Happy UAE National Day, everyone!
The UAE is special to us. It is where four of our founders met at some point in their life growing up - school, mutual friends, through projects, and events... and then came together again years later to bring a mere idea to life.
And so, Kitopi was born...but our founders were far from alone.
Today, three years later, Kitopi is 1000+ Kitopians from over 50 different nationalities all working towards the same mission of satisfying the world’s appetite.
So we asked a few Kitopians who have grown up in the country to tell us what the UAE means to them, and unsurprisingly, they all had a similar thing to say.
Check it out below:
The UAE has been home for 26+ years - my family came out here in the last 60s! It’s a country that has given us so much - opportunity, friends, and tons of memories.
For me personally, the UAE shows you that hard work and innovation are rewarded with success - no matter what nationality and gender you are. And the world-class lifestyle and melting pot culture make it an amazing place to live.
Ekta Bhojwani, VP Consumer & Partnerships, Kitopi
I love UAE’s boldness, in pushing the boundaries of possibilities. It is the closest to what I can imagine a city in the form of a startup, agile, quick, and forward-thinking
Saman Darkan, CTO & Co-founder, Kitopi
The UAE is home for me; it’s where I spent most of my life; where I started my business and fell in love with Kitopi’s vision of food tech, started my family, and had my 3 kids. I feel so blessed to c
all Dubai home and so grateful for all the opportunities it has given me.
Nathalie Haddad, VP Subscriptions, Kitopi & Founder of Right Bite
It’s where I grew up with my family, started my own little family, and founded Kitopi - my work family.
I feel inspired here - thanks to the constant innovation…it’s precisely what inspired me to be an entrepreneur.
I feel happy here - the UAE is inclusive and diverse. At Kitopi alone, we have 50+ nationalities in just 3 years, and it is all thanks to the country's exceptional leadership.
I feel like I belong - always challenging the status quo, the UAE is always striving to be number 1. This aligns with my own values to always be first and the best, something I try to empower my children and colleagues with but also learn from them in return.
So, the UAE is a lot of things to me, but most importantly it’s home.
Mo Ballout, CEO & Co-founder, Kitopi