Rizwan Sajan transformed a small trading office in Deira to one of the region’s biggest suppliers of building materials, offering up to 25,000 products, before branching out into everything from real estate to home furniture. He launched his first property project, Dreamz by Danube, a residential townhouse community in Dubai that stretches over 700,000 square feet, followed by several more projects across the UAE in areas ranging from Business Bay to Studio City.
His secret to success? “I think it’s a God-gifted skill that I have. It’s God’s gift,” the founder and chairman of the Danube Group told Arabian Business. “It’s like cricket. Whatever training you get for playing cricket, you cannot be successful unless you have God’s gift. It’s the same in the business world. Whatever training you get, your father could be a big businessman and send you to Oxford University, but if it’s not in you, you won’t make it,” he said.
Today, the billionaire has 38 offices in the GCC, India and China, and employs in excess of 1,800 employees. Its most recent property development is the 29-storey Bayz, valued at $122.5m and comprises 456 fully furnished apartment units. It is set to be completed by 2019. The UAE-based group is also considering expanding into hospitality. While Sajan told Arabian Business “nothing is on the cards” yet, he said he is contemplating launching “affordable” hotel apartments.
“It’s a thought in my head. Yes, I may go into hotels in the future if I get the right person, the right CEO, who can manage it, because in any business, you should find a trustworthy person who knows his job and who can handle it for me,” he said in an interview last year.
Sajan said the number one requirement for candidates of the job is integrity, a quality he personally swears by. According to the chairman, the Danube Group records annual turnovers of $1.4bn and five to six percent growth.
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