It’s a good time to be a beauty queen in the UAE. Following the historic announcement earlier this month that the UAE will be sending its first contestant to the Miss Universe pageant, a Dubai entrepreneur and mother-of-two will soon make history as the first to represent the Emirates at another global competition: the Mrs World contest.
Debanjali Kamstra, 35, an Indian businesswoman who’s called the UAE home for the past 13 years, will be among 72 contestants who compete for the crown, which the organisation says “celebrates the uniqueness of married women”.
To be held in Las Vegas in January, Kamstra says she was taken aback by the enthusiastic response she received from the organisers in September.
Scroll through the gallery above for more images of Mrs UAE World Debanjali Kamstra.
“It was a friend who encouraged me to apply,” she tells The National. "I immediately got a call back from Mrs World saying they were surprised because no one from the UAE had ever applied before. We then did a couple of rounds of interviews before I was told I'd been selected as Mrs UAE World.
“They understand the UAE and that so many expatriates call it home. So, me not being a citizen was not an issue for them,” she says. “Also, our UAE leaders have made it very clear that everyone living here should consider this as their country and their home. So that encouraged me.”
A former cabin crew with Emirates airline, Kamstra is also an architect and opened her first interior design business, Veloche, in Dubai a decade ago. She has since started two more companies, one selling home interiors and the other dealing in healthy snacks and drinks.
She married her husband, Christiaan, in 2012 and the couple live in Dubai with their two daughters, Victoria, 6, and Tiffany, 5.
While the world of modelling and beauty pageants are new to her, Kamstra says she's confident she’ll make a great representative for the UAE.
“I am a self-made woman. I run three companies, have two beautiful children, a great husband and I am proud to be living in this country,” she says.
“I am still struggling to get my catwalk right though," she adds, laughing.
Because there has never been a Mrs UAE World before, Kamstra says her preparations for the contest have been entirely self-funded.
“We are in talks with fashion designers who can help me with the dresses. I have also started coaching myself in the history of the UAE and also everything from make-up to posture, diction and general knowledge.
“I am also doing a lot of social work, because that’s an important element of the pageant. My focus will be working with people of determination, which is also something our leaders take very seriously."
Kamstra says she is still looking for assistance from people experienced in beauty pageants to guide her for the Mrs World pageant.
“Other countries have a body or organisation that selects representatives and groom them for such competitions. We don’t have any here in the UAE so it will be nice to get some help,” she says.
When it was announced earlier this month, Miss Universe UAE, which will send a representative to the global pageant, received thousands of applications in the first hour, crashing the organiser’s website.
On Friday, 300 aspiring beauty queens including Emiratis attended the first audition in Dubai for a chance to make pageant history.
The Mrs World contest has been held since 1984. Cancelled this year owing to the pandemic, the pageant made global news in April when title holder Caroline Jurie resigned amid controversy surrounding a crown-snatching incident at a Sri Lankan beauty contest. Kate Schneider from Ireland, the first runner-up, was named the new Mrs World 2020.
Kamstra says she would like to be a part of setting up an organisation that would send participants from the UAE to the Mrs World competition.
“I would love to take that opportunity to help other contestants in the future. I am already an entrepreneur. I have the leadership and mentoring skills and I would love to do it,” she says. “Maybe after I bring the [Mrs World] crown home.”
For now, her sights are firmly set on being the “perfect representative of the UAE” in Las Vegas come January.
“It’s like going to the Olympics and representing an entire country. So my shoulders are quite heavy right now. It’s a lot of pressure,” she says.
“I want the UAE to shine. It’s a lot of responsibility but I am quite confident I can do it. This is a competition not of an individual, but a nation. So I need support from my country to stand beside me, to cheer for me and for the UAE."
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The End of Loneliness
Benedict Wells
Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins
Sceptre
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
