We sat down with Marwan Haitham Haddad from RAKEZ about their entry for the International Business & Leadership Awards based in the UAE. Who are competing in the following categories.
• Inspirational female leader Category: AYSHA SULAIMAN
• Marketing, Social Media and Brand Category
Tell us a little bit about RAKEZ & what they do?
RAKEZ is a powerhouse business and industrial hub strategically located in Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), connecting global investors to emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Presently, RAKEZ houses over 14,500 companies from more than 100 countries covering over 50 industries, making it one of the largest economic zones in the region.RAKEZ uniquely offers free zone and non-free zone entity formations, simplified processes and first-class services in one-stop shops, as well as a variety of facility choices such as shared workstations, offices, warehouses and land for development.
Sum up your entries in one sentence?
• Inspirational female leader Category – AYSHA SULAIMAN : Aysha has successfully created a set of proactive remarks and continual improvement at RAKEZ.
• Marketing, Social Media and Brand Category : Our entry is focused on the marketing efforts we did to encourage women to fulfil their entrepreneurial dreams.
Why have you entered the awards?
• Inspirational female leader Category – AYSHA SULAIMAN : Aysha is a dedicated employee that wears multiple hats and gets things done. She leads strategical projects & social contributions. She demonstrates success at implementing technology, org development & takes smart risks to advance org/personal goals. She has the ability to encourage creative solutions; to solve difficult challenges provided innovative or “out of the box” solutions. She was able to accomplish a set of strategic HR projects and managed integration project (RAKEZ is a newly formed org resulting from integrating 2 entities: RAKFTZ and RAKIA). She was able to drive HR function which was more crucial than ever to leverage the potentials of the two entities towards realizing the new vision, structure, culture, and objectives . She took additional responsibilities to handle the HR function of sister companies: RAKICC & RAKMedia Office as well as a responsibility of Admin Dept .She was able to Implement HR policies which support employee: Paternity leave, continuation of education, team building, flexible working time, extended maternity leave.
• Marketing, Social Media and Brand Category : We entered the awards because we are proud of the outcome of our RAKEZ Business Women campaign. This product is the first-of-its-kind in the UAE, and with hours of brainstorming from conceptualisation to post launch, we are confident that we have given the product the recognition and recall that it deserves. More than that, we have already empowered 217 women to be their own boss to-date in just 3 months. Just think about how many more women we will be able to tap and encourage with the continuous right messaging and action plans. We believe that this campaign is not merely to drive figures. This campaign really makes a difference for many aspiring women entrepreneurs out there.
What do you think will separate you from the competition?
With this entry, what will set us apart from the competition is our main motivation behind the campaign, which is more than just for the benefit of our company. Putting all the metrics aside, our aim with this is to tap women and inspire them to become the business leaders they are meant to become. Every time we get a lead for this product, don’t think about the money we are going to make. Think about how many women we are encouraging to make a move, to take an interest to step out of their comfort zone, and finally go after their business dream. In that perspective, we are already winning.
Your thoughts on what you are experiencing in your Sector/Industry in the region you operate in?
As with any other sectors, the competition is becoming neck and neck. The landscape is changing as more and more free zones are being formed. One thing we observed, however, is that everyone is competing in price, but it’s not always ‘the most affordable’ that wins at the end of the day. It’s the one that offers great value for money and this is where we are focusing to differentiate ourselves. We are putting into a package not only our products, services and infrastructure but the overall RAKEZ experience.
