Tatiana Antonelli Abella is the founder and managing director of Goumbook, a Social Enterprise dedicated to raising awareness among the local community on Sustainability and Green Living: launched in 2009 it was the first green information resource for the MENA region. Today Goumbook manages different projects such as Sustainable Mena, a green directory dedicated to promote green products and services in the region; the Give a Ghaf Tree Planting Program, the only tree planting initiative of the GCC with over 30,000 seeds planted in the past 5 years, and the Drop It & Drop It Youth campaign to help businesses and individuals stop using single-use plastic. Tatiana is actively involved in the green arena and is considered one of UAE’s top Environmental Influencers.

Enjoy the show!

Posted on March 1, 2018

Show Notes:

• 1:15 – How Goumbook launched the sustainability revolution in the Middle East
• 2:30 – Creating the first Green Directory for the UAE and growing quickly
• 3:45 – Developing a sustainability-focused supply chain ecosystem
• 6:15 – Dealing with setbacks in your business and how to overcome them
• 6:45 – Launching the “Give a Ghaf” program
• 8:15 – The importance of the Ghaf tree to the desert environment
• 11:45 – How to connect with the UAE by planting a tree
• 13:00 – Planting 40,000 seeds and 10,000 trees across the UAE
• 17:00 – Transforming Goumbook into a Social Enterprise vs a Charity
• 18:00 – What is a Social Enterprise?
• 18:45 – Why hiring competent team members is the best investment
• 20:00 – The DropIt program … reducing single-use plastic bottle usage
• 21:30 – The secret about bottled water in the UAE
• 23:00 – How you can save money and make an impact through water filtration
• 26:00 – Partnering with companies who want to support Sustainability
• 29:30 – The business model for Goumbook
• 31:00 – How to decide where to focus your energy and efforts
• 36:45 – How the UAE government moves with speed
• 40:30 – Where the Goumbook organization got its name
• 44:15 – Quickly testing an idea with minimal resources
• 45:15 – Hopes for a sustainable Expo 2020
• 46:30 – What Tatiana would put on the SZR Billboard
• 48:30 – How Richard Branson inspired immediate action
• 50:30 – Advice for your 20-year-old self
• 53:15 – Why working for a large company can be a good thing
• 55:15 – Why continuous learning is the key path to growth