Swenglanese - talking business in the UAE

On this episode of the podcast we had the chance to speak with Helen Chen, the CEO and Co founder of a company called Nomad Homes. We were lucky to catch her in Dubai before she hopped onto a plane to Europe. Helen tells us a bit about her origin story, working in the world of investments before making a jump into her own thing with her business partners. Recently securing $20 million USD investment into that business, helping people remove the pain of finding a home, whether buying or renting. The decision to move and find a home is not one that she thinks should come with undue stress and frustration - enter Nomad Homes.

On this episode of the podcast Barry had a great conversation with Mohamed Al Fayed the co founder and CEO of a company called Grubtech. His illustrious career in the corporate world helping global brands digitise and explore opportunities in the retail sector positioned him to take a bold move into an industry he wasn't overly familiar with. Food and beverage, but he could see the same opportunities raising their heads just as they had done previously in the retail sector and he wanted to make a difference. Grubtech was born. Super nice guy to talk with, humble and doing some really incredible things with his business.

On this episode of the podcast Barry had a really interesting conversation with Elena Agaragimova the Managing Partner of her company called Bessern. Her entrepreneurial journey is a very interesting one that involves the world of higher education and corporate learning. The huge gap between higher education and the corporate world is something that Elena and her business partner are looking to reduce. To help individuals level up and have organisations nurture a happier more engaged workforce.

On this episode of the podcast Barry speaks with Madhav Dhar - the co founder and COO of ZaZen Properties - Madhav tells his really interesting personal journey from birth in the UAE, boarding school, corporate life and then starting his own business in a super competitive niche. All in a country where that niche also doesn't have the best reputation. Precisely because of this, he's doing it differently, to change the perception of the industry but also to deliver properties that live up to the pre sales marketing hype. 

David and Piero talk about their entrepreneurial journey so far and how it has brought them to Exirio. Helping expats take better care of their money and investments by leveraging technology.

On this episode of the podcast it was an absolute pleasure to speak with Dr Saliha Afridi, the founder of the LightHouse Arabia Centre for Wellbeing. 

Dr Saliha has had a bright and varied career to date and doesn't consider herself a business person or entrepreneur. But that aside, she is a person that has and continues to make a big impact in the region helping raise awareness around mental health, as well as treating people suffering from mental health issues. The staff at the centre are all about community and as with many of our interviews. We were left inspired and a little in awe!! 

On this episode of the podcast Barry had the opportunity to speak with Aakansha Tangri, the founder of Re:Set your everyday. A daily online news organisation that looks to shine a light on subjects such as education, mental health, well being and inclusion. Aakanksha has had a varied career to date with time spent at CNN and Vice as a journalist, before turning her skills to build a platform to dig deeper into the conversations and topics that really matter. 

On this episode of the podcast, Barry had a really interesting conversation with Natalie Banks - the founder of a not for profit organisation called Azraq. But her journey didn't start there and Natalie talks Barry through her start in journalism. Setting up an initiative to save the sharks, followed by a move to the UAE where Azraq was born. 

Motivating, inspiring and doing something she is truly passionate about. Talk about making an impact! 

This is a particularly special episode of the podcast with long time friend Jeff Price. Jeff has been an integral part of the broadcast landscape for an extended period of time, both in the UK and very much a part of the foundations here in the UAE. Throughout his career he has tried to help wherever he can and his focus on catering to the wellbeing of children is what caused his and Barry's paths to cross in the first place. 

Apart from setting up Pearl FM which was a radio station specifically for children and their parents, Jeff has also been involved in setting up and running some of the commercial stations we listen to today, here in the UAE. 

Jeff and his family have also been on an excruciating personal journey over the last few years. Jeff gives us an insight into this as well as his experience. Culminating in the fact that he's back on the ground here in the UAE, ready to help in any way he can, across a variety of different areas too. Listen in and reconnect if you know Jeff. He'd love to hear from you. 

This episode of Swenglanese saw Oskar and Barry catch up after Oskar's return to Sweden in the the middle of the COVID summer last June. The conversation was an update on what Oskar is doing, how the move from the UAE actually went and the changes he had to implement within his business - Strategic Tech Coaching to keep him going after 2 of his core niche markets were effectively shut down as a result of the global pandemic.