Omonike Fowowe, EMR Boss Marks First Anniversary in Dubai

Mary Nnah

Express Multi-Concepts Resources (EMR) Group on Wednesday, February 2nd celebrated its one-year operations in the United Arab Emirates amidst pomp and pageantry.

Its entry into Dubai, the capital city of the emirates, a year ago, marked another significant achievement for the business enterprise.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EMR Group and a major player in the six extremely competitive sectors of the Nigerian economy, Omonike Fowowe, said establishing in Dubai, was the fastest decision she ever made in her life and yet hasn’t had any regret concerning that decision so far.

“It’s been great so far. I have been exposed to a lot of opportunities. I have met people who have also assisted me in setting up EMR Marketing Services Dubai.

“It’s really been a collective effort. It feels good I can run a business in Dubai and still be in Lagos”, Fowowe noted excitedly.

Explaining that EMR Marketing service seeks to bridge the gap between end-user customers and product service providers, Fowowe noted that the company started 10 years ago in Nigeria and had since created a huge community and online presence in digital marketing.

As a Nigerian serial entrepreneur frontier in Dubai, she acknowledged that running a business in Dubai is not like running it in Nigeria.

“The system in Dubai encourages you to do more, you are more exposed and you become more experienced.

“Also, Dubai has the basics in terms of you don’t have to bother about power, good roads, basic amenities the environment makes it easier to run a business and it’s also a very safe country when it comes to security”, said the enthusiastic and highly motivated under-30 self-starter who founded six businesses before the age of 26.

For her, the only challenge at first was being a Dubai resident as a Nigerian.

“Everything in Dubai is about your nationality and because some Nigerians have created a bad impression about us it then becomes a generalised problem.

“So to gain trust from clients I always have to work twice as hard and show legitimate proof that I’m not only capable of delivering the job but I can be trusted”, she added.

On how her operation in Dubai has changed her business style, she said, “I understand there are rules and it must be followed. You don’t enjoy getting things that will normally be free in Nigeria in Dubai. You have to pay to get all your licenses and approvals.”

She feels there is a lot that the Nigerian government has to do to encourage budding entrepreneurs.

“There’s a lot our government needs to do. For instance in Dubai, if you have a good credit system you can be granted a loan on just one percent interest. If I had that kind of opportunity in Nigeria, I would have been a multi-billionaire by now.”

She said therefore that once the government can empower legitimate entrepreneurs, the economy will be boosted.

“We also need to work very hard on our international relations. We need to make sure our green passport is respected globally”, Fowowe noted further.