We regularly hear and read about the initiatives of ministries to encourage Saudi youths to make investments in the commercial sector. There are several programs that are aimed at supporting small- and medium-sized projects which create jobs for Saudis and help contain the outflow of Saudi capital. Encouraged by these initiatives and programs, a sizable number of enthusiastic and enterprising Saudi youths have come forward to set up their own business ventures. But they have found it very difficult to deal with the bureaucratic procedures that have ended up wasting a lot of their time and energy. I cite the example of a young Saudi who had a difficult time opening a restaurant. In the beginning, he thought that the roads in front of him would not only be smoothly paved but would also be surrounded by roses and sweet basil flowers, especially from the ministries of labor and commerce. The young man, who is a graduate in information systems management, has the talent, motivation and skills to run a firm. But he was confronted with long and delayed bureaucratic procedures that consumed not only his time, energy and money but also his enthusiasm and patience. In the first year, he spent all of his time trying to get a license for the restaurant and work permits for his workers. It took him four months alone to complete the procedures to get the name of the restaurant approved and registered. He wasted a whole year on these routine procedures. During this period, he had to pay rent amounting to SR120,000 from his pocket. After two years of completing the necessary procedures, he opened the restaurant. It took some time to win the trust and confidence of customers in terms of hygiene, variety of dishes, quality of food and reasonable charges. The young man intended to make the restaurant an exemplary model to be followed by other Saudi youths and he provided services that would make his customers feel at home. When he found that his experiment was a success, he thought about expanding. After carrying out the necessary feasibility studies, he realized that he needed to hire more workers. The young man approached the concerned departments with the hope that he would not have to go through the bitter experience that he had encountered earlier. But he found that the departments, which are experts in complicating procedures, rejected his plans for expanding the restaurant. Their explanation for this was that the restaurant had physical space constraints so it could not employ any additional workers! Is there any logic in putting such hurdles in front of young Saudi entrepreneurs who are eager to set up their own business ventures? The Ministry of Labor must realize that these young entrepreneurs are in need of those who can instill confidence in them about their capability to visualize projects and manage them themselves. It is imperative to amend the labor laws to help young Saudis establish their own businesses, especially in light of the current situation in the labor market in the post-amnesty period. What is needed is flexibility in procedures so that young entrepreneurs will not lose their enthusiasm and motivation to undertake business ventures for the sake of their nation and fellow citizens. Let us hope that the Ministry of Labor will not allow such nascent projects to die a premature death.
