(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Published: Mon 5 Jun 2023, 6:00 AM For thousands of residents who call the UAE home, this is where they realise their dreams. One such expat is Saleem Ahmed Khan, who arrived in the country in 2009 as a taxi driver. Fast-forward to 2023 and he is in the process of launching his own limousine company.
Khan, who hails from Pakistan, drove a taxi until 2012. When ride-hailing company Uber launched in Dubai in 2013, he joined a limo company. He signed up on the Uber platform and saved up what he earned till 2019. He accumulated enough funds to start his own driver fleet company with 850 drivers across the UAE.
Today, he is in the process of going live with his own limo company, initially with 20 vehicles.
“I worked as a taxi driver till mid-2013 and then switched to luxury limousine taxi services and worked as a chauffeur till 2019,” said the entrepreneur, who hails from Pakistan's north-east city of Lahore.
Khan represents one of Dubai's thousands of success stories. Thanks to his hard work, dedication and smart financial planning, he became a millionaire in a span of just four years. Earning Dh5,000 a month as a taxi driver when he arrived in 2009, Khan today owns businesses worth more than Dh5 million.
It was the pre-Covid year that proved to be a turning point in Khan's life when he started his first successful venture. There was no looking back after that.
“When I was working as a taxi driver, I used to earn around Dh5,000 – which was much more than my peers did - as I worked as much as I could.
“I put in 12 hours at work, at times even more. In 2013, I bought my own limousine for Dh200,000, purely from my savings. I invested whatever I saved in businesses.”
In 2019, he started his company called King Riders Delivery Services.
“We have 850 employees with branches in Sharjah and Ajman. We are also starting a luxury transport company. We have placed an order for 20 cars and the staff is undergoing training. We aim to increase the fleet to 100 by the end of 2023,” said Khan.
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The young entrepreneur is confident that his limousine business will grow beyond what his other ventures did. He hailed the Dubai government for providing a business-friendly environment and promoting meritocracy.
“I believe there are two key points here: Proper use of money and hard work that can take people to the next level. Leave the rest to God,” he said.