As entrepreneurship becomes an increasingly popular career choice among recent graduates, two alumni from the Canadian University Dubai (CUD) School of Management have shared their different pathways into the business start-up world. Born into an entrepreneurial family, e-business graduate, Mugheera Nadeem, set up his first business in his second year of university, while marketing major, Saad Ramadan, spent several years in the corporate world before his entrepreneurial spirit was ignited when he spotted a gap in the market.
A serial entrepreneur from an early age, Nadeem is now Managing Director of Madocsa Shipping, a logistics company that he established in 2022 to deliver supply chain solutions in some of the world’s most turbulent regions. Discussing his journey, Nadeem said, “I had always dreamed of following my father’s career path to become an entrepreneur and the opportunity arose during my first internship at CUD. I was placed with an organization handling defence logistics and became fascinated by the industry, quickly realizing that’s where my future would lie.”
Nadeem continued, “I established my first logistics start-up alongside my studies and though the business did not last, I learnt a lot of valuable lessons in entrepreneurship and gained a better understanding of the marketplace. Having established a niche, and navigating through a lot of trial and error, I now have a successful logistics business. We have grown from a tiny office to a workforce of 20 operating in a free zone, and we have successfully entered European and global markets, all in under one and a half years. I think the key to success is believing that your idea is unlike any other and staying consistent in your approach.”
In contrast, content creator Ramadan initially set his sights on success in the corporate world, launching his career as a brand manager for Red Bull, before a posting with renowned global advertising organization, Leo Burnett. Now Group Account Director at URBN Media, a content development company he co-founded in March 2020, Ramadan also channels his creative talent as an R&B artist, with over 1.2 million streams to his name.
Explaining his route into entrepreneurship, Ramadan said, “In high school, we had a varied curriculum that involved a lot of creativity, and that is what led me to pursue a marketing degree. I transferred to Brock University in Canada, where I had intended to graduate, but then an opportunity arose to come back to Dubai to be a student brand manager for Red Bull. I took that leap of faith, which ultimately helped me to transition into the creative sector in Dubai, where I spent five years in industry.”
Ramadan continued, “While working at Leo Burnett I saw the opportunity to apply my passions for creating content and making music to meet a gap in the market for a different style of social media campaign. I’d enjoyed my time contributing to teams in larger organizations, but I had come to realize that the corporate world was not for me and took another leap of faith to launch URBN Media. In the past four years as a business owner, I’ve been able to combine my music with my love of the creative process, to develop campaigns for some of the world’s leading brands.”
Nadeem and Ramadan are among dozens of CUD graduates who have successfully launched a start-up since leaving the university. Dr. Kiran Tangri, Assistant Professor in the School of Management and Coordinator of Entrepreneurship Offerings at CUD explained, “Entrepreneurship is one of the pillars that underpin our curriculum at Canadian University Dubai. Through our foundation entrepreneurship courses, every student across every major has the opportunity to explore their creative side, develop their innovative ideas and engage with industry to explore their viability, while gaining valuable insights into the market. We are proud to see more and more graduates launching their businesses and adding value to the regional business landscape.”
