RIZWAN SAJAN

Danube Group

Sajan is another Indian success story that came from humble beginnings. After eight years in Kuwait, he reportedly started work at a hardware store in Dubai for Dhs1,500 ($408) a month before using his savings to establish Danube as a small trading firm in 1993. The building materials supplier took advantage of Dubai’s construction boom in the subsequent years to build up a business with a turnover exceeding $1.4bn. In recent years it has also diversified into homeware and real estate with a growing portfolio of residential projects.