Mission Statement
The Saudi Businesswomen Reverse Trade Mission culminates a series of programs recently offered to a substantial portion of the Saudi business community with whom American exporters have traditionally had minimal contact-- businesswomen. For the first time, 30 leading Saudi businesswomen, who have expressed an interest in expanding or starting trading relationships with U.S. companies, will gather for a tailored reverse trade mission designed to provide first-hand exposure to U.S. firms with potential for exporting to Saudi Arabia.
Commercial Setting
In Saudi culture, women and men are segregated except in family situations. Women, therefore, manage parallel structures in Saudi society for education and business purposes. While women do face significant obstacles in their efforts to expand their role in the business world, they have been making great strides over the past several years. Due in part to inheritance and other laws which allow women to control their own wealth, Saudi women have significant resources to invest in business. They form a thriving business community with many women at the forefront, involved in various business activities involving importing U.S. products, retail, media, and banking. Saudi businesswomen own over 15,000 companies, or about 4.3 percent of registered Saudi businesses. Sectors with a large number of women business owners include apparel, cosmetics, furniture and home decor, foodstuffs and gourmet items, health and fitness products, private education and training, franchising, and toys and educational materials for children. The Commercial Service in Saudi Arabia recognized an opportunity to capitalize on recent government announcements promoting women in business and education, by reaching out to this often-neglected section of society, and engage these women owned businesses.
Goals
The goals of this mission support the Clinton Administration's objective of serving a broad range of exporters as a means of job creation,, as well as Secretary Daley's priority of encouraging small and medium sized American companies to explore trade openings and gain potentially lucrative markets. The principal commercial aim is to introduce American companies to new export markets and business opportunities by having them meet with prospective Saudi business partners.
Timetable
The Reverse Trade Mission will visit New York City from Wednesday, April 29 to Friday, May 1, 1998. The Mission will visit Chicago from Monday, May 4 to Wednesday, May 6, 1998. Recruitment will begin January 1, 1998. The deadline for recruitment of 30 delegates is Sunday, March 22, 1998.
Criteria for Participant Selection
The three Commercial Service Saudi Arabia offices (Jeddah, Riyadh, Dhahran) will recruit 30 participants based on: payment of the $600 participation fee; the timeliness of a completed application; and the potential for doing business with U.S. firms in line with mission goals.
U.S. companies to meet with the Saudi Reverse Trade Mission members will be selected based on: potential market in Saudi Arabia; product or service manufactured in the U.S., or if not, then be marketed under the name of a U.S. firm and have at least 51 percent U.S. content of the value of the finished product or service.
Recruitment of U.S. firms to meet with the Saudi Businesswomen Reverse Trade Mission will be conducted in an open and public manner, including publication of the Mission Statement on the Internet and in the Federal Register, promotion through the Commercial Service network, press releases, direct contacts with trade associations and companies in industries related to the mission.
Any partisan political activities (including political contributions) of a U.S. firm seeking to meet the members of the reverse trade mission are entirely irrelevant to the selection process.
Contact Information
In Saudi Arabia, Joe Kaesshaefer, CS Jeddah, tel. 9662-667-0040, ext. 4493, fax. 9662-665-8106. In Washington, Isabella Cascarano, ODO, tel. 202-482-2488, fax. 202-482-0687,
e-mail: icascara@doc.gov