​​The Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) signed a comprehensive agreement with Al-Rakisa Holding Co. for the sponsorship of a youth businessmen’s forum on May 6 and 7 this year to help them become the architects of Saudi economy of the future.

To this end, Al-Rakisa Holding Co. will also arrange for young Saudis to be sent to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) under a scholarship program. It was also announced that a workshop on telecommuting would be held for women, to help them run business from their homes.

The agreement was signed on behalf of RCCI by its President Abdulrahman Al-Jeraisy, while Abdullah Al-Rukhais, president of Al-Rakisa Holding Co., signed as the sponsor of the forum. It will be held at the King Faisal Conference Hall under the patronage of Riyadh Governor Prince Salman.

Speaking on the occasion, Al- Jeraisy said the young businessmen’s forum was intended to prepare the Saudi youth to become young entrepreneurs so that they could make a meaningful contribution to the Saudi economy.

He said the idea of organizing the forum was inspired by the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah who has assured the people, especially the youth, of his government’s unstinted support in building their future.

Al-Jeraisy said that with the Saudi economy booming and the Kingdom’s gross domestic product (GDP) standing at SR966 billion ($347 billion), up 12.4 percent last year, funds were available to help young Saudis go into productive business ventures.

The upcoming business forum would help identify opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) has also set up the Centennial Fund to serve the same goal, he added.

Abdullah Al-Rukhais said that his company, as the main sponsor of the youth businessmen’s forum, would coordinate with the MIT in providing scholarships to Saudis for higher studies at MIT. He disclosed that by the end of this year, 120 students would be sent to the MIT under the scholarship program. “The goal of the MIT program is to make Saudi youth become professional so that they could go into their own business with the right guidance.”

Al-Rakisa Holding, the prime contractor for the development of Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Musa’ad Economic City in Hail, would also explore the possibility of identifying job opportunities for Saudis in the Economic City. To this end, it will map out a strategy in coordination with SAGIA.

Mohd Al-Zamil, president of youth businessmen’s committee at the RCCI, said RCCI would handle the event for the second year in a row.

“The Riyadh chamber is trying in its own way to enable young businessmen to contribute to the Saudi economy by setting up new business ventures. It wants to build a youth generation that is able and willing to contribute to the growth of the GDP,” he observed.

Fares Al-Rashed, head of the businessmen’s forum, said the two-day event on May 6-7 would review the obstacles facing the young prospective businessmen and map out a strategy for overcoming them. In this context, the doyens of national industry would dwell on their own experience and explain how they came up the hard way.

“They will help them pursue their goals so that they could enter the competitive world of business from a strong base.” The forum will have four main topics on its agenda — helping the youth, developing skills among young businessmen, interaction between young entrepreneurs and the captains of industry for an exchange of views, and a workshop for young businessmen.