Young Saudi entrepreneurs at the Jeddah Fruit and Vegetable Market (Halaqa) here have urged the country's youth to start their own businesses rather than depend on handouts from the government or trying to get an office job, reported Al-Madina Arabic daily on Wednesday. Hussein Al-Harithy, 20, said he now runs his own stall after spending two years hauling boxes of fruit and vegetables for other businessmen. He starts before dawn at 4:40 A.M. and then leaves at 9 A.M. He returns at 12 noon and works until midnight. He said he generates a net income of SR7,000 a month, enough to support his elderly father and four sisters. Al-Harithy said he started the business because he grew tired of searching for a job. His uncle, who works at the market, advised him to start his own enterprise. He urged all Saudi men of his age to try starting their own businesses rather than looking for office work or standing in long queues for the SR2,000 a month they will get under the Hafiz Program, the year-long government unemployment financial assistance program. He added that those who need the Hafiz Program must try to make good use of the training provided by the program so that they can develop their skills and find good jobs. Muhammad Sheikh, a 36-year-old Saudi, said he has worked at the Halaqa for more than 10 years, which has given him a great deal of knowledge about running his own business. He said this experience has allowed him to open up a thriving chain of shops selling fruits and vegetables. “Believe or not, I used to live in a run-down area in an underdeveloped district. I'm now living with my family in a villa in a posh district. I don't know why most of the youth insist on office work. They must understand that there are billionaires who started from scratch and have established their names in the world.”
