JEDDAH — Small businesses were given the chance to test their success in the market thanks to an initiative that opened at Jeddah's Mall of Arabia on Wednesday. Twenty small business owners were interviewed and given training before they displayed their products. Muna Abu Sulayman, TV personality and the mind behind the “Show Me The Market” scheme, said after the end of the three-month display period the participants will be evaluated. Organizers will choose a winner, who will be given support to develop his or her skills and products. Abu Sulayman said this was a scheme that aimed to develop young businesses and turn them into established enterprises that could survive in the market. “This is an initiative for businesses that cannot afford to rent a shop but are serious about their business. “We help these young business owners see how things work in the real market. “This is not a charity bazaar, it's a place where serious businesses can test their success and see whether consumers like their products or not.” Each participant will pay SR3,000 for a spot at Mall of Arabia for three months to display their products during the weekends. Abu Sulayman said: “We have selected the weekends because they are crowded. The stall spots are just above the busy food court area. “Weekends are suitable for our target customers, as they are mainly university students or housewives who are busy on week days.” Abu Sulayman said organizers have provided training to participants before they displayed their products. Future batches of small business owners will be selected in the future and also given the same training and location at the mall. Apart from the difficulty of breaking into the market due to the high rent levels, Abu Sulayman said small businesses have another problem, which is financing their projects. The initiative will aim to connect participants with businessmen who can finance their projects. The initiative, she said, will be implemented in a number of Saudi cities and will then be rolled out to rural areas. It will target only businesses that are seeking to enter the market. Small home-based businesses owned by women who cannot leave their homes are not included in this initiative and will be directed to charity organizations that can help them. Mohammad Suwailih, head of the Youth Businessmen Committee, said one of the main challenges that small businesses face is the high cost of rent. He said the initiative would help small businesses see how things work in the market and help them benefit from the ideas of consumers in order to develop their products. The number of participants is expected to increase as other malls join the project. This initiative, he said, is part of the Mall of Arabia's corporate social responsibility program. Currently there are some 15,000 registered small businesses, said Suwailih, which are worth between SR100,000 and SR300,000. He added that there is a need to test and evaluate the success and potential of these businesses.
