Starting something new in life does not need a particular time or an age limit. This was successfully proved by Dubai based entrepreneur, Ms. Aashifa Saleem, when she recently launched her dream project to help small home grown businesses. It was her long awaited mission to achieve something she had dreamed of long ago and finally triumphed!

Knowing the pandemic situation, Ms. Aashifa has recently launched a platform for small businesses, namely “Passionpreneurs Hub”. As Christmas is just around the corner, this initiative will help small home-grown businesses that are still in the registration process. This platform will help small-scale businesses to develop resourceful promotional strategies and by extension, upscale their profit. Ms. Aashifa’s dream project is an opportunity for any individual to shine in the limelight and showcase their potential. This opportunity will explicitly increase the local market economy and provide employment as well.

A Dubai resident, Ms. Aashifa hails originally from Bangalore, India and has been in the event business for the last 15 years! She started out in the events sector in her university days when she took up small time usher jobs at concerts, gala dinners or gala events just so that she could earn some extra pocket money. Her initial motive behind joining the events business was unclear. She was a young, cool and an enthusiastic individual who had a vibrant lifestyle and wanted to try out different things. At first, she had no proper direction and this made her take a plunge into it. But soon, she was so enthralled by the glamour, the excitement, and the hustle in the events business. It all fascinated her and that’s what really motivated her to be in the events business.

She quotes, “I’m very passionate about the entertainment and glamour business. In fact, I initially started off with a lot of fashion and beauty gigs. That’s what really drives me and that’s what really got me into the events sector. There is a lot of fame attached to it, which brings recognition to your work and that’s

another motivator for me!” Talking about the Dubai events industry, Ms. Aashifa Saleem says that being a resident of Dubai for more than ten years now, has taught her that this is a very fast-paced, highly competitive and innovative sphere. It’s also very lucrative because when it comes to monetization, the global market is ready to sponsor generously into the events held in Dubai.

This is mainly because it has very good purchasing power. Moreover, overnight success is possible here because this place is for dreamers and achievers! Secondly, Dubai holds some of the world’s biggest global events which have given it name and fame. For instance, in the world of beauty, there is “Beauty World”, in the field of construction we have “Cityscape Global’, and in the HR discipline there is “HR Summit and Expo” as well. She further goes on to add that there are other events happening in Abu Dhabi as well and that even though there are seven different emirates with seven different rulers, they are a very cooperative and an inter-supportive nation that place themselves as ONE on the global map!

Furthermore, with the Expo 2020 surfacing, the event has placed Dubai very prominently on the world map and so the events industry is only going to get bigger from here on. The pandemic did hit the sector massively and everything was affected by it. There were digital platforms that supported the events department but only so much. Much like anything else, events also need to be tangible and as the human race has survived with the magical human touch and the live feel so far, so is the need of the hour as well.

Ms. Aashifa has had a long and hard history of working in the events industry. She has organized more than a 100 events in different capacities and each one has brought something new and interesting her way. But something that she is really spearheaded about is the “Beauty Championship” which was the first of its kind back in 2016-2017. Ms. Aashifa has launched several designers, actors and models, worked on UAE’s Space Agency Launch in 2015, the global expositions concept called the “Host City Summit”.

She has also worked on the “Future Food Forum” to address and eradicate the thriving issues in the food industries in the UAE. She also took part in important and difficult events like “Solar Operations Maintenance and Asset Management”. It was one of the biggest challenges of executing this concept while the industry itself had just started to take off and manifest itself. This was an event that took place in Jordan. It is therefore no surprise that she is called “The Landscape Queen” as she was one of the star performers for hosting the “Future Landscape Qatar” which took place in Qatar.

As her events’ experience goes way beyond Dubai or even the UAE, she has certain things planned for her future. She plans to host conceptualised events in Dubai. She is a creative visionary and intends to add new and improved experience for not only the attendees, but also sponsors and exhibitors. A person, smitten by the true charm of the entertainment industry, she aspires to hold more events filled with glamour and excitement! Creating her own concepts in the glamour industry is just what she loves to do!

Mystery and vigour, combined with fun and a little bit of magic is what the world expects from Ms. Aashifa Saleem!