Beehive has entered a number of new partnerships this year including a revolutionary partnership with SDB and GIB, the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.
To give you a bit more insight into how partnerships are formed and handled at Beehive, we sat down with Jason Stewart, Senior Product Manager who works behind the scenes to make them happen.
Hi Jason, thanks for taking the time to sit with us. First off, can you tell me what do you do at Beehive and what areas your team look after?
I am the Senior Product Manager at Beehive. The product team works closely with the CTO, CEO and the technical team on any developmental or project related work either internally at Beehive or externally from clients. When I say clients, I am referring to Beehive’s partners.
As the Senior Product Manager, it is my duty to manage the development of a project or partnership. From the start of a project or partnership where strategic consultancy needs to be provided, to the middle of a project when day-to-day contact with a variety of different departments is required, it is my role to ensure that everything moves in line with pre-set deadlines.
The nature of projects we work on can range from small operational developments within Beehive, to international partnerships that pave the way for Beehive to enter new countries.
Do you have any other responsibilities at Beehive?
When I started at Beehive I worked in the credit department under Beehive’s Senior Credit Manager, Saj. When Saj is on leave, I take over the credit duties and manage the credit analysis process. I am also involved in doing the credit analysis for our project finance and invoice finance products.
You mentioned you are also involved in partnerships. What do you factor in when deciding who to partner with?
Good question! There is always a potential synergy with almost any client as Beehive is flexible on who we can work with. On the surface, many opportunities will seem exciting, however, the success of partnerships in this region rely mainly on the following points:
1. Do the priorities of the two parties match?
2. Is there clear value being provided to all parties involved in the partnership
3. Are the partnership’s barriers to entry manageable and worthy of the potential benefits?
Now let us talk about you and the Beehive team. When did you join Beehive and what attracted you to the company?
I joined Beehive in October 2017. I came from an SME asset finance company which was also in the start-up sector in Dubai. When I heard about Beehive, I reached out to a few members of the team to ask questions and understand more about where the company was headed. I met Beehive’s CFO and COO, Peter Tavener and as soon as I learned the direction they wanted to take, it became an easy decision to jump on board and join the team.
What would you say is your favorite part of working at Beehive?
Two things – first is the exposure to a huge range of different professional opportunities to grow your skillset which you can only get by working for a small company. The second is just the people. Beehive has a really cool team and work is a lot more enjoyable when you make friends with people you work with.
I couldn’t agree more! Can you tell me more about the culture of the team?
Everyone helps each other whenever help is needed. We work as a team rather than individually as much as possible. There is a lot of trust that team members place on one another, which I think is very important.
Do you have any go-to productivity tricks?
Whenever I need to maintain focus on a certain project, I would stick my headphones in and listen to music then get in the zone and start doing work.
What’s keeping you occupied outside of work?
I grew up in Dubai, so I am lucky enough to have quite a lot friends and family over here. Dubai is well set up for outdoorsy activities so I try and do stuff outside as much as I possibly can, whether it is sports or just hanging out with friends.
Awesome! Can you tell us an interesting fact about yourself?
Even though I grew up in Dubai, I am originally from South Africa. Also, I am lucky enough to have dual citizenship – I am also Irish, so I get to have 2 passports.
That’s amazing! Before we end, what is going well in your role? Any recent wins (big or small)?
One of the big projects I was working on for more than a year was the partnership with Gulf International Bank and Social Development Bank to launch a digital lending platform for micro and small enterprises in Saudi Arabia. When the platform launched in July, it was a big win for me to see all the hard work paying off.
Congratulations and well-done Jason!
