A Woman Entrepreneur's Baking Passion Sets Example For Others

In Saudi Arabia, women who get to work in a field they are passionate about are very lucky. Societal restrictions, including not being able to drive, have hindered the movement of Saudi and expatriate women alike. But despite of some barriers, many determined women have been able to carve out successful businesses from the comfort of their own homes.

Nadia, a computer science graduate from Karachi, Pakistan, spent her early childhood in Jeddah, before moving back home. She worked as a software engineer and project manager in Karachi until she got married and followed her husband back to Saudi Arabia. She was able to find work in her field, but when she had a baby, she decided to leave her company due to the long working hours.

Nadia had always loved baking since she was in the 6th grade, but it wasn’t until four years after moving to Riyadh that she began to think with the idea of baking professionally.

She decided to take intensive baking courses in Dubai and Riyadh to polish her skills and in 2009, Nadia started BakeFresh making custom-made amazing cakes. Through blogging, Facebook and Instagram, she was able to push her product and gain exposure. While her first customers were family and friends, her BakeFresh blog is now ranked by FeedSpot as one of the top 100 blogs in the country.

During her journey, Nadia faced some obstacles. Raw materials were at first hard to come by. The inability to drive in Saudi Arabia also limited her mobility. According to her, her husband's support has been always there in all matters, from dedicating her time for the business to making sure availability of all materials she needed.

She believes, since customized cakes were a relatively new concept, it took a few years for people to warm up to buying her cakes and referring others. The cost of cakes, which starts at 300 Saudi riyals, also varies depending on size and details required. She averages between five to 12 orders monthly, which allows her to earn a side income for her part-time passion.

With her orders increasing as she gains more exposure, she says she would love to expand her business. But in Saudi Arabia, like other Gulf countries, labor laws do not let expatriates own their own businesses without a sponsor. This means she cannot hire workers or rent industrial tools which are needed to expand.

Home based baking businesses by expat women are having an increasing trends specially in big cities like Riyadh & Jeddah. It is evident already that an increasing number of women in Saudi Arabia have begun to achieve tremendous success in the entrepreneurial field, tackling big businesses and male-dominated industries. Despite of strict laws, several female entrepreneurs have shown that they are both willing and able to step out of the box to find creative jobs that ignite their passions and challenge them. The country has made a progress in the last few years, with a number of girls setting an amazing example in several fields, more of the focus is needed for opportunities for stay at home women & changes in some of the labor laws to facilitate them.