|
Born in 1974 in Beirut, Abdallah Chatila fled the civil war with his family at the age of 2 years old. After living in Italy and France, the family moved to Switzerland in 1988. A graduate in gemology, Abdallah Chatila joined the family business of fine jewelry in Geneva in 1995. In 2006, he published "The Diamond Niche", which has become a reference in this field. Two years later he created the first diamond investment fund. In 2006, he began working as a property developer and quickly became a key player in the canton of Geneva. He is now president and sole shareholder of m3 Real Estate, a management company created in 1950, which he helped position as a "private real estate banker". It thus makes investments in the residential and commercial real estate, catering and more recently, the hotel industry. With the company Rachaya Holding which he founded in 2007, Abdallah Chatila diversified his activities: diamond industry, contemporary art, health, insurance or new technologies, and has even entered into the Chinese caviar trade. Gemologist, entrepreneur, investor but also philanthropist, Abdallah Chatila created in 2011 the Sesam foundation. It thus supports educational and socio-cultural projects, mainly in Geneva but also in Lebanon. With a wealth estimated in 2018 by Bilan magazine at more than 200 million CHF, Abdallah Chatila is among the 300 richest in Switzerland. |
On a rare sunny day during Geneva's winter, we met Abdallah Chatila at the headquarters of his real estate group, m3 Real Estate, whose premises reveal his passion for art. Successful entrepreneur and jack of all trades, he welcomes us as a simple man, dressed in jeans and a T-Shirt decorated with a smiley.
Swiss-Arab Entrepreneurs: How did you become a "serial entrepreneur"?
Abdallah Chatila: I learned the commercial spirit from my father, but he was very conservative and careful, while I am careful but not conservative. You have to know how to seize opportunities when they arise. I wanted to do a lot of things, and when I started making money with real estate, it got me started on all kinds of projects. I was lucky to be successful! These are sequences of circumstances. It all depends on the opportunity and the people around you. My strength is that I am not afraid of losing. I do a lot of things hoping to do them well. But I am realistic and I accept both loss and gain. When we have multiple projects we can more easily imagine failing and we take more risk.
SAE: Based on your experience, what advice would you give to other entrepreneurs? According to the literature, 80% of entrepreneurial success is based on psychology and the mindset and 20% on strategy. What do you think?
AC: Yes of course, everything is mental and a matter of perception. To hesitate is normal, I hesitate too. But at some point, you have to decide whether to go ahead or not. The problem with people who are too hesitant is that they end up doing nothing at all. You have to study your file, do a market study, make comparisons, but then you have to make a decision. I make my decision quickly. You have to believe in what you do and do what you believe in.
In business, it is essential to know how to lose in order to win. I experienced failure. But only once, with the bankruptcy of the company I made with my brother, a new watch brand. At 24-25, we were too young and inexperienced for such a complicated enterprise and such a heavy task.
Sharing your experience is important to motivate others. I coach people every day. In jewelry, I understood the importance of knowing how to manage information flows. My philosophy: to attach to people rather than things.
SAE: Entrepreneurship is gaining importance in the USA, Europe and elsewhere. How do you see the entrepreneurial world of tomorrow?
AC: If entrepreneurship has always existed, it is much easier today to have ideas. The Internet and social media play an important role and generate many new ideas. They allow you to be inspired by what others do and make people want to do business. But to be an entrepreneur, you also need to have money and therefore be able to borrow from banks or find investors. To find investors, you have to enter insider circles. As for the banks, they must be open and ready to support entrepreneurs.
This is the case in France where state aid is also available. Entrepreneurship therefore has a cultural effect but also a political effect. In Switzerland, it is very difficult to borrow from banks for entrepreneurial projects and there are not many state support programs. The Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL) is a good example. Supported initially by the cantonal state, it has set up a business incubation structure, offers grants and meetings with investors.
SAE: How do you view the Arab world and its needs in the fields of economics and entrepreneurship?
AC: The problem in the Arab world is that people are caught between the traditional world and the modern world. Religion is taking up more and more importance, the economy is blocked and political instability is dominant. All this makes foreign investment difficult. Political instability is a major risk for investors. Even Arab countries with natural resources find it difficult to attract them.
The region is also experiencing a flight of people and capital. I myself am a child of a family who had to leave his country like many others in the Arab world. The people who live in Europe and Switzerland are used to a well-defined and structured economic and legal system. Despite their patriotism, people are selfish and will not invest their money in an unstable country just because it is where they come from. Transfers from Arab Diasporas are generally intended for the consumption needs of their families and not for investment. An investor with a choice will look to other countries.
Certainly, there are investments in the Arab world. But they are limited to certain sectors such as tourism or energy, whereas the investment needs are enormous. Entrepreneurship cannot thrive without an appropriate policy framework and a supportive ecosystem. Internal policies need to help attract investment. And the issue of political instability should absolutely be addressed to create a stable and attractive environment, which is essential for any investor.
SAE: The 4th industrial revolution and digital economy are underway. At the same time, some economists predict an economic crisis within one to two years. How do you prepare for it?
AC: We believe in digital and we invest a lot in it. This is the big change to expect for the next 5-10 years. In the digital hotel era, online platforms are obviously competitors, but that doesn't scare us. However, we have no concerns for our real estate sector: our clients are people who want to live in their apartment or work in their office.
Economic indices cannot go up constantly. Fluctuations are common. The current economic and political instability is causing uncertainty and causing markets to fall. But what happened in 2008 and what is happening now are two completely different things. A crisis is possible but in the form of a market correction of a past period of excessively good economic indices, and not the explosion of a bubble. Experience over the past ten years has shown that after the fall, everything started to go up. The stock markets have doubled, everything has doubled and it is therefore normal for a correction to occur at some point. Either way, today's cycles are short - one or two years - and the economies will recover quickly. Central banks also have the means to offset the crisis. We are also fortunate to live in Switzerland, a place that many consider a refuge country. As we saw in 2008, real estate business was difficult for a year but it quickly recovered.
