RAK and ROLL Launch With Georgina Kelly

[00:00] Something happens after every single event we run in Ras Al Khaimah. People don't leave the room, they're still talking about their business ideas, they're still talking about the challenges that they face, they're still talking about issues that they need to address, what works and what doesn't. And I always think more people need to hear these stories.

[00:27] I'm Georgina and I lead RAK Entrepreneurs. If you haven't come across us before, we are a community based right here in Ras Al Khaimah, built around one idea: that entrepreneurs grow and succeed when they have real conversations with like-minded people, when they have the right knowledge and honest conversations about what running a business is really and truly like.

[00:57] This is a community built for people who live here in Ras Al Khaimah. We run business clinics, workshops, social evenings, coffee mornings, and the business members come from all walks of life.

[01:19] We also talk about a lot of information during our workshops. We have workshops to help people skill up, and that can be anything from AI. We've been running a series of AI workshops for the last 8-9 months. We have got workshops on AML, we've got workshops on legal issues, banking issues, strategic marketing, growing your business, and a lot more besides.

[01:43] At RAK Entrepreneurs, we run various events each month. We have speaker series where people will come discuss a particular subject they're an expert in and have a lot of knowledge and share that knowledge.

[02:00] We run business clinics where we have live information coming through via Zoom and on LinkedIn. Discussions with business owners about the challenges they faced, the knocks they took, how the solutions they found to get back up again. There's no fluff here—these are real conversations with real people and real situations.

[02:17] We bring together panelists of people who are willing to share their expertise in how to start a business in Ras Al Khaimah, how to grow, how to succeed, and how to develop it internationally as well.

[02:35] Many of these conversations that people have had and these relationships have now turned into strategic alliances, professional partnerships, and real friendships. And I'm not just saying that; I've seen it happen time and time again.

[02:48] Now, why Ras Al Khaimah? I want to say something about Ras Al Khaimah itself. It's a fantastic emirate, it's the most northern emirate in all of the UAE. RAK is genuinely one of the best places to start your business. We are growing and the world knows it, and a lot of people are now setting up businesses here.

[03:22] One thing that makes us very special is that we have a very strong community-based ethos here. We're small, we don't have the noise of some of the other emirates that are part of the UAE, but we have an essence that is all our own. Will we change over time? Who knows, let's wait and see what develops, but Ras Al Khaimah is certainly a place to be to start your business, grow your business, and take part in the many opportunities that we currently have here for different business sectors—not just hospitality and tourism, manufacturing is growing, health is growing.

[04:02] Which brings me to this channel. This channel has been created for our members and non-members. This is a channel to tell you more about what's happening in Ras Al Khaimah, to introduce business people that are currently here to you. It's where these stories can be heard, and they'll be live, some will be online, and some will be recorded.

[04:29] We'll be sharing highlights from our business clinic where we invite people to talk about their businesses, the challenges they faced, what that road was like, how difficult or easy it was, what worked, what didn't, lessons learned.

[04:45] We will also be sharing spotlights from our workshops, and those workshops cover a wide range of business topics that need to be addressed, where we learn and upscale ourselves. They could be AI sessions, digital marketing, deep dives into AML, how to grow your business, how to start a business, what's the best way to do it.

[05:10] We will have also one-on-one interviews with people about their business and that journey and what led them to do it. Honest conversations with real people about real issues. No fluff.

[05:30] And so if you're an entrepreneur and you're thinking about perhaps starting a business, this is the channel for you. Subscribe and I look forward to also meeting you at new events in the future.

[13:02] So this is your YouTube channel, and this is where those conversations are going to live. You will find highlights from our business clinics and our workshops. Our workshops already have highlighted issues such as anti-money laundering, AI, cyber security, and a lot more besides.