PappaRoti is one of the few brands that has established a distinct segment in the context of coffeehouses in today’s highly competitive global economy. Standing at the centre of this success story is Rasha Al Danhani, a phenomenal Malaysian businesswoman turned global fashion mogul. Al Danhani with her excellent business acumen and strong will converted a coffee-coated bun into a global sensation along with revolutionizing the café culture.

The history of PappaRoti started in the year 2003 in Malaysia with the primary products of buns and beverages. Despite putting forward quality products, the brand could not make a passionate mark. The year 2009 was marked by the entry of Rasha Al Danhani: a woman who wanted not only a normal life but something extraordinary. While purchasing the brand, she aimed at establishing a new generation coffeehouse based on a single product, the famous coffee-coated bun. This store was established in Dubai Mall, and it first commenced its operation as a small kiosk with only five employees. This humble setup was, however, the genesis of a world conglomerate. Crispy outer brown layer of a bun that has been baked to perfection served with a warm cup of coffee. This simplistic menu was well received by the customers, and PappaRoti became an instant favourite spot.

Uniqueness is PappaRoti’s key differentiator given that the company mainly specializes in coffee-coated bun. This cake which is as light as a feather, with the crispy layer on the outside and a rich smell of coffee inside has become the signature of the brand. Happily, quality was not compromised since Rasha Al Danhani was determined to repeat the same uniqueness seen in Dubai to New York buns which were baked freshly on site. Al Danhani did not limit himself to the above success factor; there she made numerous toppings and fillings for the buns thus giving the customers option to choose from. These are ranging from chocolate flavours to cheese flavours and this way, it reduces the repetitive nature of the menu. Such action has ensured that PappaRoti has been providing change constantly to ensure that it attracts more people while maintaining those that had been previously served.

 Over the space of five years alone PappaRoti rapidly expanded throughout the Middle east and Eastern Asia reaching more than 200 outlets. Such a swift growth was achieved by Al Danhani owing to the leader’s vision and the opportunity to meet the emerging market’s specific niche demands for high-quality cafes. She made sure that adopting the company to the different countries did not erode the foundation of the brand but appeal to people across the world. Before the year 2020 escalated, PappaRoti opened more than 400 Stores and kiosks in various countries including United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, and Brazil etc. Such global presence make PappaRoti as one of the market leader coffeehouse that is operating in fresh environment with unique product that is nearly impossible to replicate.

 As we have seen, Rasha Al Danhani has made the establishment of PappaRoti a worthy business success story, but much more than that, it is a success story that inspires other women business aspirants. Her story reflects how a great vision together with passion and patience can help transform an idea into a world-class enterprise. Al Danhani has now become an inspiration to many women out there who want to engage in business.

Najila Al Midfa now serves as the CEO of Sheraa, Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center board member and Vice Chairman for Young Arab Leaders; her impact is vast and far-reaching to shape the future of the entrepreneurship and develop talents in the UAE. Apart from leadership, Al Midfa is the spirited founder of Khayarat which is a platform matching Emirati talents to organizations seeking to hire the best professionals.

 Accomplished Sheraa caretaker, Najila Al Midfa, concentrates her efforts in discovering and moulding the next generations of innovators. Through Sheraa’s leadership, Sheraa has expanded to become one of the most concentrated entrepreneurs of an innovative economy in Sharjah and other areas. It provides proper tools and support as well as connections that one needs in order to transform the business concepts into viable enterprises. Sheraa thereby plays a big role in nurturing the environment of entrepreneurship that contributes to the process of economic development of the region and the diversification process in particular. Being is the Vice Chairman of Young Arab Leaders, Al Midfa expands her reach more than being in the board of directors of the company. It was to ensure that the visions of positive change by the young leadership from the Arab world was enhanced by the needed skills and knowledge; the organization was to support these captains to be able to address the existing challenges. Regarding this, Al Midfa’s implication demonstrate her concern toward building leadership capacities and fostering organisational culture of collaboration and creativity among the youths.

Khayarat was launched by Najila Al Midfa and it has been having immense responsibilities of arranging the opportunities for Emirati talent in different fields and with different companies. It fits in with the very real demand emerging in the UAE job market – of finding people with the right skill sets and matching those with organizations that seek to tap into local intelligence and experience. Al Midfa is not only moving many steps forward in the ladder between employee and employer in the case of Khayarat but also progressing profoundly in transforming the talent development ladder in the whole region by empowering local professionals.

 Najila Al Midfa has till now developed an outstanding career and, therefore, her potential and experiences are vast and diverse. Her professional experience with organizations of this world’s fame like Google, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, McKinsey & Company, PwC, and Shell makes her background very rich as related to business and entrepreneurship. Therefore, she had armed herself with the right knowledge and experience in bring positive change and implementing new ideas. We can use this example to see that her job at Google made her appreciate the field of technology and things which beasts change over time. Likewise, she has learnt enterprise development and support for start-ups during her time at Khalifa Fund. Moreover, she has gained good experience from dealing with McKinsey & Company, PwC and SHELL that has developed her ability on strategic thinking and problem solving.  Najila Al Midfa continues the forming of the proper entrepreneurial environment and qualified human resources in the UAE as the leader and an entrepreneur. Her goal is simple, to foster a world in which everyone, especially budding entrepreneurs get a platform to positively impact society in his or her own style. With her experience based on a broad diverse background, Al Midfa is ready and eager to unlock doors of creativity, cooperation and capacity that will ensure the growth of not only the local but also the global community.

Khalifa Al-Jaziri is a shining example of an innovative and successful UAE entrepreneur that clinches a place on Forbes’ list of inspiring business personalities. If anyone can epitomise the blend of strategic management and the technological revolution it is the young student turned risk taker turned business tycoon. That is why to get a better understanding of how Khalifa Al-Jaziri is pioneering home automation and beyond, here is a closer look at him. The Libyan story of Khalifa Al-Jaziri of the company is quite an inspiring and focuses on the vision of the leader. The background with which Khalifa went armed is that of the Master’s Degree in Urban Planning that he got from the American University of Sharjah, armed with which, he is uniquely placed to understand systems and design. His experience in architectural designs serves well to his business insight while also enriching his ability to fuse innovative technology into people’s domestic lives.

 In the year 2003, this visionary was able to start of the future improvement, and he did this through the establishment of E-Home AUTOMATION together with his brother. This business endeavour was significant in the GCC region setting it as one the first players in home automation and networking. E-Home AUTOMATION’s mission was clear from the outset: to reposition technologies that inform residence to not only create smarter, efficient, but also feel comfortable residing places. New technologies hence set E-Home AUTOMATION on a new path immediately after Khalifa assumed leadership of the firm. The firm offers advanced home automation services which mean that home security, comfort and energy usage are improved. Their systems are designed to work in conjunction with different home appliances and devices providing a level of sophistication that can only be applauded for creating new benchmarks for the industry.

Therefore, it is not only technological advancement but also Khalifa’s strategy that made the company succeed. He has also well succeeded in positioning E-Home AUTOMATION ahead of the emerging competition within the sector due to exemplary knowledge in the fast-growing technology market. This foresight has not only driven growth to the company but has also placed it on the map as home automation systems provider. These include success not only of E-Home AUTOMATION but also other accomplishments of Khalifa Al-Jaziri such as being a certified electrical engineer and a member of the international engineering technical association. These areas have received much recognition in the UAE and other comparable nations within the GCC due to his management and passion toward innovation. This is so because to be ranked as the inspiring business leader by the Forbes is a clear indication that he has been instrumental in changing the business world.

The achievements of E-Home AUTOMATION are the result of Khalifa’s efforts and desire to always go further and set new records in the field of home automation. Its projects are lauded with technical merits and some of the ventures have set the standards of today’s living spaces. The various solutions that Khalifa has propounded and implemented have coaxed technology into integrating with the lives of home users to optimize the usefulness of homes and even their value in enhancing citizens’ quality of life.

Khalifa Al-Jaziri is set to steer E-Home AUTOMATION while his vision will be on advancing more innovations and tapping more markets. The future is definitely bright for home automation especially with the inspirational leadership of Khalifa and his team as they lead the way to further developments. They are fundamental priorities of a topical orientation that clearly underlines dedication to technology lifestyle integration as part of a new paradigm of technological development that is imminent to reshape human existence.