Mehdi Gharbi: A Journey of Patience, Perseverance, and Seizing Opportunities
When discussing his career path, Mehdi Gharbi doesn't talk about overnight success or shortcuts. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of patience, perseverance, and seizing opportunities at the right moment. As a telecommunications and mobile networks engineer, certified in project management (PMP), this Tunisian national, now based in Dubai, has spent nearly two decades at the heart of the infrastructure that enables a more connected world.
Early Career and Experience
Before launching his own consulting firm in the United Arab Emirates, Gharbi's career took him from Tunisia to France, and then to some of the most ambitious technological projects in the automotive sector. For 14 years, he worked within the Orange ecosystem, both in Tunisia and France, participating in the management of complex projects involving multiple countries, operators, and international partners. "This experience allowed me to understand how to manage large-scale projects with multicultural teams and international stakeholders," he explains.
A New Chapter in France and the BMW Project
In 2019, Gharbi moved to France, where he joined the Japanese group NTT, one of the world's telecommunications giants. The project he was assigned to was none other than BMW. His mission was to manage the telecom ecosystem that enables BMW vehicles to stay connected worldwide. Behind a seemingly simple feature like automatic emergency calls or built-in internet connectivity lies a complex global infrastructure. Using integrated eSIM cards and international roaming agreements, vehicles can transmit data, communicate with various services, and remain connected regardless of the country they are in. "We built an entire network environment dedicated to BMW," he summarizes.
Creating Protel Consulting DMCC
In 2024, Gharbi decided to take a new step by moving to Dubai to create his own company, Protel Consulting DMCC. The objective is clear: to support businesses in their digital transformation, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and telecom infrastructure projects. However, behind this entrepreneurial venture lies a more personal desire: to build bridges between the different technological ecosystems he has discovered throughout his career. "My ambition is to create a bridge between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa," he affirms.
Current Activities and Future Prospects
Today, Protel Consulting works with clients based in France, Luxembourg, and the United Arab Emirates. The company's activities revolve around three axes: consulting, research and development, and business development. Artificial intelligence plays an increasingly important role in this strategy. The company is currently developing several solutions to address concrete problems in various sectors, such as real estate, smart cities, tourism, restaurants, and fraud detection. "We don't develop AI for the sake of AI. We build solutions adapted to the real needs of businesses," he insists.
Collaboration and Talent Development
One of the most structuring projects for the company's future is the result of a collaboration with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. This partnership has contributed to opening up opportunities for implantation and recruitment in Tunisia. Despite his international career, Gharbi maintains a strong connection to his country of origin. Part of Protel Consulting's activities are now developed from Tunis, where the company welcomes interns, students, and young engineers. Talents from institutions like SUP'COM or ENIT are already participating in projects for international clients. "Talent exists in Tunisia. What often makes the difference is discipline, willpower, and the desire to learn," he estimates.
Challenges and Lessons Learned
The entrepreneurial adventure has not been without its challenges. Upon arriving in Dubai, Gharbi faced three consecutive visa rejections and had to wait nearly six months before finalizing his installation. "This was probably one of the most difficult periods in my career," he acknowledges. Adapting his family to a new, predominantly English-speaking environment has also been a challenge. However, he highlights the ease of integration offered by a city where the majority of residents are expatriates from around the world.
Conclusion
Two years after launching his company, Protel Consulting has a team of around 10 collaborators and continues to grow. For Mehdi Gharbi, this trajectory is the result of long-term effort. "Perseverance, professional networking, curiosity, and patience have played an essential role in my career," he summarizes. This philosophy still guides him today, as he continues to develop projects at the intersection of telecommunications, artificial intelligence, and innovation, with an unwavering conviction: Tunisian talents have a place in the world's major technological transformations.
