Saudi Female Tech Pioneer Speech: Impact and Change – Paths to Social Innovation in Saudi Arabia

Hosted by the Georgia Council for International Visitors (GCIV) and organized by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, Saudi social entrepreneur Lujain Al Ubaid will explore the current state of social entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia through her experiences as an innovator in the field at three public and two invite-only events in Atlanta, Georgia.

Social entrepreneurship is not always the first business venture associated with Saudi Arabian society; in an environment heavily fixated on either for-profit business ventures or entirely non-profit social work, the general Saudi public is not informed of the possibility of social enterprise as a professional avenue. Despite an absence of technical expertise and recognition, many leaders for social change have been developing models for people to participate in social programming and projects for sustainable chance.

Lujain Al Ubaid, founder of Tasamy for Social Entrepreneurship, is one of these leaders.

“I [was] angry and frustrated by the undelivered promises to youth allowing them to create positive change and impact,” Al Ubaid explains. She therefore became one of the first leaders to develop the infrastructure for social entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, and moreover, to create some of the terminology associated with the field in Arabic.

Her organization, Tasamy for Social Entrepreneurship, focuses on finding sustainable solutions to social problems by encouraging and empowering youth, community leaders, as well as private and governmental institutions to achieve social entrepreneurship in the Gulf region. Drawing on her experiences in Saudi Arabia, India, and elsewhere, Lujain Al Ubaid will highlight her journey to creating Tasamy in her talk.  She will look at ways in which youth in Saudi Arabia can be helped along the path to creative entrepreneurship and volunteerism through online incubation and incentivizing – and her prominent role in doing so as the founder of one of the few social entrepreneurship organizations.

She will present on:

● 8 December, 11:00am-12:00pm, Agnes Scott College, free.

● 8 December, 7:00pm-8:30pm, Arnall Golden Gregory LLP, Suite 2100, free to GCIV members

Al Ubaid will also speak at three invite-only events at the Mayor’s Office and two Fortune 200 companies.