JEDDAH: Saudi businesswomen have better chances of being the sole owners of their businesses than their Arab counterparts, a study titled “Businesswomen in Saudi Arabia - Characteristics, Challenges and Aspirations in a Regional Context”. The study surveyed 202 registered businesswomen and 62 unregistered businesswomen with varying levels of experience in Jeddah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province (Dammam and Al-Khobar). Results were compared across five Arab countries: Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia and the UAE through the use of a set of common questions published in 2007 by a jointly published report by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Centre of Arab Women for Training and Research. The study noted that Saudi businesswomen are also much more educated.Saudi businesswomen are “significantly more likely to be the sole owners of their business than are MENA (Middle East and North Africa) businesswomen. Secondly, they don't personally spend as much time as their regional peers in the daily hands-on management of their businesses. Finally, Saudi businesswomen are a more highly-educated group than the general Saudi workforce: 58 percent of businesswomen have pursued a postsecondary degree, which three out of 10 were completed abroad. Comparatively, only 21.3 percent of the general Saudi workforce has a postsecondary degree, according to the ministry of economy and planning in 2004. With personal wealth estimated at SR65 billion ($17.33 billion), Saudi women have a great potential to play a major role in their country's economic development, said Saudi businesswoman Samia Al Edrisi, CEO of Eastern Forum Company Ltd for Advancement and Development. “If we don't seize this opportunity, we will miss it,” Al Edrisi said in reference to the current leadership's inclination to encourage women's participation in economy-building and in the workforce. “We don't have too many - businesswomen and women constitute only 14 percent of the Kingdom's workforce,” Basmah Omair, general manager of Al Sayedah Khadijah Bint Khuwailid Businesswomen Centre at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry added. Al Edrisi and Omair made their comments on the sidelines of a panel discussion at the Dubai School of Government Wednesday. The study aims to shed light on the business and regulatory environment for Saudi Arabia's businesswomen, besides identifying and addressing challenges they are facing. “With respect to Saudi businesswomen themselves, three main finding emerge,” noted the study. Moreover, Saudi businesswomen have a positive vision toward the future, the study said. “69.3 percent of Saudi businesswomen were very optimistic about the future outlook of their businesses and a majority expressed their determination to expand their business rather than main current levels, either through domestic expansion or regional and international market entry,” the study added. The study further said 72.6 percent of the registered female-owned businesses operate outside their homes, and 92 percent have paid employees. However, Saudi women are less likely than businesswomen in other GCC in being involved in international trade, “with only 21.3 percent engaged in either import, export or both activities”. The study was jointly conducted by Al Sayedah Khadijah Bint Khuwalid Businesswomen Center at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Monitor Group, a consultancy firm based in Riyadh and Dubai.
