It Takes A Global Village To Raise An BIZ Experiences We all have a responsibility as a community to support Arab innovation by encouraging our home grown innovators.

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Working with Melltoo Marketplace, a Dubai-based mobile app for buying and selling used items in the UAE, I've started to learn a lot about BIZ Experiencesship and the startup scene. Over the past couple of months, I've met a lot of young BIZ Experiencess with all kinds of startups and I've come to one very simple conclusion: true success cannot be achieved in isolation. Nowadays, more and more young Arab BIZ Experiencess are getting mentorship and financial support from the private and public sector.

That being said, these entities shouldn't be the only ones that are supporting and promoting young Arab BIZ Experiencesship. We all have a responsibility as a community to support Arab innovation by encouraging our home grown innovators. If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a global village to raise an BIZ Experiences. What can we do as a community to support the young Arab BIZ Experiencess in our lives, who are trying to make it in the Dubai startup scene? Here are three things you can start doing today:

1. Be the first investor.

Unfortunately, most young innovators in the Arab world suffer a great lack of moral support from their communities in general. Having grown up in this part of the world, I am very familiar with the region's response to new ideas. When it comes to unconventional business ideas or models, most young Arab BIZ Experiencess are faced with three possible reactions: either one of great suspicion or one of great skepticism, or sometimes even a combination of both.

Understandably, many families in the Arab world still have a hard time grasping how the Internet has revolutionized business, so they discourage young people from pursuing "unconventional' career paths. What these families don't realize is that "conventional' doesn't really pay the bills anymore. Consequently, many young Arab BIZ Experiencess have taken it upon themselves to dive into the "unconventional' worlds of e-commerce and m-commerce to make a living.

While it may be difficult for many Arab families to accept such a career path in the beginning, it is our responsibility as a community to stand by the young pioneers of Arab innovation. So, the next time your friend, brother, sister, daughter, son, niece or nephew talks about starting a new venture with their friends, try to be the person who cheers them on, not the person that tears them down. Be their first emotional investor, because it is a "cheap investment' with a very high ROI for our budding generation of Arab BIZ Experiencess.

2. Help cover the little expenses.

Anyone who lives in Dubai knows how expensive it can be, especially if you are a young BIZ Experiences. While it's not possible for everyone to invest the kind of money needed to maintain a startup, almost anyone can help a young BIZ Experiences pay the daily expenses that they inevitably incur.

Here's an example: networking is essential when it comes to pitching or getting your ideas out there. However, even the free networking events in Dubai aren't really free, because BIZ Experiencess still need to drive there, which means that constantly have to spend money on filling their gas tanks, topping up on SALIK or recharging their RTA parking app. Alternatively, they might have to take a taxi or refill a NOL card- either way, moving around in Dubai can be quite expensive. So, the next time you're taking your aspiring BIZ Experiences out to lunch, show them your support for their startup by offering to help them pay their travel expenses.

Another huge expense for young Arab BIZ Experiencess who commute to Dubai for work and work-related events is lodging. Unfortunately, most networking events in the UAE are held in Dubai and they are hosted at night, which means that BIZ Experiencess who don't live in Dubai have to deal with endless rush-hour traffic and drowsy drives home. So, the next time an BIZ Experiencesial friend has a conference or a meeting in Dubai, offer them your couch to crash. It doesn't cost you anything and it will help your friend grow their startup and protect their savings. Ultimately, by helping young Arab BIZ Experiencess pay their daily expenses, we can help them alleviate some of their financial responsibilities, so they can spend more time and money investing in their startup.

Image credit: Shutterstock.

3. Be a mentor whenever you can.

The biggest thing that young BIZ Experiencess lack when they start out is contacts. Luckily, Dubai is notorious for continuously hosting free networking events, workshops and conferences for aspiring BIZ Experiencess. Having said that, it can be very intimidating to attend these events alone, especially if you're unfamiliar with the startup scene and its lingo. So, the next time a young BIZ Experiences you know expresses interest in attending a networking event in Dubai, offer to go with them so you can give them moral support.

In addition to that, make sure to coach these young BIZ Experiencess on the basics of networking etiquette. These etiquettes can include anything from what to wear at a networking event, how to appropriately greet someone or how to offer your business card to a new contact. When you're mentoring your young BIZ Experiences, make sure to share your best practices when it comes to conducting research on events and their attendees. By sharing your strategies, BIZ Experiencess can start to develop their own networking strategies, which will ultimately give them more confidence.

That being said, you don't have to take a young BIZ Experiences to a networking event to help them network. Introducing your aspiring young BIZ Experiencess to a relevant contact over a meal or a cup of coffee is yet another simple way that you can help them make valuable contacts. At the end of the day, it's not about the quantity of contacts; it's about the quality of contacts. By helping our young Arab BIZ Experiencess develop proper networking skills, we can ultimately help them expand their business networks to include people who can help them take their startup to the next level.

Soukaina Rachidi Alaoui

Founder, RisalatComm

Soukaina Rachidi Alaoui, a Moroccan-American third culture kid born in Morocco and raised in the UAE, holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Delaware. Her professional journey has taken her across different continents and spanned various domains, including student recruitment, management, customer service, public relations, writing, and community development. In 2018, driven by her desire to give back to her community, Soukaina returned to Morocco, where she has mentored and empowered hundreds of Moroccan youth since.

Today, Soukaina is the founder and director of RisalatComm, or "Your Message" in Arabic, a Morocco-based social impact communication and consultation agency that seeks to help organizations of all sizes meet their creative, management, and capacity-building needs, and help Moroccan communities and leaders prosper. When she isn’t busy writing or talking about youth empowerment, BIZ Experiencesship, and sustainable development, Soukaina is always trying to find new places to drink a good cup of coffee.

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