CellA+ is a nonprofit initiative powered by Saudi women offering a combination of services, facilities, activities, programs, and relationships. Formed in May 2011, CellA+ hosted their first event in August last year. CellA+ is one of Al Nahda Philanthropy Association's projects and is headquartered in Riyadh. Its board of directors in Riyadh has 12 active members: Rasha Alturki, Ghadah Alarifi, May Alsaja, Lateefa Alwallan, Danah Alajaji, Athary Alsuwaih, Noor Alabdulkarim, Shahad Attar, Dalal Alrobashi, Hanan Alshehry, Hala Alhejjen and Athary Almubarak. And CellA+ in Jeddah constitutes of 8 board members: Lama Naseer, Sarah Baghdadi, Basma Sabban, Noura Mansouri, Dina Madani, Kholoud Attar and Manal Quota. CellA+ Network and Al-Nahda Philanthropic Society for Women worked together to operate one of Al-Nahda's projects in January that was officially launched in Jeddah on May 28. Ghadah Alarifi, one of the founders of CellA+ and a finance lecturer at King Saud University, said in her first exclusive interview with the Saudi Gazette that the idea of CellA+ was born to create a network for women in Saudi Arabia as a platform to connect professionally. CellA+ has more than 3,500 followers on different social networks with a database of over 800 members. They have trained 300 women in 10 workshops. Saudi Gazette: Tell us about yourself. How did your journey led to CellA+? Ghadah: I was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I am married with three lovely kids. Since I was in school I was fascinated with the professional world and was counting days to be among the working force. While studying for my masters I did a research in my Organizational Behavior course on “Glass ceiling effect: A case study from Saudi Arabia.” It was an eye opener for me and I realized that work-related issues for women are similar all over the world but we have some unique cultural aspects. From there I carried a passion toward developing women professionally in my community and that was by choosing teaching as a career where I can advise students on deferent issues and raise awareness on professionalism. Saudi Gazette: How did CellA+ began? Ghadah: In the spring of 2011, the CellA+ founders (who had never met before), attended a workshop on Women's Leadership and Empowerment in Riyadh. The workshop was for two days with more than 50 attendees. During the workshop, we had several breaks where we networked with each other quickly realizing that we enjoyed meeting women professionals working in deferent sectors and exchanging ideas and experiences. Thus, the idea of CellA+ was born to create a professional network or be a platform for connecting professional women around Saudi Arabia. Then we decided to invite others to participate in creating CellA+ network founding board to work on its structure. Saudi Gazette: Who are the visionaries behind CellA+ ? Ghadah: We think of CellA+ as the vision of every professional women working in Saudi that's why it been so successful. CellA+ has a managing team in Riyadh and Jeddah to plan, structure, manage and execute CellA+ activities. We rely heavily on the feedback of our members and that is where CellA+ strength comes from. We believe that no matter how big our offices, how colorful our flyers, how powerful our computers or how many degrees we have, it is the quality of relationships we establish with ourselves, our customers, our suppliers and, more than anything else, with people we don't know, that will determine our success in our professional life. Saudi Gazette: How difficult was it for you as a Saudi woman to initiate such a bold project? How is it going so far? Ghadah: CellA+ founders as a team worked together to establish this initiative. Initially, some people said the idea of Cell+ is bound to fail, but that did not discourage us from pursuing our vision. We worked for months on planning the structure of CellA+ and since our first event we have been moving from one success to another. Saudi Gazette: How is CellA+ different from other companies? How did you achieve this? Ghadah: CellA+ basically is a platform for empowering women. We help women to empower each other through a combination of services, facilities, activities, programs, and relationships.Women come to CellA+ because networking has proven to be a very effective way to develop relationships, which can support the individual, and in return he can provide support to others. As professional women in Saudi, we found the urge to create a community that opens up new opportunities to help leverage on the knowledge, experiences, and deliver professional development. Saudi Gazette: How do people benefit from CellA+? Ghadah: Some people mistake CellA+ for a recruitment or event management agency. We offer networking events and conferences, workshops and mentorship programs, and through these activities people meet, connect, share opportunities and get inspired. Saudi Gazette: How can companies or an average woman in the country get in touch with you? Ghadah: Women can get in touch with us via www.cellanetwork.org, or email us at [email protected], or follow us on Twitter @cellanetwork. Our upcoming event will be in October.
