Head Strong

Emirati entrepreneur Sara Al Madani is adding strings to her bow by the minute. Now, she’s behind the 12 Emirates calendar celebrating the country’s stalwart women month on month

- Ann Marie McQueen

It’s hard to believe Sara Al Madani would ever doubt her purpose in life, or worry there was something else that she should be doing. The 31-year-old Emirati entrepreneur is not only bursting with confidence, but the very definition of an entrepreneurial whirlwind. Al Madani has a multiple ventures on the go, including the eponymous fashion house (formerly Rouge Couture) she launched when she was just 15, a new tech company, a creative consultancy, a restaurant opened last year and the 2018 12 Emirates calendar, which she dreamed up with two friends.

But it wasn’t until she spoke at the Global Citizen Forum in Montenegro last year that it hit her. “My purpose is to serve,” she says. “Basically to get involved with refugees, homeless kids, women who are abused and raped and all that.”

In the meantime, while she works towards those bigger goals, she has another big project on the go: despite being dyslexic, she is writing a book – title still in the works – with the aim of publishing it later this year.

After making up her own quotes for years, Al Madani plans to organise each chapter around her favourites, intending the result to be “an emotional toolbox” for others.

“This book teaches you to become a better version of you, how to upgrade your soul, your spirit,” she explains. Ten years ago, while thinking everything was fine with the four branches and 79 employees at her fashion house, she found out the business was in bankruptcy.