A New Approach to Senior Care for Emiratis

**Tim Elliott** (0:00)
It's the Morning Drive. As businesses adapt to a period of economic uncertainty shaped by the regional geopolitical tensions that we've all been through, Rafeeq Connect has evolved with the launch of Izvetna, which is a new companionship initiative, really, for Emirati seniors. So to talk about how the business is navigating today's challenges and why going local could be its smartest move yet is the founder, Sawsan Shalabi, is back with me in the studio. Nice to see you.

**Sawsan Shalabi** (0:36)
Nice to see you too, Tim. Thank you.

**Tim Elliott** (0:37)
It's good to have you back. Look, let's start with your... Before we go any further, start with your original business, which is Rafeeq Connect. How have you managed to balance the operational demands of a companionship project, a high touch kind of project, right?
And keep your overheads lean? Because it's been such a tough time. This is a volatile economy.

**Sawsan Shalabi** (1:01)
Definitely. And the last time I was in this seat, it was the beginning of the unfortunate situation that affected the region.

**Tim Elliott** (1:10)
It's a few months since we've seen you.

**Sawsan Shalabi** (1:12)
Exactly. So I would say we have definitely learned a lot. We have adapted as well.
That's why we came up with new initiatives, just like the initiatives we will talk about in a bit, and we just listened. We just listened to the families that we were serving. We tried to as well hear from other people just to see what their experiences were in their home countries and try to bring that, the familiar thing that they were used to here in the region and anyway.

**Tim Elliott** (1:43)
Okay, so since we last spoke, which is what, three, nearly four months ago, I guess, how, specifically how has the business changed in this, I keep saying the phrase uncertain times, but how has it changed in uncertain times?

**Sawsan Shalabi** (2:00)
Well, we have definitely continued to grow and we learned that different communities require and need different approaches, specifically Emirati families, Emirati citizens. And that's why we have created an initiative specifically and dedicated for them called Azwitna. In Arabic, it means our pride or our support.
And it basically is tailored for their specific needs, and it's more culturally aligned and relevant and respectful.

**Tim Elliott** (2:34)
Okay. Well, I want to talk to you about this, Wendla, in a minute, but I'm still kind of interested in Rafeeq Connect because you were just kind of kicking things off last time we met.
And companionship is not that it's a new thing here, but as a business, as something with a business profile, it's a new thing. So you've had to, I mean, you launched at a time when things probably wasn't ideal, I suppose, or you were launching at that time, so shifting conditions. And I'm interested in the biggest lesson you learned since your first appearance on the show. One of the things that we talk about all the time at the moment is resiliency and how to get through the tough times. Is that the biggest lesson or was there something else?

**Sawsan Shalabi** (3:21)
Definitely. I started with one operating model and by time I felt that, okay, we're going into a different direction here.

**Tim Elliott** (3:29)
For sure.

**Sawsan Shalabi** (3:30)
Which is totally fine because this is what business is. And uncertainty now is the new constant, let's say, thing in our lives.
So definitely we have learned to adapt. That's the main and key word, just adapt. Yeah.

**Tim Elliott** (3:50)
So I suppose a lot of businesses at the moment kind of are avoiding the expansion thing or the new thing. You just kind of concentrate, you double down, don't you?
But you decided that the smartest move was, while all this stuff is going on internationally, you might as well go locally, I suppose. Was that one of the ideas behind it?

**Sawsan Shalabi** (4:10)
True, definitely, 100 percent. And on top of that, when we talk about uncertainty, it doesn't really solve the loneliness problem still. Like, if anything, human connection is even more important.

**Tim Elliott** (4:22)
Well, it amplifies it in some cases, I guess, doesn't it?

**Sawsan Shalabi** (4:24)
Exactly. So that's why we were like, okay, let's go back to the first step. We are in UAE, it's an incredibly diverse community, but at the same time, going into the local community with the citizens, it's like just going back to the basics, you know?
Not just serving the community or the wider community, it's just serving the citizens who made this whole community or country that we're living in. So that was a part of the decision that we took to go locally.