Rima Kaissi
Managing Partner-D3 Consultants
- Please tell us about your background and your professional journey and how you came to being the Managing Partner of D3 Consultants?
My professional journey in the education sector started 2 decades ago in KSA followed by Bahrain, Qatar and UAE. Making a difference and a positive impact on younger generations helping shape their future has always been a passion of mine which fueled my commitment and resilience. Gaining experience in various managing and leadership roles over the past 20 years has helped me gain the role of Managing Partner at D3 Consultants. Surely working with like-minded people who are also committed to offering quality services contributed to my achievements. I have always been a keen believer in the quote “where there is a will, there is a way”. So I paved by path with hard work, commitment, passion and faith in a better tomorrow.
- Kindly take us through the core area of business and services of D3 Consultants?
D3 Consultants offers turnkey solutions to K-12 schools, higher education, training centers, and early childhood nurseries. We are unique in our name itself as D3 stands for Dedication, Devotion and Dependability and that’s what we offer our clients. Our highly qualified team works wholeheartedly in ensuring that any service provided is carried out with high standards of quality and outcomes in mind. We work with both investors and school owners and/or leaders in offering them support in whether to invest in a specific region through running market studies and commercial due diligence reports as well as offering full operating and managing services. Our Managing and operating services cover recruiting, human resource management, financial planning, marketing, social media and branding, curriculum development, quality assurance and accreditation, facilities management, technology integration, IT infrastructure, and school improvement planning. We have partners in Finland, USA, Lebanon, UAE, UK, and Australia who provide high quality best researched tools and complement our services to bring the best to our clients.
- What is the competitive edge you have over your competitors and how do you stand out?
Our services are unique and competitive because we take our mission a step forward from consulting through actually carrying on the required tasks and work itself with high proficiency and commitment ensuring outstanding outcomes. We have 50 years of aggregated experience in the GCC countries, regulatory authorities, international accreditation and local cultural understanding.
- 2020 has been tough for most businesses and individuals. What strategies or policies have you adopted to cope with the situation in 2021 and assist those who have suffered due to the pandemic?
During this pandemic, we have adopted more flexible strategies to ensure the continuity of our services to our clients. We used to practically live on a plane being there physically for our clients, but with the pandemic we simply had to resort to virtual support and managing and monitoring progress of work accordingly. Our dedicated team works with clients and service providers in different time zones, which was sorted by travelling, but we had to accommodate for this challenge during the pandemic by working remotely and having a balanced work-life schedule to ensure healthy wellbeing.
- Can you name a few of your milestone achievements?
One of our recent milestones was aligning 10 curriculums that included all GCC countries and most common international curriculums in 4 core subjects of Math, Science, English and Arabic for all grade levels. And another one that we are also proud to share is introducing the Finnish Quest program in an international school based in Bahrain to enhance their quality of teaching and learning. Our development team is always excitedly busy in developing and researching best practices and success stories of proven methods in education that can add value to our clients and prospective investors.
- What are your future plans and where do you see the company in the next few years?
Our vision is to expand more globally and to have a larger market share in our neighboring countries as well as expand into North Africa. I see the company moving in that direction and I believe that with the “new norms” post COVID pandemic, there have been many lessons learned about the importance of upskilling and upgrading the technology infrastructure at K-12 schools as well as higher education. We have plans in motion on how to play a pivotal role in the coming years in this field.
- Any message for the upcoming generation or budding entrepreneurs?
My advice to budding entrepreneurs is to carry proper due diligences on what the target audience in the different markets truly needs and what is already available before they venture into their startup while keeping an eye on the fast ever changing technology impact on their sector of business. And most importantly be passionate and committed to overcome challenges, changes and pandemics!
