Saudi Gazette report



HAIL — A female cafe entrepreneur is looking forward to expand her business into Switzerland after the success she has achieved in Hail.



Ibtesam Al-Zaqdi realized there was no sense waiting for a government job and opened her "My Coffee Z" business, which has become the most famous women’s cafe in Hail.



In addition to coffee, she also serves pastries and sweets that she prepares herself.



She said that she obtained her university degree in home economics and spent five years studying the feasibility of her business.



Al-Zaqdi applied to the Riyadah Society for a loan and also attended their training course on preparing a feasibility study.



She waited for five years until her loan was approved and she received SR240,000, even though her project would cost much more.



Al-Zaqdi chose a suitable location for her business in an area frequented by women and chose to add the letter Z to the name of the café, as it is the first letter of her family name.



She pointed out that her sisters and relatives have helped her in preparing the pastries and sweets and serving customers in the cafe.



Eight months later she was able to recruit workers and trained them on preparing pastries and sweets.



The café offers cheesecakes, cupcakes and other sweets in addition to pizzas and hot and cold drinks.



Al-Zaqdi claimed that one of the most difficult obstacles she dealt with was getting paperwork done at the labor office.



She submitted her papers and two weeks later found that nothing had been done.



Al-Zaqdi also claimed that she requested visas to recruit women workers but after six months they issued her visas for male workers instead. She had to reapply and waited another six months.



Al-Zaqdi hopes to open a branch in the Swiss town of Interlaken because of its beauty and the fact that residents appreciate Arab tourists.



She believed such an endeavor would take time but that would not deter her from realizing her dream.