Ghazi Abu Nahl And The Keys To Success

Ghazi Abu Nahl is the founder of one of the most successful family businesses across the world. From a small start-up back in the 1970s, his holding company, Nest Investments now has a turnover of more than $700,000 with assets worth in excess of $5 billion across many countries. Ghazi Abu Nahl’s background is in insurance but the Nest Investment group covers much more than insurance these days, with banking and property now being major aspects of the business. In recent years the company has invested heavily in real estate all over the globe including a luxurious five star development of apartments, office, shops and a hotel close to Algeria’s International Airport.

Principles, value and trust are three of the mainstays of Nest Investments that Abu Nahl holds dear. Integrity, good ethics, honesty, and being the best at everything they do is simply how the business is run on a daily basis. Nest has always had a strong sense of family, and while it certainly remains a family business, Abu Nahl is not afraid to bring in external experts to help build this ever-growing empire. He believes the blend of the insider knowledge that comes from being within the company for decades, combined with fresh ideas and knowledge from those new to Nest is the ideal combination to allow the business to truly flourish.

Abu Nahl is secure in the knowledge that the principles he has laid down for the business over the years will continue onwards even after he has gone. The family values have remained, even though these days the business is far too big to only employ relatives! So to this end, a recent move has been to set up a separate family office, with the Abu Nahl family taking on the role of overseeing the business, while also focussing on other issues that are close to the heart of Abu Nahl such as family education, philanthropy and succession.

Abu Nahl has always been forward thinking and understands the importance of diversity and global trade. He’s a passionate advocate for international trading and does much work with the World Trade Centers Association, the international trade membership network for the promotion of trade and investment across the globe. With the World Trade Centers Association network including more than 300 members representing over 90 countries, Abu Nahl is successfully spreading the ethos of international collaboration all over the world.

Good value is something that Abu Nahl believes to be of ultimate importance to a successful business. Not just good value for clients or customers, but also to staff and business partners. The need for good value, within an ethical framework inspired Abu Nahl to come up with his seven point value framework that his business strictly adheres to. These seven points are: compliance with the law, collaboration, empowerment, excellence and association. To elaborate, Abu Nahl has stated that Nest Investments will only ever associate with other businesses and individuals that have the same set of values as their own.

When Abu Nahl first set out to bring insurance to the sceptical Middle East, he knew the most important thing he needed was trust. Gaining trust can be hard, but once you have it, it’s certainly one of the most valuable commodities in the world. When Abu Nahl named his first business ‘Trust’ it was definitely not a word chosen at random!