Bee Café: a coffee shop with inspiring human mission
At first glance, Bee Café appears to be just another quaint coffee shop in the city lanes of Abu Dhabi, with its elegant, cosy interiors, delightful aromas of freshly roasted coffee and friendly baristas. As you sip your cappuccino, you may not immediately realise that the cafe is more than just a place to drink coffee.
Representing a unique humanitarian mission, Bee Café only employs people of determination. Meticulously trained in barista skills, customer service and hospitality, the staff at Bee Café are as skilled, efficient and friendly as any staff you’ll encounter in the city’s high-end coffee shops.
Bee Café was in the spotlight at the 2023 World Government Summit when His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stopped by its stall at the conference.
Bee Café, which was opened in 2019, is the first café in the UAE to be run entirely by people of determination. In 2021, the café opened its first external branch at the Abu Dhabi Health Department headquarters.
Managed by the Zayed Higher Organisation for People of Determination, a non-profit governmental organisation founded in Abu Dhabi in 2004, Bee Cafe is part of the Bee the Change campaign, which aims to increase the employment of determined people both nationally and internationally. The unique cafe also reflects the UAE leadership’s desire to integrate people of determination into all areas of life so that they can become equal contributors to the economy and society.
The facility employs Emirati staff who have undergone a six-month training programme in speciality coffee and food preparation, the art of hospitality and service, as well as basic hygiene, sterilisation and first aid. They also know how to make small talk with guests to make them feel welcome.
Bee Café offers a wide range of specialty coffees, including cappuccinos, lattes and flat-whites made by people of determination, as well as a variety of healthy snacks, including vegan biscuits made by Ali Al Zaabi, the entrepreneur behind the I Can Bake project. The café serves as a place to raise awareness of the contributions of people of determination to society in various fields.
Bee Café, the first cafe in the UAE to be run entirely by people of determination was in the spotlight at the World Government Summit 2023 when @HHShkMohd stopped by at its kiosk at @WorldGovSummit. pic.twitter.com/9hmvx4eHda
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) February 15, 2023
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