Yazen Al Kodmani is a man who knows how to make things grow. Growing up in a family steeped in
agriculture. Yazen took inspiration from his heritage and established the Emirates Bio Farm in 2016,
now the largest privately-owned organic farm in the UAE, with more than 60 varieties of organic
crops produced. But Yazen’s ambitions don’t stop at the farm itself. He is also a strong advocate for
sustainable practices in every element of our lives and seeks to help all of us grow together in a
healthier, more organic world.
Ajmal Perfumes has been making the UAE and the world smell good for 75 years. The late Haji Ajmal Ali, previously a farmer by trade, started the business in 1951 in Mumbai. Ajmal Ali soon saw the opportunity to expand in the early years of the UAE and opened Ajmal’s first shop in Murshid Bazaar in Dubai in 1976. Abdulla Ajmal, the grandson of the company’s founder has been steering the family business as CEO since 2023, a business that has now grown into a international fragrance powerhouse that exports to over 45 countries worldwide with a portfolio of over 300 scents, 240 and shops.
When you think of catching a ride in Dubai the first name that comes to mind is Careem. Founded by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, what started in 2012 as a website for corporate car bookings Careem has grown into a transport juggernaut with operations in 70 cities and across 10 countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
In 2019, Careem was acquired by Uber for an eye watering $3.1 billion dollars, solidifying the success of the company but also enabling some ambitious expansion plans. Today Careem does much more than just transport. It also offers bicycle rental, food delivery, groceries, and digital wallets, all powered by the Careem “everything app”, technology that seeks to make every aspect of our lives as easy a tapping to book on of their iconic captains.
This is Homegrown DXB, hostd by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai. Our guest today is the proud inheritor of a name that has been renowned across the Gulf for over 100 years. Rao Sahib Jashanmal first set up a bookshop and general store in Basra, Iraq in 1919, catering to British Armed Forces and expatriate residents. Jashanmal then expanded across the GCC, moving into Kuwait in 1934, Bahrain in 1935, and then landing here in Dubai in 1956, with another iconic store opening in Abu Dhabi in 1964. Shuja Jashanmal, Rao’s grandson, first joined the company in 1987 after graduating from USC in California, initially starting as a salesman, before becoming the cosmetics brand manager. He is now the Group CEO and has overseen the expansion of Jashanmal to cover more than 150 stores in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, and India.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Few names are as synonymous with education here in the Emirates than GEMS Education. In 1959, twelve years before the founding of the UAE, Mariama and K.S. Varkey came to Dubai to start what they thought would be a humble tutoring business, but it became so much more than that. Beginning with the founding of our Own English Highschool in 1968, the Varkeys went to grow an education empire than spans the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Dino Varkey is the inheritor of that proud educational legacy. As the current group CEO of GEMS Education, he has his own grand ambitions make to GEMS not just the biggest private education provider in the region, but one to rival the biggest in the world.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guest on this episode is making sure you’re dressed to the nines. Sima Ved is the Founder and Chairwoman of the Apparel Group, one of the largest retail groups in the Middle East. If you’ve a fan of fashion, the chances are you’ve purchased something from the Apparel Group, with favorites like Nine West, Aldo, and Calvin Klein to name a few. In fact, the multibillion-dollar company hosts a staggering 85 brands across 2300 stores in 14 countries with over 24,000 employees. But Sima isn’t content to just conquer retail. She is also the Vice Chair of the AppCorp holding group which covers Real Estate, Fitness, Healthcare, Interior Design and Architecture, and Distribution and Logistics.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Dubai is often thought of as a city of luxury, where those with discerning and expensive tastes are catered to. But Dubai is also a place that appreciates a good deal. Our guest today capitalized on the emirate’s appetite for smart savings. After moving to Dubai for work in the year 2000, Toufic Kreidah pivoted and brought his concept, Brands 4 Less, to the city, selling fashionable brands at budget prices. The company has since grown into the BFL Group, an organization with operations all over the Middle East, South East Asia, and Europe. The 4 Less empire has expanded to cover other verticals, including Toys for Less, Homes for Less, and Luxury for Less, and well as acquiring international names like Mumoso and Tchibo. In August of 2024, Brands For Less sold a 35% stake to the US-based TJX Companies for 360 million dollars, valuing the off-price retailer at an impressive $1.2 billion.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Hunter Foods are no strangers to Dubai, having been one of the very first to secure a trade license in the then fledgling Jebel Ali Free Zone in 1985. The brands of Hunter immediately evoke nostalgia in those who grew up in the 80s and 90s, with names like Safari, Aladin, and Ali Baba synonymous with the snack culture of our youth. But what’s special about Hunter is that it has expanded far beyond our memories to become a cultural phenomenon in places as far flung as the United States and Japan.
Yas and Ananya Narayan did not initially aspire to take over the family business, but there is no doubt that their impact on Hunter Foods has been remarkable. From the now ubiquitous Hunter Gourmet offerings to collaborations with people like Pharrell Williams, Hunter is poised to create a whole new global wave of nostalgia for the next generation.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai. Today we’re getting a taste of the east with Chang Sup Shin, the CEO of 1004 gourmet, a Korea supermarket that has grown into a pan Asian retail food retail brand that supplies the likes of Carrefour, Nobu, Burj Al Arab, and Zuma.1004 gourmet was opened in 2008 by Chang’s father Dong Chul Shin, but Chang and his family have been Dubai residents for over 30 years, coming to our shores in 1992. Growing up in Dubai gave Chang an appreciation for the rich culinary landscape of the emirate, but also an awareness of the opportunities that were open to someone offering the best products from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and China. His experience and passion for a good meal also led him to expand into the restaurant space with Seoul Street Café, Ugly Burger, and Ugly Noodles.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guests today know how to keep it in the family. Jamal Hussain and Halima Jumani are the power couple at the helm of Kibsons International LLC, the company supplying Dubai and the region with quality produce and products for the past four decades. Kibsons was founded in back 1982 in Dubai with a handful of employees by Hussain Ismail Khatri, Jamal's father, but has now grown to number over 1500. Kibsons distributes a staggering half a million kilos of produce everyday servicing everyone from markets to restaurants to Emirates and Etihad in-flight catering. Jamal took over the reigns in 1997, with Halima joining him in the family business in 2007.
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guest today has built a beach safety and rescue program that some have described as Dubai's answer to Baywatch. If you frequent Kite Beach here in the Dubai you've probably seen the army of children in red laying claim to that shoreline. But Pirate Surf Rescue is far more than that. Candy Fanucci founded Pirate Surf Rescue UAE in 2010 with only five students, but the organization has grown to number in the thousands. From daring rescues to life lessons, Pirates Surf seeks to not just teach tangible skills, but to influence the outlook of a generation. The beachside business has been so successful it has moved beyond our shores and is currently expanding into Saudi Arabia. Since arriving in Dubai in the year 2000, Candy has been an advocate for the power of an active lifestyle and Pirates Surf is the manifestation of her vision to give children and families alike access to health and happiness
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guests today run the cleanest business there is. Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui, the founders of Washmen, have been keeping our clothes, shoes, and accessories sparkling since 2015. The pair struck up a university friendship that turned into an ongoing business partnership, keeping 8,000 households in clean linens a month.
What was first an asset light app to connect customers to cleaners has evolved to take the washing into their own hands. After traveling the world to see the twenty top laundries, from France to South Korea, Washmen spent 18 months building a state-of-the-art facility in Jebel Ali that is revolutionizing the way we do laundry. But the launch of their facility didn’t come without its setbacks. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and stiff competition meant nothing came easily. But through it all the all, the Washmen were never afraid to get their hands dirty to get the job done.
Welcome to the first episode of Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai. Our guest today knows a good deal when she sees it and isn't afraid to drive a hard bargain. Donna Benton first graced the shores of Dubai all way back at the turn of the millennium and her buy one get one free sensation, The Entertainer, has been a fixture of our households ever since. Those who lived through the 2000s and into the 2010s will no doubt have vivid memories of hefty voucher books on coffee tables, regular voucher exchange parties, and new experiences curated by the cut of a coupon. Now all the same deals can be experienced with the tap of an app.The Entertainer is a juggernaut operating across 15 different countries, but Donna’s journey with the business was anything but straightforward. From the struggle of finding those first partners, to a 50% sale in 2015 and a 100 million dollar exit from The Entertainer in 2018, to a triumphant return as CEO and shepherd of The Entertainer in 2023, Donna is someone who is always looking to get the most out of any opportunity.
