JEDDAH – Sayidaty

Sayidaty magazine and Al-Ahli Bank announced the launch of an important project that contributes to the consolidation of Saudi women’s entry into the labor market, especially in the fields of business and finance. “Ahaleena and Sayidaty Award”, which is the first award in Arab journalism to be launched in partnership with a bank and a magazine, was signed to support female entrepreneurs who have unique ideas for projects that benefit the national economy if they have the necessary funding to launch them.  

The initiative, which was signed on Monday, March, 26, 2018, is part of a rich program that enhances the confidence of young Saudi women in entrepreneurship and opens up opportunities for transforming their dreams into realities, within the current economic movement that is taking place in Saudi Arabia. The initiative empowers women in line with the 2030 Vision, which was launched by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.

First Vice President and Head of the Social Responsibility directorate of Al Ahli Bank, Ms. Basma bint Abdulaziz Al-Johary and Editor in Chief of Sayidaty and Al-Rajul Magazines, Mr. Mohammad Fahad Al-Harithi signed the agreement at the headquarters of Al-Ahli Bank in Jeddah on Tuesday. The agreement was signed with the presence of Mr. Faisal Omar Al-Saqqaf, senior executive vice president and Head of Strategy and Business Development Group at the Bank. The two parties expressed their joy with this initiative which will support the daughters of the nation

AHaleena Award and Sayidaty

The project which is launched under the name, “Ahaleena and Sayidaty Award”, offers young female entrepreneurs, who are looking for logical chances to implement their projects, the opportunity of a lifetime to realize their dreams by funding their projects. The initiative has been approved as a result of in-depth studies by Al-Ahli Bank and the research team at Sayidaty to reach a practical goal that contributes to the acceleration of the scheme to promote and empower Saudi women in the labor market, which witnessed remarkable movement in recent years, either by abolishing the legal guardian for women, which enhanced their presence as a partners in the national development process, or empowered them in the service sector and the high position they started to occupy.

Mohammad Fahad Al-Harithi, editor in chief of Sayidaty and Al-Rajul magazines, said this project is the first of its kind in Arab journalism. The training and qualification program contributes not only to achieving the aspirations of young ambitious women in the business sector and female economy, it is also a pioneering model in instilling the culture of entrepreneurship amongst young Saudi women; it symbolizes the role of journalism which has practical contribution to development through forging partnerships with strong economic establishments, such as Al-Ahli Bank to support the empowerment of Saudi women and motivate them to become leaders of the development plan. Al-Harithi announced that “Ahaleena and Sayidaty Award” will finance a number of small, medium and large projects for women entrepreneurs. More than SR300.000 has been allocated to fund the award, in addition to parallel projects to develop potential and offer support through training sessions and consultations from experts, as well as offering logistic and media support. Parallel projects will cost hundreds of thousands of Saudi riyals, which will take the total cost to around SR1 million to be allocated to this unique award. 

 “This initiative combines the strategic objectives of Al-Ahli Bank and those of Sayidaty, which are summed up in taking more interest in business entrepreneurship and empowering women to start their special projects”, commented Ms. Basma on the initiative.

When asked about Sayidaty’s role in economic projects that concern women, Al-Harithi said, “As a magazine and a website, Sayidaty’s role in caring for women isn’t done in isolation of the community, indeed it has moved from the companion to the motivator and supporters; today it is an actual contributor to women’s development through its social media platforms and through the funding and training award in partnership with Al-Ahli Bank”.

The project’s team announced that Ahaleena and Sayidaty’s Initiative Award for Saudi women entrepreneurs will be launched during the first week of April. The award will be published in the magazine’s websites, publications and social media platforms. It has instructions on participation, applications for support or training opportunities and rules for applying to include a project in the award include how to participate, request support or training opportunities, in addition to the rules of presenting a project to participate in the award. The panel of judges has various committees that include skilled professionals in the field of economic, small enterprises and the labor market.

Studies show that the Saudi labor market has 15% women of the total labor force, and 20% of mutual Saudi investment funds are owned by women.

Ahaleena program was established in 2004 by Al-Ahli Bank’s administration; the initiative has its autonomous management that is related to serving the community; it designs and implements a number of community service programs, especially since it is the first Saudi national bank. The program has the support of various sectors of the community and provides educational and training opportunities for beneficiaries and supports them to build a safer and brighter future.