Entrepreneur, startup mentor, and photographer Maha Shirah never takes no for an answer. The founder of SheWorks, Saudi Arabia’s first coworking space for women, Maha is helping female entrepreneurs seize new opportunities across the country’s fast-developing economy.
When Maha Shirah couldn’t find a coworking space or networking hub in Riyadh that met the requirements of Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing community of female entrepreneurs, she came up with a simple solution: She launched her own facility.
“Ten years ago, there were no female-friendly coworking spaces in Saudi Arabia,” Maha says. “Things have changed now, but back then, women had to be segregated from men and nobody paid any attention to the question of daycare.”
When Maha opened the SheWorks coworking hub in 2014, Riyadh had never seen anything like it. Gone were the leather sofas and dark colors that characterized other coworking centers. In their place were open spaces, big windows, designer furniture, and pastel colors, all intended to create a less oppressive atmosphere and to stimulate conversation, community, and creativity.
“Entrepreneurship is in my DNA. I always want to challenge convention and discover new ways of doing things.”
Maha Shirah, Founder and CEO, SheWorks
Just as importantly, SheWorks is located in a building with a late-closing daycare center on the first floor, so mothers can leave their children in a safe environment while they work on freelance projects and grow their startups.
“A lot of women freelancers are working mothers, and we all face similar issues,” Maha says. “SheWorks has built a real community of female entrepreneurs who want to help each other grow and develop.”
With a successful side gig as a freelance photographer, Maha has always broken molds with her talent for improvisation and reinvention.
“I was considered a rebel when I was young because I would always question why women couldn’t do certain things,” she recalls. “People thought I was crazy when I played football as a young girl, and they thought I was crazy for starting my own business in 2014. I will always challenge convention.”
Maha’s latest challenge is to transform SheWorks into an online business incubator for female entrepreneurs across the Middle East and beyond.
“I want to help connect entrepreneurs, investors, and venture capitalists and help bring female-led startups into Saudi Arabia,” she explains. “We are an advanced economy that is full of opportunity for women entrepreneurs, wherever they are from. They just need the right connections and the right network. That is the SheWorks vision.”
How is life changing for female entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia?
In the last six or seven years, we have witnessed more changes than in the previous two decades combined. We are starting to see more and more women starting businesses. It is now much easier for women to become entrepreneurs. In 2016, the creation of the Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority, Monshaat, was a great help for new businesses. There are now more and more coworking spaces, business hubs, incubators, and accelerators.
What does Vision 2030 mean for female entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia?
I am amazed by the passion for change that we are seeing in Saudi Arabia. People have a real ambition to drive the country toward the future. Actions speak louder than words and we are seeing real action. Saudi women and Saudi startups and entrepreneurs are developing new business partnerships and introducing new technologies and business models into the country.
This is a place bursting with opportunity for female entrepreneurs. There is a lot of emphasis on female empowerment and on supporting the role of women in building communities. As the SheWorks business model goes online, we want to help women enter the Saudi market and take advantage of all the changes and developments that are taking place.
What challenges have you faced as a businesswoman in Saudi Arabia?
People outside Saudi Arabia often have stereotyped ideas that we are oppressed, underdeveloped, or uneducated. In fact, we are a nation of technology lovers and we are one of the most literate countries in the region. I did not need permission from my husband or parents to start my business. People shouldn’t judge a Saudi woman because she wears a hijab. At SheWorks, the women I have supported are aged up to 70. Saudi women are a very diverse and entrepreneurial community.
How have you helped Saudi women develop their businesses?
When we opened SheWorks in 2014, not many people understood the concept of a coworking space. We had to educate the market. But as more women became interested in finance and in entrepreneurship, they came to us for help in incubating and accelerating their businesses. Initially, most of our clients were women who had jobs but were developing their own projects after work. We allowed them to pay on a month-by-month basis to ease the financial burden on women who were still in the stage of proving their concept. We were more flexible and provided our clients with a wider range of business services than our competitors.
What inspires and motivates you as an entrepreneur?
I have tried working in different jobs, such as in banking, but I never found it challenging enough. The safe option is to find a steady job with a stable income; I need adventure and challenges. I like helping women and young entrepreneurs fulfill their potential. In art, in life, and in business, nothing goes according to plan and you will always find bumps in the road. Those obstacles can point the way to new opportunities
As published in Fortune magazine
