Osman Ahmed Osman - Osman's Dream

Osman's Dream

Osman's dream was to build a large, successful contracting firm. At the time, all such firms operating in the Middle East were European. After only 18 months of work experience, Osman founded Osman Ahmed Osman, Engineer & Contractor, which would later become the Arab Contractors. His startup capital was 180 Egyptian Pounds he had saved up from his earlier job. Osman was the only owner and employee. He operated out of a small one-room office, and undertook various small projects, such as building small shops and garages, repairing buildings, etc. With Osman's hard-work, intelligence, and fantastic organizational skills, the company grew and his operations expanded, but he struggled to compete with foreign firms for larger-scale projects. He began to undertake larger projects, such as erecting an all-girls school and a theater, and eventually expanded his operations to Cairo.