Saudi Gazette report

MADINAH – Young Saudi men and women have commended Madinah Emir Prince Faisal Bin Salman for removing all obstacles facing their mobile food truck project.

The emir oversaw the signing of an agreement between the youth committee and the Association for Social Development to provide necessary training and support to food truck owners.

“This is a new investment venture that will help young Saudi men and women to fight unemployment,” the association said after signing the agreement.

It said the agreement aims at setting up a business incubator to support a food truck project that with enable young Saudis to set up small-scale business ventures.

Nasser Al-Abdul Kareem, director of education, signed the agreement on behalf of the youth committee while Mohammed Bin Nasser Bin Mahmoud signed on behalf of the association.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Sulaihem, deputy mayor for services, urged young Saudis involved in food truck business to visit the department for environment health at Madinah Municipality, to learn about the conditions and regulations to operate food trucks.

Municipalities in Riyadh and Jeddah have already issued licenses to many young Saudis to run food trucks. Human resources experts have welcomed the move, saying it will help reduce unemployment among Saudis and make them entrepreneurs instead of job seekers.

The project was initiated by young business pioneers at Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Salim Al-Zamami, president of Saudi Scope for Economic Studies.

He said the new business opportunity, which will focus on popular markets, festival venues and conference centers, will create jobs for a large number of Saudis.

“The most important feature of this business is that it does not require huge investments,” he pointed out.

Al-Zamami said mobile food courts would not have any negative impact on restaurants and other food outlets as the business would be event-based and cater to the needs of special occasions and conferences where large numbers of people gather.

However, he pointed out that the mobile food court is still a new concept in the Kingdom, and it required more studies about their feasibility. “It’s a promising venture and people can make a good income without investing huge amounts of money,” he added.

Columnist Ahmed Al-Shahri welcomed the plan to license mobile food courts. “This is nothing new. You can see such ventures all over the world. Some countries have licensed mobile food courts years ago,” he added.

Al-Shahri urged municipalities to license mobile courts charging fees affordable to young Saudis and take punitive action against those who allow expats to operate such businesses in their name.

“This project will encourage Saudis to set up profitable ventures instead of looking for jobs,” he said.