The event — titled Ebda’a Exchange — was cosponsored this year by the Gulf Chapter of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA-GC) and was supported by Princess Ghadah bint Abdulla bin Jiluwi. This is the seventh annual event organized by Ebda’a, a women’s group that hosts a variety of activities and entrepreneurial courses throughout the year.
The conference featured several small Saudi businesses and ventures, mostly run by women. Organized by workingwomen for workingwomen, the conference focused on promoting Saudi female entrepreneurs.
“This exchange is for women to help them develop their ideas and to support them,” said Ebda’a’s founder Noura Al-Shaaban. “It influences and affects the journey of Saudi women, and this year, we’re focusing on effective communication, which is why we’ve partnered with IPRA-GC,” she said.
The effective communication she spoke of referred to the ability to communicate with societies and various communities, also called social communication.
“Who doesn’t need social communication skills?” asked planning specialist Noor Al-Iskandarani. “It doesn’t matter what your age, your educational background or your social background is. We all need these skills. They give us the self-confidence we need to create and succeed. These skills distinguish us from others and allow us to take risks. We need to take risks,” she added.
A case in point was that of Bahraini entrepreneur Huda Janahi, the first Arab woman to enter the shipping business. She was initially frustrated when applying for an operating license and was told by Bahraini Labor Ministry officials she was ineligible because “shipping licenses aren’t for women.”
Janahi developed her business plan in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), which has maintained its Bahrain Investment and Technology Promotion Office since 1996. After the ministry’s initial refusal, UNIDO was able to put her in touch with Bahrain’s labor minister, and the license was issued.
“The employee misunderstood and said that women aren’t allowed because the entire time that he had been working there he had never seen a woman enter this field of business,” Janahi told participants. “I’ve always been the only woman among men in a man’s business. There needs to be more awareness, but you can’t just give up, either.”
Janahi shared her story, noting that she started in 2001 with a capital of SR15,000, which has grown to SR20 million in nine years. She said women have to start with good business ideas.
“Women can work and raise children and succeed,” Janahi said. “You can be a successful businesswoman with hard work and determination. Whatever field you work in, be good at it. Specialize — find your niche, something that distinguishes you from the rest and makes you more competitive. There has to be something special about your business so that it stands out.”
Ayah Darwish, a graduate of King Faisal University, found a need for an arts and crafts store. “Whenever we want to entertain children, go out for dinner or to get them out of the house, we send them to the mall,” she said. “I really didn’t think that the hours my son was spending in the mall were beneficial at all, so I developed the idea of a clay arts-and-crafts store at malls.”
Her shop, Let’s Paint, also developed a toy that Darwish said was “the first Saudi-produced crafts toy.” For that reason, she said, it was difficult for her to sell.
“At first, a lot of the stores we went to refused it because it was Saudi,” she said. “They thought it wouldn’t sell, and there wouldn’t be any demand for it, but thankfully, that has changed.”
Local entrepreneurs should find the support they need locally to pursue their ideas. “It is important to have creative people and entrepreneurs in the country,” Darwish said, “but it is also important that they have sponsors and support.”
Both Al-Janahi and Darwish agreed that a way to get this was to plan correctly and follow through with it. “There is no creativity without a goal or freedom,” said Darwish, “nor can you create something without determination and planning. You need this to be able to give others confidence in your so that they can trust you.”
Al-Janahi agreed. “Even now, with all the success that I’ve had, I don’t think it was easy,” Janahi said. “It was hard. Every step of the way there are obstacles, but you pull through.”
