When Abu Dhabi-based entrepreneur Sarah Harfouche launched Business Challenges in 2020, she wasn’t simply founding a consultancy, she was building a bridge between vision and execution. She wanted to help entrepreneurs and SMEs bring order, strategy, and confidence in running a business in the UAE.
After more than a decade in banking, private equity, and investment, Sarah realized how often passionate founders with numerous ideas, struggled to put them into action. Many business owners have incredible vision, but turning that vision into a structured growth plan, can feel overwhelming, and her mission is to make that process accessible, practical, and results-driven.
Seeing possibility in uncertainty
Launching during one of the most unpredictable years for business, 2020, might have seemed ambitious, but for Sarah, the timing couldn’t have been more fitting. As global uncertainty reshaped every model, she watched founders question their strategies, restructure their teams, and search for clarity amid chaos. What she saw reinforced her belief that resilience must be strategic, not reactive.
Using her analytical mindset and empathetic approach, Sarah founded Business Challenges to guide entrepreneurs and business owners through every stage – from launching and scaling to restructuring or planning an exit. Her firm focuses on strategy, operations, and business resilience, using tailored frameworks to help clients improve performance and make confident, long-term decisions.
“Resilience isn’t just about surviving difficult times,” she says. “It is about operating with structure so your business can adapt, perform, and grow stronger when things change.”
From finance to female founder
Sarah’s journey to entrepreneurship was shaped by discipline and risk. With a Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance, an MBA in Strategy from the University of Strathclyde Business School, and certification as a PRINCE2® Practitioner, she spent years learning how businesses function behind the scenes, what makes them thrive and what causes them to stumble.
Over time, she noticed that smaller businesses often lacked the same strategic advantage larger corporates enjoyed. They didn’t fail for lack of effort, but rather from missing the systems and foresight needed to turn movement into progress. She wanted to be that practical support system for business owners, to help them step back from the noise, see the big picture, and make decisions that actually move the business forward.
That desire ultimately led her to create Business Challenges, a boutique consultancy with a name that perfectly captures its spirit, helping more than 60 clients across industries.
“Challenges are not obstacles, they are moments that force us to rethink, rebuild, and grow smarter. Every successful business starts with a challenge – mine did too.”
Strategy with a human touch
What makes Business Challenges different is its personal approach. Sarah works directly with founders and management teams, helping them turn high-level strategy into actionable steps. It is not one-size-fits-all advice, it is collaboration, structure, and clarity tailored to each business.
Whether she is helping an entrepreneur prepare for expansion or guiding a team through operational optimization, Sarah’s involvement is hands-on.
Empowering women to build with purpose
As a woman leading a consultancy in a competitive market, Sarah represents the new wave of female entrepreneurs shaping the UAE’s business landscape. She sees more women taking bold steps, launching their own ventures, investing in growth, and building legacies rooted in purpose. Yet she knows that many still face barriers when it comes to scaling, hiring, and financial planning.
Through Business Challenges, she is committed to making expert consulting more accessible for women-led enterprises. Her focus is on clarity, eliminating the overwhelm and helping business owners prioritize structure without losing creativity.
Her message to women entrepreneurs is simple: success begins with understanding your numbers, your operations, and your direction. Once that clarity is in place, challenges become stepping stones.
Building businesses that last
Today, Business Challenges continues to grow, partnering with startups, SMEs, and established companies across the region. Yet Sarah remains firm in her values. “Growth should never come at the expense of purpose,” she says. “We aim to help business owners stay resilient, structured, and true to what they stand for.”
As UAE entrepreneurship keeps evolving, Sarah stands out for blending strategy with sincerity, proving that when challenges are viewed as opportunities, success is not just possible, it is sustainable.
Because in the end, every business story begins with a challenge. What defines you is how you choose to turn it into growth.
For more information or a free consultation, visit businesschallenges.net and follow @businesschallenges
Sarah Harfouche,
Founder of Business Challenges
