Business galleries as platform for Dhofar women entrepreneurs
Business galleries have emerged as a good platform for women entrepreneurs in Dhofar. This is the place where women entrepreneurs gather, do shopping and get ideas to do something.
“Women in Dhofar are very talented in doing business. They have natural skills in handicrafts, fashion designing and perfume making etc,” said Reem al Ofi the first entrepreneur to organise her own gallery in Salalah.
Businesswomen participating in with their galleries found the all woman gallery a very good idea. “We needed a place where we can sell our products without bothering our families with the customers knocking our doors in the middle of the night,” said Al Ofi and added,
“For new businesswomen like us, the galleries provide us the chance to test and promote our products and make a name for us in business”
Somehow more experienced due to her own surroundings Reem adivised the new businesswomen “to do the project planning well in advance and advertise products through social media. It is advisable also to start with a small capital and the most important thing is to stay positive and to be patient.”
Lamees al Ghassani the organiser of Lamsa Gallery said, “The aim of Lamsa Gallery is to support productive families and businesswomen in Dhofar and encourage them.” She is happy over the success of the gallery and said: “More than 100 businesswomen participated in the gallery with very good visitors’ response.”
Now with the opening of Ladies Mall in Salalah, local entrepreneurs can rent a shop with a very suitable price. The mall supervisor said, “Our aim and vision is to support entrepreneurs and to be the “Dhofar’s face” where the tourists can get to know about our traditional handicrafts and women entrepreneurs in Salalah.”
The mall provides a free publicity for the shops participating in the mall through their social media accounts also there are weekly events and contests for children and customers with gifts for the winners provided by the shops and from the mall to interact with the customers.
A shop owner in Ladies Mall said, “I always wanted to have my own shop and do some business but due to traditional boundaries I could not venture out. When I heard about the mall and its features I immediately joined along with other entrepreneurs.”