Dubai: Family-owned businesses are often recognised as prominent participants in not only the GCC, but also in the wider global economy. But how did they come about playing an influential role, operate in the UAE and what makes them different from conventional businesses structures?
What is a family business? A family business is any business in which two or more members of the same family are involved and most of the ownership or control lies within such a family.
Family businesses, and their role in the Gulf
Family businesses have a long history in the Gulf and are considered key to nearly every economy in the region, with research showing that they account for a large chunk of the GCC’s non-oil gross domestic product growth.
Felice Friedson
Official sees economic prosperity as the key to peace
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum grew up in Gibraltar and studied law at King’s College London, where she practiced until immigrating to Israel in 2001. There, she became the executive director of Tikva, a nonprofit organization dedicated to saving abandoned and abused Jewish children from the former Soviet Union, and later established a communications consulting business.
In 2016, Hassan-Nahoum was elected to the Jerusalem Municipal Council, rising to opposition leader one year later. Upon her re-election in 2018, she was appointed deputy mayor for foreign relations, economic development and tourism.
Hassan-Nahoum is deeply involved in the advancement of women’s rights and marginalized population groups in the city: its economic development, and for a pluralistic Jerusalem. Hassan-Nahoum is also the co-founder of the UAE-Israel Business Council and Gulf-Israel Women’s Forum.