Rasha Al Danhani (Rasha Sharif Al Dhanhani) is an Emirati businesswoman and entrepreneur, who is the UAE owner of the PappaRoti coffeehouse chain.

Education and early career

Al Danhani studied entrepreneurship at

Dubai Women's College The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) () is a public institute of technology with 16 campuses and facilities throughout the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1988 by Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, it is the largest applied higher educa ...

and graduated in 1998. She started her career working in the banking sector but moved to the real estate business.

PappaRoti

In 2009, Al Danhani acquired the

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n brand PappaRoti (meaning 'Father of the bun' in Malaysian) that started in 2003, and turned it from a maker of buns and beverages into a coffee shop chain, with the coffee-coated bun as its signature. In an interview, Al Dahnhani said she bought the brand through her savings from her previous work and a loan from her father. The first store was a small kiosk opened in

Dubai Mall Dubai Mall () is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. The mall is part of Downtown Dubai and is located adjacent to the Burj Khalifa. It includes over 1,200 shops. History Dubai Mall was inaugurated on 4 November 2008, with about 1000 reta ...

in 2009, with a staff that included only five people. After five years, the number of locations exceeded 200 locations. As of February 2020, PappaRoti has over 400 stores and kiosks located mostly across the Middle East and eastern Asia, with locations in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Brazil, and other countries.

Awards

In 2012, Al Danhani received the Mohammad Bin Rashid SME Fund's Entrepreneurial Personality of the Year. In 2013, she won the Entrepreneur of the Year Award at Arab Woman Awards UAE 2013, organized by ITP Publishing. In 2014, she was ranked #57 in the Forbes Middle East 200 Most Powerful Arab women.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danhani, Rasha Emirati businesspeople Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Emirati women in business Higher Colleges of Technology alumni