RIYADH: A man touted to be the first Saudi barber ever to open a salon of his own has decided to quit the field for want of customers after practicing his trade for over two years, Al-Jazirah daily reported on Monday.
“I decided to close my salon in the Al-Rawdah neighborhood in Riyadh because of two reason. Firstly, no Saudi patronizes my salon, and secondly my partner left me alone,” said Ahmad Huzzazi, who has the distinction of being the first trained Saudi barber, who graduated from the Vocational Institute in Riyadh.
The local media made much ado of Huzzazi’s debut as a barber two years ago. At the time he said he was encouraged by a soft loan given by the Abdul Latif Jameel Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises, which enabled him to rent and set up a salon. “I could not repay the loan in full because of the failure of my venture and other obligations,” the barber said.
He could only repay SR15,000 of the total loan of SR55,000. When he told the ALJ Fund about his difficulties, it reduced the monthly installment from SR1,696 to SR945. Huzzazi said he offered his salon to another barber to rent.
