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By Ayo Onikoyi

Nigerian woman based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Gift Preye Solomon who has been celebrated as the first female delivery rider in the entire Emirates has been named by HSBC UAE as one of the 75 Faces of the UAE, for carving a niche and making a name for herself in the world of business in the Gulf region.

A statement on the HSBC UAE Instagram page made the announcement with the pictures of the 75 people making a difference in the UAE economic space.

“We’re celebrating 75 years of doing business in the UAE, growing from a single branch besides Deira Creek to supporting some of the biggest businesses in the Middle East. To mark our anniversary, we have curated a gallery of 75 outstanding individuals, who have contributed to the UAE’s rise. The digital gallery will be showcased at Mall of the Emirates from 24 February to 4 March – we hope you are able to visit and enjoy the exhibition. #75FacesoftheUAE #HSBC75Years #HSBCUAE,” the statement reads.

Gift Preye Solomon is being celebrated in the United Arab Emirates as the first female to take on the male-dominated food delivery rider’s job, and she’s since made quite a name for herself as a role model to other women who may feel some kind of intimidation to step into supposedly male territories.

She migrated to the UAE in 2015 and found herself working at Freedom Pizza after being encouraged to attend a walk-in-interview. From working as a phone operator in 2016, Gift rose to the position of the assistant manager but that didn’t whet her appetite to carve a niche for herself until her pride bloomed in contributing to a new narrative within the UAE’s food delivery industry.

Gift Preye Solomon was born in Benin City, Edo State. She was born into a family of 6; 4 boys and 2 girls. She was the eldest daughter and 4th child after she lost her older sister shortly after her birth.

She has a degree in Multimedia Networking from NIIT Benin. She was doing a BSC degree at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) but unfortunately she had to drop out at 200 level due to financial problems which necessitated her migrating to UAE.

Only days ago, the hard working, indefatigable woman lost her mother to the cold hands of death and she has dedicated the special honour to her late mum’s memory.

“Your daughter is going places. I can imagine how proud you would have felt seeing that your baby girl made it to the 75 FACES OF THE UAE. Today made it 9 days since you left us to be in a better place. Keep resting Mum, I promise to keep making you proud because I know you are watching my every move,” she writes on her Instagram page to commemorate the honour.