Dubai: Ever so often, 26-year-old Emirati entrepreneur Ali Albanna hears an expat’s Dubai plan: “I will come for two years to make money and leave.”But as someone who has lived his whole life in the UAE, he is also familiar with how that plan often turns into a lifetime in Dubai, with people from across the world feeling a sense of belonging and loyalty to the city.The co-founder and CEO of Open Socials, a growth and social commerce agency, Albanna said: "I think people become loyal to Dubai because, over time, they realise it gives them something that's becoming increasingly rare – confidence in the future. They know their families are safe, opportunities exist for those willing to work hard, and there's a genuine sense that tomorrow can be better than today.”A lifetime in a cityThis isn’t a one-off occurrence either. It is a philosophy Albanna believes has shaped Dubai's growth for decades, and one that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, recently captured through the Dubai-it initiative.Defining it as a verb, Sheikh Mohammed said the definition of ‘Dubai-it’ was “to achieve something extraordinary with excellence in record time. It’s about turning big ideas into reality, just like Dubai’s incredible transformation to global city in a short span.As an Emirati witnessing the phenomenal growth of the city, Albanna spoke about how the focus on long-term growth has helped shaped countless lives and careers, and motivated him to begin his entrepreneurial journey as well.“Every day I meet founders building companies that serve Africa, Asia and Europe from one city. Families raising children from every corner of the world. Entrepreneurs who arrived with a suitcase and now employ hundreds of people. Dubai has never simply been a place to make money,” he said.The same philosophy feeds Albanna's approach to his work, too. He launched the company in 2022, with his Welsh friend, who is also a Dubai resident, with the aim of helping businesses grow while creating "lasting value for businesses and, more importantly, for people," believing companies needed to adapt to a new era of consumer behaviour.Since then, the company has worked with businesses in the UAE and the UK to build strategies for scale and growth, helping generate hundreds of millions of views and contributing millions of dirhams in revenue for its clients."We help businesses build and execute growth strategies across content, social selling, customer acquisition, revenue generation, and the operational infrastructure that supports long-term scaling," he said.But for Albanna, his greatest achievement as an entrepreneur, is the quiet support the company gives back to the community - supporting families, helping children facing serious illness, and standing beside people going through some of life’s most difficult moments.“Some of the most meaningful work we'll ever do will never appear in a case study. I've always believed that if a company becomes successful but forgets the people who need help the most, then it has misunderstood what success was for in the first place,” he said.The moments that create loyaltyIt is this sense of service and community building, which Albanna says is embedded in the UAE's culture from its leadership through to its businesses, that leads to the sense of loyalty people feel towards Dubai.“I was reminded of that in a recent meeting with someone who moved to the UAE during the COVID-19 pandemic. He told me that within a week or two of arriving, he had access to the medication and vaccines he needed, while many of his friends and family back home were still waiting. It wasn't just the healthcare itself that stayed with him. It was the feeling that the country genuinely looked after him, even though he had just arrived,” Albanna said.“I think stories like that are why so many residents develop a real emotional connection to the UAE. They don't just build careers here, they build trust, gratitude and a sense of belonging,” he added.For Albanna, those moments explain why so many carefully planned two-year stays quietly stretch into decades.“That's why so many people come for two years, and somehow they're still here a decade later,” he said.“If any city can do it, it's Dubai. The greatest cities don't just attract talent. They earn people's loyalty.”
