It’s business time as Saudi entrepreneurs try to make it big

Female participants display their products in front of the visitors of the Souq Addar exhibition, which is organized by the Social Development Bank in Riyadh and opened on Monday. (Supplied/ SDB)

Al-Oyaynah incubator participated with a handicraft piece in the Souq Addar exhibition, which was inaugurated by Ibrahim Al-Rashid, CEO of the Social Development Bank, in Riyadh on Monday. (Supplied/ SDB)

A robot offering various services to visitors of the Souq Addar exhibition, which began in Riyadh on Monday. (Supplied/ SDB)

• The exhibitions allow entrepreneurs to display their handmade and unique goods until Oct. 7
• The bank is hoping to enable businesses to grow big enough to take part in regional and international exhibitions

RIYADH: Artists and pottery makers are among a host of talented Saudis displaying their work at a Riyadh event to promote and support the Kingdom’s small-business entrepreneurs.
The Social Development Bank’s Souq Addar exhibition has opened as the centerpiece of a countrywide initiative to promote “microenterprises” in 36 cities.
The exhibitions allow entrepreneurs to display their handmade and unique goods until Oct. 7, while also helping the bank to promote the products locally and internationally.
Shereen Al-Abdulrahman, the SBD’s products and program development manager, told Arab News that the bank is hoping to enable businesses to grow big enough to take part in regional and international exhibitions.
Visitors to Souq Addar admired the work of Hadeel Al-Mazrou, who said her hobby of creating art out of nails and thread had developed over the last five years into a rewarding business. So far, she has created 500 unique pieces.
The artist said she is passionate about her business, and her husband is “proud of my work and even asked me to make a special artwork for him to put in his office.”
Dhai Al-Habib, who creates pottery inspired by the Kingdom’s heritage, said she had gone from a novice to a business owner in three years. “My father was the biggest supporter in every step of my project,” she added.
Her biggest order so far, for 125 pieces, was from a local coffee shop, she said, adding: “People like new things, especially if the products are handmade.”
Aside from providing an income, Al-Habib said she also finds her work therapeutic as “it’s a talent that removes all of life’s pressures.”
She told Arab News that people should never underestimate what they can do with their talents and hobbies, “because there’s nothing more beautiful than working in a field you love.”
Ibrahim Al-Rashid, CEO of the SDB, inaugurated the Souq Addar exhibition in the presence of officials, participants and guests.
The bank also announced that it will launch the first community kitchen in Saudi Arabia next month.