SUSTG.com / Research

Discover stories, topics, and more about Saudi Arebia faster.

Recent stories from sustg

MUST-READS

  • Saudi Billionaire Olayan Bets on Female Founders in Deal Spree

    Dara Holdings, billionaire Lubna Olayan’s family office, has made a series of investments since mid-2024 in United Arab Emirates-based startups founded by women. Her firm participated in a $10 million seed funding round disclosed this month for qeen.ai, a Dubai-based artificial intelligence startup co-founded by former Google executive Dina Alsamhan. The family office plans to continue making investments that empower women in the Middle East and is supporting the establishment of a social-impact fund at Alfanar, a UK-registered charity Olayan, 69, helps to lead, according to Dara Chief Investment Officer Walid Haram. “If an investment ticks the boxes, and it supports women in the region, that for us is a big additional plus,” Haram, 44, said in a statement. “It’s a big focus.”  The former JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst is a principal of Olayan Group, a multibillion-dollar international conglomerate founded by her father in 1947 that she owns alongside members of her family. She served for decades as chief executive officer of its Middle East holding company, Olayan Financing Co., until stepping down in 2019. She now serves as chair of its executive committee and also leads the board of directors for Riyadh-based lender Saudi Awwal Bank.

  • Women Driving in Saudi Arabia: Female Perceptions Five Years after Lifting of the Ban

    Survey findings suggest most women agree that there has been vast improvement, but they insist that the battle for equality is far from over. Indeed, there has been some resistance to the reforms among those who see the changes as pandering to the West. Overall, though, the survey findings suggest that the majority of women in Saudi Arabia want more rights, more women in leadership roles, more safety that they do not feel they have under the male guardianship system, and to be viewed as equal to their male counterparts.

  • Saudi Arabia’s Top Female Freediver Breaks National Record in Greece

    Saudi Arabia’s top female freediver Nada Mohammed Alrasheed has achieved a remarkable success breaking the national record of the World Freediving Depth Championship in Kalamata, Greece, on Oct 6. “It was a mix of emotions, relief, joy and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. In those moments after surfacing, the weight of all the training, discipline and effort becomes real. There’s a brief silence before the celebrations begin, and in that quiet, I really felt the magnitude of the achievement,” Alrasheed told Arab News.

  • Saudi Arabia’s first female wildlife ranger unit celebrates 5000th patrol at Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve

    Andrew Zaloumis, CEO of the Reserve Development Authority, stated that the female ranger team are exploring new horizons one patrol at a time. He emphasized that around the world, women's conservation teams are crucial, and noted that the Reserve has focused on empowering women—who make up 33% of the 183-strong team, well above the global average of less than 11%.

  • Saudi space pioneer recognized by Guinness World Records as first female Arab in space

    The first female Arab astronaut has had her pioneering spaceflight recognized by Guinness World Records, the organization announced on Monday. Saudi Rayyanah Barnawi was part of the Axiom Mission 2 that launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida on May 21, 2023. She was accompanied by fellow Saudi Ali Al-Qarni aboard a craft bound for the International Space Station. In her first message she said: “This trip does not represent me alone, but rather the entire Arab world and all Saudis. We are living a dream that once seemed impossible but has become reality.”

  • Adidas collabs with Saudi influencers to champion female empowerment

    Adidas partnered with TikTok influencer Eleen Suliman, Saudi footballers Zara Al-Saif and Mariam Benkirane, and Saudi tennis star Yara Alhogbani to campaign for the opening of the first-ever adidas women's store in the Kingdom.

  • Reem Albishi dreams of being Saudi’s first female referee at a FIFA World Cup

    Saudi Arabian futsal referee Reem Albishi is making strides toward her ambitious goal of being the Kingdom’s first female referee at a FIFA World Cup. The 27-year-old Jeddah native recently took a significant step forward by officiating at the OFC Futsal Women’s Nations Cup in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

  • Shoura Council welcomes 19 new female members

    Among the 150 members, 30 are women, with 19 of them serving their first term in the council. This diverse group of newly appointed female members includes distinguished experts such as Dr. Arwa Al Rashid, Dr. Ishraq Rafaei, Dr. Amal Qattan, Dr. Amal Al-Hazani, Dr. Bushra Al-Hamad, and Dr. Taqwa Omar. Their inclusion reflects the growing recognition of women's expertise and leadership potential within the council.

  • Saudi Arabia’s surge in female workforce participation drives economic impact

    It comes as the Gulf Cooperation Council experiences unprecedented momentum in women’s participation in the workforce. According to the latest figures from the World Bank, the female labor force participation rate in Saudi Arabia stands at 34.5 percent, compared to 79.9 percent for males. Anne-Laure Malauzat, a partner at Bain & Co. in the Middle East, told Arab News that the statistic has surpassed the original target of 30 percent, prompting the Kingdom to set a new goal of 40 percent by 2030.

  • Saudi hails kingdom’s first female Olympic swimmer Mashael Alayed

    Saudi dignitaries on Sunday hailed the performance of Mashael Alayed, the first female swimmer from the kingdom to compete in an Olympics. The 17-year-old is the only female swimmer in the delegation and smashed her personal best to come sixth of seven in her 200 metres freestyle heat. Female athletes were for many years an untapped reservoir of talent in the conservative Islamic state, with girls banned from participating in sport at public schools until 2017 and women not allowed into sports stadiums until the following year.