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.
