When multi-talented Gina Dirawi wanted to start her own business, she was completely unaware of the business world. In the new series "Gina against a billion", she therefore takes help along the way from a range of entrepreneurs, from Ash Pournouri, who was Avicii's producer, to Sven Hagströmer, who started Avanza.
There is a jargon in the business world that I think is a bit pretentious, but there is a lot of creativity there. It's similar to what I do when I create a world – a program or a book idea – so I thought "why hasn't anyone shown how to build a company from scratch?".
The series is a collaboration with the investor network Nordic Angels – the commercial part made it impossible to collaborate with a channel like SVT.
I have throughout my career been quite anti-advertising collaborations and the money has never been my drive. But I wanted to nurture my idea.
Money obsession?
The idea is based on olive oil – her grandmother and great-grandmother worked on olive groves in Palestine as young women and used the oil to care for their hair. When Gina Dirawi suffered from blood poisoning and hair loss at the age of 23, she returned to her family's practices.
Throughout my upbringing, my grandmother had a lot of plates with olive oil in the apartment and used it for her skin, hair – everything, she says, and tells that it was suddenly she herself who had containers with oil blends all over her home.
She wants to realize her dream, but thinks that today's young people mostly seem to want to make money. So doesn't the series promote money obsession?
I think that when you see the content, it's more about "what's your dream? How are you going to nurture it?".
Room for conscience
The oil has become harder to get after Israel entered Gaza. Building an ethical brand has proven to be challenging overall. But exploring it is the point of the series, emphasizes Gina Dirawi.
The image we're fed is that you have to be a certain way to make a billion. But can I have my values and be emotional in my decisions? Is there room for conscience or is it just about the money?
Gina Dirawi says that "Palestinians and their olive trees" is like a love relationship.
For me, it's more important than ever that everyone sees it.
But you're still aiming for a billion?
Yes, now I've said it out loud, so I have to keep going until I reach the billion.
The series "Gina against a billion" is a collaboration with Nordic Angels and will be broadcast on social media.
About Gina Dirawi: TV host, artist, and comedian. She hosted Melodifestivalen in 2012, 2013, and 2016. Debuted as an author in 2020 with the novel "Paradise lies under mom's feet" and is now writing her second novel. She has also released the album "Meet me in Jannah" and hosted the program series "Gina lives and dies" on SVT.
