My UAE: Ibrahim Ahmed Al Khemeiri is taking a shot

A profile of the Emirati mouthwash entrepreneur Ibrahim Ahmed Al Khemeiri.

Ibrahim Ahmed Al Khemeiri found entrepreneurial inspiration in Seoul. Ravindranath K / The National

Ibrahim Ahmed Al ­Khemeiri admits he’s not good at sitting still. So it’s not surprising that the 27-year-old from Abu Dhabi juggles working full-time for Adnoc and being a husband with running his own company.

The mechanical engineer, who earned his qualification from The Petroleum Institute in the capital, found his business calling while working as a contractor in Seoul, South Korea, a few years ago.

“Before I travelled [there], I always thought that I needed to bring something new to my country,” Al Khameiri says. “When I was working in Seoul, I found this interesting device in my workplace – it was a very positive thing.”

The “device” was a mouthwash dispenser, and it was then that the cogs in his innovative brain began to turn.“I thought this could work in my country. We drink coffee, some of us smoke, and we eat snacks all day. You just have one shot [from the dispenser], and you’re done – it is really easy,” he says.

With the UAE market in mind, Al Khemeiri found the person selling the dispensers and arranged to meet him.

“I was sitting with the sales manager, and he asked me where I wanted to sell it, I told him Dubai, because they don’t know Abu Dhabi, and he said: ‘Dubai, there is nothing there, it’s all desert there.’ He didn’t know about Dubai. I tried to convince him, and he said: ‘I will try you for two years’, and told me the procedure.”

From there, Al ­Khemeiri applied for the necessary ­Government and health-sector approvals before starting his business, Cosmic, which has been in operation since March last year. It already has contracts with Government organisations and food-and-beverage companies in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

“I’m proud because I met many people, many contacts and I have many skills far away from my major, and I know many things I didn’t before, and I have many plans,” Al Khemeiri says.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I like to relax by the sea, get out on my jet-ski for a couple of hours, or go out to the desert.

What’s your favourite movie of all-time?

It would have to be Jumanji – it’s magical and lets you use your imagination.

What’s the best piece of advice you have been given?

There is an old-world saying that if you didn’t build your life’s house tomorrow, you may not get the chance to.

Where’s the one place in the UAE you would suggest a visitor must experience?

Definitely the Qasr Al Hosn Festival in Abu Dhabi, because it shows people the heritage of the culture. You get to learn the real Abu Dhabi.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

It would be to help make people happy by way of endless amounts of money.

What five things do you never leave home without?

Phone, wallet, business cards, my sunglasses and a smile.

Where’s your favourite place to travel?

I love Europe: Munich, Geneva and the south of France, because they are all quiet places, and I like that.

What type of car do you drive and what does it say about you?

I have many cars. I drive a Range Rover, and I have a [Toyota] FJ Cruiser for work.

What music do you have on repeat at the moment?

Arabic-wise it would be the Saudi singer Mohammed Abdu, because his words have heavy meaning, and in English, I like to listen to Akon – he gives me energy.

What’s your favourite food?

It would have to be sushi, because I have seen many Japanese animation movies, and [they were] always of interest to me. I enjoy it a lot.

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