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More than 2 years on, UAE startups born during Covid are still going strong
These businesses have grown successfully, and continue to make their presence felt in the market
File Photo. Image used for illustrative purpose
Many UAE startups born during Covid-19, in order to cater to the unique needs that arose, are now faring well in the post-pandemic period.
Be it education, recycling or other industries, these businesses have grown successfully and are continuing to their make presence felt in the market.
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Elmadrasaha.com, which provides online tutoring and other educational programmes, and Al Tabeeah, which manufactures biodegradable products, are two of the companies that were born during the pandemic.
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Rashid Al Balushi, co-founder of Elmadrasah, said that initially the firm struggled but when Covid-19 changed the way people consume educational material.
“We have 50,000 active students from 30 countries and 1,000-plus teachers across different countries including Egypt, South Africa, India, the Philippines, the UK, and many other countries. We teach subjects from primary to high school, college admission programmes, migration exams and languages. Due to the boom witnessed in the GCC countries after the pandemic, more people tend to learn Arabic now. We are the first and largest platform for online learning in the UAE,” he said.
“We started with tutoring but wanted to be a well-established online school that you can 100 per cent depend on from grade 1 to 12, especially for people who are abroad and travelling. When Arabs go to the UK, US and other countries, some subjects are not available in those schools, especially Arabic. So we are like a back-up for them,” Al Balushi told Khaleej Times in an interview at the Expand North Star, which will run from October 13 to 16 at Dubai Harbour. Expand North Star is part of the Gitex Global exhibition, which will run from October 14 to 18 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
“We have finished all the legal work needed and will be foraying into Saudi Arabia", Al Balushi said. The business is also looking to expand to cover all GCC countries.
Growing under the umbrella of the Dubai SME programme, Elmadrasah charges Dh50-60 per every 1-hour session.
“Most of the students are from UAE (both nationals and expats) and then Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other GCC countries follow. My son was the first student of Elmadrasah,” Al Balushi added.
While Elmadrasah focused on the online educational setting, Al Tabeeah focused on the problem of waste disposal during the pandemic.
The founder, Shifali Mishra, of UAE-based Al Tabeeah said the business took shape when she found herself looking at a 6-foot-tall plastic container – taller than her – waiting to be recycled.
“I did some research and found that if there is food in contact with plastic, it can be harmful to us. Also if food is hot in a plastic container, it releases chemicals. There should be an alternative to it. That led to the creation of Al Tabeeah in the post-pandemic period,” she added.
Al Tabeeah has changed 3 million pieces of food packaging from plastic-based to compostable materials. Some of Al Tabeeah’s clients are airlines and catering companies involved in the Fifa World Cup.
“We have disposable products that were made out of sugarcane waste. We make food containers and packaging material out of it. Our gifting items are made out of cotton waste, generated from the fashion industry. The response has been amazing. People are scared of having plastic in their blood and in the milk for breastfeeding mothers. Materials that come into contact with food should have no plastic,” she added.
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Waheed Abbas
Waheed Abbas is Assistant Editor, covering real estate, aviation and other business stories that directly affect the lives of UAE consumers. He frequently reports human interest stories, too.
waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com 
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