📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

Against All Odds: Fatma Ghaly, CEO, Azza Fahmy Jewellery "Every few years, some crisis will happen, but it is how you handle them, and how you adjust to new circumstances that matters."

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Fatma Ghaly, CEO of Azza Fahmy Jewellery, recently appeared as a guest on the Entrepreneur Middle East Live webinar series, Against All Odds, to offer a glimpse into how she helped turn her homegrown Egyptian brand into an international luxury designer jewellery house that today employs over 250 people.

"One of the biggest achievements for me is Azza Fahmy Jewellery today being recognized as a leading jewelry brand out of the Middle East," Ghaly said. "Another thing that I was very proud of was when we opened our shop in London, because it had been our dream for a long time to establish Azza Fahmy beyond the Middle East. Last but not the least, I am proud of our team and culture in the company, because I truly believe that if we didn't have this spirit in the company, we wouldn't have been able to achieve any of our targets."

Ghaly's enterprise came into being when her mother, Azza Fahmy, set out in 1969 to design jewellery collections that would, years later, count world leaders, royalty, celebrities, and jewellery connoisseurs among its clients. When asked about the biggest challenges she had faced along the business' trajectory, Ghaly replied, "Two major crises that we faced was the Egyptian Uprising, which was a very turbulent time from 2011 to 2013, and the COVID-19 crisis in 2020. For me personally, COVID-19 was tougher than the revolution, but because we had built strong business structure, team, and culture, we had been able to overcome all of these. Every few years, some crisis will happen, but it is how you handle them, and how you adjust to new circumstances that matters."

Check out the full video for more highlights from our conversation with Ghaly!

Related: Against All Odds: Roar Founder Pallavi Dean On Blazing Her Own Trail In The MENA Region's Design Landscape

Side Hustle

When This Entrepreneur Couldn't Decide What to Name His Business, He Started a $2,000-a-Month Side Hustle to Help — Now It Earns Over $10 Million a Year

Darpan Munjal, founder and CEO of AI-powered startup ecosystem Atom, offered $50 to anyone who could help with the creativity block.

Side Hustle

3 Secrets to Starting a Small Business Side Hustle That Gives Your Day Job a Run for Its Money, According to People Who Did Just That — and Made Millions

Almost anyone can start a side hustle — but only those ready to level up can use it to out-earn their 9-5s.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Starting a Business

UAE Startup The Concept Wants To Help You Travel Using Sustainable Products

With an aim to remove non-sustainable hardware from the aviation industry, its first core prototype is a redesigned lightweight in-flight economy food tray called NEOS Fly which combines functionality, sustainability, and technology, and would make a positive impact on the environment, while also allowing airlines to save money in the long run.

Growth Strategies

Tracking Jahez's Five-Year Journey To Become A Unicorn In Saudi Arabia's Hypergrowth Consumer-Tech Market

Jahez achieved this stellar exit within five years of establishing itself, while delivering a cumulative 100 million meals to Saudi customers through 19,900 merchants and 52,400 delivery partners.