Dubai Women Built Businesses Selling Properties Worth Billions, From Ice Cream Scoops To Skyscrapers

Coming from a middle-class family in India, Qurat ul Ain moved to the UAE to finish her education. She funded her tuition fees by selling ice cream for Dh20.

Dubai is a city where dreams come true, and success stories of rags to riches echo in its streets. We often hear that individuals with just a few dirhams have since transformed into millionaires overseeing businesses with transactions worth billions. Qurat ul Ain, the co-founder and Chairperson of DRE, is an inspiring success story. From selling ice cream to skyscrapers, the entrepreneur has made her name in Dubai's highly competitive real estate market.

She started her career as a sales executive selling ice cream in a supermarket 20 years ago. Today, she is the successful leader of a multibillion-dollar dirham company, seeing properties worth over Dh5 billion in 2023 alone. Coming from a humble middle-class family in India, she moved to Dubai to get an education, but she always wanted to fund her education.

 Wonderful Sales

A year later, she joined a hospitality marketing firm selling privilege cards for hotels, where she was influential in the company's growth. "I started doing very well in selling cars and used to make around Dh5000-Dh6000 a month. Once I graduated, I got an offer from the same company, and my basic monthly salary was raised by Dh 9000 plus commission from 2004 to 05. Then, I earned Dh20,000 a month because I was good at sales. After all, it was in my blood."

At her request, Qurat's brother Mudasir Wani later joined her from London to study at a university in Dubai. Her massive breakthrough in real estate came from her uncle. He asked them to join his real estate firm in Dubai as the emirate witnessed its first growth cycle from early 2000 till the 2008 financial crisis.

"After joining the real estate business, we did well initially. However, a financial crisis hit, and my uncle lost Dh40 million. He decided to sell the company, and we took over it and started with the leasing in Dubai Silicon Oasis."

DRE co-founder continued, "I would still be in a hospitality company if not for my uncle and brother. I was quite comfortable because the salary was good. I came by luck but didn't get success by luck. I put in a lot of hard work."

 Turning Point

Since Qurat entered the property business during the financial crises, she started it from scratch and had no losses or debt burden. She has no exposure to the real estate sector and started it with leasing, which was a relatively safer option then. "We had just started, and we were into leasing. The turning point came when we met Saudi billionaire Abdul Jameel, who wanted to buy a commercial space in Dubai to relocate his business from war-hit Lebanon. Initially, they called me to ask me to buy more and asked for a better price. I bought them 13 more floors in the same building. It was a turning point in our lives and the business's success," DRE co-founder said.

Abdul Latif Jameel Group recommended more clients to Qurat after the successful deal. "This has led to a significant increase in our business, with us becoming busier in selling properties in Emirates Hills, The Lakes and Meadows. Our relocation from our initial 400 sq ft office in Karama to Business Bay opened new doors of success for us. Last year, we achieved a remarkable milestone selling over Dh5 billion properties."

 Challenges of Female Entrepreneurs

DRE is now among the top 10 agencies for most developers in Dubai. "We believe in people and culture. We started with three people, and now the company employs around 150 people. Around ten property companies have been formed from DRE by its former employees. So I am thrilled we taught them well, and they would be independent." The group also recently signed a contract where DRE will be the exclusive sales agent for Dh2.5 billion.

"Since it is a male-dominated society, it is not an easy journey for female entrepreneurs. But thanks to the Dubai government, Dubai is extremely safe for women. There are hurdles on the way, but you need to get up and get through them," said Qurat Ul Ain.

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