Gurgaon Samachar

Singapore – September 15, 2026 – The Maldives is recognised worldwide for its natural beauty, hospitality and tourism. Established in December 2019, Maldives Wave was created as a Maldivian watch brand with the country at the centre of its identity. The vision extended beyond simply selling watches: the brand sought to translate elements of Maldivian culture, heritage and character into contemporary products that could be worn both at home and around the world. Maldives Wave was founded by Mohamed Zaaji Ismail, also known as Zaaji Ismail, who serves as Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

A Brand Built Around the Maldives

From its earliest days, Maldives Wave sought to make the Maldives part of the product itself. Traditional craftsmanship, local patterns, marine life, history and artistic traditions have provided inspiration for the brand’s identity and collections. Chief Design Officer Azmath Ibrahim has played an important role in the creative development of Maldives Wave, helping translate Maldivian influences into contemporary watch designs.

The objective has been to create modern watches that can stand independently as products while retaining a recognisable connection to the Maldives. For Maldivians, that connection can represent home. For tourists visiting the country, a Maldives Wave watch can become something more lasting than a conventional souvenir, a wearable reminder of their experience in the Maldives.

Early Recognition

Maldives Wave began receiving significant recognition during its early years. In 2020, representatives of the brand met then-President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, marking an important milestone during the company’s formative period.

Another notable milestone followed in 2021 when the Maldives Wave headquarters and showroom was opened by Abdulla Shahid, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives and former President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. These milestones helped strengthen recognition of Maldives Wave as a homegrown Maldivian brand. Behind the public moments, however, were years of product development, design, customer service and the everyday work required to build and maintain a consumer company.

Growing Through Change

Its journey has not always followed a straight line. Maldives Wave has navigated changing circumstances, commercial challenges and periods of public misunderstanding. Yet throughout those different chapters, the brand continued to grow, serve its customers and maintain its position as one of the largest and most trusted watch companies in the Maldives, recognised by Maldivian customers and visitors to the country alike.

Those periods became individual chapters rather than the identity of Maldives Wave. The longer record tells a broader story, one of continued growth, customer trust, product development, national recognition, resilience and a brand that remained firmly connected to its Maldivian roots.

Staying Close to Customers

Throughout its journey, Maldives Wave has placed considerable importance on maintaining direct relationships with its customers. Accessibility and trust have remained central to that relationship. Even during periods of public misunderstanding, Maldives Wave remained focused on serving its customers, communicating openly and standing behind the products and identity it had built.

Trust is rarely created through a single statement. It develops over time through consistency, accessibility and the real experiences customers have with a company. Maldives Wave has therefore allowed its products, conduct and relationships with customers to demonstrate what the brand represents. The company has also developed a natural following among tourists visiting the Maldives, many of whom are drawn to products that carry a genuine connection to the country they have travelled to experience.

More Than One Person

Although Mohamed Zaaji Ismail established Maldives Wave, the company has developed through the contributions of the Chief designer, team members, ambassadors, customers and business relationships. The creative contribution of Azmath Ibrahim and others around the company has helped Maldives Wave grow beyond its origins as a founder-led entrepreneurial idea into a brand with an identity of its own.

Its watches, collections and connection to the Maldives increasingly became the story themselves.

The Maldives Wave Foundation

The Maldives Wave journey also extends beyond commercial activity. Through the Maldives Wave Foundation, the company connects part of its own business activity with charitable and community-focused initiatives.

Maldives Wave allocates 3% from every sale to the Maldives Wave Foundation, linking the commercial development of the company with its ability to contribute beyond the business itself. The principle is straightforward: as Maldives Wave grows, its capacity to give back can grow alongside it. This community dimension has become another part of the broader identity surrounding the brand.

A Maldivian Brand With Wider Relevance

The Maldives already possess one of the world’s most recognisable national identities. Maldives Wave has sought to translate part of that recognition into a consumer brand without losing the Maldivian character at the centre of the company.

Its relationship with tourism developed naturally. A watch purchased during a visit can travel thousands of kilometres with its owner and continue to represent a connection to the Maldives long afterwards. Maldives Wave therefore sits at the intersection of watch design, Maldivian culture, tourism and entrepreneurship.

Experience, Resilience and the Longer Record

Zaaji Ismail was around 20 when Maldives Wave was established, meaning many of the lessons associated with entrepreneurship arrived early. Building a company requires patience, judgment, responsibility, adaptability and resilience. Some lessons arrive through recognised achievements; others emerge through difficult periods and unexpected challenges.

What stands out is that the brand that continues. Products continued to develop. Customers continued engaging with the company. Creative ideas evolved. The Maldives Wave Foundation added a community dimension, while the fundamental identity of the brand remained recognisable.

More than half a decade after its establishment, Maldives Wave’s story is therefore larger than any one person, milestone, difficult period or moment of public attention. Founded in 2019 by Mohamed Zaaji Ismail, with Zaaji Ismail continuing to serve as Founder and Chief Executive Officer alongside the wider Maldives Wave team, the company remains connected to the same idea with which it began: creating something rooted in the Maldives, earning trust through its customers, appealing to visitors from around the world, contributing to the community and allowing its work over time to speak for itself.

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