The massive growth reflects the leadership and strength of the recession-proof business of the Dubai-based CS Events that was born amid the April 2020 COVID-19 lockdown

 

While most businesses suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic including many declaring bankruptcy in 2020-2021 while others surviving by downsizing or through cost-cutting measures, there is one company that was born in the middle of the first COVID-19 lockdown and continued to grow from strength to strength, reflecting not only resilience, but a different kind of character and leadership.

Cogent Solutions Event Management (CS Events), a Dubai-based innovative event management organisation, is currently employing professionals to manage a four-fold growth in revenue and business activities in the UAE. It is one of the few business organisations that are growing during the most challenging period in history, making it the most recession-proof business.

 

CS Events, which was founded in April 2020 – during the first COVID-19 lockdown – when business activities came to a near standstill globally by Mr Nizam Deen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CS Events, has grown from strength to strength during the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many businesses to shrink and fold over the last two years.

 

With the rising number of planned exhibitions, conferences and other events, the hospitality sector in the UAE earned revenue of Dh11.3 billion ($3.08 billion) in the six-month period 2021 from Dh8.6 billion recorded a year earlier thanks to event management companies like CS Events.

 

In 2021, CS Events organised 19 virtual events with 10 a team of 10 professionals working in different departments across sales, projects and finance through a small office. Despite the pandemic, the company grew its operations and shifted to a new office in Business Bay and continued its expansion.

“In 2022, we have so far delivered five physical events and more than 20 virtual roundtable events. There are 10 more physical events to be completed by year-end and we anticipate to do 30 more virtual events including events in new regions like Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” Nizam Deen, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CS Events, says.

“Within the company we have expanded our team strength and currently have 20 employees. We have recently added new departments like Creative, Marketing, Video Editing, Graphic Designing to provide 360 degrees of corporate event services.”

COVID-19 has changed everything – including the events industry, mostly known as the Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Exhibitions (MICE) – a US$1.33 trillion (Dh4.88 trillion) industry globally.

The events industry size is growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.2 percent from $1.13 trillion in 2019 to $1.55 trillion by 2028, according to Allied Market Research. Events refer to public gathering of populace art at a determined time and place.

In 2020 and 2021, CS Events, a two-year-old company, deployed the latest cutting-edge technology to disrupt the events industry – that has faced the biggest challenge in hosting in-person events due to COVID-19 related restrictions, especially new health and safety as well as social distancing protocol.

Through its well-thought-out events, CS Events has managed to create economic values to its clients – who now sees tangible results by participating in these events – that are not just part of marketing expenses – but something that is helping to solve business development challenges and contributing to their topline revenues and bottom-line profits.

“We are super excited that we have acquired the next office and made it a bigger premises to make room for our growing team! so we now have an office spread across more than 2,500 square feet space with 20 professionals and expecting to recruit 10 more by the coming months,” Nizam Deen says.

“In terms of revenue, we have already doubled what we did last year and are anticipating to quadruple last years revenue by end of 2022.”

CS Events was recently awarded “Great Place to Work” recognition by the global authority for workplace culture by the MD of Great Place to Work Middle East at its annual meeting in Sofitel the Palm Hotel.