Sumaya Al-Nasser is Saudi Arabia's best-known female executive, life and career coach. Based out of her consultation centre in Los Angeles, but frequently working in the Middle East, the 35-year-old has assisted 200,000 clients around the world and delivered 12,000 hours of coaching. She presents her 'New Beginnings' seminar in Arabic at Dubai's Sofitel Downtown hotel on January 13, with an English version launching soon. Certified by the World Federation of Trainers from America and the International Coaching Federation, Sumaya reveals more about her career inspiration and challenges, including overcoming Congenital Hip Dysplasia - an affliction in which the ball and socket joints fail to form properly - from childhood in Riyadh.
QWhat influenced you to become a life and executive coach?
AMy struggle in life started in childhood. I went through many challenges that made me aware, granting me the ability to restructure my being. Instead of playing with toys as a child I spent most of my childhood getting in and out of surgery rooms. I didn't know what a playground looked like. My journey challenged me to develop the determination to find joy: even in a surgery room. I found it then, and still find joy. I am on a pathway to help others find their joy.
How much of your coaching and consultation is driven by personal experience?
Weaknesses and struggles have similarities whether they’re marital, financial or health struggles, relationship or self-development struggles. They are all similar - and I know how to cope with struggles and deal with problems. By the end of the day the cause is the same; the illusion of despair and helplessness. That’s why I can help people. Because I have managed to find the root of the cause of the problem, no problem is a problem for me.
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Is your profession usually strictly dominated by males in Saudi Arabia and the wider Arab world?
Males in our society - and indeed worldwide - get far more support and acceptance than women. However, in the last couple of years women have claimed their position in this field, and many others, by hard work and creativity. I'm not the only one (Saudi female) in the field; I'm the best known one. From feedback I get from tens of thousands of followers all over the Middle East, it seems like I have been having a great influence (on Saudi women aspiring to become life coaches). I have worked hard on myself to release and reform myself from the perception of cultural boundaries.
Was it a difficult journey to be accepted as a life coach in your country?
As with everything new, it gets rejected as it represents change. Being a catalyst for change is a hardship. I started coaching in 2002 as a young woman. That was not an easy road. Luckily, I managed to convince people of my abilities, insights, and accomplishments - now I'm one of the most respected professionals. My main focus is the Middle East region. However, I wish to reach every soul.
What prompted you to launch your centre in LA where the coaching industry was already thriving?
Arabs travel the world. They make up significant populations in most countries. Our history contributes to contemporary Eastern and Western societies, so the USA is a natural platform for my business and audience. I offer consultations directly in Los Angeles and we have a large number of UAE clients who receive the courses online or visit us in LA.
What types of people do you coach - mainly business leaders or all walks of life?
Everyone who is open and willing to achieve change in their lives; mainly females, but we do have a good following from males - around 35 per cent. Most of my clients are from the Arabian Gulf states. We only get one chance at life, and we have to make it count. In our fast-paced lives, we often forget to cater to our emotional and mental wellbeing. We tend to ignore how important it is to nurture our emotional and mental states in order achieve the best quality lives and reach our goals, in both our personal and professional lives.
What do you bring to the profession that is different to what a male life coach delivers?
Considering the life condition of women in the Middle East is different to that of men, that gives her different challenges and I have lived though these challenges. That’s how I feel I am different from a male life coach.
What can people in Dubai expect from your seminar?
The seminar focuses on the ways of attracting success. They will come to understand the feelings and choices of successful people. We will be launching English versions in the near future.
How can this event help business people?
Any business gain or loss begins from within before becoming a reality. Many business people lose or win after going through a divorce or a family loss. This shows the direct impact of feelings and ideas on the business status. As for the main incentives for business, they are internal rather than external. Many people in the business world attend sessions in order to know the best prospects in business, understand the recurrent messages, take the appropriate decisions for the future and arrange their work values and priorities.
The specs
Engine: Single front-axle electric motor
Power: 218hp
Torque: 330Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 402km (claimed)
Price: From Dh215,000 (estimate)
On sale: September
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Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
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Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 286hp (petrol), 249hp (diesel)
Torque: 450Nm (petrol), 550Nm (diesel)
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Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
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Sector: HealthTech
Total funding: $800,000
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Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
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Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 190hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.9L/100km
Price: From Dh119,900
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SPEC SHEET: APPLE M3 MACBOOK AIR (13")
Processor: Apple M3, 8-core CPU, up to 10-core CPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Display: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina, 2560 x 1664, 224ppi, 500 nits, True Tone, wide colour
Memory: 8/16/24GB
Storage: 256/512GB / 1/2TB
I/O: Thunderbolt 3/USB-4 (2), 3.5mm audio, Touch ID
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Battery: 52.6Wh lithium-polymer, up to 18 hours, MagSafe charging
Camera: 1080p FaceTime HD
Video: Support for Apple ProRes, HDR with Dolby Vision, HDR10
Audio: 4-speaker system, wide stereo, support for Dolby Atmos, Spatial Audio and dynamic head tracking (with AirPods)
Colours: Midnight, silver, space grey, starlight
In the box: MacBook Air, 30W/35W dual-port/70w power adapter, USB-C-to-MagSafe cable, 2 Apple stickers
Price: From Dh4,599
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Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
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Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
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Company name: myZoi
Started: 2021
Founders: Syed Ali, Christian Buchholz, Shanawaz Rouf, Arsalan Siddiqui, Nabid Hassan
Based: UAE
Number of staff: 37
Investment: Initial undisclosed funding from SC Ventures; second round of funding totalling $14 million from a consortium of SBI, a Japanese VC firm, and SC Venture
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Sadio Mane (Senegal/Liverpool), Sergio Aguero (Aregentina/Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Netherlans/Barcelona), Hugo Lloris (France/Tottenham), Dusan Tadic (Serbia/Ajax), Kylian Mbappe (France/PSG), Trent Alexander-Arnold (England/Liverpool), Donny van de Beek (Netherlands/Ajax), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon/Arsenal), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Germany/Barcelona), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Juventus), Alisson (Brazil/Liverpool), Matthijs de Ligt (Netherlands/Juventus), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Georginio Wijnaldum (Netherlands/Liverpool), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands/Liverpool), Bernardo Silva (Portugal/Manchester City), Son Heung-min (South Korea/Tottenham), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/Bayern Munich), Roberto Firmino (Brazil/Liverpool), Lionel Messi (Argentina/Barcelona), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria/Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium/Manchester City), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal/Napoli), Antoine Griezmann (France/Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Egypt/Liverpool), Eden Hazard (BEL/Real Madrid), Marquinhos (Brazil/Paris-SG), Raheem Sterling (Eengland/Manchester City), Joao Félix(Portugal/Atletico Madrid)
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Sam Kerr (Austria/Chelsea), Ellen White (England/Manchester City), Nilla Fischer (Sweden/Linkopings), Amandine Henry (France/Lyon), Lucy Bronze(England/Lyon), Alex Morgan (USA/Orlando Pride), Vivianne Miedema (Netherlands/Arsenal), Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany/Lyon), Pernille Harder (Denmark/Wolfsburg), Sarah Bouhaddi (France/Lyon), Megan Rapinoe (USA/Reign FC), Lieke Martens (Netherlands/Barcelona), Sari van Veenendal (Netherlands/Atletico Madrid), Wendie Renard (France/Lyon), Rose Lavelle(USA/Washington Spirit), Marta (Brazil/Orlando Pride), Ada Hegerberg (Norway/Lyon), Kosovare Asllani (Sweden/CD Tacon), Sofia Jakobsson (Sweden/CD Tacon), Tobin Heath (USA/Portland Thorns)
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Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
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Transmission: 8-speed auto
Power: 470bhp
Torque: 637Nm
Price: Dh375,900 (estimate)
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Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
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Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150+ employees
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US tops drug cost charts
The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.
Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.
In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.
Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol.
The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.
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Console: PlayStation 2 to 5
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Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
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July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 a share, which has grown about 1,000 per cent at present. Its highest closing price was $197.85 on June 27, 2024
1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
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Developer: Nintendo EPD
Publisher: Nintendo
Console: Nintendo Switch
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 480hp at 7,250rpm
Torque: 566Nm at 4,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: L/100km
Price: Dh306,495
On sale: now
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2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
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Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and electric motor
Max power: 700hp at 7,500rpm
Max torque: 720Nm at 2,250rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now