< Previous20 CEO MIDDLE EAST APRIL 2023 COVER STORYAPRIL 2023 CEO MIDDLE EAST 21 o start with, who or what inspires you? I would say my inspiration is my dad. Since a young age I’ve been seeing the way he works, how he works, what he’s been able to achieve, and how hard he has worked to achieve what he has. So, I would say my main inspiration is my dad. In terms of what he’s achieved and how he’s done it as well. Tell me about your leadership style. How would you define it and how has it evolved over time? Again, it keeps evolving as. The first business I started was around, I would say, five or six years ago. So, from then to today, it has evolved in a big way. Again, my leadership style today is still very hands on, I am involved in eve- rything myself. From buying the land, to the design, I’m involved. We have ABBAS SAJWANI, FOUNDER OF AHS PROPERTIES, REVEALS THE MINDSET BEHIND ONE OF DUBAI’S NEWEST, AND MOST SUCCESSFUL, REAL ESTATE FIRMS BY MATTHEW AMLÔT T BUILDING TOMORROW ABBAS SAJWANI | COVER STORY High-end developer. Abbas Sajwani launched AHS Properties in 202122 CEO MIDDLE EAST APRIL 2023 Opulence. The Canal Residences houses 24 luxury “Sky Villas” that offer great views of the Dubai skyline COVER STORY | ABBAS SAJWANI a team for design, we have a team for project management. We have all those teams, but I’m involved with them on a daily basis myself, getting involved in the design, in the material selection and appointing the contractor. All of those stages the team does but I’m involved with them myself. I would say it’s pretty hands on. Would you consider that an important quality in a leader? I think it is because when your man- agement sees you involved with them, I think that also motivates them more. If you just give them tasks and you’re not involved with them, I think that’s a bit demotivating to them. I think that the more you’re involved with them, it’s better for the business, but it’s also better for your employees because they get motivated more now that you’re getting involved with them and working with them to solve issues and figuring out solutions. How do you balance the demands of your clients with the needs of your employees? We are focused on luxury so we are launching new projects, but we take our time with the projects. From the time we buy the land, we take time with the design, we don’t rush anything in order to get the right quality. I think that helps employees as well as, of course they’re under pressure, but it’s more that make we have to make sure that the job is done right. Not just rush things to get it done faster. What strategies do you use to keep employees motivated? We have different ways. One is, of course, financial incentives, but also, I think what’s very important to motivate employees is when they see their work coming into reality, I think that’s what motivates them the most. So, for example, if it’s a project manager and he’s working on a project for three years and he sees the project being built to a certain level, I think that that’s what really motivates him, to see his hard work paying off, not just finan- cially but that he’s built something. Are you a 24/7 kind of manager? So, all my employees know they can message me anytime of the day and APRIL 2023 CEO MIDDLE EAST 23 Grand interiors. One Canal Residences evokes timeless elegant and exemplary design they’ll always have a response. I prefer to do things over WhatsApp, I don’t like emails as much. I prefer to do things on WhatsApp because I think there are just too many emails and it’s too slow. WhatsApp is much easier and I think much more effective, so they can message you and you can answer directly. Do you try and engage in a culture of creativity and innovative thinking? Of course, we try our best. For exam- ple, with certain projects we design, we have workshops with our employ- ees where they’re all working and we all throw out ideas and they’re given a few days to make a pack of differ- ent ideas. We try to push them to be more creative and then we meet as a group to discuss what we like or we don’t like and then we take a deci- sion based on that. What are you looking forward to over the horizon? We launched the business less than 18 months ago. We launched with a few villas; we sold four out of five. Then we came up with our Canal and Palm projects. We fully sold out both projects within weeks. Now we’re launching a third project on the Canal as well. This project is keeping us ex- cited now we’re working on it and it should come to market soon. In terms of risk, I don’t see a big risk in property because it’s more of a tangible asset. Today the market is doing very well and we see it continuing to do very well. When you compare the prices of Dubai to other international cities, we’re still far behind. I think as long as you have the right location and the right product, you don’t have a risk. Short term it might fluctuate, but in the long-run property will always appreciate. Has your outlook for the luxury and ultra-luxury real estate market changed? I think it’s actually improved and the numbers show it. I’m sure you’ve seen the latest Bulgari penthouse selling at AED410m. It shows you the demand for luxury is very strong, and the peo- ple buying are all end users. That shows even more confidence in the market that they’re buying to move, to make it as their primary resi- dences or secondary residences, and they’re not speculators buying to sell. “WHEN YOU COMPARE THE PRICES OF DUBAI TO OTHER INTERNATIONAL CITIES, WE’RE STILL FAR BEHIND” ABBAS SAJWANI | COVER STORY Luxury living. AHS Properties has quickly built an impressive Dubai property portfolio with a total asset value exceeding $650m24 CEO MIDDLE EAST APRIL 2023 COVER STORY | ABBAS SAJWANI Do you think this is representative of a new stage in the Dubai real estate story? One hundred percent. You didn’t have these clients five years ago, and when one of them comes then 10 seem to follow with them. I think five years ago if you asked the global su- per wealthy “where would you like to have a house?” Most of them would say the regular three cities – London, New York, Los Angeles. Today, the dynamics have changed. It’s more like London, Dubai, Miami, New York. Dubai has become a part of that list of where everyone wants to be. I think many factors have con- tributed to that. As well as the way We’ve seen that first-hand in our pro- ject in the Canal where the apartment started at $5m, and we had a sell out within a few weeks, and the same thing with the Palm, we sold out the Palm in a week’s time. It shows you that demand is very, very strong. Has luxury real estate in Dubai entered bubble territory? I don’t think so. Because the supply of luxury today in Dubai is very limited. It means you have a few areas that are considered ultra luxury, and those areas cannot easily be repeated. Today if you go to London, you have Mayfair, Belgravia, Park Lane, Knightsbridge as the ultra-luxury real estate markets and Exclusive. AHS Properties’ portfolio of assets includes high-end properties such as the Amara Villa at Emirates Hills the city is today. It’s a mature city so it’s not the same city it was 10 years ago. I think that Dubai has put itself in that league and now being in that league, there’s only one way it’s going for luxury – up. This is because the demand outweighs the supply today. There’s huge demand and supply still is not enough to match that demand. $47.5M The value of a mansion AHS Properties completed in the Emirates Hills in 2022APRIL 2023 CEO MIDDLE EAST 25 ABBAS SAJWANI | COVER STORY the reason why prices don’t drop much there is because it can’t be replicated. I think that’s the same thing in Dubai now. Certain areas cannot be replicated, and everyone wants to be there. That’s just simple economics, every time more people want it, less people are selling, and the prices keep on going up. I think certain products in certain locations, the ultra-luxury, is not in a bubble and I think we still have a lot of price improvement to come. Today, the price per square foot in the ultra- ul- tra-luxury is between $1,100 to $2,000. I was in London last week and the One Hyde Park penthouse is I think around GBP8000 a square foot, which comes to around AED35,000 plus a 15 per- cent stamp duty which takes it up to AED40,000 per square foot. So, Dubai is 10 to 20 percent of the price of a city like London, and some of the products we see in Dubai are unbelievable. Our products, for example, some of them the ceiling heights are nine metres. You’re not going to find that anywhere in London or New York. In Dubai, you can have your own private pool in your apartment, so the product beats the product we’ve seen in other cities, and the price is still 10 to 20 percent of the price of other global cities such as London, New York, Mo- naco. You look at all of them, Dubai’s luxury is still cheap compared to them. What would your advice be to other young aspiring entrepreneurs? I learned a lot of lessons early on. So, when I first started out, I made a lot of mistakes. I lost money in a few businesses. I then realised afterwards it was a lesson, and I learned a lot out of it, and I wouldn’t make the same mistakes. I think something I’d say to people is everyone makes mistakes, you will make mistakes, but the most important key attribute from it is make sure you learn from that mistake and you won’t do it again. Admit your mistakes when you’re wrong. Don’t try to say I wasn’t wrong and don’t cover it up. Admit your mis- take and just try to learn from it. How would you describe your management style in one word? Tough. If you ask employees they will not tell you I’m an easy boss to have, I’m a tough person to deal with, but that gets results. “I’M A TOUGH PERSON TO DEAL WITH, BUT THAT GETS RESULTS” Founder. Sajwani believes the current supply of luxury real estate in Dubai is very limited26 CEO MIDDLE EAST APRIL 2023 espite predictions of a post- pandemic global economic slowdown, the UAE is showing great promise in its plan to diversify away from an oil-based economy. In 2022, the Emirate’s non-oil foreign trade hit a record-breaking AED2 trillion mark, up 17 percent from the previous year. What’s more, non-oil national ex- ports increased by 6 percent, touch- ing AED366bn for the first time in history. That’s a contribution of 16.4 percent to the UAE’s total foreign non-oil trade. These impressive figures affirm the UAE’s commitment to forming strate- gic global trade partnerships to drive sustainable economic growth. Small and medium enterprises are vital to the growth of UAE’s non-oil exports. SMEs represent over 94 percent of all companies operating in the UAE, making up 86 percent of the workforce and contributing over 60 percent to the GDP. It’s no surprise, then, that SMEs and startups are particularly valued and receive special attention from the forward-thinking UAE government. This focus includes exciting initiatives to help companies expand their mar- kets on an international scale. Exporting overseas is vital for company growth General benefits for companies that export include: • Resilience and longevity – SMEs are 8.5 percent less likely to go out of business than non-exporting companies. • Protection – expanding to global markets means companies have more protection against local market fluctuations. • Boosting revenue – exporting is crucial for increasing profits, which can create more jobs. • Lower production costs – a big- ger market means more supplies and materials are needed. Buying in bulk can often be cheaper, helping to cut production costs. Entrepreneurs and startups will unlock the UAE’s potential, writes Lorenzo Jooris, CEO of Creative Zone WHY SMES ARE THE KEY TO UAE EXPORT GROWTH Industry boost. Jooris says a programmatic support is needed to allow SME exporters access to opportunities further afield STARTUP D APRIL 2023 CEO MIDDLE EAST 27 STARTUP Economic contributor. Small and medium enterprises are vital to the growth of UAE’s non-oil exports • More competitive – around 51 percent of SMEs in the UAE export to other countries, 40 percent of which generate more than 50 percent of their sales from international markets. If you’re one of the 49 percent non- exporters, you’ll be losing out. Key markets for UAE SMEs The UAE’s Ministry Economy has set up an agenda to improve the capacity of UAE exports and raise awareness of UAE products for foreign markets, while increasing SME competitiveness in global markets. For these reasons, the agenda has prioritised 14 key sectors with the aim of raising national exports by 50 percent. These include: • Metal • Building materials • Financial services • Educations services • Logistics • Food • Renewable Energy • Pharmaceutical and Health • Innovation and E-Services • Hotel and tourism services The UAE is also among the world’s top 20 exporters, reaching more than 180 countries across the world. Cur- rently, the UAE’s top non-oil export markets are: • Saudi Arabia • India • Switzerland • Oman • Kuwait • Iraq • Turkey • China • United States • Singapore According to a 2019 report by the Government of Dubai’s SME sup- port and information agency, Dubai SME, manufacturing SMEs have the largest propensity to export compared to trade and services sectors – 80 UAE support to boost SME export capacity Research shows that, as well as keep- ing up with digitalisation, committing to decarbonisation and finding critical talent, SMEs that wish to internation- alise need to grow. But in many devel- oping countries, a lack of resources, training, support, and reliable market research means that many struggle to expand beyond their home markets and only experience marginal growth. The UAE, however, is already well known for its initiatives to support SME growth and success. Among these are several programmes specifi- cally focused on export operations. EAP – Export Assistance Programme Launched by Dubai Industries and Exports, the Export Assistance Programme (EAP) helps SMEs with funding and support for their export operations. In line with the Dubai Plan 2021, the programme creates and develops opportunities for eligible UAE SMEs to promote and expand their exports 94% The proportion of SMEs in all companies operating in the UAE percent compared to 44 percent and 35 percent respectively. However, , Dubai SME also reports that despite their efforts to inter- nationalise, many SMEs are not yet able to harness their export potential further than the GCC. Therefore, a targeted programmatic support is needed to allow SME export- ers access to opportunities further afield in underpenetrated export markets. The top two pain points for UAE SMEs looking to internationalise are lack of information on export regula- tions and opportunities, and the high costs associated with export operations. In order to support SME export challenges, the UAE government has re- sponded with a number of new initiatives.28 CEO MIDDLE EAST APRIL 2023 STARTUP outside the UAE. The aim is to in- crease the numbers of local exporters in international markets and enhance the capacity of manufacturers and ser- vice providers in key industry sectors. ScaleUp Export ScaleUp Export comes under the government’s Entrepreneurial Nation scheme, an initiative to facilitate the growth of UAE-based enterprises and their global expansion. ScaleUp Export is a collaboration between the UAE Ministry of Economy and leading global logistics and ship- ping company UPS. The initiative is designed to help increase the export capacity of UAE startups and SMEs, providing specialist mentoring and training opportunities. In 2022, 32 successful applicants benefitted from access to expert con- sultations and technical workshops, as well as special pricing from UPS to ship their products to foreign markets. Operation 300bn Launched by the Ministry of Indus- Strategy. Operation 300bn aims to boost the UAE’s industrial sector, enhancing its regional and global competitiveness “THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF THE UAE’S NON-OIL EXPORTS IS DUE TO THE COUNTRY’S COMMITMENT TO SMES” APRIL 2023 CEO MIDDLE EAST 29 STARTUP try & Advanced Technology (MoIAT) in 2021, Operation 300bn aims to boost the UAE’s industrial sector, enhancing its regional and global competitiveness. The 10-year strategy seeks to double the industrial sec- tor’s contribution to the GDP from AED133bn to AED300bn by 2031. The “Make it in the Emirates” campaign makes a valuable contribu- tion to the Operation 300bn strategy. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the UAE, aiming to help global investors, developers and innovators develop, manufacture and export their products from the UAE. In collaboration with the MoIAT, the Emirates Development Bank (EDB) has allocated AED30bn to Operation 300bn. Over a five-year period, the EDB is also financing several schemes to support more than 13,500 SMEs in their growth, gen- erating thousands of new jobs in the industrial sector. Khalifa Fund The Khalifa Fund, a non-profit Support. The Khalifa Fund has partnered with Etihad Credit insurance (ECI) to boost the export capabilities of SMEs in the UAE Exporting: A win-win for both company and country Inevitably, dependence on oil will become a thing of the past as the UAE begins a new chapter in its fascinating history. The exponential growth of the UAE’s non-oil exports is largely due to the country’s commitment to its support for SMEs. As such, small and medium enterprises will play a significant role in its future success. In the government’s own words, SMEs are “vital for the economic diversification and growth and also because they help in building na- tional human resources”. By providing SMEs with op- portunities to expand beyond its borders, the UAE can build on its vi- sion of moving towards self-reliance by creating a solid and sustainable economy. In turn, SMEs can benefit from being based in one of the best coun- tries in the world for international business operations. 13,500+ The number of SMEs Emirates Development Bank (EDB) is supporting in their next stage of growth over a five-year period organisation set up by the Abu Dhabi government, has partnered with Eti- had Credit insurance (ECI) to boost the export capabilities of SMEs in the UAE. Businesses registered with the Khalifa Fund can gain access to a range of ECI’s export credit, financing and investment insurance products. ECI’s aim is to support the global growth plans of SMEs, helping them to enter high-growth markets. ECI is the first company in the MENA region to offer a trade credit solution, helping UAE SMEs secure trade and export to more than 50 countries. “THE DEPENDENCE ON OIL WILL BECOME A THING OF THE PAST AS THE UAE BEGINS A NEW CHAPTER IN ITS FASCINATING HISTORY”Next >