After a three year struggle, Saudi woman launches dual social entrepreneurship incubator programs

Despite notable strides forward, entrepreneurship in Saudi is struggling; getting people to leave their well-paid government jobs with lots of vacation time to step into the unknown is an uphill battle policy makers are fighting all over the Gulf region. The idea of social entrepreneurship – where the end goal is not to strike it rich but rather to enrich a community – may prove an even harder sell in the Kingdom.

But determined, charity minded individuals like Lujain al Ubaid are fighting an uninformed public, a glacially slow bureaucratic process, and the lack of a developed entrepreneurship ecosystem to empower young Saudis, both male and female, to take steps to improving the communities they live in.

Al Ubaid’s cites her penchant for social awareness as having developed from a young age. “As a child, my mother would take me to orphanages and homes for the elderly around Riyadh. We would donate our time almost weekly,” says the social entrepreneur on a call from Saudi Arabia’s capital last week. “These experiences touched me, these stories changed me. I believe we are obliged to give back to our community and society.”

Original article by Stephanie D’Arc Taylor

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After a three year struggle, Saudi woman launches dual social entrepreneurship incubator programs