From a monthly pay of Dh900 to now running a Dh1.7m business in the UAE, a Syrian expat’s tale

From a monthly pay of Dh900 to now running a Dh1.7m business in the UAE, a Syrian expat’s tale

It’s been 12 years since UAE-based Syrian expat Dr Elias Abboud, 42, moved to Dubai to pursue entrepreneurship in the pharmaceutical industry. But long before he did, Abboud worked as a medical representative in Syria, a country he spent his growing years in.

"My first job as a medical representative in 2003 fetched me a monthly pay of $250 [Dh918]. Later, I joined a pharma company as a supervisor for $800 [Dh2,938]. Soon after, I was promoted to the role of marketing manager with a salary of $1,200 [Dh4,407]," he said, when speaking on his work career.

"Three years later, I accepted a salary offer of $3,000 [Dh11,017] from another pharma company. Later, I moved to Dubai, earning a $6,000 [Dh22,035] salary in 2014, before I ventured out on my own to launched a ‘FemTech’ company specialsing in nanotechnology-based sanitary products for women."

What is ‘FemTech’? Femtech is a term applied to a category of software, diagnostics, products, and services that use technology to focus on women's health.

The term ‘FemTech’ was first coined in 2016 by Danish internet entrepreneur Ida Tin. In the course of just a few years, it has grown to encompass a range of technology-enabled, consumer-centric products and solutions.

Building a