Ever since she was a ponytailed schoolgirl, Sarabjot Kaur Malhi carried a quiet certainty about her future. She believed her path would one day lead to Dubai, a place she describes as a city where ambition never loses its worth.
Malhi grew up in Qadianwali, the daughter of middle class parents. She studied at the village school before completing her senior secondary education in Gurdaspur and later earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in Jalandhar. Her father, Paramjit Singh Malhi, is a former Congress sarpanch, and her mother Bhupinder Kaur works at the local Anganwadi.
Nine years ago, with little more than determination and a clear vision, she boarded a flight to Dubai. For many, the city is a sprawling concrete expanse. For Malhi, it became a place that matched her pace and allowed her the independence to dream big.
She admitted she felt unsure when she launched her first company. As a new entrepreneur, she expected scepticism. She recalls how history is full of ideas that were initially dismissed — penicillin, the airplane, power looms and even anaesthesia.
Despite the doubts, she pressed on. Today, she runs eight companies in Dubai. Her firms provide medical services to oil and gas giants as well as marine organisations. Her more recent ventures — cleaning, recruitment and patient management companies — have grown rapidly.
Malhi credits the UAE’s streamlined systems and business friendly environment for her swift rise. “My success is due to how smooth the process is here,” she said.
Yet her roots in Qadianwali remain strong. Even as she builds an impressive profile in Dubai, she continues to draw identity and pride from her home village. For many in Gurdaspur, she has become an inspiration — proof that a girl from a small village can make her mark on a global stage.