Saudi Arabia launches first women’s business park

Saudi Arabia has reportedly launched its first women’s business park, with the goal of creating thousands of jobs.

The scheme, a joint venture between public women’s institution Princess Nora University and technology company Wipro Arabia, was inaugurated on Sunday, according to local publication Arab News.

It is being supported and anchored by oil giant Saudi Aramco.

“In a country where women represent about 60 per cent of all university graduates, but less than 15 per cent of the country’s workforce, the WBP is poised to be a milestone initiative,” PNU rector Huda Al-Ameel, was quoted as saying.

The park has been launched with the goal of building Saudi Arabia’s knowledge economy and is planned to create 21,00 jobs by 2025.

It will provide engineering drafting services, business process services and serve as an IT hub for the oil and gas, manufacturing, government, healthcare, telecoms and construction sectors.

The site will cover an area of 200,000 square metres on the Princess Nora university campus and will include entrepreneur incubators, daycare centres and a coordination centre for government transactions.

It will open using existing buildings on the campus this year and new buildings will be made available starting in 2017.