JEDDAH, 10 May 2005 — The Abdul Latif Jameel Fund for Supporting Small Businesses handed out loans to a number of small business owners last week as part of its goals in developing existing businesses or establishing new ones. The fund has signed an agreement recently with the Businessmen Society of Alexandria to develop the mechanism for supporting small projects by creating a work team that visits shops and businesses to explain the services offered by the fund.
Through these field visits the fund approached more than 700 small establishments and found that most of them are under the names of Saudis but are operated by non-Saudis, which conflicts with the fund’s rules that aim at providing new job opportunities to Saudis.
Last week, Ibrahim Badawood, general manager of Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Program, handed out 13 checks to small business owners as loans to finance and support their businesses. The businesses included keys manufacturing shop, cell phone store, selling and renting wedding supplies and small businesses at the vegetable and fish markets. Loans were also given to small businesses by women and included fashion design place, a project to write and publish a cook book, catering business, and formulating women perfumes. These projects helped create 26 new job opportunities for Saudis.
“I began establishing my business for selling cell phones 4 months ago and with the loan from the fund I am able to complete furbishing the store and hiring a Saudi to work in it,” said Omar Mohammed Bakr.
Muneera Al-Subaiei is using the loan to finance her project of formulating perfumes and selling them. “I’m using the loan to complete the decorations for my tailoring and fashion design shop and I’m also able to hire three young Saudi women to work for me,” said Fatima Al-Harithy.
“ALJ Fund for Supporting Small Businesses continues to develop its operating mechanisms and make it easier to access its services to the largest segment of our youth,” said Ibrahim Badawood.
He said that the ALJ Fund began operating in Riyadh this month through its Community Services Program branch in Shumaisi as well as in Dammam through the Abdul Latif Jameel Center. “The ALJ Community Service Program is interested in providing job opportunities to young men and women and the total number of projects that have been supported so far by the fund reached 35 small businesses,” he said.