Hunderte junger Saudis, auch graduierte, gründen ihr eigenes Unternehmen, um nicht als Arbeitslos zu gelten.
Young Saudis fight unemployment with innovative businesses
Hundreds of young Saudis, including those with postgraduate degrees, are
refusing to be counted among the nation’s unemployed by setting up their own
businesses.
Media personality Badr Al-Ghamdi featured some of these
stories on his television show recently. He said unemployment was at the
worrying level of 11.5 percent at the end of 2015, out of a population of 30
million, made up of 21 million Saudis, and 65 percent between the ages of 15 and
64.
Al-Ghamdi said he wanted to highlight what some young people were
doing to earn a living. There were several examples of young men and women
earning more than government employees, he was quoted as saying by a local
publication on Wednesday.
Al-Ghamdi broadcast the story of the "Jizan
Mango" shop, which was founded by Abdul Rahman Saheli. The project was developed
after he posted a tweet on Twitter. A Saudi team of programmers produced an
electronic application for smartphones, which won awards for innovation in 2013
and 2015.
He also highlighted the contribution of Umm Al-Qura
University, represented by Wadi Makkah company founded six years ago, which
provides advisory, training and financing solutions for owners of new companies.
It has supported 15 companies, produced 19 products, turned 23 patents into
products, issued 30 patents, and registered a further 220. Some of the products
have been labeled "Made in Makkah."
He also broadcast the story of Noura
Al-Harthy who set up a shop selling Taif roses. She has a team of three women
helping her to sell the roses to 230 cities in Saudi Arabia and eight countries
overseas.
Her website has recorded 500,000 hits over the past two years
and has won a Middle East, North Africa award in Dubai, and named in 2015 as one
of the region's leading 100 businesses by Forbes Middle East.