Home Away from Home: Q&A with Shaden Abdellatif on The Nadi's Impact on Lives in the UAE

Interview edited by Omar Ramy, Staff Writer.

Note from the Editors: This interview has been edited for clarity and length, while preserving the speaker's intent.

Shaden Abdellatif, co-founder of The Nadi, is on a mission to reshape the experience of older parents and their adult children (also referred to as ‘kids’ in this conversation) in the UAE. This multigenerational community is built on the belief that life gets better with age, offering classes, workshops and experiences that bring generations together to thrive and learn. With a master’s degree in Cultural Policy from Goldsmiths, and a background in public affairs, Abdellatif has a uniquely diverse portfolio with stints at Uber and Binance. Driven by a passion for cultural arts, she sought to bridge between her corporate expertise and cultural interests. She ultimately was able to realize this through the establishment of The Nadi.

The Dyorama: What inspired you to create The Nadi?

Shaden Abdellatif: My co-founder and I were seeing this consistent experience amongst friends wanting their parents to engage in more activities or things to do, both from parents visiting for short or long term - or those living here. Personally, my mom also lives here and I could also see this growing need for activities and experiences through her perspective. We were talking about this one day and realized there is actually a real opportunity to do something for this growing demographic.

My mother has been in Dubai for over 35 years, and we grew up in the UAE with the assumption that you work here and then you leave to retire. Like many parents in the UAE, she was getting bored with the limited options–malls, restaurants, and the same routines. That’s when it clicked and the idea of The Nadi came to life. We created a multigenerational social club where we offer a curated program of activities across UAE. We mainly operate in Dubai, but we are looking at hosting events elsewhere.

The Dyorama: What makes The Nadi unique compared to other social or wellness initiatives? 

Shaden Abdellatif: We like to identify The Nadi as multigenerational, because we generally want the experiences and activities to be ageless for all adults. We want to offer something that feels accessible to parents and their children.  We created a space that feels comfortable with priority for the older generation. 

Our programming is intentionally curated to be unique. It’s not about your typical yoga or fitness class. Instead we host whiskey nights, ceramics workshops, and even design tours. I love it when we receive feedback from our members, especially when parents say they feel it’s the first time their children organized something with them in mind. We want to offer an experience where parents and adult kids come together, but are equally enjoyable if you come alone.

The Dyorama: How was it like to give up your remarkable corporate career to establish your own business?

For me to do good work, I need to feel passionate and connected to the work I am doing or the industry I am in. Generally, I was pretty lucky throughout my career to really love what I do and did not feel a need to do my own thing - my cup was full so to speak. 

However, I, like many people, was part of the 'great resignation' that took place during COVID. I jumped ship to a new company thinking that I needed a change. It was there I realized that, for me, it's actually hard to show up to a job that I had little attachment to, and I really started zoning in to what it is that motivates me - which is social impact, communities and culture. 

It was from this basis that the conversation between my co-founder and I began, first as an idea but then quickly we realized we have something pretty tangible and real here and all it needed was us actually doing it. The excitement of that was enough to make that switch. So, ultimately what I saw initially as a mistake in my career path was really the motivation I needed to land here.

The Dyorama: Take us through The Nadi's operational and marketing strategies. Where are you currently located and how do you market your business? 

Shaden Abdellatif: One of the things that I struggled with at the beginning is how to describe the experience to someone who hadn’t tried it, and give them a sense of the vibe. Luckily for us, when people came and saw it for themselves, they’d get pretty hooked. 

A lot of our marketing strategy initially depended on people in my network. I started speaking to all the adult kids, and I gradually found out that the parents who have come on their own have been told about The Nadi through their kids who saw it on Instagram and sent it to them. We initially questioned whether this strategy would work, because the older age group isn’t online. Turns out they are online, but they just need to be kind of guided a bit. They're looking for it; but the first point of entry has been through their children.

However, one of the biggest challenges and advantages that we currently possess is that we don’t have a location yet, due to the high costs and uncertainty on where our demographic is saturated. Yet this allows us to have a flexible program that  changes month-by-month. But because we don't have a location, there's a lot of challenging aspects, such as time and venue limitations, and enhancing our retention rates.

The Dyorama: How do you cater to such a diverse audience?

Shaden Abdellatif: Because I'm in a super early stage, I'm still testing things out. I try to look at it formulaically each month: having one big social event like a bingo night, two differently themed workshops; and then consistent weekly activities like pickleball or a walking club. I think a big thing for us is that we're really trying to curate the experience so it doesn't feel like it's something you can get in Dubai elsewhere.

The Dyorama: How do you time your activities to meet up with your audience’s calendars, given the lack of a fixed location?

Shaden Abdellatif: Honestly, I think most of the feedback has been the opposite of our assumptions, and one thing everyone assumes is that the older crowd wants to do things in the morning. In reality, they don't want to do anything before 4 p.m and feel like they’re rushing out of the house. Listening to our members and adjusting based on feedback is key. That’s why not having a fixed location has been both a challenge and a blessing–it lets us stay adaptable and experiment.

The Dyorama: Do you believe that your business idea is sustainable? Are you able to leverage on the membership clubs trend, and what is your subscription plan?

Shaden Abdellatif: Our subscription is currently pay-as-you-go, allowing you to sign up for whatever activity you like. I am trying to build a brand, so the next step is absolutely membership. This is going to come once I know that people are walking into a Nadi experience knowing what they're going to get.

In terms of sustainability, by 2030, there will be more people over 60 than under 10 for the first time ever. The world is kind of getting older and the wellness messaging and lifestyles are starting to land. By 2050, 3.7 million people will reach 100 years old. 

What we're really trying to solve for is that there's a lot of older people but they're also very able-bodied, and you're getting 70 year olds who have the physical fitness and mental capacity of a 45 year-old. It's really about just making sure that there's going to be something for you to always be a part of regardless what age you are and the sense of community is solving for a lot of their loneliness. It’s a growing demographic that needs community-driven solutions.

The Dyorama: Do you think that it is challenging to make all of your members get along easily, while they might not share the same interests or age?

Shaden Abdellatif: A lot of people are just looking to attach themselves to community, whether it's sports, or arts. People are just trying to look for a common thread with others outside their clique. One time, we had a design tour and there were about 20 people that showed up for that, and 20 minutes into the tour, everyone was just walking around and doing their own thing.

Members mostly say, “I'm trying new stuff because you're making it so easy for me to be able to sign up for it.” And ultimately, the interaction between adult kids with their parents is actually one of our experiences’ main rewards, as they just haven't done something like that together in a really long time.

The Dyorama: Do you think that your retention rates will continue to increase throughout time, or will they eventually fall as your members might return to their homeland?

Shaden Abdellatif: Here in the UAE, we are definitely seeing a shift in the population dynamics leaning towards older ages. Increasingly people are making this country their home for the long term and UAE residents are exploring remaining in the UAE because of enabling government policies and infrastructure such as the Golden Visa and the Retirement Visa, as well as accessible policies around setting up businesses and buying homes. With that, you start getting multiple generations spending more time here either because their families are here or because the UAE has become a hub that is both safe and accessible for older adults that want to spend part of the year here.

So all this to say, we are very much at the beginning of this demographic shift in the UAE, and globally as people live longer. Ultimately, I want The Nadi to become a household brand for this demographic. I would love to say that in 5 to 10 years, we will have a couple of locations.

The Dyorama: What is a surprising hobby or passion that's outside of your work that most people wouldn't expect?

Shaden Abdellatif: I love all kinds of music and nothing makes me happier than when someone compliments me on a playlist. I'm also obsessed with hotels for how they kind of fit into the city around them and connect with it. I'm definitely a big hotel travel buff. If I could do anything besides what I’m doing now, I’d probably become a travel influencer and get free paid trips to different destinations. 

The Dyorama: Which fictional character do you think would excel in your industry and why? 

Shaden Abdellatif: I love Moana. In the new movie, she becomes the chief of her tribe while still maintaining a strong bond with her father. Her grandmother’s guidance is a key aspect throughout the story, and her connection to her family continues to shine as she leads. I think the way her family works together and learns from each other is a really nice example of a multigenerational family.