Does the MENA region need a new investment model Entrepreneurs’ perspective

[Music] okay I wanted to take that place but it's okay okay hi everyone today the second panel is going to be focusing on entrepreneurship I want to hear first before I start with my uh ladies the panelists I would like to hear from two people one to share with me from the audience briefly 1 minute a success story that you were able to get whatever you want as an ENT entrepreneur and another person to tell me that unfortunately I wasn't able why so who would like to volunteer okay let me get you the microphone okay please was it successful or otherwise successful excellent you have one minute go ahead we are one of India's first business networks that have helped women entrepreneurs Go Global so with seven active chapters two countries and 10,000 stakeholders now uh waiting for what we're doing with that's a massive success story in our case and Ola excellent thank you very much anybody else got a story that unfortunately reached the dead end the lady in pink yep please please go ahead one minute go ahead I'm Eve in this country I'm a property investment adviser but before I came here I started a swim instruction and edutainment Company and the pandemic kind of made it hard for me to Pivot because uh it's really hard to twe teach swim instruction on Zoom okay and I'm thinking of you know uh rebranding it and starting it again for this uh country but I haven't gotten that off the ground yet but you not the only person during Co okay nobody but actually we benefited some stuff well thank you very much so let me come back to you my panelist you were able to prove yourselves and now your names and that's why we're here to hear your stories so I'd like each one of you to give me one minute how did you make it how did you manage to succeed and reach where you are please uh all right uh first of all great to be uh here with everyone enjoyed all the panels and you know thanks Caroline thank you one minute for injecting energy in the in the group um so my name is AA co-founder and CE of bit Oasis uh you know bit Oasis were the first uh today uh largest in the UAE but we serve The Wider GCC Market focused on providing an easy and regulated way for investors how did you reach that uh to invest in crypto exactly uh wow I mean a lot of ups and downs roller coaster ride uh I think uh for me what was very important is uh believing in myself believing in my team uh believing in the mission why we started bit oases uh you know for me I'm very passionate about crypto I believe it's the future of finance and we're already seeing some of that uh resilience perseverance uh focus focus focus and uh you know making sure that uh you uh wake up every day with energy that you spread to your team and uh making sure that uh everyone that is with you on this ride understand why they're part of the company what's the mission who are we serving as our customers and I think iterating that as a leader day in and day out take a long-term View and don't focus on the shortterm you know pitfalls um and every entrepreneur obviously goes through that Journey as well how did you reach that level I agree with everything all I said uh optimism I think that is very key when you're an entrepreneur because there it's a roller coaster you go up and down there's a lot of challenges which is fine it's okay right it's yeah it is part of the learning and I think again it's a long journey right it's not I cannot say it in one minute but a lot to do with the team with the mission uh having the right people surrounding yourself by the right people that keep pushing you forward forward that actually uplift you and believe in you but it starts also with believing in yourself and I think there's a lot to say about the culture I grew up in where it is a culture of Entrepreneurship and you can do it but also trying so that you can do it where was it what was it the household right it starts in your house potentially not everyone is lucky enough to have that in the house but I think education is extremely key so if we don't have that maybe focusing on the Next Generation and educating girls that they can do it mhm um and just thinking in solution term you you will see a lot of you know problems along the way having your own company but then how do you turn that into an opportunity and I think that's something that really stood out for me so thank you so much first and um I definitely second second Whata and Nadin said it's definitely a roller coaster and it's so difficult but um I think two things that made me actually become more resilient and definitely positive it's waking up every morning going to my office seeing my team how many people do I impact on a daily basis I'm I feel responsible to my team I feel like I need to push myself every day to go to my office despite all the obstacles I need to show up to my clients to my team I have so many people benefiting out of this company so there's definitely an impact aspect to the business that keeps me going every day um for sure I would have never been able to do this if I did not have a full support system like I have my family supporting me I have great mentorship that I rely on continuously with every ups and downs like it's like even when you raise Capital you need to get through so many things being like a female or being new into the industry of raising Capital you need somebody always to guide you and I think having that network of support um gives us a lot of benefits to keep going that's wonderful because in many places if you're working in a company or anywhere that is you know you there's a growth happening and one day you'll become the boss if possible but in your case you started as the boss yourself so I'm going to take this to um uh to a different level now I am a person I'm I'm a journalist as I said I believe in numbers uh there's a there are some numbers I would like to share with everybody here it says 57% of the science technology engineering and math graduates in the Middle East are women sure 34% of the Region's Tech Focus startups were founded by women despite these promising statistics women entrepreneurs in the Mina region our region face significant challenges in accessing resources and achieving scale from your experience do you feel that your voices and your success story can really help other others to follow your steps and get the funds because you didn't start it from your dad's money you started it from scratch and you also got it from you know proving yourself and getting getting the funds how how did you manage to do that based on these numbers so you are unique in a way so if you share with me finding finding and getting the the funds what was your what was your story with it uh I'll share from my uh personal experience um I'll add another statistic actually to the statistics that you've shared which are super important uh particularly in the industry that I'm in which is crypto it's the intersection of finance and technology which are two industries that are heavily male uh dominated uh less than 6% of C levels and CEOs Founders in the industry are actually women on a global level or on a global no no a global yeah what about meina uh just me I think oh like maybe they May it's changing it's changing we will look for another one yeah exactly no actually I do say I do think it's changing uh because there are more companies obviously coming into the space 2024 was a year where a lot of uh crypto firms either moved into the region or started out of the region so I believe that's changing uh from a Middle East perspective um but what I wanted to do is like layer that on a global level also the industry that that I'm part of I think when you look at the numbers in terms of female representation it's even more grave uh than what what we're seeing you know here obviously in the region um however when you're a female entrepreneur or like a you know a woman in the space your experience is your experience right it's hard to kind of Benchmark it to what's happening with with others and being a founder and I always say that regardless of your gender it's a very tough thing to do it's probably amongst the most difficult things to do and you know kind of talking to other entrepreneurs as well any creation of you know starting something from scratch to a company that is scalable that you know found product Market fit raising money and serving hundreds of thousands of millions of customers is no easy uh task at all um so maybe just a bit of also numbers so we've raised uh close to $40 million uh of venture funding um and uh in terms of the you know crypto space obviously uh we're amongst the largest uh in terms of scale across the region recently we also got acquired so we're now part of a a bigger group uh focused on southeast Asia Market so quy was one of our you know acquirers uh so we've gone through the full cycle or you know myself and my co-founders gone through the full cycle of starting a company scaling it raising you know growth Capital all the way to like exiting it and now scaling it even further as part of a a a group um and I think what's very interesting is that one of the things that made it uh even um um helped I would say you know as part of my journey is is is really not to think of myself as a you know woman entrepreneur right um I am an entrepreneur regardless of my gender uh I believe in the mission of my company I believe in myself uh and I'll advocate for myself as well and I'll advocate for my company uh I understand my market and who my customer is and my competition um I'm out there to grow my company and be able to uh you know get the funding and I think when you focus on all these things uh you know ultimately you'll get success but I think if you get stuck in the obstacles well you know but I'm a female entrepreneur and like 6% of the industry are female and all of that you're just creating more and more barriers to yourself to be able to get to that Capital that you know you're not competing with other female entrepreneurs for this Capital you're actually competing in our case is globally with other startups as well so I think it's like really focus on the end goal and what success looks like for you and just ignore all the challenges was it the same thing with you thank you is was it the same story or different to me look I I found the little trick is having male co-founders so that solved it but the reality is the number is global right so you mentioned Mina but that's the same across the globe if uh if in different countries it's actually less actually more but it revolves around 2 to 1% right of funds going to female uh Founders and some would argue that it's because not a lot of female Founders actually apply for these funds but the reality there is research around this and there was an experiment where they looked into a cohort of 50 50 right people actually applying to the fund 50% were female Founders 50% were male Founders and the numbers were exactly the same so whether it's conscious or unconscious bias that's a long debate but we can talk about it but it's there now how did we push for it how personally I actually went your story yeah again I think ARA mentioned it it's you don't think of yourself as specifically as a woman but you try to kind of portray also the expectations within the industry and try to understand that bias is there that's the reality right I I might say something controversial but the bias is there investors if they're male they're more you know comfortable with someone who looks like them who talks like them and there is science behind it also the brain functions differently the frequency of the voice is different that's why you have women in boards that need to speak up higher so they're actually heard there are there's a lot of little tricks that you can start to kind of Coach yourself or apply and get to where you want to get to but the reality is you know your business more than anyone and if you truly believe in it then someone along the way is going to see this and these are the investors you want on board wonderful do we have a different uh experience no I actually have a very similar experience I I when I ask when I get asked this question I always say I've never looked at myself as a female entrepreneur I always looked at I'm a I'm an entrepreneur I'm very capable of doing what I'm doing the issue is you face you you you can sense always a sense of bias especially in AI like I'm building in AI I'm not a technical person so when you're like in a room with investors or with Engineers they're always I wouldn't say condescending like I understand more and there's an element of we as women we need to take all boxes before we talk about anything or we like let's say if you're applying to a job you have to take all boxes to apply to the job right if it's a male they would be 50% eligible and they still apply right so it's psychologically it's we're different we need to be more perfectionist or like we're much more I would say responsible towards money like when we raise capital from investors there's always this sense of I'm extra careful about this money I I need to invest it wisely I need to make sure that I don't burn the cash in the business I have to make sure that I there's sense of responsibility towards retaining the investment back to client being successful again that's sometimes not taken into um it's not a like I would say um taking towards us sometimes it's against us right but again that's part of the challenge and we just need to overcome it we are who we are and the fact that we know our business very well we're knowledgeable we're respons responsible our work speaks for itself so so in a nutshell if I if I may summarize this that you believe in yourself as a capable entrepreneur no matter what's your gender and you apply for it you keep pushing until you get it and you're successful because they heard your voice but there are also a lot of women who don't really believe in themselves and they need the education the support the mentoring in order to understand that it is possible so I see you nodding yeah what do you think that it's possible of course it's exactly but but is is is that something that you know needs education or needs mentoring what how can you how can you really let this woman entrepreneur who is like thinking to become an entrepreneur to take the step I mean I love this question right and um we all working Tech so there's a lot of you know our our brain probably now is is built to think in data and and numbers and there's this research I was I always refer back to because I have a little girl and it shows really the impact of visualization on little girls and how they see themselves in the future and I think it's super important that we keep bringing visibility to success stories of women because they can see it the other day I was on was on a different panel and this um small story came to my mind I have some some in the family a female doctor and she has a little girl and her all her friends are doctors around her because that's her work right line of work she's always with doctors and all her friends who are women are doctor her little girl comes to her and asks her mama can men be doctors and I love this and I love this it's the power of seeing something and imagining yourself right projecting yourself and I think there's so much work to be done there for girls there is a stud around this where in a classroom they started showing you know from young age and they followed them for around 15 years if I'm not mistaken they started showing them astronauts who are women Doctor Who are women technicians who are so all of these different role models and by the time they got to University and they asked the guys the girls and the boys what they wanted to be to be the answers were equivalent because they showed them what's possible so yes I'm extremely for showing the possibilities out there yeah I I Echo the the's uh words 100% I think uh the visibility uh on successful women entrepreneurs in any field actually I wouldn't say just entrepreneurs um highlighting Role Models uh I think events and platforms uh like that uh create a lot of impact uh and I think um having that exposure from a young age uh that yes you are able to build something there are challenges acknowledge the challenges but there is support systems that are there available you are able to go through that Journey uh you are able to also be fulfilled as part of that Journey as well I think um uh highlighting Role Models is probably the most um uh important thing and the most uh impactful uh things for other you know female uh uh potential Founders to be able to see but I would say actually it's not just uh for girls but equally boys as well from a younger age um because we live in a society where you know different genders play different roles as well and I can't I I don't think we can separate success from life and living a fulfilling life as well so I think acknowledging that women can have a productive uh role in society a leadership role be it from an entrepreneurship perspective you know government uh Sports Etc and at the same time be able to lead a fulfilling life and be able to be part of society in different roles and also equally having that exposure for you know boys and girls that are going to grow into men and women is also crucial uh you know women are part of society in different roles and they're able to fulfill those roles you know to various degrees as part of their success Journey as well I think having that education early on uh for all parts of you know you know different society and I wouldn't just kind of single out and girls as part of that is important uh you know for future Generations do you want to add anything nor or should we go to the ons please no actually I I just wanted to add one point which is we are priv pred to be able to be where we are today right we we we were lucky to be well educated uh got the support system to reach where we are um the problem I see is with lots of women that needs um lots of support as you as you mentioned in your question like what do we do to these women and these women could be in our ecosystem like in our company could be friends of friends like I think we need to talk about it more we need to highlight it much more for so many people like I I see it in my team sometimes um it's in the in their mind it's so difficult to be seen or heard or sit on a panel or um do something that people actually could acknowledge um it's it starts from the home from education and if you weren't Lucky in in these two eventually us as Leaders we should potentially give back as much as possible to the people at least around us to try to empower as many women as possible in whatever capacity whether they want to be entrepreneurs or they want to be Executives in a in a company or sit on boards just for these women to flourish at what they're actually trying to do and and be seen and heard I I agree with you and and and let's be very Frank I think we're also blessed like living in the uee you meet lots of entrepreneurs you hear LS of stories you see that uh you know that you know the arms are open to welcome people to give them a chance but in many countries and especially in the Mina region we look look we look at them and we we ask why they these people don't have the same opportunities like us living here and when I say us we're talking about expats living here and became part of the family which is something we all feel and app appreciate of course but you know if if I want to ask the audience now if anybody here who is hoping to become an entrepreneur what question would you ask my panelist anybody or you're already a successful entrepreneurs if you don't raise your hand that means you're you need to hear from you anybody I cannot see from the lights that's too yes please if you can give them the microphone the lights are too strong here yeah please go ahead I know it's the afternoon but you need to wake up with me go ahead um I've got I think the the $1 million question that's women are afraid to go into the entrepreneurial Journey because of how do you manage your work life balance because we're afraid that the entrepreneurial journey is full well did you read my question because I was about to ask that take my take my place now thank you please I would love to hear from the three of you how can you do the balance you have something to say no I'm for me no I'm I'm off balance so I I'm I work like 16 hours a day weekends I'm on so I I can't I can't really answer she's bad example okay don't follow her steps so I I cannot give advice worse work life balance I'm even worse than you but I work in the media so it's a different story anybody can can share with us something balance to me to me I I had um someone joining the company joining sarwa and saying that they joined because I made it look so easy and then it reminded me that it's not easy and I it's it is a message that I actually now really actively put out there that it's not easy I have kids and I run a company and I'm there's a lot of different stories there but if it is something you want it should be an option but also you should be ready for it you should embrace it and it's a lot of work but if you love it you're going to enjoy every single second of it and you will find a way by the way we have the capacity of learning as we go and managing time it becomes really a skill set that no one has it my my schedule is so structured in a way and that makes sense to to me but the reality also I have a lot of respect for women that choose the caregiver way or our mom at homes and I think by the way that this should be a paid job because it is an intense job and you know someone really needs to also focus on educating the Next Generation but balance I think you have to embrace it as part of your life is if that's what you want then you embrace it you go for it and you love it but it's by choice not by by choice 100% And we are lucky by the way it's not everyone's you know path to have that do you any balance in your I I'll be honest here I think balance is a myth when it comes to entrepreneurship like I don't think entrepreneurship and balance kind of like uh go hand in hand uh the reality is like also your company is going to go through different phases and different Journeys and each one of those require a different way of you being involved as a Founder in terms of also having a management team and also the challenges will also you know differ early on uh to be totally Frank when you're trying uh to convert your company from an idea into a product into an actual company that you know pays salaries and you know at some point you might need to raise funding as well and you're hiring your first few people that stuff work like I I'll be very honest there's probably going to be very little balance uh there it's going to take you know sweat Blood and Tears from Founders and you know that's why it's easier to have co-founders as well right because they can you know be part of that Journey you know with you it is really tough work it starts getting I would say relatively easier or in the sense that there's slightly a few bit more kind of you know balance when you have maybe some more kind of senior team members a management team all of that but it's still you know probably plus 12 you know 16 hours a day having said that it's uh in my experience it's never been kind of like oh 9 to5 9 to8 I mean even kind of 9 to9 it's it becomes a lifestyle like in the sense that not kind of you know lifestyle is like I want to go for that but it becomes embedded in who you are it becomes embedded in your life and it becomes embedded to some extent within your circle and your family and your support system that they sort of understand that okay this is what you're going through in your life right now and you're going to need that type of support and you're going to probably wake up at 2:00 a.m respond to an email a call at 3 am am because there's like kind of us counterparts that you're working with so it really becomes embedded in your daytoday so that's why I say it's like it's not something you switch on and you switch off and you have a balance it becomes almost like part of your life but of course you have to understand what exactly you have to do now and what you can do tomorrow yes because if you keep opening this door and and also don't forget you lead by example as well so if your staff are looking at you that you don't sleep at all they might consider that this is the way that I'll be measured at the end of the year as like a person who doesn't leave office oh definitely not I mean that from a cultural perspective you have to set you you have to set the tone in the company in terms of what the expectation is and all of that but sometimes when you're in a Founder you know there are certain things that you're going to have to navigate certain kind of you know emergency cases for instance uh certain uh Partners or counterparts that you work with so sort of we balance that throughout your day in terms of uh how your schedule looks like but it's very Dynamic I I I would say yeah thank please I just feel like we scared her a lot but I want I want to say it's actually super rewarding it's very rewarding right and I would love love love to see more women entrepreneur and more women going into the workforce from that angle um because that's where you have also serial entrepreneurs I think all of us that been through this journey we love it so much yes super challenging very unbalanced but there's a lot of reward also that come with it okay I'm I'm going to ask a question that often people they ask me or ask definitely some ladies like you that it's not only that the live balance it's do you remember yourself to get married to have kids and all that stuff that's a proper question that a lot of people are asking some people they think that the woman when whenever she's putting a goal that I want to be an entrepreneur successful lady that means I ignore everything behind me do you agree I see a big smile go ahead uh no I I don't agree to that I think ultimately uh obviously there are choices in life that you know you have to make and if you want to be an entrepreneur and embark on that Journey uh you know definitely be kind of realistic in terms of what it takes to be an entrepreneur that successful and by the way success also an entrepreneurship can look different right uh you know growing a multi-billion dollar company raising kind of you know different rounds and really scaling it regionally and globally looks very different depend how you measure success exactly so also like have a vision of what type of you know founder in a company and success you know looks like for you but um I think if you want to uh you know ultimately uh you know go and have different kind of roles in your life be like family be uh you probably other parts in life that you want to be you know involved in from a society perspective as well um you know being in or living in different places ultimately a lot of those lifestyle choices um you're going to have to choose your support system be a partner you know your your family your immediate circle your friends uh based on that so I think to be able to do that that question let me let me tell you behind what's the question I need a personal story okay I don't want headlines I need personal stories I'm not going to leave you I'm a journalist I'll keep following up go ahead I I would say is like the most important um the most important decision is uh the partner uh that you have in your life and how supportive they are as a woman I would say 100% to be able supp part A fulfilling life thank you I completely agree completely agree when I met my now husband of 18 years uh I was an entrepreneur and I know that some men might be scared by this label he wasn't he was extremely supportive from the get-go he was actually helping me traveling with me going with me to events and everything and I realized that that's the person I want to be with and I want to you know grow old with and he's been my partner in life and my support system so you end up hopefully having the choice also to find the right person that goes with you on that Journey no I second that so your part it's it's all about your partner so your partner needs to believe in you support you can be your Mentor can be someone you always talk to and can completely understand the pressure you go through it's not it's not going to be an easy Journey so you can find actually we we can find we can find a partner who really understand and supports I'm I'm also uh a witness as well for myself as well that I have partner who understands My Crazy Life that I'm traveling all over the world but he's still supportive uh but sometimes he recognize that very late because you live in denial no I don't have time but you do have time okay so I have a question here please go ahead yes um excuse my ignorance because I'm not in-depth familiar with your companies but my question is around uh when you start a company sometimes you start it with someone and you've got a co-founder and then it pivots and then you become a soul founder when you go and apply for investments from VCS have you cha faced any challenges is there any nuggets of wisdom have you been scrutinized for being a soul founder being risky as an investment that's a very good question thank you very much who would like to answer a soul founder who would like to answer we're three co-founders so um but but I'm also a venture partner so I do Mentor startups and one of the things I personally believe and Alla you tapped into this is it's good to have a co-founder it's not necessarily because you do have amazing success stories of solo Founders but it does help a lot along the journey and I know investors recognize this too so usually they're reluctant to invest in companies that are soul co-founder Soul Founders because of the toll it could take on you right so it takes a very very strong person to do it by themselves I'll add a couple of words there because uh I think when we started out uh and we've raised our first funding uh we we were two co-founders who were like full-time on the company and then I think when I started raising much bigger rounds uh to some extent basis became as me as a Founder the most uh involved in the business and like as a sole founder um but ultimately there was a team right and uh also investors you know bet on the you know founder but also the team and who they've sort of uh BR around them uh to be able to execute on on the mission so I think it helps uh definitely and that's the truth to have co-founders early on when you're raising your first few rounds is about the team at that later stage you don't have the key women men risk right so you have a team that's there and they know the company has the right foundations so it can evolve yeah okay so I I I'm the only founder of my business but again there's a difference because when I I bootstrapped my business until it became mature when I got investors so it it's never question it's never a topic because they understand that I've built it over 16 years so there's that element of trust that I'm I'm there for sure they'll ask for exe strong executive team so who's your C Level that's around you at the stage of the business but definitely um when you're starting it's it helps a lot to have a co- sometimes actually I wish I have a co-founder to support me never too late so it helps never too late yeah never too late actually you know most of my sea level now they are actually technically Partners or co-founders mhm thank you very much we have a question here please it's really great to be here um I'm a Nigerian living in the UK and I'm visiting the UAE and it's interesting to see that we are still going through the similar similar issues as women in finance my question to you ladies is um what lessons or takeaway looking back now have you learned and would have made your life easier and um what can you pass as nuggets to us just that's enough thank you thank you okay ladies um one one tip each so that we can I I my tip would be choose your investors wisely yeah like you really need very good investors um that can actually be strategic and supportive um not every investor can add value some investors are actually or could potentially hinder your business you need really a good match uh between your vision values and the investor you on board another tip um I would add so second that for sure um and I would add uh surround yourself with other Founders as well um like kind of create a closed circle of different Founders uh that you are also excited about what they're building um and kind of bounce ideas uh kind of make them into like your mentorship group uh or seek mentors that you feel like have gone through similar Journeys that you have gone through uh I think being a Founder sometimes can be very lonely and we fall in the Trap of thinking it's only us that kind of going through those challenges and the reality is probably almost every founder that that I spoke to have gone through similar uh Journeys so it really gives you that strength I think another tip I love that the sharing of knowledge right also that's something very very extremely important I would say sorry no go ahead go ahead one um so you said choose your investor wisely and choose your team also um these are going to be the people you're going to be married to for a long time so make sure that you enjoy working with them on the dayto day enjoy the journey honestly like sometimes we forget to just really embrace what what we're doing what we're building what we're going through and uh I know it sounds very you know generic but don't give up like really if you believe in what you're building and what you're doing you can crack it thank you we have another question that's the last question but please it has to be very quick because I need to close with actually I I was wanting to ask two questions but if you if you allow me so so the first one is um uh what what is your and actually the partnership you're talking about co-founders which how do you design the sh yourself and how do you measure because sometimes it's very difficult you are in charge of Finance you charge of marketing some other people come out with so how and even though you you coming with more uh Founders like you your Senior Management Le Founders how do you get them to the valuation how is if you can share some experience that would be great thank you thank you thank you thank you who can answer the question not necessarily the three of you ladies one of you please I think complimentary skills right like when you want to for for me at least from a co-founder perspective we really had really complimentary skills and we had very clear division of roles and responsibility because you need that eventually in the beginning it's very blurry everyone wears a million hat right we started as a team of three people now we're a big company but you grow into your role and having respect for each other's role understanding that this is what each of us brings to the table for a reason and really kind of going with that belief that they know what they're doing also and having that trust trust exactly okay any anybody would to add or disagree or you the three of you are always in harmony what's going on uh yeah no I I I I agree with that I think we started as three co-founders and then sort of ended up as two being you know full-time and a lot of it is uh because there were uh you know complimentary skills ultimately uh early on it's hard to have too many cooks in the kitchen and and you really want to have that clear division of uh labor I would say and that division of labor ultimately reflects the equity uh each of those co-founders uh you know have and sometimes it get can get very tough for co-founders early on um you know in terms of those conversations there's another question please just one question about the specific uh advantage of being here either that UAE ababi Dubai what has it meant to you individually and the journey that you've been on to be based here I think that's the topic for today we're all here we know that we're incredibly fortunate we're on the precipice or we're actually already already taking advantage of what it means to be here what's what's your experience been and the advantage of thank you thank you that's a great question please who would like to answer n um so I've been living here for fortunately for 14 years and um this place offers so much so first it's a great platform for your business to grow um you have access to investors you have access to multinational companies you have access to uh great Partners infrastructure um events networking um this place offers so much right so when you compare um UAE compared to other countries when you even want to set up a business ease of doing business um even when you want to attract Global Investors it's a very attractive place there's element of trust when investors want to invest in the UAE um even like they incentivize you more now to set up an a ggm so for me I feel I'm I'm fortunate lucky to have my company here absolutely okay I'm going to just uh close by one because we only have one minute left by quick question being in in the gulf and especially in the UAE it's also lots of competition because there's lots of people who are really reaching the level of Excellence so give me each one of you one tip for the young entrepreneurs that they should not do do not do because because of the competition in the market do not do uh one one thing don't do it the I mean hold yourself back just because there's competition in the market doesn't mean that you shouldn't be there understand the comp you should be there no no no sorry you should be there but don't do this in order for you to be part of the competition and un successful so it's we usually we say give them tips what to do but I want you to tell them give them tip not to do uh underestimate yourself don't underestimate yourself thank you don't obsess over competition okay don't feel obsessed under competition stay curious stay curious and I would like to say thank you very much at the end we are on time it was amazing to hear Amazing Story especially that you are really in the field the field of some some people consider it a taboo for women which is like really the technology thank you very much you proved yourself we learned from you and uh I'm so honored that I was moderating your panel thank you very much thank you [Music]