The Entrepreneurs – Issue 7 (2024)

The Entrepreneurs Issue 7 (2024) is available now on loremnotipsum.com. Monocle meets the bright sparks, clever companies and business-minded folks making a mark in the United Arab Emirates. The first ever Entrepreneurs nation special eyes up the key opportunities.

The Entrepreneurs is a publication by Monocle is a business handbook for people with bright ideas. Smell a gap in the market? Look no further. The Entrepreneurs is your guide to the people who have taken the leap and struck out on their own, from the club kids reinventing nightlife to the fashion brands with a simple recipe for success. Ready to join their ranks? This is where you should start.

Content

• WELCOME TO THE UAE: Success takes graft and good ideas. But let’s face it: sometimes, it’s also about being in the right place at the right time. That’s how this UAE special, our first dedicated country issue of our business-minded magazine, got off the ground.
• INSIDE TRACK: Although the car is still king here, the UAE is racing ahead when it comes to increasing mobility options around the country. Whether you opt for water, rail or tarmac, discovering the seven emirates has never been simpler.
• FIRM FAVOURITES: Business in the UAE is booming but it’s not just tall towers shooting skyward, oil services or aviation. Here we profile a breadth of start-ups and smart ideas from AI and app development to design and film production – plus what’s brewing in the Arabian coffee scene.
• RISING STARS: Where do we go from here? Monocle explores the possibilities for growth in the UAE, from the shopping boom to pioneering space travel.
• THE FUTURE OF FARMING: A new crop of entrepreneurs is prepping the ground to grow food in the desert. Now the competition is hotting up.
• SHIFTING GEAR: An entrepreneur has found a way to retrofit gas guzzlers, turn taxi fleets electric and help his car-centric city hit its climate goals. The technology behind this could mean that the company’s final destination lies well beyond the UAE.
• TIME TO DELIVER: Careem started life in mobility but quickly expanded into food deliveries, managing payments and more. The company prides itself on improving the lives of its users and its employees alike. Here’s how it became a Middle East success story.
• BACK ON TRACK: In no time at all, Dubai has built a smart public-transport system that is showing the other car-centric cities how it can be done. Jump onboard.
• UP IN THE AIR: As president of Emirates airline, one of the UAE’s flag carriers, Tim Clark is at the centre of world aviation. He talks to us about the politics of flying, artificial intelligence and why passports should be a thing of the past.
• BEYOND BUSINESS CLASS: Three Lufthansa alumni hatched a plan to rethink high-end travel with new Dubai-based airline Beond. Ultra-long haul routes and Ferrari-designed seats are just a few of the reasons that they are already off to a flying start.
• MOVERS AND SHAKERS: From redefining retail and simplifying fintech to connecting students with their ideal teachers, we meet six young entrepreneurs who have turned big ideas into emerging businesses with a wealth of real-world benefits.
• NEW FRONTIER: As the UAE looks to rapidly diversify its economy, advanced manufacturing is one surprising growth area. From plane parts to robotics, new technology start-ups are tapping into the Emirates’ entrepreneurial spirit.
• CLEAN SWEEP: One company’s trash is another’s profit. After revolutionising waste management in the UAE, Beeah has once again set the standard for sustainability with one of Zaha Hadid’s final builds – an undulating, solar-powered, AI-controlled base.
• BREAKING NEW GROUND: As a still-young country, the UAE offers bold, enterprising entrepreneurs opportunities to carve out their own path, whether in logistics or property. We meet three business pioneers.
• LASTING IMPRESSIONS: Expo 2020 Dubai showed the world that the UAE can host a global event and the site’s sustainability ambitions are now helping it to secure a future as a vibrant business and residential hub.
• BRIGHT IDEAS: There is no shortage of new niches to seek in the UAE. Fresh proposals for booming business across healthcare, retail and even laundry can fill gaps in the market. These are the for-now imaginary businesses that we would back
• I WISH I’D KNOWN: The UAE has a vibrant ecosystem that supports those with a bright idea. All it takes is tenacity, creativity and drive. Not sure about what to expect? We asked 20 business leaders for top tips to help those who are just starting out.
• IN ON THE ACTION: In the desert outside the UAE’s capital, a vast film set is becoming a trusted shooting location for Hollywood, Bollywood and beyond. The Twofour54 complex is at the heart of a nascent movie industry, where government initiatives and eager young film-makers are combining to give the region its close-up.
• TOON TOWN: The UAE-made animated comedy series ‘Freej’ is the hit that proved that there’s an appetite for Arab cartoons outside the Middle East and it returns to screens next year. Now that it’s making a comeback, Lammtara Studio’s Mohammed Saeed Harib is keen to show that the country’s creative scene is anything but a caricature.
• CULTURE CLUB: Alserkal Avenue, a clutch of galleries and spaces in Dubai’s Al Quoz, has become a focal point for the region’s buzzing arts and culture scene. Meet the team behind the transformation.
• NOTICE BOARDS: Advertising is a billion-dollar business in the UAE. Despite social-media influencers and a growing online market, more than a fifth of the spend is still on good old-fashioned billboards. We report on this eye-catching industry.
• MEET YOUR MAKERS: We meet the studios and artisans installing hand-sculpted furniture, creating art from desert sand and adding a dash of nostalgia to clients’ work and home spaces. From one-off ceramics to industrial design, these firms are anything but a soft touch.
• WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA? Meet the man pioneering sustainable neighbourhoods and dreaming up planet-friendly utopian cityscapes. Can his company, URB, break new ground?
• WHO WE’D HIREHere’s our wish list of firms that we would commission to create the perfect HQ, home or hotel. Read on for the studios on the up, furniture firms to tap and developers with whom to develop a closer relationship. Let’s get going.
• SARTORIAL START-UPS: Fashion is about more than just good clothes; what we wear can be a statement of our ideals, heritage and taste. Monocle profiles three fashion companies putting big ideas into practice, from a shoe brand updating tribal classics to a clothing label embracing the UAE’s multiculturalism.
• A NOSE FOR BUSINESS: Wake up and smell the possibilities. Monocle meets the entrepreneurs and perfumers creating distinctive fragrances that look after our wellbeing and represent key elements of the uae’s history and heritage.
• NEW WATERS: Despite its many kilometres of glorious coastline, the UAE’s beaches are becoming a more sophisticated draw and the battle for this prime waterfront is warming up.
• HOME STRETCH: Downtown Dubai’s breathtaking skyline might be awe-inspiring but, along with its neighbouring districts, it’s a highly liveable part of the city.
• CAPITAL INVESTMENT: Quality of life is on the rise in the UAE’s first city. With blue-sky thinking from community-led businesses and blue-chip companies settling into shiny new offices, not to mention a world-beating cultural scene, Abu Dhabi has plenty to offer.
• LIFE’S A BEACH: The districts spanning the Jumeirah Beach Road are some of the city’s most pleasant, where green space is ample, floor plans are generous and imaginative shopping and dining options are in plentiful supply.
• SAND, SEA AND SUMMITS: Dazzling skyscrapers might grab your attention in the UAE but natural wonders abound – if you know where to look. Plant your flag here and a host of mountain activities, dune-nestled retreats and spectacular beaches are just a desert drive away.
• INSIDE INFORMATION: Now that you’re more familiar with all things UAE, you’ll want to know where to rest your head, sate your appetite, quench your thirst and pique your curiosity. We’ve got it all covered in the following directory of the country’s key addresses.
• And more…

Details: The Entrepreneurs – Issue 7

English, 18 x 24 cm