UAE-based investment banking veteran sets up a real estate tech start-up: Here’s why, how

UAE-based investment banking veteran sets up a real estate tech start-up: Here’s why, how

"By 13, if I was not studying or training, I was working, and my summer jobs in Dubai were in the construction field," recalled Lebanese-Palestinian expat Walid Shihabi, 46. He inherited such a work ethic from his father, who had moved to Dubai in 1964 to build roads, schools, hospitals and housing in the fledgling city. Shihabi did not see the jobs he did in his teens as punishment but rather as an opportunity. "I started my first business at 14, subcontracting maintenance jobs, and then spent the next six years on the income I had accumulated from this business." He had learned that opportunities were always present if you were open to acquiring them. "The experiences helped me build knowledge from the ground up, understand what everyone does and why, and listen and learn before I speak." Shihabi has over 15 years of investment banking experience in Dubai and the broader Middle East, mainly as managing director of asset manager SHUAA Capital and chief executive officer (CEO) of investment bank SHUAA Securities. He played a role in raising money for some of the most prominent listed companies in the Middle East, including DP World, Air Arabia, Emaar Properties, Royal