“I believe that economic independence for a woman is really a way for her voice to be heard,” Al-Edrisi said. “Economic activity in the country is a forum from which her ideas and her creativity can benefit the community.”

After working for Saudi Aramco for 22 years, followed by a stint leading her own retail firm, Al-Edrisi is now the CEO and chairman of the board of the Eastern Forum Company for Development and Advancement (EFCO). With a focus on activities in the real estate sector, EFCO was created by 24 women investors who wanted to have a stronger “voice” in the business community.

“There are a lot of women with private capital that’s just sitting in the bank,” Al-Edrisi said. “When we join forces and put money into a project, we can become a viable economic bloc. Then we can have an impact and have a say on a larger scale and also bid for bigger projects to be able to make more money. We decided to focus of real estate because it’s a safer investment. Women are cautious investors and they wanted to do business in an area where they have confidence in a return.”

The idea to create a real estate company wasn’t a whim. More than a decade ago, the Businesswomen’s Forum of the Eastern Province was begun by a group of women who saw the need for businesswomen to get together, share ideas and help each other find solutions for common difficulties. The Businesswomen’s Forum has been a leader in establishing contacts with the Sharqiya Chamber of Commerce, hosting major conferences and holding workshops that teach women the business of doing business.

“Our objectives for the first five years of the Businesswomen’s Forum were mainly to improve our skills in management and finance. We attended a lot of courses in and outside of the Kingdom which were often subsidized by the forum,” said Al-Edrisi, one of the founding members of the Businesswomen’s Forum. “Some of our members even started new businesses through the contacts they made while participating in our activities. We created a good network with women in the Gulf Region, too.”

With its first five years a resounding success, the goal of the Businesswomen’s Forum for the next five years was to have the women of the Forum join together in a “profitable project.” It took two years of research and consultation with experts to determine that the best project was a real estate company. Thus, EFCO was born.

“I have four kids and have gone through labor, and setting up EFCO felt just like that, if not perhaps even more difficult,” Al-Edrisi said with a laugh. “It took two years to start the company. The people who were processing the paperwork would see the names of 24 women on the documents and would say, ‘Come back tomorrow, we need to take a closer look at this.’ It was very frustrating. One of the big difficulties was getting somebody to tell us what the regulations were. It’s always a blurred line. You never know what is acceptable and what is not. What is law and regulation, and what is not. Nobody really knows! It was quite an experience and I am documenting this for future generations and for the forum.”

Currently, EFCO has partnered with another local real estate company in order to leverage the capital and experience of the partner firm. Three of the women from EFCO sit on the board of the partner company learning how decisions are made as part of a high level team and gaining the insider knowledge necessary to accurately forecast trends in the real estate market. Initially EFCO has been investing its capital in real estate transactions, using the funds earned to finance its operations. The company is also building commercial buildings on two of the plots it purchased. EFCO shareholders have committed to leaving their initial capital with the firm for at least five years, giving the company the opportunity to pursue a longer-term strategy rather than being forced to only consider quick profits.

“A lot of women in the company and in the Businesswomen’s Forum are very interested in real estate because they do own land or they want to buy land. Some of the women in the Businesswomen’s Forum have turned to our real estate company to buy and sell property on their behalf and that’s a great way to help generate money to cover our operating costs,” Al-Edrisi commented. “For our next project we’re raising more capital and there’s a lot of interest just because we’ve started well. But we’re going very slowly and cautiously — slower than I personally would like. But the women are very cautious and we understand that.”

Of the 40 members of the Businesswomen’s Forum, 24 formed EFCO and now some of the others would like to join the company. There has also been interest from women investors who are not members of the Forum. Al-Edrisi stated that when EFCO’s board meets after the summer holidays, decisions will be made concerning the possible increase in capital. Plans will also be put forward on whether to continue with the current business activities or perhaps to move into industry.

“I am hoping as the CEO to direct EFCO’s board to look into industry because that’s the future wave in Saudi Arabia,” said Al-Edrisi. “I’ve attended the Workshop on the National Strategy for Industry in the country and Saudi Arabia is looking to increase its income from industry 10 to 20 percent. According to the minister they will offer a lot of assistance and support to women to go into the manufacturing sector. We don’t have to manufacture big machinery, but we could start with a small workshop in the industrial city manufacturing specialty construction requirements and then grow from there. We could continue our previous real estate strategy in tandem with the manufacturing. Of course these are all plans and visions. It will take a vote of EFCO’s board to decide our future direction.”