She grew up a global nomad, changing 16 schools and colleges across four continents, her bags always packed. But when 10-year-old Fahbin Anwar first set foot in Dubai in 1993, something clicked.
This was home.
Now, she is one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the city, investing in some of its prime real estate, transforming properties, and bringing education and hope to millions of children in far-flung, troubled zones from Myanmar to Afghanistan. Back then, Dubai was still a city finding its identity so much so that, as Fahbin recalls with a smile, “it felt like it had sprung straight out of the U2 hit, Where the Streets Have No Name.”
“Places weren’t even properly named yet,” she says. “You gave directions based on landmarks, ‘near that building, past the roundabout, about 50 steps to the left.”
But in that raw, unformed energy, she saw possibility.
By 2003, Fahbin made her move permanent. Unlike the transient life of her childhood, she was here to build. Within a few years of starting her business, She became a partner in two prestigious hotels like Semiramis in Al Rigga and the second hotel in Al Muteena. Managing hundreds of rooms, clubs, and restaurant- all while balancing motherhood after her son Shayan was born in 2006.
Soon, Fahbin diversified into export and import, focusing especially on a children’s clothing line and opening multiple units across different cities. She also ventured into commodities like crude and gold.
But her true love has always been real estate.
Fahbin has a gift for seeing potential where others don’t. She thrives on “flipping” luxury properties, transforming overlooked spaces in Marina, Business Bay, and Emirates Hills into high-value assets.
“It’s not just about returns,” she says. “It’s the thrill of reinvention, taking something ordinary and making it extraordinary.”
While Dubai’s skyline became her canvas, Fahbin’s impact stretches far beyond bricks and mortar. With her sister Tasnim Anwar, she co-founded Gogee8, an ed-tech platform breaking barriers in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and beyond.
In a country such as Afghanistan where girls are banned from classrooms, Gogee8’s animated video tutorials on academics, mental health, and vocational skills have become a solution, reaching over half a million.
“Education isn’t a privilege; it’s a right,” Fahbin says. “If we can’t bring girls to school, we’ll bring school to them.”
Fahbin herself was exposed to a heady international mix very early in life. When her father, a top cop was posted as the civilian police chief for the United Nations in Angola, there were people of 49 different nationalities in the UN compound.
Fahbin was erratic as a student but always street-smart, resourceful, and ready to take a chance on interesting ideas and people.
Nothing about her success—or her business—came from inheritance, and Fahbin says that with pride. She’s the first in her family to choose entrepreneurship over tradition, breaking away from generations of public service—men who served, led, and left their mark.
“Everywhere I go, people speak of my father in reverent tones—his brilliance, his unshakable principles, the fire in his presence. That… that is the real inheritance—the weight of your father’s name, carried with reverence, spoken with awe.”
In spite of being a very private person in personal life, she was always very opinionated, either in person or through Twitter (now X). Her networking and deal-making make her a formidable business force. She attributes her success to the various factors that come together to make Dubai so magical.
“The success I have got in Dubai I would not have got anywhere in the world. I fell in love with the city because it makes you feel anything is possible. It unlocks your ambition. It is one of the safest cities in the world for women. It is extremely cosmopolitan and culturally vibrant. It has spotless streets, amazing markets, and warm people. Order is respected here. I can go on and on…” says the 42-year-old.
Her son Shayan, now a student at NYU Abu Dhabi and once a world-ranked tennis player, remains her greatest achievement. For Fahbin, motherhood and raising him bring far more pride than building any of her business empires.
Today, Fahbin’s days are split between high-stakes real estate deals and scaling Gogee8’s global reach.
“For now, I’ve started investing more in real estate and ‘flipping’ properties with my friend Renowned designer Elena Antoniou of EA interors. She brings the expertise; I bring the enthusiasm.” says Fahbin. But she still pauses sometimes, looking out at Dubai’s glittering skyline, remembering the city she first fell for a place where the streets had no name, but where she always knew she belonged.
“Dubai taught me that home isn’t just where you’re from,” she says. “It’s where you decide to make your mark.”
And Fahbin Anwar? She’s left hers everywhere.