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My first day in UAE: 'I came with Dh100, 3 pairs of clothes'

Haji E.P. Moosa, Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Fathima Group, came to Abu Dhabi 43 years ago from India to work with his uncle at his grocery. He shares his story of struggle which made his retail chain grow to a sizeable presence not only in the UAE but in KSA and Oman.

I came here to assist my uncle, who had a grocery store in Abu Dhabi's commercial centre in Madinat Zayed Area.
Before coming here, I was working at our family's restaurant in erstwhile Bombay.
I was 18 when I set sailed with other 400 passengers on the famous passenger ship Dwarka in December, 1973. After a tiring voyage of seven days and nights, I arrived in Dubai, to begin a new life.
Dubai was a small trading and fishing town and there were a few buildings and roads unlike today, when its skyline is dotted by the world's iconic super- structures like Burj Khalifa and other buildings.
My uncle received me at the port and brought me here in Abu Dhabi, driving on a single lane, dusty Dubai-Abu Dhabi road.
I came here with only Dh100 equivalent of Indian rupees and three pairs of clothes. My father had purchased the ship's ticket for me for Rs600.
My routine day would begin at 7am with the opening of the shop, where I would deal with customers, handle cash, load and unload goods and deliver goods at customers' doorstep in a delivery van.
Back then in 1973, there were few telephones. So customers from noble families would come to our store to place the order and we would deliver them at their homes.
Though my salary was not fixed since it was my uncle's business and we were a joint family, I remember he gave me Dh600 for expenses, as my first salary.
I had a tough routine and worked without a day off. For the first 18-months of my job I don't remember taking an off-day.
At the shop, I became well versed with the customer service and even learned to manage business independently sometimes.
Life was bit tough. Rents were high at that time as the construction activity had just began after the establishment of the UAE as a federation of seven emirates. Workers and office executives had just started coming to the country for work.
At that time, Abu Dhabi had only two 'high-rise' buildings; the two-storeyed TV building located behind Etisalat on Airport Road and the three-storeyed Passport office.
Now, the Capital has over a dozen buildings that are 50-storeys or more, while other structures like Formula One Circuit, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi and Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque bring thousands of tourists each day.
For four years, I worked as salesman, cashier and delivery man with my uncle and in 1977, decided to open a grocery myself. From that single store, I managed to grow my business to 26 stores in the region now and a sincere workforce of 3,000 staff. Now, the Fathima Group comprises 18 companies, with an annual sales turnover of Dh1.5 billion, which will grow to Dh2 billion with further expansions.
I believe in the immense business potential of the UAE, which will keep growing strongly. That's why I am investing in a big way in new businesses.
The UAE leadership is farsighted, wise and pro-business, so I am confident that everything will be fine.
Dubai's pivotal position in the region as a business and trading hub is here to stay forever. Millions of traders, tourists, business executives and passengers would keep coming here, as it is on the cross-roads of east and west. It's heaven for businessmen, workers and executives alike.
(As told to Haseeb Haider)