Awashiz, who graduated with a diploma in pharmaceutical studies, dreamed of having his own pharmacy, which — thanks to BRJ — he subsequently opened on Al-Arbaeen Street, in Abha’s Al-Mansak district.

“I didn’t expect a Saudi young man would come to us to open his own pharmacy and volunteer to work in his project himself,” said Abdullah Al-Zahrani, director of BRJ in Asir province.

“However, we examined his details, including the feasibility study, and the job creation specialist visited the location suggested for the project to see the preparations.”

Awashiz’s determination to succeed was one of the key factors that helped him develop his project; it was through newspapers and advertisements that he came to know that BRJ offers help to young people in self-employment projects.

He was called in for an interview, after which a BRJ committee that specializes in assessing small projects interviewed him.

Awashiz successfully passed the interview. “The project was in my field of specialty, and I have experience in running such projects. This is a dream come true,” he said, adding that he then brought guarantors to complete the loan procedures.

Al-Zahrani added, “BRJ is seeking to provide a range of job creation programs, from which the applicant may choose the right program for him based on his qualifications and skills. Certain applicants may prefer a company job, while others prefer to be taxi or truck drivers. Then there are those who want to start their own small projects. In all instances, there is a wealth of opportunities that I encourage young men and women to benefit from.”