The Director-General (Modon) in a direct meeting organized by the Asharqia Chamber
Eng. Al-Salem: A continuous support for women's investments in the industrial sector
The Director-General of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Estates and Technology Zones (MODON), Eng. Khalid bin Muhammad Al-Salem explained that women's industrial investments are still limited, as they do not exceed 1% of the total investments in this sector, despite continuous official support, as well as promising opportunities.
Al-Salem said that since the inauguration of its new identity aimed at empowering industry and raising the level of its giving, the authority has paid great attention to women's investments, as it has sought as much effort as the industrial sector to attract women's work first, and secondly to industrial female investments.
Al-Salem, in a direct meeting organized by the Executive Council of Businesswomen in the Asharqia Chamber on Wednesday 26 / August / 2020, said that this goal, which was a preoccupation for the authority and its workers, faced a number of challenges. The challenge has greatly diminished due to the official decision that allows women to drive, so women are able to go to the industrial cities with their cars.
The second challenge, according to Al-Salem, is the availability of nurseries for children, given that many Saudi families cannot provide an incubator for their children, so they need this service in industrial cities. Modon has started working on this path, and nursery projects for children have started in industrial cities.
Regarding the third challenge, Al-Salem said during the meeting moderated by the Chairman of the Executive Council of Business Women in the Asharqia Chamber, Maram Al-Jishi, that the work environment in the factories was the focus of observation, which prompted the Authority to hold a number of memoranda of understanding and agreements to regulate the work environment, and there is no doubt that the efforts of the Ministry of Human Resources contributed to mitigating this The challenge, and helped increase the presence of women in the factories, as the number of women working in the national factories reached about 17 thousand last year, of which only 1750 were in the eastern region, and this percentage is generally small, noting that many industrial activities are promising and women can He excelled in it - even more than men - such as the food and medical industries, and we have witnessed many attempts by women to enter the midst of industrial investment, work in factories, and we look forward to a number of other commercial activities that are set up in industrial cities that are owned or employed by women.
And with the presence of women’s investment in the industrial sector - but it is still weak, and the reason for that - according to the Director-General of the Saudi Organization for Industrial Estates and Technology Zones - is the prevailing impression that industrial investment needs high-net-worth adults who endure all the vibrations facing the markets, and have technical distinguished expertise.
Despite these difficulties and that reality, but there is a positive growth in the industrial investment movement in general and female investment in particular, evidenced by the fact that many women follow up, inquire about opportunities and search for them .. explaining that despite the Corona pandemic, there is a positive growth witnessed by the national industry, so the demands are continuous and some Factories are doing better despite the pandemic.
Accordingly, Al-Salem calls on businesswomen to go to promising areas and monitor areas where there is a severe shortage in the national product and cites many examples such as transformative agricultural products as products that depend on olives and the like, and cosmetic products, which the Saudi market is the largest importer. It has a place in the world, while the field is open for joint investment with the producing countries in this regard and the launch of industrial projects like this. The field is also open for commercial projects to be set up in industrial cities, and the authority is heading to prepare industrial cities for such projects.
In this regard, Al-Salem asked: Where do women work in the sectors of gold and ceramics and create drawings and designs that are for the sake of areas that attract women's capabilities and in which creativity and investment can be made?
In this regard, he praised the efforts of the incubators, especially the Prince Sultan Incubator in the First Industrial City in Dammam, and pointed out that the local markets at present are dealing with the local product in a manner more supported by the Local Content Authority.
Al-Salem pointed out that the call is open for women's investments, and official support is based on various levels, including financing. We all know the efforts of the Industrial Development Fund, the Social Development Bank, as well as commercial banks, as well as large companies. The Commission has made agreements in this regard to support the issue of financing, all of which are incentive packages. For investors and female investors
Al-Salem welcomed an idea put forward by the Chairman of the Executive Council of Businesswomen in the Asharqia Chamber, Maram Al-Jishi, about setting up a platform to display all investment opportunities and cooperate in this with the Saudi Chambers, specifically the Asharqia Chamber .. stressing that marketing is the most prominent challenge for Saudi industries in general, but with the presence of several areas of domestic marketing and export. External, specific solutions can be reached in this aspect.
