JEDDAH – A special exhibition for productive families organized by the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has proven to be a welcome source of extra income for more than 700 productive families in Jeddah. More than 15,000 people visited the exhibition at the Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Center over the first three days. The event is expected to draw unprecedented number of visitors during the remainder of the winter break, which will conclude on Saturday. The families said they were thankful to JCCI Chairman Sheikh Saleh Kamel for holding the exhibition on the chamber's expense. It was Kamel's proposal to hold such a special event at the Jeddah Convention Center immediately after the conclusion of the three-day Fourth Forum and Exhibition for Productive Families that concluded on Jan. 13 at Jeddah Hilton. JCCI officials worked to take the products displayed by more than 700 families at the Hilton event to the Convention Center. Kamel said: “It was a difficult decision to hold such an extraordinary event by shifting from a five-star hotel to the JCCI premises without charging any fee so as to enable a large number of the public to visit the exhibition and give a big boost to the productive families. “I went to visit the fair daily and listened to the problems facing these families after meeting all of them personally.” The event represents a valuable opportunity for women, students and retirees to improve and diversify their sources of income by working from home, Kamel pointed out. More than 700 productive families who work from home are participating in the exhibition and they are showcasing thousands of products from food, textiles, accessories, perfumes, ceramics, utensils and handicrafts. There are more than 3,000 productive families in Jeddah alone. Several government and private agencies are involved in the event including the Ministry of Social Affairs, Makkah Governorate, Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, JCCI and Al-Bir Charity Society of Jeddah. The society helped 660 productive families to run their businesses from home and it plans to raise this number to 1,000 during 2015. The national women's committee at the Council of Saudi Chambers has concluded agreements with eight government agencies to complete the procedures for obtaining licenses for as many as 85 businesses run by productive families. Makkah is top of the 13 Saudi provinces in terms of implementing productive family initiatives and projects, with a total investment of SR1.5 billion.
