{
  "id": 9079575,
  "title": "Karim Elgendy celebrates his growth from a humble start to an inspiring story of scale",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/karim-elgendy-celebrates-his-growth-from-a-humble-start-to-an",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-22T03:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Gulf News",
    "slug": "gulf-news",
    "url": "https://gulfnews.com/gn-focus/karim-elgendy-celebrates-his-growth-from-a-humble-start-to-an-inspiring-story-of-scale-1.500682068"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Karim Elgendy's entrepreneurial journey began in 2013 when he moved from Egypt to Dubai and started as a diving instructor earning Dh2,000 per month. His first transformative decision was to take a calculated risk and establish his first company by taking out a bank loan of Dh180,000. Despite having no savings or financial safety net, he trusted his experience and business model to succeed. He emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with capable partners and a talented team, suggesting that building a successful organization requires strong partnerships and shared values. One of the biggest setbacks he faced was financial, which taught him to manage cash flow carefully and control costs. Another challenge was scaling rapidly, exposing weaknesses in systems, communication, and recruitment. He learned that a company must adapt its structure and people as it grows. Karim believes that success is not just about financial achievement but also about freedom, meaningful creation, providing opportunities, and continuous growth. His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to start with what they have, understand their idea, calculate risks, and commit fully to their vision. Dubai's entrepreneurial environment has played a crucial role in shaping his journey and approach to business, providing an opportunity to start anew with limited resources.",
  "summary": "You started your entrepreneurial journey with just Dh2,000. What gave you the confidence to take that first step? My journey began in 2013, when I moved from Egypt to Dubai and started working as a diving instructor on a salary of Dh2,000 per month. Within my first few months, I developed a new strategy for the diving centre that increased its revenue. I was promoted to diving centre manager, and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}