< Previous40 U N DE R 40 | 2023 EDI TION 30 June 2023 Building her busi- ness from scratch at just ag e 19, Hamid is considered one of the youngest successful entrepreneurs in the UAE. Backed by her visionary, Inspire Group, a Dubai based events and experi- ence agency, transformed from a simple idea she conceived in her living room into a regional success, executing over 200 events and experiential campaigns a year across KSA, Dubai, Qatar, and Kuwait. Under Hamid’s leadership, the group has grown significantly by off ering tailor-made tech- nology driven events and SHENIN HAMID Founder and CEO Inspire Group activation experiences to clients, both nationally and internationally. Creating tailor-made events and campaigns supported by state-of-the-art scenic, AV and technology, as well as production, the team has worked with leading brands such as Emirates, Apple, J&J, the Dubai government, Pepsi, and many more. A vocal proponent for equality in the workplace and an advocate for women empowerment, Hamid supports women by devel- oping policies around equal pay, extended paid mater- nity and paternity leave, as well as mental health in the workplace. A mentor to many young aspiring women-led businesses around the world, she also actively supports young entrepreneurs at various start-up hubs based in Dubai and Silicon Valley. Since April 2021, Hamid has also been member of The Bench board of advisors. Over the past 25 years, The Bench has been delivering business forums and conferences in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, as well as in Latin America. EVENTS Shadman Sakib ’ s entr epr eneurial talents were evident at a very early age, when his peers were just beginning to learn the basics of busi- ness, Shadman was already building his portfolio of innovative concepts while still pursuing his formal education in the US and UK. His passion for cutting edge tech, combined with his business intuition has made him a prolifi c inves- tor in various sectors reap- ing huge fi nancial gains at such an early age As a 27-year-old, Shad- man’s roster of current and up-coming tech ventures read like an almanac. With teams based across five SHADMAN SAKIB Founder and CEO Vurse continents, Shadman’s vision is to become one of this generation’s most prolifi c tech entrepreneurs and more so a disruptor, bringing new ideas to the table at every turn. Besides his various financial investments, Shadman Sakib’s company, Vurse, based between USA, UK, UAE and across the Asian continent, is gearing up for several new app product launches, sched- uled in the course of 2022 and 2023. With AI and Metaverse at the core of their technology, Vurse, will be announcing its products this year – closely under- wraps till then. “All I can say is that the fi rst app will off er an inter- active experience on a social video sharing plat- form incorporating AI, NFT and machine learning combined to deliver an unforgettable experience to the users,” said Shadman Sakib on the upcoming product launch. For him it’s the perfect combination of aesthetics and technology that excites him and guides his investments on mass scale projects. TECHNOL OGYarabianbusiness.com 31 2023 EDI T ION | 40 UNDER 40 $22.6BN The estimated value of the global agritech market by 2025 SKY KURTZ Founder and CEO Pure Harvest Smart Farms AG R I C U LT U R E A former technology investor turned serial entrepreneur and a key force within the region’s tech-enabled agribusiness, Kurtz had previously co-founded Vence in 2016, a wearable technology solution for reinventing livestock manage- ment. He also served as a divisional CEO within Pultron Composites, pioneering novel building mate- rials that solve infrastructure corrosion challenges; and held the role of vice president at Francisco Part- ners. While focused on solutions that would work with sustainability challenges, in 2016, Kurtz and his business partner, Mahmoud Adi, launched Pure Harvest Smart Farms. The company focuses on sustainably grown, premium quality, local fresh produce, as their high-tech greenhouses provide precise climate and environmental controls, enabling increased productivity and reduced waste. A regional innovator in sustainable agriculture focused on the production of greenhouse fruits and vegetables using world-leading Dutch greenhouse grow- ing technologies, in 2017, Pure Harvest Smart Farms received seed funding followed by the start of construction on its very rst high-tech greenhouse in Abu Dhabi. In June 2022, Pure Harvest acquired BayWa’s controlling interest in the Al Dahra BayWa joint venture, which operates a large-scale, 11-hectare high- tech, controlled-environment agriculture production facility. Backed by Kurtz’s passion for developing companies that tackle global food security challenges, in February 2023, Pure Harvest inked a strategic partner- ship for a large-scale food project with Nadec, KSA’s National Agricultural Development Company whereby Pure Harvest will design, construct, and oper- ate climate-controlled hybrid food production systems. It is more important than ever that we have the right human capital in place to achieve our mission. I’m humbled by the quality of talent we are able to attract 40 U N DE R 40 | 2023 EDI T ION 32 June 2023 TALAL AL AJMI FINANCE A young Kuwaiti entrepreneur and key gure in the nancial markets and trad- ing segment in Kuwait and the Middle East, Al Ajmi is an IT graduate from the Univer- sity of Philadelphia in Jordon. It was during his academic days when he developed a passion for investment and trading and began managing small businesses for family members. Upon his return to Kuwait, he took up a role at an invest- ment company followed by positions across financial companies. Eventually, he was appointed as a nancial broker which was the steppingstone to his new entrepreneurial career. In 2010, Al Ajmi launched Version Inter- national Markets (VI Markets) as a trading plat- form that caters to retail and institutional investors. Today, the online trading platform o ers a wide range of financial instruments across forex, CFDs, and trading in crypto assets. VI Markets o er Copy Trading, a unique, patented technology which automatically copies trading portfolio performance for individuals who want to link their accounts with a speci c trader. Also, One Connect app, which is linked to MT4 and all trades are visible in a client’s MT4 account and on the One Connect app. He is also a board member of One Financial Markets, a London based authorised online broker that provides 24- hour trading facilities to investors in commod- ities, foreign exchange, indices, and futures. And a strong proponent of education, Al Ajmi was inspired to create an initiative that would serve the women in Kuwait and the Middle East to help empower them to join the nancial markets. He then developed Yasmeen, a forum exclusively for women designed to support female empowerment in business and the world of nancial investment. Al Ajmi transformed the concept of trading within this market by providing them with education in the form of workshops and seminars which helped them to ultimately obtain their FCA certi cation licenses which cements credibility and professionalism in the nancial sector. To promote sustainable development via education was and will always be my goal Founder and CEO VI Marketsarabianbusiness.com 33 2023 EDI T ION | 40 UNDER 40 YOUMNA KHOURY Founder and CEO Youmi Beauty RETAIL Asocial media superstar with 2.4 million followers on Instagram, Khoury also helms one of the region’s fastest growing beauty empires. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Busi- ness Administration from the Lebanese University, followed by the launch of her own hair salon in Beirut, Lebanon called The Onyx. Out of Lebanon, in 2017, she went on to launch Youmi Online Shop, an ecommerce platform that sold coloured contact lenses to Middle Eastern consumers. Already establishing an online presence as a beauty and fashion in uencer on both Insta- gram and Snapchat, her products on the plat- form were continuously selling out. Yet despite the success, Khoury ambi- tioned to incorporate more o erings under her brand. This led her to take a hiatus during which she travelled the world to source high-quality new products, focused on ultimately building the GCC region’s one-stop-shop for professional salon products. Once the products were sourced, she steered the rebranding process, including the packaging and her company website. In 2020, she shifted her o ce from Beirut to Dubai and included two new products, in addi- tion to their coloured contact lenses, hair extensions and false eyelashes. On 6 December 2022, Youmi Beauty relaunched with most of the purchases coming from KSA. Khoury also relaunched the Youmi Beauty Charity Foundation which allocates 25 percent of its sales to children’s orphanages, countries in need of nancial aid, and more. I have the marketing platform that everyone needs. People trust me. When I say buy this, they buy this 34 June 2023 HOW TO BOOST COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY AND SAVINGS Gabriele Indrieri, VP and managing director for SAP Concur EMEA South, says it is vital for businesses to make e cient choices, especially when it comes to resources Communicate policies regularly Streamline VAT reclaim Rely on data when negotiating rates Enforce practical policies Adopting tech Minimise errors to reduce over- spending: If employees manually enter and itemise expenses, they are more at risk of making costly mistakes. Therefore, investing in smart technologies, although initially can be costly, will mitigate this and instil long-term cost and time efficiencies. For example, tech can pull individual charges from credit card providers auto- matically or integrate charges and receipts directly from hotels, airlines, and rental car companies, or uploaded them as photographs by travellers – ultimately eradicat- ing the room for error. Often when employees overspend, it’s because they are not aware of the budget allowance. This can be mitigated by ensuring a clear budget and that all employees are working within the expense poli- cies laid out. By frequently check- ing their policy for updates, employees will know the impor- tance of facilitating travel book- ings. In addition, professional travel booking solutions that make travellers aware of the bookings being covered by the company’s policies or not will reduce the number of potentially costly out-of-policy bookings and allow for peace-of-mind. Many companies still fail to reclaim VAT, even though they lose a large amount of money as a result. This can be attributed to the use of ine cient tools and the fact that processing VAT claims and ensuring compliance can be complex. Using a solution that removes the need for businesses to manage their VAT reclaim manually can lead to signi cant time and cash savings while mini- mizing compliance issues. Discounted prices add up to real savings. But, to negotiate rates, you need to track spending with each supplier. This can be challenging without the right tools to sort through inconsistent spending data that is captured from credit card feeds and other sources. Plus, when employees book outside of the approved system, those expenses may not even be captured. As such, if businesses harmonise their spend- ing data from all booking sources, they will be positioned to demand the best prices. Only one in three employees believe that their company’s travel and expense policy is well- tted and fair, according to SAP Concur research on expense fraud. Not only do expense policies need to streamline processes, but they also need to align with the company’s culture. Therefore, finance teams must consider how policies will work in practice, as it’s unlikely that they will suit every employee, meaning that exibility will need to be built into their approach. THURSDAY 5TH OCTOBER 2023 GROSVENOR HOUSE, DUBAI, UAE Introducing the Education Excellence Awards - honouring the teachers, leadership teams and support staff, providing world class education in Dubai. Do not miss your chance to enter the Education Excellence Awards. Nominations close on Friday 23rd June. Scan to visit website To enter for free visit EdExcellenceAwards.com For further information, please contact: DANIEL FEWTRELL Director of Events & Marketing Tel: +971 4 444 3684 Email: daniel.fewtrell@itp.com Next >