[LINK] "Saudi Businesswomen Tap Instagram to Bypass Men, Attract Clients"

[rfmcdonald]

At Bloomberg, Deema Almashabi and Vivian Nereim report how Saudi businesswomen make use of Instagram to build their own commercial networks, bypassing their society's misogyny.

If she had chosen the traditional route to opening her accessories business in Jeddah, Rozana al-Daini would have had to enlist a male sponsor to represent her before government agencies and sign official documents on her behalf.

Instead, she sells jewelry, watches and wallets on Instagram, where Saudi businesswomen can avoid the gender restrictions they face in the kingdom. Her two-year-old business, Accessories_ar, has two employees, 67,000 followers and handles up to 25 orders a day. It also provides her with the ultimate empowerment: her own income.

“I can solve any problems or difficulties, financial or otherwise, without the interference of family members,” al-Daini, 20, said by phone.

Al-Daini is one of a growing number of Saudi women turning to Instagram to start businesses, gain market share and skirt limitations in a country where women can’t drive and often need the intervention of a male guardian. They are part of an informal economy, and aren’t counted in the 48 percent growth in the number of employed Saudi women to almost 806,000 between 2010 and 2014.