THINKING BIG

Samia Bouazza, Group CEO and Managing Director of Multiply Group, started her leadership career in 2003 as the founder of Multiply Marketing Consultancy. Today, she heads a $14.6 billion holding company. She says an innovative mindset and good people are behind her success.

- HAGAR OMRAN

Samia Bouazza, Group CEO and Managing Director of Abu Dhabi-based holding company Multiply Group, credits a mindset to self-transform as being behind the company’s remarkable growth. The group started as a marketing consultancy in 2003, but today is one of the U.A.E.’s largest listed entities. “Multiply is a journey of a lifetime,” she says. “When you start an SME in your 20s, recruit the right people, and grow together—I always look back to this rich journey.” With a focus on the U.A.E., the U.S., and Türkiye, as of January 17, 2023, Multiply Group had a market cap of $14.6 billion, with net profits for 2022 hitting $5.1 billion.

Concentrating on investments in technologybased and transformative businesses, Multiply Group has invested $3.35 billion in new deals since it was listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) in December 2021. In March 2022, it injected $100 million into the IPO of the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, and in May, it invested $50 million into the IPO of polyolefin manufacturer Borouge, a joint venture between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Borealis of Austria. In October 2022, the group acquired 80% of International Energy Holding, with the remaining 20% acquired by Alpha Dhabi Holding, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based International Holding Company (IHC). Last year also saw a number of smaller ticket investments in public equities. Multiply Group had five subsidiaries by the end of September 2022.

However, it was the group’s $2.72 billion investment into the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) in September 2022—acquiring a 7.3% stake—that the CEO believes has opened up new horizons for the company in the clean energy sector as well as having a sizable impact on its balance sheet.