JEDDAH: The US Consulate General in Jeddah, the University of Iowa, and Education For Employment have launched a one-year project to train Saudi women from the western region on entrepreneurship skills in new emerging sectors like IT, real estate and e-commerce.
The project will provide 50 young women with professional training and connections to local and international mentors that are necessary to start their businesses in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
The project is an initiative that provides demand-driven training linked to mentorship by successful Saudi and US businesswomen.
The Western Saudi Arabia Venture School for Women project is designed to “put new entrepreneurial tools into the hands of Saudi women,” said Dimy Doresca, director of the Institute for International Business at the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business.
“We will nurture and empower women in Saudi Arabia to become examples of social and economic success in their communities.”
The women will participate in Venture School International, an entrepreneurial educational program that guides students through the startup process by teaching them how to identify a market need and build a business to meet it. The university is partnering with the non-profit Education For Employment to teach the Venture School International training, which will be complimented by contacts at local financing organizations, government officials, and business support services.
“The skills that these young women will acquire are based on a proven model that has enabled EFE in Saudi to connect over 5,000 people to the world of work, 52 percent of which are young Saudi women. We look forward to a continuous partnership between EFE-Saudi, the University of Iowa, and the US Consulate General in Jeddah,” said Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, CEO of EFE in Saudi Arabia.
