Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah region, inaugurated the Entrepreneurial Families Forum and exhibition Saturday evening at Jeddah Hilton. Al-Faisal described this project as an important element of Saudi economy, and hoped that the sector will continue to grow. “We need to add more efforts to support these families and boost the sales of their products,” he said after a tour of the products exhibition. He commended some families for the use of technology in manufacturing their products. Dr. Yousuf Al-Othaimin, Minister of Social Affairs, said that the concept of entrepreneurial families is still vague as some confuse it with charity or volunteer work. His ministry was looking into forming a new general commission for small and medium businesses run by entrepreneurs. The minister added that the ministry is to release a budget of SR55 million to train women at different associations to make handcrafts. Olfat Gabbani, a social activist, said that the development of handcrafts will help transform this sector of the society from a consuming one into a self-sustaining productive sector. “It will also diversify sources of income and help create job opportunities,” she added. Aisha Natto, a successful Saudi businesswoman and a speaker at the forum, said that what productive families need is “training and marketing for their products.” Speaking to Saudi Gazette on the sidelines of the first session at the forum she said, “What entrepreneurial families need is support, training and development. We want to help them make a business out of their products and evaluate their profit or loss through increasing their awareness of business practices.” __
