By staff Writer
Some people are born into money, but for most of us, the road to riches is a long and seemingly impossible one. However, we should not forget there are plenty of billionaire entrepreneurs who started with nothing yet managed to reach the top.
Those success stories provide true testament to the power of the entrepreneurial spirit and the real value that can be derived from undying determination and vision on the part of a committed entrepreneur.
Not only do this lot now run their own empires, and command the respect of the business world, but they have successfully overcome some of the most difficult obstacles imaginable to do so.
A 2019 study published by Wealth-X found that around 68% of those with a net worth of $30 million or more made it themselves.
For self-made millionaires, though, coming into wealth isn’t always a simple process many of them worked hard to achieve the financial success they did, and then had the smarts and savvy and put their new wealth in the right places. What do some of these self-made millionaires have in common, and what lessons can you learn for your own investment strategy?
Prateek Suri, a young and self-made millionaire only at the age of 33, shares with us his story. Hailing from India, Prateek moved to UAE in 2006 for studying purposes.
“I moved to the UAE in 2006, immediately after finishing my schooling from Modern School Barakhamba road New Delhi, and then mechanical engineering from BITS Pilani Dubai Campus. And even before I could get used to the weight of my rather hefty textbooks, a couple of things became very apparent about my new country of residence,” he narrates
He adds “The first was the sheer number of people I saw and met here from different countries. I remember reading that the UAE was home to citizens from almost 200 odd countries, and I managed to make friends with many of them. It was a fantastic learning about our planet being a global village and it opened my eyes to the opportunities that existed in other parts of the world.
The second thing that thing that amazed him, and continues to do so even now, is the ecosystem that the government here has created to help businesses prosper. A number of initiatives—like the establishment of JAFZA (Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority)—by the UAE leadership has helped contribute towards the success story of Maser, Suri says .
“Over the years, Maser has become a leading player in the re-distribution business of high-quality and low-cost electronic products. Africa is one of our biggest markets, and after Crossing Revenue of 500 Million USD, we have significantly ramped up our business in the continent through introduction of new products, Suri admits
He says his plan is to deploy the funding money in major expansion plans for the Middle East and Africa. We will keep on investing into the manufacture of smart televisions, air conditioners and washing machines, as well as facilitating better logistics with our African Sub Sahara Success.
“We have been lucky that despite the current situation with the pandemic, Maser has been able to conduct its business with our African partners. The trust we built among our distributors and retailers through over very successful line of televisions has now helped us with the air-conditioners. The uptake of split ACs has been very good and we are now in the process of introducing ACs with UV-C function, which kills a majority of bacteria,”
The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated last year that the trade opportunity for UAE companies with Africa is valued at $3.6 billion. A big part of that would be technology-related products and services.
Another major change, especially with the African market, the young CEO says is the introduction of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is expected to increase trade with the member countries by more than 50 per cent in less than three years by reducing and streamlining tariffs and easing policies across a unified continent. He believes that the size of the market could be as big as China and Maser is already in a good position to capitalise on this.
“Our success with television – we have now sold over 8,00,000 units – has made us a known and trusted brand in many African countries. Maser now has the supply channel and the confidence of the customers to roll out more products in the near future. Later this year, along with the UV-C air-conditioners, we are also planning to introduce washing machines, refrigerators, dish washer, vacuum cleaners and irons,” he elaborates
According to Prateek, televisions will remain the biggest part of Maser product portfolio. “However, we believe in constantly innovating and improving, so there will be new models with latest features. We also see a huge demand for educational TVs,” he says.
How is this related to us Zambians? We are merely trying to get our people food on the table, and here you are telling us about billionaires. Fuseke!
If this clown above was the real KZ he would appreciate another business man in Dubai but this troll didnt not think it through first before it submited its comment.
Africa is his biggest market its good to read that he intends to construct a $20million manufacturing factory in Nigeria after his record sales of his smart TVs.
LT this article is so vague and lacks detail..I got more information from simply googling this guys Maser TV brand online for 5 minutes than this poorly written article.