Duaa Ajrash
Operation Manager, Austrian Business Development Group
Duaa Ajrash serves as an operation manager for the F&B sector at Austrian Business Development Group, a firm leading business development initiatives in the Middle East. Separately, yet under the same company, Duaa operates a cafe, Ves Vas, in Kuwait inspired by traditional Sadu design.
Tell us about the origins of Ves Vas.
Prior to joining ABDG, I wanted to create my own cafe. Surprisingly, ABDG acquired a location at the newly established Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre, known as the Kuwait Opera House, so I stepped in to operate it.
In what ways did you help launch Ves Vas?
I handled the project from all aspects, including gathering Kuwaiti talents, acquiring a firm from the UK and Switzerland to complete architectural work and working with Curious London on branding.
How does your work with ABDG translate to your role in Ves Vas?
To expedite the process of launching the cafe, it had to become part of ABDG. Originally, the opera house location did not have space dedicated to entrepreneurs, so I wanted to encourage the system to support entrepreneurs by promoting Ves Vas Cafe as part of the private sector as well.