'Dubai’s a city that has this defiant resilience': Figure skater to mompreneur Mamta’s incredible story

“Dubai is home. It’s all I’ve ever known, and it’s a city that encourages entrepreneurship and allows ideas to take shape quickly,” says Mamta Nihalani in an interview with Gulf News.

For Mamta, a former UAE figure skater turned mompreneur, that energy became her driving force.

“I founded Apothecary by Mamta in 2016, during a time when I was navigating the emotional and physical demands of motherhood,” she says. “I felt a strong pull to create something meaningful - products that went beyond functionality and truly supported wellbeing.”

Her skin care brand focuses on natural, non-toxic wellness products that nurture both skin and mind. When she was young, she made natural concoctions that she tried on herself before making it for her friends and family. Think natural body scrubs and face masks.

And the UAE, the country that she was born and raised in, played a huge role in bringing it all together.

"Even in uncertain circumstances, we look at how to preserve creativity through resilience. It's encouraged." She claims she has lived through several challenges that Dubai has witnessed over the years.

"What makes Dubai different is that Dubai doesn't just recover, it re-calibrates. It adapts faster than most places, leans into change, and somehow turns pressure into progress." And she truly believes that this city, that she calls home, has this defiant resilience.

"Each time people around the world predicted a slowdown or decline, the city just re-invented itself. I have lived through most of it and I can vouch for Dubai's resilient spirit."

And, her secret mantra?

“I don’t believe in perfect balance. Some days lean more towards motherhood, others towards business. It’s less about balance and more about alignment,” she says. She also adds that being a mother reshaped her perspective on how success looked like. Perhaps, that is helping her stand tall in such uncertain times.

“Turning mother made me more intentional with my time and more mindful of what success truly means. It’s no longer just about growth, it’s about creating a life that feels grounded, purposeful, and present.”

Even as geopolitics adds uncertainty to the region, her faith in Dubai remains steady.

“Dubai has always given everyone equal opportunities. It's a city that continues to inspire me every day."

But her journey hasn’t been without challenges, she says.

“Working with people who are inauthentic rocked me,” she admits, recalling a time a factory tried to replicate her brand with cheaper ingredients.

“Instead of letting it get me down, I decided to stay in my own lane and focus on creating. It was a huge lesson.”

COVID-19 also tested her adaptability.

“It shifted consumer priorities toward self-care and wellbeing, but it also required resilience.” But it was her customers who ordered her products online that kept her afloat.

“Hearing from people who say our products have brought them happiness, calm, comfort, or a sense of paus. And that validation is incredibly meaningful. That’s all the validation I want.”

Her advice to other entrepreneurs is simple and practical: “Start before you feel ready. Trust your instincts, stay patient, and build something that genuinely matters to you, because it will matter to the world.”

When the going gets tough, her children are a reminder of why she started. “They are a constant reminder of why I started and remember courage doesn’t mean the absence of fear, it means showing up despite it,” she says.

It’s a philosophy that sums up both her journey and the spirit of United in Strength: building with heart, persistence, and faith in oneself, even when the world feels uncertain.