What’s On teams up with Good to salute Dubai’s homegrown heroes, success stories in Dubai who know what starting a business in Dubai, or campaign, takes.

They might be a lone campaigner trying to make a change, an entrepreneur who is bringing something different to the region, or a small company working tirelessly to start a fledgling business. What they all have in common, however, is the courage and conviction it takes to grow an idea here, adding an authentic, home-grown flavour to the region. These are the people we champion – those who work hard, should be applauded and are creating a scene the Emirates can be proud of, forging ahead in heath, food, retail, charity, tech, community, culture and more. 

Meet our home-grown heroes…

Monday
– THE FOODIES: This wonderful food-obsessed bunch will keep you well-fed, from independent cafés and fine dining fastfood to a food truck and cookery classes.
– THE GLOW-GETTERS: Spas, products, fitness, experts and more, all with a UAE twist to get you healthy, happy, looking good and feeling great.

Tuesday
– THE RETAIL THERAPISTS: Step away from the mega malls and you’ll discover small shops and brands are doing it for themselves (and you, of course).
– THE TECHIES: As Madonna didn’t say, we are living in a digital world, and these digital girls and boys are making life better on the www.

Wednesday
– THE IDEALISTS: These charitable guys do very good things, from one person trying to make a difference to initiatives that inspire the whole community.
– THE CREATIVES: This lot laughs in the face of anyone calling the UAE a cultural desert. Ha. Theatre, cinema, design, fashion, art and more are waiting to be discovered.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE PHOTOSHOOT
Two days, more than sixty real life models, one 9-year-old cocker spaniel and lots of laughs.

Behind the scenes at Good's home-grown heroes shoot Behind the scenes at Good's home-grown heroes shoot Behind the scenes at Good's home-grown heroes shoot Behind the scenes at Good's home-grown heroes shoot Behind the scenes at Good's home-grown heroes shoot

VERY SPECIAL THANKS TO…
– Makeup and hair by Hannah Lisa (hannahlisamakeup.com) and Eideal (eidealonline.com).
– Shot on location at Light House Studio, Al Quoz (lighthouse.ae)
– Catering by Picnic Basket (facebook.com/PicnicBasketME)

HOME-GROWN HEROES AND DAMAN
As a home-grown brand itself, Daman supports its local community with a number of CSR initiatives including ActiveLife by Daman, an initiative that aims to mobilise the UAE community to lead a healthy, active lifestyle through a wide range of events and programmes aimed at improving physical fitness, mental fitness and performance.

The National Health Insurance Company – Daman is the region’s leading specialised health insurer, providing comprehensive health insurance solutions to more than 2.4 million members in the UAE. Over the years, the company has been the partner of choice for a number of the country’s most prominent organisations and multinational companies.

Daman, a pioneer in health care insurance, drives innovation through a combination of state-of-the-art technology and healthcare-related expertise offered by a highly skilled and knowledgeable workforce. Members benefit from added value through unique offerings such as the disease and case management programmes as part of the acclaimed Health Support services. Daman also operates a 24/7 customer call centre and has a medical services authorisation team in direct contact with Daman’s network of healthcare providers. It also provides a diverse
range of online services.

Daman is proud to support healthy home-grown brands, many of whom have started small and grown into successful businesses.