Tahany Taher, Founder, HAYAWIIA
From a fledging e-commerce start-up to 500% projected growth in 2022 with exclusive rights for 50+ products available in major supermarket chains in the UAE – that’s the HAYAWIIA story. A start-up launched in 2021 by Tahany Taher and Mohamad Akram Oomer that specialises in organic food products mindfully sourced from communities for which it creates a source of income.
During an exclusive interview with RetailME, Taher spoke about navigating challenges to grow HAYAWIIA.
What kind of challenges have you navigated?
Challenges are a part of the start-up landscape and we’ve faced so many. Our belief is rooted in the concept of ‘fail fast’. Growth is only achieved when you fall and learn from your mistakes. The first year of operations was a learning experience, which has continued even as we grew. The one thing that has been a constant and given us hope and courage has been the support we’ve been given by Mohammed Bin Rashid Foundation for SME’s and from the Khalifa Fund for SME development.
Please share three tips to build a resilient and sustainable business.
What are your future innovation/expansion plans?
There are a number of expansion plans starting with onboarding new and innovative brands to expanding into other countries. In addition, apart from that we are in the process of rolling out a number of other verticals scheduled for 2023 and beyond
Even though often glorified, entrepreneurship is a difficult journey that often becomes lonely too. So, on a bad day, where do you seek inspiration from?
From several places that include family, friends and the world around me. I’m a person who believes that everyone is the hero of their own stories. These stories are the ones that help me pick myself up on a bad day. What also helps is my internal drive which pushes me to keep moving forward regardless of how my present moment is playing out.
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