Meet two Emirati entrepreneurs who started a bikeshare program in Abu Dhabi. Emirati entrepreneurs Hani Saleh Akasha and Mohammad Abdulhadi Bashkeel have brought the innovative and health conscious mode of transportation to residents of Abu Dhabi. Taking the helm of the new business has been full of unexpected challenges for the budding entrepreneurs, but they have risen to the occasion and are now working on an ambitious plan to expand throughout the region. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Having fun, staying healthy, and being eco-friendly are things that are important to most. We've
00:10come to meet two Emirati entrepreneurs whose bike-share business has had a positive impact
00:14on Abu Dhabi's transport system and it's promoting a healthy lifestyle in the community.
00:19Sayakel is a company we started a year ago and the idea is to introduce the concept of
00:25bike-sharing to the city of Abu Dhabi.
00:28It's about impacting people's lives. It's about introducing something where, when they're
00:33going to work or they're out playing with their kids or something, that they can see
00:38it, that they can use it.
00:39We saw similar concepts in different places in the world and we actually tried one in
00:44London and we were impressed how convenient it is to go from one place to another.
00:49Once we came back from our trip, we started looking into things, you know, what exactly
00:54it is, what it entails, what are the regulatory aspects needed to start the bike-share program
01:01here.
01:02We looked into the laws, you know, related to permits, helmets, so on, and yeah, we made
01:10a business plan and the rest is history, as they say.
01:13To start a business, first of all, it's a very challenging thing and to take care of
01:18all aspects in the business, it's something that you have to learn and you're not good
01:23at everything and you have to learn that, you have to learn that the hard way.
01:28You really need to put yourself out there. We went to a number of different sponsors
01:32and ADCB was just the actual brand. It's very modern, you know, it represents a lot of the
01:40same values that we hold.
01:41When Mohammed and Hani came to us with the bike-share, it was introduced for the first
01:47time in Abu Dhabi and we thought of this as a real innovative, great idea to associate
01:53with.
01:54One of the major challenges was getting the permits to place the stations on the streets
02:01so people can use it and also raising funds.
02:05As budding entrepreneurs, we really didn't know all the intricacies, basically, of starting
02:11a business. All the legal things that went into it, you know, the funding and budgeting
02:18and what unexpected costs would suddenly arise. So, you know, it was a lot of trial and error
02:27with a lot of different things, even with the sponsorship, but I think at the end we
02:33really proved that, you know, any problems that came up, we were able to manage and we
02:38dealt with and we solved.
02:40It's a 24-7 job. I mean, you'll never get your mind off it and, like, you have to worry
02:47about every person and every little thing in it, but it is nice to see your, like, your
02:54input in, like, most of the things in the business and it will also, like, teach you
03:01a lot of things that you didn't know about yourself.
03:03Really feel a sense of pride, of course, seeing somebody on your bikes. So when sometimes
03:08we're going into gas and you see somebody on the side of the road on your bicycle or
03:12somebody at a station that's taking it, you know, there's a good sense of accomplishment
03:19there, you know, you're really impacting their lives, in a sense.
03:23I saw the bikes here and I think it's a very, like, a good idea to go around the island
03:28in a healthier way.
03:29I use these all the time. They're awesome. Super cheap. They're reliable and super convenient.
03:37My plans is to get my bikes in every corner in the streets to make it very convenient
03:44for people to actually use it as a means of transport, to be part of the transport network
03:49in the city.
03:50In the long run, I think the government won't be able to do it alone. So I think people
03:56like us need to step up, need to provide some sort of impact, definitely, on the community.
04:05If you have an idea, just go for it. Do your research and be committed to it and just go.
04:12With myself and Hani, you know, there's a very good complement between us. I think he's
04:18more of the dreamer and I'm more of the practical person and when partners like that bring it
04:24to the table, yeah, that kind of synergy is really what works well. So definitely choose
04:28your partners wisely.
04:29Sayaka already have 75 bikes across 11 stations in Abu Dhabi and with plans to expand further,
04:35they're all set to help commuters pedal their way to a healthier lifestyle.
04:39Sarbi Grandpaia, Golf News.