Mohammed Alardhi

The Dubai artist Mohammed Saeed Harib conceived and produced the animation series inspired by his grandmother. It is what Emiratis wanted – quality, locally produced content about their own culture. It is ‘unlike anything the Arab world has ever seen’.

Mutassem Al Sharji gave up a safe job as an economist in Muscat to set up a forum to exchange ideas, a venue for scholarly engagement that not even the most sophisticated software could do.

The Saudi entrepreneur Sultan Batterjee came from a background wealthy enough that he need not have chosen to work for a living. But he had a purpose to fulfil – and that was making stylish properties available to those who had been previously excluded.

In his first profile of social entrepreneurs in the Middle East, Mohammed Mahfoodh Alardhi reveals the story of Sarah Hermez, who left the safety of New York to open Creative Space Beirut, a free fashion school that is also a template for social progress.

This article is reprinted from the introduction to Arabs Unseen, in which Mohammed Mahfoodh Al Ardhi, the executive chairman of Manama-based Investcorp and the chairman of National Bank of Oman, profiles entrepreneurs from across the Arab world.

A unified visa would benefit Arabian Gulf countries. They can learn from Europe, where business and trade move freely.

No longer content to while away their time on package deals, instead seeking authentic experiences.

Compared to our main competitors, examinations in Arab countries put too much emphasis on the ability to recall facts and not enough on the kind of critical knowledge that drives innovation and expands the frontiers of discovery.