Exclusive Interview with Saudi Entrepreneur Adwa Al Dakheel

Porsche has teamed up with Adwa Al Dakheel from Saudi Arabia. One of the most prominent youth figures in Saudi, 27-year-old Adwa is an entrepreneur who has already acquired a long list of impressive achievements during her 13-year career to date. From Forex trader to author, musician to pilot, squash champion to jewelry designer, Al Dakheel is redefining what it means to be a young Saudi woman. We speak to the young businesswoman in an exclusive interview..

You are a businesswoman with many passions! How would you introduce yourself and what you do for a living? 

For me, every day is an opportunity to experience something new. I was always driven to be financially independent and would consider myself as someone who is on a mission to constantly challenge myself and break boundaries. I love to learn for the reason that learning is hard. Whether it’s empowering Saudi Arabia’s entrepreneurial and venture capital ecosystem or conquering my fear of heights by becoming the first female aerobatic pilot in the country, I always see obstacles as a new opportunity.

You are teaming up with Porsche for the Panamera Female Empowerment campaign. Can you tell us about this experience and what Female Empowerment means to you? 

Saudi women have been the backbone of our society for years. To me, female empowerment is the work of our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and daughters to inspire the future generation. With Porsche, I’ve been involved in their most recent campaign around the launch of the new Panamera, where they shone a spotlight on unique and inspiring stories of Arab women from across the region who are making significant strides within their line of work. It was such a privilege to work with some of the region’s most gifted females from the world of business. I hope the campaign will inspire young women in the Kingdom to enter into industries that they might not feel is achievable.

How do you describe your relationship with cars and what is your dream car? 

I’ve always been a fan of speed and anything that involves adrenaline. When I think of Porsche, I associate the brand with performance and agility – something that is essential in the business that I’m in. Ultimately, dream car is one that would be powerful enough to fulfill my love for adrenaline, but still comfortable enough to meet my daily requirements.

How do you see Arab women's role in the future? 

The recent developments in Saudi have paved the way for women and youth leadership. There are the talent, innovation, and motivation to achieve remarkable things and the sky is the limit. I am very excited for the future!

What do you think is still needed to empower the women in KSA? 

There are many inspirational Saudi women who overcame gender barriers to achieve a string of firsts for women in the Kingdom, and our generation is ready to seize the vast opportunities of the future. I believe that the economic inclusion of Saudi women is a necessary step for a society that supports growth and development. For example, Falak is 80 percent female, which wasn’t planned. Where I want to see further change outside Falak, though, is an increase in female participation on boards which will hopefully happen in the near future and years to come.

What advice would you give to the ambitious youth across the GCC and Arab-World?

Challenge yourself and do things to help you become a better, wiser, and more courageous version of yourself. No one is perfect. If you have a strong work ethic and always test yourself, you can achieve anything you want. You are the future leaders of our country and beyond. 

2020 has been a challenging year, how was it with you, and how COVID-19 affected your business?

Even though 2020 will down in history as one of the most challenging years, it came out in the favor of Falak Investment Hub and Ns3a Recruitment Software considering Falak invests in tech-based startups in MENA and the pandemic has accelerated digitization tremendously for B2B and B2C businesses. For Ns3a Recruitment Software, it also came to our advantage considering Ns3a is a recruitment automation tool using personality assessment and most businesses were looking to cut down HR costs by looking at similar automation tools that Ns3a provides. Having said that, we also had startups in Falak that were tremendously affected from COVID-19. We face obstacles on a day to day basis - what matters is your perspective and how you overcome them, and I am looking forward to a productive 2021!

Tell us about your latest projects\business update

Falak Investment Hub just invested around 5 million SAR in 8 tech-startups in MENA (3 in Egypt, 1 in Bahrain, and 4 in Saudi Arabia) within our second batch and we’re extremely excited to announce the startups in February 2021 when they graduate from our growth stage investment-backed acceleration program.

At a personal level, I am finalizing my second book after Proven Billionaires’ Formula (Alzibda in Arabic) and I’ll keep the title and content as a surprise, but I am very excited for that as well - and I am investing heavily in content in 2021 within the entrepreneurship arena under Falak Investment Hub as well. Stay tuned!