Homegrown DXB with Omar Butti
Homegrown DXB with Omar Butti is a podcast from Dubai One that highlights local talent and culture in Dubai. Host Omar Butti talks with musicians, artists, and creators who are shaping the city's homegrown scene. The show features conversations and stories about creative work emerging from the UAE. It gives listeners a closer look at the people and projects making an impact in Dubai.
Episodes
Michele and Bill Johnson: Pitfire
Bill and Michele Johnson are the husband and wife team behind Pitfire Pizza, your favorite UAE pizza joint since 2014. Despite neither of them having an F&B background, Michele and Bill developed their own unique brand of pizza somewhere between New York and Neopolitan, with Pitfire now expanding to eleven locations across the emirates and with many more on the way soon.
Bodour Altamimi: Pure Soil
Bodour Al Tamimi founded the Pure Soil family farm to get artificial additives out of food, based on her own experiences with an autoimmune condition that triggered migraines. Bodour believes that pure food leads to a better quality of life, something she cares about deeply, not only for her own family but for all the people here in the UAE and around the world.
Luma Maklouf: Maiz Tacos
Hind Seddiqi: Seddiqi Holding
Hind Seddiqi is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Siddiqi Holdings, a legacy name in the Dubai luxury sector since 1950. She’s also the founder and CEO of Dubai Watch Week, a global platform dedicated to watchmaking heritage and fostering education. Even 76 years after the founding of the first Seddiqi luxury watch and jewellery retailer, Hind is showing that her family business is ti
Khawla Hammad & Inas Shashieh: Takalam
Khawla Hammad and Inas Shashieh are the co-founders of Takalam, a platform that offers therapy and tech powered mental wellness tools to all. Inspired by Khawla’s own challenges with post-partum depression and Inas’s struggles with personal loss, Takalam tackles the social stigma here around mental health head on, aiming to ensure no one in the UAE or the region suffers in silence.
Cheb Moha : Shabab International
April MayJuneFull episode linksNot every brand starts with a blueprint some start with identity. Cheb Moha is an Iraqi creative who grew up between Libya and Canada, a true third culture kid who felt that mainstream streetwear never fully reflected his identity.In 2014, alongside early support from his sister, he developed the concept for Shabab International a sports and streetwear brand inspir
Sami Khoeribi: Wisewell
Our guest today wants to make sure you don’t go thirsty. Sami Khoreibi is the co-founder of Wisewell, a water filtration & dispenser system that uses carbon, reverse osmosis, and mineral filters to make staying hydrated easier than ever. But this is far from Sami’s first venture. Sami took his first company Candax Energy public at the age of 25 and sold his second company Enviromena in 2017. A
Jacky and Ashish Panjabi: Jacky’s
Our guests today are a tech legacy. Coming from Hong Kong, Jacky Panjabi came to Dubai in 1985 to open the first branch of the self-named Jacky’s. Their first shop opened up in 1988 in Al Nasser Square, one of the earliest consumer electronics shops of its kind. Ashish Panjabi, Jacky’s son, has had an active role in the family business since his youth. As COO, Ashish has helped make Jacky’s Group
Dr Haythem Riahi: Circa Biotech
Our guest today doesn’t believe in waste. Dr Haythem Riahi is one of the founders ofCirca Biotech, a UAE based company that is taking organic waste and turning it intothe building blocks of the future. Using an innovative process that upcycles wasteand produces insect proteins, aviation fuel, and fertilizers, Circa Biotech aims tocreate a circular economy where waste is minimized and resources are
David Harkin: 8billionideas
Our guest today wants to bring quality education to every single student on the plant. David Harkin launched 8billionideas in 2021 in the wake of the pandemic, when the challenges of remote education were thrown into stark relief, with teachers and students alike unprepared for the demands of the modern world. Now in 2025 8billionideas has impacted 500,000 students across 26 countries, growing yea
Josefine Lissner: LEAP 71
Our guest today is taking the UAE to the stars. Josefine Lissner is the co-founder and CEO of Leap 71, a Dubai based company literally building rockets for space travel. A young company of only a few years, Leap 71 is already leading in the field of Computational Engineering, designing and 3D printing parts, structures, and entire machines using software models. Leap 71 leverages their Noyron AI t
Martin Van Almsick: Al Nassma Chocolate
Today’s guest made a traditional UAE staple a sweet global sensation. Martin Van Almsick founded Al Nassma Chocolate in 2008 and the first camel milk chocolate produced anywhere in the world. It wasn’t an easy path for Martin, however. He first had the idea for Al Nassma while back in his hometown of Cologne, Germany in 2004, and it took him four long years of development to get the taste and text
Wajdan Gul and Anam Khalid: Squatwolf
Today’s guests put the fit in fitness. Wajdan Gul and Anam Khalid started Squatwolf from their apartment in 2016 at the age of 27 and 26, after identifying that Dubai’s fitness community was being underserved when it came to quality gymwear. But like anything related to exercise the gains didn’t come easy. Squatwolf only became the global success it is today through consistency, repetition and a l
Kris Fade: Fade Fit
Our guest today has been the voice of Dubai’s mornings for the past 18 years. Kris Fade arrived in Dubai in 2007 to help launch Virgin Radio, then a fresh new brand on Dubai’s radio soundscape. Now Virgin is, of course, an institution and so is Kris, who has transcended the radio waves launch a highly successful business, with his healthy food brand Fade Fit now sold in six countries. Fade Fit mir
Yogesh Mehta and Rohan Mehta: Petrochem
Our guests today are a father son duo who exemplify the Dubai dream. Yogesh Mehta arrived in Dubai in 1990 working a 2000 dirham a month job, but only five years later he launched Petrochem Middle East, now the biggest chemical distributor in the Middle East, and the twelfth biggest on the planet. Petrochem Middle East specializes in the distribution, supply, and storage of a wide range of petroch
Steve Flawith: Yolk Brands
Today’s guest put Dubai into quite the Pickl. Steve Flawith, CEO and founder of Yolk Brands has beentantalizing taste buds for 18 years, making his mark here in Dubai in 2019 with the launch of localfavorite Pickl, followed by an expansion into Yolk Brands in 2023 with new favorites like BonBird andSouthpour. Yolk now operates in eight countries globally, with Steve to surpass 100 internationalres
Hosam Arab, Faraz Khalid, and Hisham Zarka: Namshi
Hosam Arab, Faraz Khalid, and Hisham Zarka started moving forward together in 2011. The three men founded Namshi, one of the first companies to provide an online lifestyle destination for fashion and beauty in the MENA region. Namshi revolutionized the way online retail was approached, offering fast delivery and easy returns in an age when that was anything but common. The three founders went thei
Fikry Boutros and Dan Wanies: CarniStore
Our guests today are two men who know how to get into the meat of an issue, typically with a side of potatoes. They’re the co-founders and co-CEOs of CarniStore, one of the fastest growing digital butcher shops in the UAE.After years of entrepreneurial passion simmering beneath the surface, a chance meeting between Fikry Boutros and Dan Wanies sparked what would soon become a full-blown flame, and
Yazen Al Kodmani: Emirates Bio Farm
Yazen Al Kodmani is a man who knows how to make things grow. Growing up in a family steeped inagriculture. Yazen took inspiration from his heritage and established the Emirates Bio Farm in 2016,now the largest privately-owned organic farm in the UAE, with more than 60 varieties of organiccrops produced. But Yazen’s ambitions don’t stop at the farm itself. He is also a strong advocate forsustainabl
Abdulla Ajmal: Ajmal Group
Ajmal Perfumes has been making the UAE and the world smell good for 75 years. The late Haji Ajmal Ali, previously a farmer by trade, started the business in 1951 in Mumbai. Ajmal Ali soon saw the opportunity to expand in the early years of the UAE and opened Ajmal’s first shop in Murshid Bazaar in Dubai in 1976. Abdulla Ajmal, the grandson of the company’s founder has been steering the family busi
Mudassir Sheikha: Careem
When you think of catching a ride in Dubai the first name that comes to mind is Careem. Founded by Mudassir Sheikha and Magnus Olsson, what started in 2012 as a website for corporate car bookings Careem has grown into a transport juggernaut with operations in 70 cities and across 10 countries in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.In 2019, Careem was acquired by Uber for an eye watering $3.1 bi
Rami Tabbara and Manar Mahmassani: Stake
This is Homegrown DXB, hostd by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Shuja Jashanmal: Jashanmal Group
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai. Our guest today is the proud inheritor of a name that has been renowned across the Gulf for over 100 years. Rao Sahib Jashanmal first set up a bookshop and general store in Basra, Iraq in 1919, catering to British Armed Forces and expatriate residents. Jashanmal then
Dino Varkey: GEMS Education
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Few names are as synonymous with education here in the Emirates than GEMS Education. In 1959, twelve years before the founding of the UAE, Mariama and K.S. Varkey came to Dubai to start what they thought would be a humble tutoring business, but it became so much mor
Sima Ganwani Ved: The Apparel Group
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guest on this episode is making sure you’re dressed to the nines. Sima Ved is the Founder and Chairwoman of the Apparel Group, one of the largest retail groups in the Middle East. If you’ve a fan of fashion, the chances are you’ve purchased something from the Ap
Toufic Kreidieh: Brands For Less
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Dubai is often thought of as a city of luxury, where those with discerning and expensive tastes are catered to. But Dubai is also a place that appreciates a good deal. Our guest today capitalized on the emirate’s appetite for smart savings. After moving to Dubai for
Yan and Ananya Narayan: Hunter Foods
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Hunter Foods are no strangers to Dubai, having been one of the very first to secure a trade license in the then fledgling Jebel Ali Free Zone in 1985. The brands of Hunter immediately evoke nostalgia in those who grew up in the 80s and 90s, with names like Safari, A
Mo Ballout: Kitopi
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Chang Sup Shin: 1004 Gourmet
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai. Today we’re getting a taste of the east with Chang Sup Shin, the CEO of 1004 gourmet, a Korea supermarket that has grown into a pan Asian retail food retail brand that supplies the likes of Carrefour, Nobu, Burj Al Arab, and Zuma.1004 gourmet was opened in 2008 by Ch
Halima Jumani and Jamal Hussain: Kibsons
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guests today know how to keep it in the family. Jamal Hussain and Halima Jumani are the power couple at the helm of Kibsons International LLC, the company supplying Dubai and the region with quality produce and products for the past four decades. Kibsons was fou
Candy Fanucci, Pirate Surf Rescue
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guest today has built a beach safety and rescue program that some have described as Dubai's answer to Baywatch. If you frequent Kite Beach here in the Dubai you've probably seen the army of children in red laying claim to that shoreline. But Pirate Surf Rescue i
Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui, Washmen
This is Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai.
Our guests today run the cleanest business there is. Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui, the founders of Washmen, have been keeping our clothes, shoes, and accessories sparkling since 2015. The pair struck up a university friendship that turned into an ongoing business part
Donna Benton: The Entertainer
Welcome to the first episode of Homegrown DXB, hosted by Omar Butti, the show taking you inside the lives of the people changing yours, right here in Dubai. Our guest today knows a good deal when she sees it and isn't afraid to drive a hard bargain. Donna Benton first graced the shores of Dubai all way back at the turn of the millennium and her buy one get one free sensation, The Entertainer, has
