LEADING WOMEN

Saudi female entrepreneurs exploit changing attitudes

By Rose Hoare, for CNN

June 8, 2012 -- Updated 1144 GMT (1944 HKT)

Rumman Company founder and general manager Maria Mahdaly in her Jeddah office.

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Although they can't yet drive, some Saudi women have started successful enterprises
• Entrepreneurial activity is mainly confined to already wealthy women, says researcher
• Saudi's leader has been softening legislation, making it easier for women to work
• Young Saudi businesswoman Maria Mahdaly feels more supported, she says

(CNN) -- It's not easy being a female entrepreneur in a country where women need a male guardian's permission to work, rent property or travel.

Yet in Saudi Arabia, a small but determined number of women are overcoming these obstacles to build their own thriving businesses.

Social constraints in the conservative Kingdom have not stopped women from amassing substantial individual wealth. An estimated $11.9 billion is held by women primarily in bonds and bank accounts, according to asset managers Al Masah Capital.

As it seeks to hedge against its overdependence on oil, there is increasing government recognition that women have a part to play in Saudi's economic development.

It has led to a moderate winding back of restrictions on women in the Kingdom smoothing the way for a new generation of young entrepreneurs, like Maria Mahdaly.

I never felt any resentment or problems...Mind you, I was very tough and strict.
Maria Mahdaly, Rumman Company

In 2007, aged 19, she started Rumman (Pomegranate, in English), a media and publishing house in Jeddah, with Enas Hashani and Bayan Abuzinadah. The company runs two ventures: A monthly city magazine with a circulation of 70,000, called Destination Jeddah, and a social network called Fainak (Where Are You, in English).

To read more on this, click on the link;

 http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/30/business/saudi-female-entrepreneurs/index.html