Although I come from a humble background, two of my elder brothers became FCCAs. As I was good at accounting at school, my family thought it would be a great idea for me to pursue ACCA, too. I have to admit that initially I was averse to the idea, but I now feel content with where the qualification has taken me.
My career began in my home city, Jeddah. I worked briefly in the hospitality sector before joining Global Environmental Management Services, where I was able to put the knowledge gained from my ACCA Qualification to good use.
Then, after a spell in the health sector in the capital Riyadh, I was offered a career-changing opportunity in fintech at Tiqmo, a mobile payments service provider.
When Tiqmo offered me a chance to join its operations team I was genuinely excited, especially about helping to develop its fintech app. My boss understood that the ACCA Qualification teaches much more than just accounting, and he wanted me to use those skills to help establish the department.
My role as an operations specialist involves designing an optimum operational cycle for our products. I also liaise with our partners and work closely with the technology team to provide a high-quality product. As a side project, I have helped the accounting team establish robust policies, which will ensure the integrity of our records.
What I enjoy about my job is the excitement that comes with bringing a game changer to the market, and the wonderful set of people I work with.
My boss understood that the ACCA Qualification teaches much more than just accounting
The UAE is the Gulf Cooperation Council leader when it comes to using e-commerce platforms. However, Saudi Arabia has a significantly larger population and has the potential to become a higher value e-commerce market. The kingdom is often viewed as just a petrochemical giant, but things have changed drastically over the past decade. The government is intent on making it a global power and has many diverse initiatives to support this mission through its Vision 2030.
It is an exciting time to be in Saudi Arabia. Long may the growth and diversification continue!
I believe in equality of opportunity. If I had law-making powers, anyone born in a Middle Eastern country would be entitled to a free passport for life.
In my spare time I have a lot of interests. I follow football, basketball, tennis and F1 and have created an indoor cricket group in Riyadh, which meets to play once a week. If I weren’t in finance, I would probably have been in athlete management.
I also enjoy going to networking events, trying new restaurants and attending board-game nights, stand-up comedy shows and art exhibitions. Life is full, but that’s how I like it.
