Dubai-it: From cleaner to entrepreneur. How this Ghanaian's dream to meet Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed came true

Dubai: Even as a child, Maclean George had big dreams. He wanted to be the president of Ghana. At the age of 20, he decided to move to Dubai, to pursue another dream – to become a football player. “I used to play in the local leagues, but in Ghana we didn’t really have options to play football professionally,” he told Emirates 24|7. “Someone I knew motivated me to come to Dubai to become a footballer. I came here on November 12, 2021,” he said. Once he landed, though, he stumbled upon a challenge – the person who’d encouraged him to pursue his football dreams in Dubai stopped responding to him. Not one to get bogged down by failure, George decided he would not let that be the reason to go back to Ghana. “At that time, I got a work visa from a cleaning company, so I just went for it,” he said. George worked as a cleaner in Dubai for almost two years after arriving in the UAE in 2021, refusing to give up on his dreams despite the setbacks he faced. A city built for dreamers He worked as a cleaner for almost two years, working at different locations across Dubai. But even during the most challenging times, he never stopped believing in his dreams. What helped keep the hope alive was seeing the city around him, and one place in particular – the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). “Even today, I visit DIFC may be thrice a week, I just find it so inspiring. Dubai’s story shows truly how greatness can be built from scratch … to see how the city has risen to greatness, and is now recognised as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. That story is really connected to my spirit,” he said. “Sometimes, I just take long walks around DIFC, as my heart is always connected to it,” he said. Another place, right next to DIFC, that captures George’s attention is Downtown Dubai. “I just love watching how they maintain the place. How the buildings are constructed, how the traffic is maintained … I really like to spend long hours trying to understand how the infrastructure is being maintained. Because if you become the president of Ghana, you need to know how these things work. You have to manage all these things for the people. So, I am always forcing myself to be around Downtown Dubai,” he said. And while the dreams may seem farfetched to a sceptical mind, George is a believer, and is ready to put in the work. In 2022, he saw a huge poster of UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Pope Francis during a visit to the Vatican on 2016. He stood there, thinking to himself – “I would never get the chance to shake the hands of the UAE President.” He decided to stand next to the image and take a picture, perhaps as a way to make his dream feel a little more real. Believing dreams into reality Four years later, that imagined handshake became real, when George had a chance meeting with Sheikh Mohamed in March this year, as he visited Dubai Mall, with his video garnering millions of views and getting global attention. “I was walking around Downtown as usual and my friend suggested that we go to Dubai Mall. There, we just happened to see Sheikh Mohamed and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai. I knew this was perhaps the only chance I had to shake his hands,” he said. As he rushed to get a chance to meet with the UAE President, he clearly remembers almost falling down. “I can’t explain just how much it meant to me, how happy I was,” he said. His heartfelt interaction with the UAE President resonated not just with the country’s residents, but was a strong reminder for George, too, that dreams can come true. From cleaner to entrepreneur Today, the 25-year-old Ghanaian national is the owner of a luxury athleisure brand – MACLUX – starting the company with whatever money he had as a cleaner. The inspiration to become an entrepreneur came from his need to help people, whenever they’d ask for money. “Sometimes, my friends would ask me for money – AED 100 or something. And I never wanted to say ‘no’. I realised that if I have to give money to people, I need to be able to make more money,” he said. After trying his hands on trading and other ways of making a secondary income, George decided to take the leap into entrepreneurship. “I’ve always believed I am meant for big things – to be the head of my family, to be a global leader. I don’t let someone’s opinion of me limit my dreams,” he said. He started his company in 2024, with all the savings he had put together from his job as a cleaner. Determined to not take loans from friends or banks, George decided to launch a limited collection, working with friends and coordinating with suppliers from Turkey and China. Thinking global The path ahead, though, is as big as it has always been. George wants to expand the collection, and diversify to ultimately, one day, be the head of a global company. The motivation behind th