My first day in UAE: 'I landed in the UAE with $8'

Self-made entrepreneur Dr B.R. Shetty continues to go by an important lesson from his mother: serve society with everything that you do

It was may 3, 1973 - the day I will never forget in my life - when I landed in Abu Dhabi on an Air India flight. I was a 29-year-old man who had only $8.

The day was a typical hot and sizzling Abu Dhabi summer day. I came out of the airport terminal building empty-handed as the Air India aircraft I flew with did not bring my baggage. So I had no clothes, shoes and other things I had brought with me.

My accommodation was arranged at a house in the Madinat Zayed area, in an old-style Arabic villa. The first thing me and four people staying there did was cleaning the sewage waste gathered in the house.

In the extreme weather conditions of Abu Dhabi, electric fans were a huge blessing as air-conditioners and refrigerators had not arrived then.

Life was tough due to the hot and humid weather; I had to walk a lot on dusty roads to search for a job and later on for business.

TOP MEETINGS: Dr B.R. Shetty with the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan; the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

I am thankful to a friend of mine who was working here as an engineer for advising me to come over to work here as the country had recently become a federation and rich oil resources were being pumped into building the new country.

Since I had a degree in pharmacy, I wanted a government job in the healthcare sector. But my lack of Arabic language skills meant that such opportunities were not available. I spent about a month distributing my CV to potential employers, but nothing worked out.

After a month I got a sales-related job to market pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products in the Abu Dhabi market. There were no medical representatives at that time and pharmaceutical firms used to send their representatives from Beirut. So I was the first outdoor sales man of Abu Dhabi, who would book orders from supermarkets and general stores and deliver the merchandise - heavy cartons - on my shoulders, going from shop to shop every day. I received my first salary of Dh500 from my employer, the Al Fahimi group, which I sent to my mother to pay off the first installment of our family debt.

Dr Ismail Fahimi and Ali Fahimi of the Al Fahimi group were my first employers, mentors and patrons. I am indebted to them for their support and confidence in me. I will never forget that my first bread here came through them.

In a few months, I was recognised by the local trading community for my work ethics, customer service and style of business.

The capital city is now better known for postcard skyscrapers like Shaikh Zayed Mosque, Emirates Palace, Aldar HQ, Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Towers, Yas Marina Circuit and other buildings. Back then in the mid-1970s, Abu Dhabi was a small town and oil revenues were building up, bringing prosperity into the city and society.

THEN AND NOW: From a facility that started with only a doctor, a dentist, a fully-equipped pathology laboratory, X-ray facilities and other services, Dr B.R. Shetty's business empire now includes the largest private sector healthcare company with a market capitalisation of $2.75 billion.

The city attractions were built around Corniche, Khalifa Street, Hamadan Street and Electra Street. Civic facilities were not as modern and luxurious as now. There were few landmarks. There were few apartment buildings, which housed the executives of oil companies.

At that time, we used to wonder about when we would be able to live in such high-rise apartment buildings with all the attendant amenities.

The chief reason for my coming to Abu Dhabi was to raise enough money to pay off Rs150,000 in debts, borrowed by my family for the wedding of my sister and financing my election campaign. I was elected to the vice-chairmanship of the Udupi Municipal Council, a town in my home state of Karnataka from 1968-73. The people there still remember me for bringing modern sewerage and road facilities to the town.

However, my relocating to Abu Dhabi was lucky for me as it took me 18 months to come out of the debt trap my family was in.

During those times, when even telephone communication was a rarity, I used to write letters to my mother, who was always worried about my welfare. In my first month of unemployment, I wrote to her that I have an electric fan in my house and a refrigerator, which were luxury items in India at that time, and told her that I was very happy and living a good life.

In 1975, inspired by the vision of the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of providing the best healthcare facilities for UAE nationals and expatriates, I came up with an idea to set up a clinic and a pharmacy in a two-room apartment in the Madinat Zayed area, where three of the main medical facilities of our group are now located.

New Medical Centre was started with a doctor, a dentist, a fully-equipped pathology laboratory, X-ray facilities and other services, which were available for a nominal fee. It was something new in an era when medical services were provided free of cost by the state. So, I introduced a new concept of paid medical services, which was quite successful.

Banks have been my partners in my journey of success. I borrowed Dh3 million from Al Khaleej Commercial Bank, which was later merged with two other banks into a new institution named Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

In terms of business environment, the UAE has reached the league of the top 10 nations in the world. Now, everything is online and there are one-window services available. In the early days things were not so easy.

My favourite personality is Shaikh Zayed, the founder of the UAE, who built a welfare state and economic power in just few decades, and provided an environment and ecosystem allowing entrepreneurs like me to flourish and grow without money.

The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, are also leaders I deeply admire. Their leadership, acumen and futuristic thinking have made the difference in every sphere of life.

I am not a bookworm nor do I have a social media account. The last movie I watched was Amir Khan starring in Lagaan.

My mother taught me to serve society with everything I do - on that account, I am pleased with my life so far. I am also happy that in my lifetime I recently saw that Abu Dhabi committed $75 billion investments in India's infrastructure sector on the occasion of the landmark state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I am sure that Abu Dhabi will get a good return on its investments.