An exhibition here Monday showcasing 300 projects and companies demonstrated the vitality of young Saudi entrepreneurship. The “Young Saudi Business Exhibition” at the Al-Harthy exhibition center was inaugurated by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah Region in the presence of Abdullah Ahmad Zainal, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Saleh Al-Turki, Chairman of the Jeddah Chamber for Commerce and Industry (JCCI) and Amr Al-Dabbagh, chief of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA). “I am very pleased with these projects and I would like to thank the JCCI because this sector is one of the most important commercial sectors of the Kingdom,” said Zainal in his speech. “This sector needs growing attention in order to improve the main aim of increasing the Kingdom's productivity over the next few years.” Zainal chose the occasion to announce that in order to facilitate Saudi entrepreneurs, his ministry would ensure that commercial licenses are issued within 24 hours. “The Ministry of Commerce and Industry seeks to increase local industrial productivity by around 20 percent by 2020,” Zainal said. Women will be allowed to own their own projects with the approval of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. “We want to support small projects by providing administrative training, artistic and financial consulting and investment consulatation,” said Madawi Al-Hassoun, chairperson of the Young Business Committee at the JCCI. The exhibition featured such areas of entrepreneurship by Saudis as interior design, event organization, artwork and fashion design. One participating organization was aiming to institute fundamental change in Saudi culture towards the perception of artists in the Kingdom, by building an academy for interior design, fashion and graphic design in the setting of a reality TV show. “Our aim is to show Saudi society that painters and artists are just like anyone else, they aren't suffering from a mental disorder because they see things differently, said Rashed Al-Shashai, manager of the Tawil group. “Everyone has an artist on the inside, most people just don't know it,” “I am promoting a stone from Madagascar,” said Zainab Zaq Zouk, executive manager for an interior design firm featuring its work at the exhibition. Using the stones' variety of natural color,she can tailor the design needs of her clients. Amal Aman's business is in ceramics. She imports ceramic items from the United States and has them painted partially or entirely. Handmade Italian pens stood out among the displays at one of the 300 booths. Maha Al-Nawaisser, marketing manager for United 3-M, a company specializing in luxury handmade pens, said: “The entire collection is made in Venice and even includes pens which work as a quill, which requires the user to dip the tip in an inkwell to supply the pen with ink. All of these are made out of a type of glass known as Moreno.” Each pen is made to order and can be finished in three weeks. The cost can rise to thousands of riyals, Al-Nawaisser said. __
