JEDDAH, 17 February 2006 — The Abdul Latif Jameel Fund financed 4,354 small-scale business, industrial and service projects last year as part of its efforts to create more job opportunities for Saudis and fight poverty, according to a report issued by ALJ Community Service Programs.

The fund provided soft loans ranging between SR10,000 to SR100,000 to establish 174 projects, the report said, adding that these projects created jobs for 203 young Saudi men and 77 women.

Yasser Al-Tuwaim, an engineer and one of the beneficiaries of the program, said he received SR170,000 from the fund a year ago.

“It helped a lot in establishing my office,” said Al-Tuwaim, who now works in the contracting sector.

Abdul Rahman Al-Sulaimani was given SR100,000 to establish a small-scale industry while Rania Rajab got SR64,000 to set up training center for women. Ahmed Al-Qahtani was able to launch a mobile stationary store in front of the Jeddah court after receiving SR40,000 from the fund.

Referring to ALJ’s Productive Family Program, the report said the fund gave between SR1,000 and SR5,000 to women intending to start very small businesses. ALJ started this program in association with the Gramin Bank. Umm Yousuf, who now runs a business for gift items and handicrafts, said she has been successful.

Umm Saleh, another beneficiary of this program, said she started a small handicraft business with SR2,500 provided by the fund.

More than 3,500 women have benefited from this program. “Some of these women have received regional awards due to the success of their projects,” the report said. ALJ assistance programs created jobs for 670 young Saudis who wanted to start their own taxi and bus service, it said.

“We not only support new projects but also existing ones,” said Azhar Attar, an expert on small-scale projects at the fund. “We introduced a variety of programs in order to suit the needs of different sections of the society.”

The fund also provided training, guidance and technical and legal support in production and marketing to new entrepreneurs.

Khadeeja Al-Kuthairy, manager of the Productive Family Program in Hindawiya, said the program has expanded its services by opening new branches in Riyadh, Madinah, Jizan, the Eastern Province, and Hail. “We are working to make it one the largest and most successful programs in the service of women,” she added.