Rashid Muhammad Al-Fawzan Al-Riyadh Being self-employed is not common in the culture of our country and in other Gulf States. Before you ask me how I came to this conclusion or on what I have based my results, let me brief you on a report issued by Asiya Investments Company. Francisco Quintana, president of research, said in the report that three to four percent of the total population in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates run their own businesses. According to the report: “Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are different with 0.5 percent of Qataris running their own projects compared to 8 percent of Saudis who manage their own businesses.” Small businesses are a significant indicator of economic development for any national economy and it is on this indicator that development, solutions to unemployment, growth and an increase in income are based. If we want to know where we stand as GCC states compared to other countries in terms of small enterprises, let us look at Japan, Europe and the USA. In Japan, small businesses account for nearly 70 percent of the economy, Europe over 50 percent and the USA over 34 percent. In other words, 53 million small business owners have contributed $715 billion to the American economy. Let us look at the GCC states now and try to understand the problems facing the youth in these countries who want to start and run their own businesses. The report mentions two problems: difficulties associated with starting a business and financial security. Government agencies such as the ministries of labor or commerce and industry, or investment agencies together with various funds should form a body that focuses on financing small businesses. When all efforts are united under the umbrella of one single body linking all government agencies together and focusing on facilitating the difficulties facing young Saudi men and women and helping them to start on the right foot and identify marketing opportunities, we will see good results. Raising youth awareness about private businesses and providing them with workshops and classes on this subject are important for finding effective economic solutions. Being self-employed offers promising opportunities to young men and women in light of the decreasing number of job opportunities in the private sector. However, it requires patience, perseverance, hard work, determination and honesty. Falling or stumbling in the beginning should not be viewed as a barrier. Of course, the beginning will be difficult. Our youth should realize that opportunities will not come knocking at their door. They should go and search for these opportunities in our market which is full of them. Starting a business is the best solution to unemployment and will preserve our national resources. The earnings our youth make from running their own projects are unlimited. The most important thing is they should take the initiative.
