Deen Al-Manahil, a Riyadh-based organization, will launch in March the Princess Madawi bint Musaad Fund for Women’s Development to help aspiring Saudi female entrepreneurs.

“We will provide them with either training or seed money so that they can start their own business ventures,” said Hanan Asmari, Deen Al-Manahil’s manager.

A non-profit organization, Deen Al-Manahil’s main goal is to help Saudi women, regardless of age, start small- to medium-business ventures.

She said that not all Saudi women seeking Deen Al-Manahil’s help need seed money to start their own business ventures. “They are merely interested in the training which we provide in collaboration with local universities like King Saud University, Princess Noura University and Imam University,” she said.

She said that at present, Deen Al-Manahil is training 100 Saudi women who intend to start their own business ventures.

“We help them with all the tools and information necessary to start a business project. At present, Al-Manahil is assisting 20 business projects, some of which were implemented three years ago,” she said.

Asmari added that if they need funding, Al-Manahil gives a maximum of SR3000,000 without interest.

“However, they will have to pay back the money. They start paying only on the second year after receiving the amount. The total amount should be fully paid in five years,” she said.

Asked how they ask for help in training or funding, Asmari said that they could visit Deen Al-Manahil’s website.

She expressed the hope that those being assisted by Al Manahil will also help other Saudi women intending to start their own business in the future.

The Ministry of Social Affairs has been coordinating with Al-Manahil regarding its activities in helping Saudi women aspiring to become entrepreneurs.

[wpResize]