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UAE Moments
an hour ago
- UAE Moments
Your Daily Career Tarot Card Reading for August 16th, 2025
16.8.25 The Hanged Man: The Hanged Man card may show a tendency to drift rather than take action. It's possible that you're waiting for a job or promotion - or perhaps business success to fall into your lap, when you really need to get out there and make it happen. Begin today to work out what you want and to plan a strategy that will enable you to reach your goal.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Money & Me: ‘My journey to the Dubai boardroom started with selling sanitary ware in Deira market'
Anis Sajan, vice chairman of Dubai-based conglomerate Danube Group, learnt the art of sales when he went door-to-door trying to sell water purifiers in Mumbai in 1991. This was after he had to leave Kuwait in 1990, where he went to join his elder brother Rizwan Sajan − current chairman of Danube Group − in sales, after the country was invaded by Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Although he made good money in Mumbai, Mr Sajan landed in Dubai in 1992 to join the plywood business of his elder brother. The younger sibling started off his Dubai journey by selling sanitary ware. 'My brother liked the Middle East, so he came to Dubai. Within six months, he started his own business using his Kuwait experience and asked me to join him,' he recalls. 'At the time, I was a bit reluctant because I didn't like Kuwait very much. But as soon as I landed in Dubai, I was taken straight to an Indian restaurant called Kamat in Karama. That made me feel right at home and the rest is history.' The Indian businessman, who studied only until the 11th grade, is now in charge of Danube's building materials division and handles the Milano brand, which includes sanitary hardware, electrical tiles and water purifiers. Mr Sajan, 54, currently lives in Emirates Hills with his wife and two children. Did wealth feature in your childhood? What did you learn from it? Not really. I grew up in a middle-class family in a chawl (a large building divided into many separate apartments, offering basic accommodation) in the Ghatkopar suburb of Mumbai, where we just had enough and lived hand to mouth. That upbringing taught me the value of money, how to spend it and respect it. How did you first earn? What did your first job pay? Before I went to Kuwait, I sold festive lights to people during the Indian festival of Diwali. I earned 300 Indian rupees ($3.40) doing this in 1988. My first proper job was with home appliance company Eureka Forbes, after I came from Kuwait. I went door to door selling water purifiers, which offered me a good experience in sales and also taught me to cope with rejection. I earned 25,000 Indian rupees a month in 1991 because I was a good salesman. I would never give up and kept knocking on doors until I clinched a sale a day. Any early financial jolts? The biggest financial setback was losing my father, who worked as a clerk, when I was just eight years old. My father was the family's breadwinner, while my brother was doing a part-time job. After his demise, he shouldered all responsibilities. It was a financial jolt, because we went from a hand-to-mouth existence to a level hard to imagine. When I came to Dubai in 1992, I was earning around Dh2,000 ($544.50) per month, so there wasn't much of a financial shock as such. I was good in sales. So, my brother and I started our own business where I sold sanitaryware and my brother sold plywood in the Deira market. The business took off. We went from being a business comprising two people to a 5,000-member workforce today. How do you grow your wealth? To grow your wealth, you need to invest in the right places. I invested in a few properties in Dubai in the early 2000s, which gave me good returns. I also grow my wealth through my business. Today is the right time to invest in UAE property. UAE real estate is one of the finest places to invest, because the return on investment is at least 8 per cent to 10 per cent, which is not available anywhere else in the world. Also, this country is a home away from home and the safest in the world. Are you a spender or a saver? Initially, I was a spender. But with time and experience, I realised that it's very important to save. Spend only what is required and don't go overboard. I believe it's easy to live rich but difficult to die rich. You need to make sure that you leave wealth behind for your family, so they do not suffer for your mistakes. I teach the same to my children, and I'm glad they have grasped it, especially my younger one who is very careful about spending. What has been your best investment? My house in Emirates Hills as I bought it in 2008 when the real estate market was down. I took a calculated risk, because I believe in a no risk, no gain approach. Today, the property has appreciated considerably. Over time, I also invested in other properties for my sons and my wife. Any cherished purchases? My Casio watch because it taught me the value of time. When I was young, I was always late. I bought it with my first salary in Dubai. Any financial advice for your younger self? Yes, to be prepared for losses when you invest in a property or a business. You cannot expect to make a profit every time. Any key financial milestones? I wouldn't like to brag and let the numbers in the bank define my success. For me, peace of mind has been my biggest milestone. What luxuries are important to you? Spending quality time with my family. Initially I was fascinated by cars, but then I realised that a car is not a luxury. Instead, a comfortable home is a luxury. I prioritise satisfaction over a luxury now. Cars depreciate the moment they come out of the showroom. For instance, I have a Rolls-Royce and a BMW, but I'm more comfortable in the latter. What are your financial goals? To create something long-lasting for my family. I want to give my family financial security even when I'm not around. This has always been the driving force behind my work. I don't like to rest on my laurels.
The National
3 hours ago
- The National
This is what the Muslim world needs to do to boost its birth rate
We are often led to believe that women can have babies or careers – but not both. Every fresh dip in birth rates revives that refrain, and an emerging social media industry of 'back to tradition' influencers holds it up as proof that women's work is inherently at odds with family life. Policymakers – inside and outside the Muslim world – often buy the story and respond with cash or tax reductions for childbirth to incentivise fertility upwards. I start from a different place: the trade-off is mismeasured. This is important to understand because fertility and female labour participation are both critical to our economies. Each drives growth, stability and intergenerational prosperity, and neither can be sacrificed without long-term economic costs. The assumption that societies must choose between them is a false dichotomy, and that mistake is proving very costly. Crucially, international evidence shows that more jobs for women does not automatically mean a lower birth rate. In France and Sweden, well over half of adult women work – 52 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively – and fertility rates remain higher than in most Muslim-majority countries with far lower female labour force participation. Some may point out that in addition to both of these countries having strong maternity leave and childcare support policies, a majority of births now occur outside of marriage (62 per cent in France, and 55 per cent in Sweden). This credits a flexible, non-traditional view of family structures with promoting fertility, and that is indeed true. Does that mean the Muslim world, where most – if not all – societies heavily favour traditional family structures centred on marriage, is doomed to choose between female employment or higher birth rates? The answer is no, and the key examples here are Bangladesh and Indonesia. Both countries preserve traditional norms, with marriage remaining the primary route to childbearing, evidenced by the fact that only 3 per cent of births occurring out of wedlock. But they also sustain both high female employment and fertility rates near (in the case of Bangladesh) or above (in Indonesia) the replacement rate of 2.1. The assumption that societies must choose between fertility and female labour participation is a false dichotomy, proving very costly Equally interesting, however, is Turkey, which also demonstrates that there can be a positive – not inverse – relationship between female employment and birth rates. But the difference is that in Turkey, both are low. Like Bangladesh and Indonesia, only 3 per cent of children are born out of wedlock but female labour force participation lags at 36 per cent and the fertility has dropped to 1.48. So, it's clear in these cases that there need not be a trade-off. But it's also clear that something is going right in Bangladesh and Indonesia, and wrong in Turkey. What explains the divergence? This is an important question to answer for the Islamic world, where, unlike France and Sweden, marriage is likely to remain the dominant path to having children. And marriage is a very relevant part of the answer, because the difference in the cost of entry to married life is, in fact, a major determinant of fertility. When marriage is high-cost and there is no alternative, childbearing becomes locked behind a prohibitively expensive institution. In Turkey, which has branded 2025 the 'Year of the Family' clearly out of concern for the declining birth rate, the first step into partnered adulthood has drifted out of reach. Youth unemployment stands at 18 per cent, and even those with jobs often rely on near-minimum wages. More than half of all employees earn at or near the minimum wage – a figure higher among young workers, who are the main pool of prospective couples. Given these numbers, for couples planning to marry simply securing a modest apartment consumes nearly an entire full-time income – before accounting for deposits, furnishings or wedding expenses. In 31 of the country's 81 provinces, the average rent consumes three quarters of the net minimum wage. In Istanbul, the largest city, the average rent far surpasses it. Ankara's new Family and Youth Fund, established to promote stable families, offers an interest-free, four-year loan of 150,000 liras ($3,683) to couples starting a family. But in big cities, that amount barely covers three months of rent, household appliances and basic furnishings. And because youth unemployment remains high and this is, after all, just a loan, the programme merely postpones financial pressure rather than removing it. The contrasting success in Bangladesh and Indonesia is thanks to the fact that both countries, through policy and social practice, have tightly regulated the cost of marriage. Bangladesh's Dowry Prohibition Act of 1980 formally limits dowry demands, and widespread campaigns promote low-cost marriage ceremonies. In Indonesia, modest dowry practices and targeted, subsidised mortgage programmes help support more affordable pathways into household formation. The result is a low-cost, culturally sanctioned pathway into family-building allows both female employment and replacement-level fertility to co-exist. The math is simple: one rising line – the cost of setting up a household – pushes two curves – marriage and fertility – down. That's the real trade-off. To be clear, household inflation is not the only brake. Stagnant wages, crowded cities, extended schooling and evolving ideals all weigh on fertility decisions. Yet, the upfront cost of forming a family is the one variable governments can re-price fastest. It is also the one too many of them have largely ignored, focusing instead on paying couples who are already married for having children. It is simply unsustainable to invest heavily in post-birth incentives while ignoring the rising cost of forming a household in the first place, because the longer that process is delayed, the less likely births are to happen. Governments in the Gulf, where family start-up costs are a known factor in a multi-year decline in birth rates, are taking notice of this. In Qatar, the steep costs associated with weddings—and difficulties obtaining housing—are making marriage increasingly out of reach for many young couples. In the UAE, fertility has slipped to roughly 1.2 children per woman for Emirati citizens. A 2017 study by Zayed University put the average combined wedding and dowry cost at over $180,000 – a factor that for years pushed many marriages into the couple's early 30s. The UAE government has discouraged lavish weddings in recent years, explicitly linking the policy to efforts to promote family-building after studies showed that prohibitive cost is one of the main reasons Emiratis either choose not to marry or do so later in life. Last month, the UAE's Minister of Family, Sana bint Mohammed Suhail, announced plans for a national fertility strategy, saying the intention is to take a 'multidimensional approach' of 'not just revisiting child allowances or housing policies – although these matter – but rethinking how we empower young Emiratis to build families with confidence'. A similar mindset shift is required elsewhere in the region to introduce more policies that have an impact well before a married couple start considering having a child. In the Islamic world, many governments claim to champion family values and yet often treat single adults as afterthoughts – or worse, liabilities. But singles are not outsiders to family policy; they are its foundation. Once that shift is made, a more effective strategy becomes possible – one that recognises that fertility depends on two stages: singles' entry into family life by forming a stable union, and sustaining that union post-entry. If the entry point is blocked, no amount of post-entry incentives like baby bonuses will move the needle. What does this mean for policymakers? Multilateral lenders and intergovernmental organisations – such as the Islamic Development Bank, OIC agencies, UN Population Fund and the World Bank – already finance maternal health and early-childhood programmes across the Islamic world. With the right adjustments, they and individual governments could make these portfolios marriage-smart. One way to do that is to create clear metrics to track marriage affordability. International organisations, in particular, could develop a standardised marriage-affordability index and incorporate it into their country reports. While certain indicators – like wedding costs, starter-home affordability and age at first marriage – are routinely collected in some contexts, there remains no consolidated index that offers a clear picture of entry barriers to family formation. A useful parallel is the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business index, which transformed policy by systematically measuring the time, procedural steps and costs required to start a business. A comparable approach for marriage and household formation could similarly drive reforms. Without this visibility, governments and lenders risk designing policies that address symptoms rather than causes. Moreover, what gets measured gets budget lines. Second, more lenders and ministries should expand funding for scalable, marriage-enabling programmes that lower the cost of forming a household. This means bankrolling gate-openers – both new initiatives and existing best practices, like wedding loans, rent-to-own housing schemes and dowry insurance pools. Finally, economic policy should channel industrial loans toward sectors that create stable, formal employment opportunities for women. Ensuring that two paycheques can sustain a household helps keep the gate to marriage open. In Bangladesh, for example, targeted support for the garment sector created a culturally accepted form of work for women, enabling millions to contribute to household income. The cost of inaction is clear: shrinking workforces, a resurgent but mistaken narrative blaming women's economic participation, chronically underperforming economies and a generation unable to afford family formation. In the end, labour and love are not opposing forces. But when marriage becomes a luxury good, both the economy and family life falter.
