How an Indian expat built a UAE tech firm with Dh350 borrowed from his mother

Dubai: When Anas Abdul Latheef looks back on his journey in the UAE, he does not think first about career milestones or business achievements. He thinks about a phone call to his mother.

It was 2014, and Latheef needed Dh350. Today, the amount sounds insignificant. But at the time, it was money he did not have.

His small startup, Hash Include, was trying to compete for a government project, and he needed to purchase an official tender document. Without it, there was no chance of even entering the race.

So he called home, his mother lent him the money, and more than a decade later, Latheef still remembers that moment.

“Looking back, that Dh350 was probably the best investment my mother ever made,” Latheef told Gulf News.

For many people, it is just a story about a small loan. For Latheef, it represents the journey of an expatriate who returned to the UAE with little more than ambition and gradually built a future for himself.

Long before he began his career, the UAE has already become part of his story. As a child, Latheef has spent time in the Emirates with his parents before eventually returning to India. But even then, something about the country has stayed with him. 

“I always knew I wanted to come back and build my future here. There was an energy and ambition in the UAE that was hard to ignore,” described Latheef.

Like many young people growing up outside the country, he has watched the UAE transform at remarkable speed. While others saw headlines about skyscrapers and development, he has seen a place where people from different backgrounds were building new lives.

After completing university, he has returned to Dubai in 2008. The reality, however, has been very different from the dream.

He has arrived without a business network or financial backing. Like countless expatriates who arrive in the UAE every year, he has to start from scratch.

His first years in the country have been spent working as a software engineer. The work has exposed him to different industries and different people. More importantly, it has taught him how the UAE operated.

He has witnessed a country where expectations were high, competition was intense, and opportunities often went to those willing to work harder than everyone else.

One experience in particular has left a lasting impression. While working on a project for the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, he has found himself involved in developing an event platform that had to be completed within a week.

The deadline has seemed almost impossible. Yet the project has been delivered.

“There is no room for excuses in those environments. You either deliver or you do not,” exclaimed Latheef.

The lesson has stayed with him long after the project ended. Over the years, he has come to believe that one of the UAE's defining characteristics was its focus on execution. Ideas mattered but results have mattered more.

Similar to many expats trying to build a career, Latheef has quickly learned that talent alone was not enough. Trust has to be earned.

“We were a small company competing against larger and more established players and earning trust was never easy,” recalled Latheef.

Coming from a technical background has created another challenge. “I came from a technical background rather than a sales background, so I had to learn how to communicate value and build strong business relationships.”

There have been no shortcuts. Every opportunity has to be earned, every successful project has led to another conversation, and every relationship has taken time to build.

For Latheef, progress has come not through one breakthrough moment but through years of consistency.

When Latheef has been asked on what motivates him today, his answer has little to do with technology.

“Technology is ultimately about people, not systems. I am deeply inspired by talent and dedication, whether I see it in engineers, founders, artists, or athletes,” explained Latheef.

Some of his proudest moments have come from helping others recognise their own potential.

“Some of the most meaningful successes I've witnessed came from helping someone shift their perspective and realise they were capable of much more than they thought.”

That belief has inspired him to mentor students and offer guidance to young entrepreneurs whenever he can. However, he has preferred to keep those efforts quiet.

“We intentionally keep these efforts small and personal. Giving back is not about publicity or scale. It is about helping talented young people move forward and gain the confidence to build something meaningful.”

Today, Latheef's life in the UAE looks very different from the one he has arrived to in 2008. But when he reflects on the journey, he does not see a story about money or business success. He sees a story that many expats will recognise.

Leaving home, starting over, building credibility, facing setbacks, and finding people who believe in you when you are still trying to believe in yourself.

And somewhere in the middle of that journey sits a memory that has never faded, a son calling his mother to ask for Dh350. The amount was small but the faith behind it was not.

Years later, the loan has long been repaid but the lesson remains. Sometimes, the opportunities that change a life do not begin with a major investment or a grand plan. Sometimes they begin with a family member who says yes when you need help most, and a country that gives you the chance to prove what you can do with it.