The company has expanded to include eco-tours, team-building activities for companies, parties and events and school trips.
Hammer & Nail
Hammer & Nail markets itself as a one-stop shop for interior designing, home improvement, handyman services and property maintenance. Established in 2008, it counts the French supermarket chain Geant, the real estate brokerage Hamptons International and Café Bateel among its commercial clients.
Kidz Factory
Kidz Factory is divided into 11 miniature zones allowing children to get creative. These include a workshop offering crafts such as ceramics painting, wood painting, metal casting, candle making and soap making.
Craft Corner
Craft Corner, which is owned by the California native Ann Austin, 47, is an Abu Dhabi-based supplier of products for craft making, from decoupage to scrapbooking. The three-room shop sells products mainly from the United States, but some products are imported from Italy and Australia too.
Salam Bombay
Salam Bombay opened its first restaurant on Electra Street on June 23, 2012 – the day of founder Rajesh Bhatia’s daughter Roshni’s birthday. The chain added new branches the next year, one in Al Nahyan Camp and one in Musaffah. It plans to expand to Dubai, and is evaluating sites in the United Kingdom and Canada.
Jauan Salem Establishment
The property business, headquartered in Abu Dhabi’s SkyTower, was started in the 1970s as an onshore developer concentrating on the commercial sector. Manager Humaid Al Dhaheri’s father had been to school in Scotland and became a keen supporter of the London property sector. The business is an active investor, targeting specific areas and price points, redeveloping and refurbishing properties and both reselling and renting. Since 2008 the business has nearly doubled its portfolio and moved into hotel development, building 3- and 4-star offerings.
Tresind Modern Indian restaurant
Tresind launched on November 12, 2014 as a progressive, fine-dining take on authentic Indian cuisine. The restaurant overlooks the Burj Khalifa at the Radisson Royal Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Chef Himanshu Saini showcases delicacies from different Indian states, many of which have been inspired by molecular gastronomy.
Shawermaty Gourmet
Shawermaty Gourmet launched the Shawermaty brand in 2013, with its mission being “to serve the best shawarma in town”, backed by “more than 50 years of extensive shawarma-making experience.” The company’s first outlet was opened in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai, in October 2013, followed by a second one on Sheikh Zayed Road, City Tower 1.
Ibex Car Care
Abu-Dhabi-based Ibex Car Care manufactures and sells a water-saving car-washing appliance – the first to be designed and manufactured in the UAE. Ibex trolleys only use two litres of water per wash, as opposed to a typical home car wash, which can consume an average of 150 litres.
Bil Arabi
Bil Arabi, which means “in Arabic”, was established eight years ago by Nadine Kanso as a hand made contemporary luxury Arabic jewellery brand. Initially forming part of an art exhibit about Arab identity at London’s Victoria & Albert museum, the letters were made to challenge classical Arab jewellery. The business has a turnover of between Dh3 million and Dh4m, and makes a profit of about Dh1m.
Kasa
The Khalid Shafar brand was launched at the end of 2010 and describes itself as a “brand that creates quirky interior space objects out of stories”. The Kasa gallery was opened at the end of 2012 to showcase the Shafar designs in the Ras Khor industrial area in Dubai.
Boardman Bikes
Jason Bryan signed the exclusive distributorship for Boardman Bikes in January covering the GCC for nine years. His original plan was to create a stand-alone, top of the range, Boardman boutique that shows off the bikes in the best light with the best equipment and the broadest range but that strategy has changed. He opened a Boardman Bikes showroom in Dubai in February but, in the short term, he sees online sales as a huge opportunity for keeping overheads low and his prices below all competitors.
Al Shoumoukh Group
Al Shoumoukh was established in 1989 and describes itself as “a diversified and integrated manufacturing, supply and services group.” It operates mainly in the oil and gas sector and its clients include the big state operators – Adco, Adma-Opco, Adgas, Adnoc – as well as foreign operators such as BP and Exxon Mobil.
Ajyaal Media
Ajyaal Media was formed in 2009 with the pilot success of the character of Hamdoon, a six-year-old Emirati boy who returns to the UAE to live with his grandparents after spending several years in the UK with his parents. Once in his home country, the conflict between younger and older generations, the complex and amusing situations that ensue, and the hard time Hamdoon has trying to fit in because of his mixed western and Emirati upbringing, were an instant hit with the local population.
The Luxury Closet
The Luxury Closet is a Dubai-based online platform that buys, sells and consigns pre-owned personal luxury goods at a discounted price. The company’s website has 500,000 visits per month, and has recorded triple-digit annual revenue growth since its launch in 2011.
Panifico
Panifico is a limited liability company registered in the DIFC free zone, but ultimately owned by investors in the British Virgin Islands, quite a common set-up for Dubai free-zone entities. It was created by a set of friends who had a common vision about the food business. “Family, friends, and a pure love of good food brought our team together,” its website says.
Arlo Associates
Arlo Associates, a wealth management company based in the UAE, secured its Insurance Authority licence this year. With a staff of more than 20 in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Arlo offers a full range of financial advisory services including access to investment and insurance products. It aims to build its business by emulating St James’s Place Wealth Management Group, a FTSE 100 firm that says it manages £55.8 billion (Dh313bn) of client funds.
Sasha’s Cafe
Sasha’s Cafe opened in Dubai in August 2013. Located at the World Trade Centre Plaza, the coffee shop gets most of its clientele from exhibitioners who come for trade shows. The Parisian-style cafe offers all-day breakfast and is known for its fresh ingredients, including croissants and juices. The business, which broke even just 10 months after it opened, is planning to include healthy options in its menu such as gluten-free and dairy-free products.
HelloBosnia.com
Bonify’s HelloBosnia.com offers a gateway to bring awareness and tourism to Bosnia and Herzegovina. With 60 per cent of the website’s traffic deriving from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the company decided to base its operations out of Dubai. It offers holiday packages for individuals and families ranging from €285 up to €2,055, with the option of specific requests.
ProVita International Medical Center
A provider of long-term medical care in the UAE. Established in 2011, it currently has over 90 beds in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. The company treats patients with debilitating conditions as a result of accidents, birth defects or strokes and heart attacks that require mechanical ventilation.
Mamis
Mamis is a maternity shop in Abu Dhabi’s Al Seef Village mall that sells maternity and nursing clothes, including carriers and baby accessories. The shop, which has been open since February last year, imports most of its products from Poland and Australia.
Sheikh and Shake
Sheikh and Shake burger outlet opened in a leased space in Jumeirah Lakes Towers in September 2012. It started with seven employees and seed money of Dh1 million, which came from owner Shuja Qadir. For recruitment pitches, Mr Qadir says, he eyed those chefs and waiters who had impressed him at his favourite restaurants and at busy ones, even though these outlets belonged to major business houses.
Viktor Udzenija Architecture + Design
The business started with four employees, and has its office in building No 8 in the Dubai Design District. The company presently has seven projects and has been awarded the project for Mamzar Towers, the project name for a new mixed-use tower between Dubai and Sharjah, near the airport.
Noukhada Adventure Company
It was in 2009 that Mark Freeman obtained his trade licence for Noukhada. It is an eco-tourism and adventure business based on low environmental impact activities such as kayaking and sailing. Noukhada is based in Abu Dhabi and has three operational centres: Eastern Mangroves, Yas Beach and Al Rahba.
Momentum Dubai
Momentum Dubai has an array of vintage watches from top brands including Rolex, Omega and Cartier. It also offers a plethora of accessories such as watch straps and watch winders. Watch repairs and other services are available. On the company’s website, momentum-dubai.com, prospective customers can glean insights into various watches.
Adzouk
Adzouk started business in November 2011, with the aim of becoming the premium digital advertising network in the Middle East region. It serves advertisers and publishers across the region. The company bills itself as a full-service digital advertising business, offering brands and publishers a complete range of digital advertising products.
Manzil Health Care Services
is the largest UAE home health care provider, employing more than 200 staff inclusive of licensed nurses, physicians and therapists. Based in Abu Dhabi with offices in Al Ain, Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, the company provides home care services to the sick and incapacitated. Founded as Emirates Outreach Health Care Services in 2011, Manzil was bought by the private equity firm TVM Capital Healthcare Partners in 2012. Almost all the patients are Emiratis because the health insurance programme for locals, Thiqa, covers most of the services that Manzil provides.
Neesh
Neesh is a digital marketing company “built to empower the entrepreneurial mindset through designing planning and executing integrated inbound and outbound marketing programmes that deliver real, measurable results”, the mission statement says. It is run by a team of eight executives, all with experience in digital marketing and social media.
Biancorosso
The pizzeria located on the north-east corner of the Y Building, near the Al Mamoura Building in Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi. It was established in 2011 and has expanded to include a mobile food truck. The restaurant has about half a dozen full-time staff, who rotate through all the roles, including cooking, waitering, and delivery.
Cambridge Medical and Rehabilitation Center
CMRC provides specialised medical care and rehabilitation services to patients requiring short-term comprehensive rehabilitation and long-term care for patients with chronic illness or injury. The company has partnerships with US-based Spaulding Rehabilitation Network, a Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital, and the Joslin Diabetes Centre, an independent, non-profit institution affiliated with Harvard Medical School.
Mr Usta
Mr Usta, www.mrusta.com, is an online marketplace where consumers can find service people for everything from household tasks to martial arts. The company was founded by Ibrahim Colack, Dunia Othman, Serhan Yazici and Onur Tepeli, who met while working for Nokia. Their company is currently part of an incubation scheme at Afkar.me, which is owned by Saudi telecommunications company SDC.
Presella
The company sells tickets to events, and allows people to crowdfund their own events. The company was started in Beirut by Walid Singer, Louay Kadri, Ali Koubeissi, and Karim Muhtar, and now sells tickets for events in Lebanon and the UAE. The company has sold more than 15,000 tickets and processed US$1 million of transactions.
Zuhour Group
Zuhour Group owns Mezza House and Zaroob in Dubai. It is adding five new Zaroob outlets in Dubai and Sharjah by the end of this year and another Mezza House in the second quarter of next year in Dubai. The group may enter Abu Dhabi next year. It is also launching two food trucks, one for Zaroob and another for comfort food. The company is valued at Dh150 million, says the owner, Nasser Zuhour.
Mac Pack Removals
Mac Pack Removals began moving residents of the UAE in 2013. Founder, Rick McIntyre, believes hard work, great service and a hands-on approach gives a customer service that people are happy to recommend. With no advertising and plenty of 80-hour weeks, he has grown his business to employ 12 staff using three vans in two years.
JRD Group
JRD Group was founded as JustRentalsDubai.com in 2008 – a name chosen “because we couldn’t afford a short url, so we had to get a longer one that was US$10 a year”, according to the website’s co-founder Alex Nicholas. It moved from rental listings into sales and then created its own content management system, Propspace, allowing agents to manage and publish their listings on multiple sites.
LokaLoka
LokaLoka’s offerings include four different types of handbags with prices ranging from Dh200 to Dh300. A fifth product, made from camel hide, is being introduced into the market and retails from Dh500 to Dh1,500. At least 30 per cent of sales come from online orders through the social media platforms Instagram and Facebook.
Alpha Nero
Alpha Nero creates retail displays for brands in malls and in airport concessions. The company carries out initial site surveys and prepares detailed drawings before building units at its factory in Dubai’s International Media Production Zone and transporting them to customers across the GCC, in Lebanon and in Africa.
Scent Corner
Scent Corner is an online “concept store” established in 2014. The online business is specialised in selling unique scented products sourced from exotic locations around the world. Scent Corner features products by rare and independent artists found in various communities from around the world — it helps them share a part of their rich and diverse cultural history by selling their products and stimulate those local economies at the same time.
Barbacoa
The small Mexican restaurant is tucked away in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, and is promising to transform from a home-style outlet into a chain that spreads across the Arabian Gulf region.
Coba Education
Coba Education has a presence in Switzerland and the UK as well as the UAE. The company supplies staff to more than 350 schools and picks candidates from the UK, US, UAE, Canada as well as various countries in Europe, Africa and Asia. The company has 40 recruitment consultants who screen and place education staff for a range of curriculums including British, American, Indian and French Curriculums as well as the International Baccalaureate.