JEDDAH, 7 May 2006 — In its support for the Saudization process in the Kingdom, Abdul Latif Jameel Community Services Program has granted financial aid to Ahmad Huzazi and Lafi Mutairi to open a hair salon project in Riyadh.
This is the first project for such small businesses owned and operated by Saudi youths in the Riyadh region that involves the cooperation of the Small-Scale Project Development Center, an offshoot of the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training.
The fund was also granted to another small investor who would open his hair salon in Jizan next month, according to a public relations official in ALJ. After the training for a period of 12 months the two trainees, Huzazi and Mutairi, were offered loans worth SR57, 000 from the ALJ Fund to rent a shop in the Al-Quds district, and furnish and buy equipment and accessories.
The barbering profession is one of the latest fields that were supported by ALJ’s fund, which previously supported many small projects in different fields.
The fund starts from SR1,000 for micro projects and up to SR100,000 for small projects.
Recently the ALJ Fund started to increase its circle of support by opening new branches in Riyadh, Madinah, Jizan, Al Khubar, Makkah and Hail in addition to the main branch in Jeddah.
The fund has established a strong relation with the chambers of commerce in various parts of the Kingdom to spread the culture of private business among the Saudi youth.
Earlier an agreement was signed between the ALJ Fund and the Small-scale Project Development Center to support small-business projects to offer opportunities for the youths by providing them technical and administrative support.
The ALJ Fund was established to support new and small projects in addition to supporting courses that provides necessary training for those who want to establish their own business. The Fund also works as a coordinating unit between owners of projects and consultants who would give studies about the project before its establishment and give basic advice to ensure maximum success.
