On a balmy August afternoon in 2007, Hamza Bensaid came to Dubai with just Dh500 lent by his mother and a biology degree from Morocco. His first job at GITEX lasted just three days. A university application was rejected because his English was not good enough.
He could have gone back. Instead, he bought an English-learning book, found a job paying Dh2,000 a month and studied alongside his 12-hour working days. He eventually passed the TOEFL examination, graduated from university and built a career in marketing across MNCs.
Nearly 19 years later, Bensaid reached another milestone this March when he bought a home for his wife, Rano; their daughter, Aya, six, and son, Amine, three. “I came here looking for an opportunity. I found a career, a family, a home and a country that.
