RIYADH, 5 June 2004 — The time when Saudi businesswomen in Riyadh were neglected has disappeared for ever, now that more than 3,000 active businesswomen can benefit from the women’s branch of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia.
The branch was created in an effort to tap into the more than SR62 billion of women’s funds said to lie dormant in Saudi banks. A total of SR12 billion is expected to be invested, in the short term, in the industrial sector through the opening of new women-only factories.
The women’s branch, which was opened on Thursday by Princess Hussa bint Salman, ended ten years of demands by Saudi women to be recognized as a vital factor in the Saudi economy. It comes at a time where the Saudi government has approved a nine-point plan to create more jobs and business opportunities for women.
Princess Hussa bint Salman described the modest beginnings of the branch by saying: “Our dream started by forming the female cultural committee last year, and after that we started identifying the obstacles that face Saudi businesswomen in an effort to solve them.
“The committee aimed to increase the cultural and economic awareness of businesswomen; now, the new branch will be better equipped to do this job,” she added.
Princess Haila Al-Saud, head of the women’s branch at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, said the decision of the Council of Ministers affirmed “the positive role that women have played in our country for the last couple of years.”
“We are not looking for remarkable changes in a short period, but rather we are betting on the cooperation of businesswomen and looking for a better outcome in the long term,” she said.
The branch offers new investment projects designed by specialized consulting offices and ready for immediate implementation. It will also work as a juncture between all businesswomen to increase investment opportunities and offer advice.
Huda Al-Jeraisy, a leading businesswoman who heads the cultural committee, expressed her hope that the issue of the “legitimate agent” will come up for public discussion. At present Saudi businesswomen are required to use a male agent in all their dealings.
“We as businesswomen hope that this office will work on presenting a study for the relevant organizations to get rid of what is known as the legitimate agent and allow us to do our own business without having to go through all these complications,” she said.
Al-Jeraisy also spoke about the difficulties her vocational training center faces daily. “We are obliged to carry out Saudization, yet we don’t have qualified Saudi women in all professional fields,” she said. She also lamented that her center offers only two kinds of training.
“We are limited to computer training and language development training as we are not accredited to offer other courses, though we would love to offer more courses. I hope that the Chamber of Commerce women’s branch will work on this matter to solve it; the need for qualified Saudis grows every day,” she said.
