A Lifetime of Gold, Grit, and Guts
Based on a report from the Gulf News, Anita’s story is certainly one of contrasts, of abundance and energy, of sparkle and sweat. Born right into a modest middle-class household, she labored her approach via faculty within the U.S., juggling part-time jobs at a comfort retailer and a jewelry counter. It was throughout this part of hustle that she met Moiz Khoja, the person who would turn out to be her accomplice in each enterprise and life.
Moiz, like Anita, got here from humble beginnings. He as soon as cleaned restaurant flooring and later constructed a tech retail empire from a small mobile phone kiosk in an American mall. Collectively, the duo created a flourishing enterprise with over 100 retail shops — Moiz managing the tech frontier, whereas Anita slowly carved her area of interest in inside design by engaged on their actual property initiatives.
From Household Initiatives to a Full-Fledged Agency
Armed with a design diploma and a rising sense of confidence, Anita co-founded Zena Interiors — a reputation that displays her deepest motivation: her daughter. What started as a two-person setup has since grown right into a thriving crew of over 40, together with architects, engineers, designers, and creatives. The agency’s shopper listing now contains luxurious villas, eating places, and classy places of work throughout Dubai.
However the street was something however easy. Dubai’s design scene is fiercely aggressive, and American credentials didn’t at all times impress native shoppers. “Individuals wished somebody who understood the regional aesthetic,” Anita recollects. “So we began with smaller jobs — places of work, residences — simply to get the ball rolling.” Ultimately, her crew’s meticulous craftsmanship and design sensibility started to draw greater initiatives and a loyal clientele.
Zena: The Muse Behind the Mission
For all of the hustle and glitz, the actual coronary heart of Anita’s journey lies in motherhood. Her daughter Zena isn’t simply her delight — she’s her objective. “I wished to indicate my daughter that we are able to steadiness every part,” Anita says. “That girls can construct one thing of their very own and nonetheless be current at house. That’s why I named the corporate after her — Zena.”
It’s greater than only a identify. It’s a philosophy. Anita needs her daughter — and different younger girls — to develop up seeing that ambition isn’t at odds with femininity or household. That designer luggage and enterprise plans can go hand in hand. That prime heels and better objectives aren’t mutually unique.
The Dubai Bling with a Enterprise Mind
Anita might embody the high-maintenance Dubai aesthetic — gold ceilings, curated opulence, and a wardrobe to rival a trend week runway — however she’s additionally a fierce businesswoman. When she launched her agency, her first intuition was to create a lavish workplace house, solely to be firmly reminded by Moiz to get her priorities straight.
“He instructed me, ‘First repay that workplace. Then be sure that the workers are paid — out of your pocket, not ours,’” Anita laughs. It’s this steadiness of fashion and substance, aesthetics and accountability, that has helped her enterprise flourish.
Sure, she’s a self-proclaimed shopaholic who adores The Dubai Mall and jokes about her bank card payments. However the thrill of spending her personal cash — earned via her creativity, grit, and enterprise acumen — hits completely different. “I take pleasure in cash,” she says candidly. “However I take pleasure in it extra when it’s mine.”