An experienced entrepreneur with firsthand knowledge of all the challenges of starting a business, Lateefa Al Waalan is a leading figure in Saudi Arabia’s fast-growing private sector.
As the managing director of Endeavor Saudi, she is helping a new generation of Saudi men and women maximize their impact on the local economy.
Lateefa Al Waalan has always had a good eye for an emerging business opportunity. At the age of 16, she founded her first startup, an online directory. Later, after spotting a gap in the Middle Eastern beverage market, she began mass-producing Arabic coffee blends and launched the world’s first automated Arabic coffee machine.
Today, as managing director of Endeavor Saudi, she is helping other entrepreneurs overcome challenges, scale their businesses, and make a positive impact on local economies. After a rigorous selection process, entrepreneurs with high potential for growth and impact join Endeavor’s global network of entrepreneurs. They are then supported in their growth journey and encouraged to give back to others.
“Entrepreneurs need close relationships with mentors,” she says. “They must be careful not to isolate themselves. We want to help Saudi entrepreneurs scale up, get access to capital and markets, create high-quality jobs, and increase their social and economic impact.”
“Technology and entrepreneurship are powerful levers for economic growth and long-term sustainability.”
Lateefa Al Waalan, Managing Director, Endeavor Saudi
Lateefa ascribes much of the success of her coffee business, Yatooq, to the contribution of supportive mentors such as the privately funded NGO, Endeavor. A natural-born connector, before she sold Yatooq, she co-founded an NGO called CellA+ to help Saudi businesswomen network, build relationships, and exchange opportunities.
“Female empowerment is something I have always been passionate about,” she says. “Ten years ago, it was not so easy to be a woman in business in Saudi Arabia. Now, the opportunities for women are endless and many of the social barriers have come down.”
As a previous beneficiary of support from Endeavor, and the winner of two Entrepreneur of the Year awards, Lateefa knows how important it is to have access to a large network of experienced mentors.
“As someone who has started and scaled businesses, being able to support other entrepreneurs resonates with me. In this role, I can help other startups and give back to Saudi society.”
Lateefa is not the only Endeavor Entrepreneur who now works for the organization. Three other Endeavor Entrepreneurs hold positions on its board and are helping Saudi Arabia to develop a diverse and dynamic startup sector.
“We are creating mentors who are supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs,” Lateefa says. “We want to develop a thriving ecosystem for startups, build a more diversified Saudi private sector, and create new opportunities for men and women of all ages.”
What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
When I was a child, I often played at being a merchant, selling T-shirts or ice cream. I come from a family of entrepreneurs and I always looked up to my father as a businessman. The world of business intrigued me. As a woman in Saudi Arabia at that time, there was also an element of breaking barriers and proving to others what I could do. That was what inspired me to learn programming, study computer science at King Saud University, and do an MBA in the U.S.
Why did you get into the coffee industry?
I was looking for an idea that would scale, and I really love Arabic coffee! But while there were machines for making an espresso or an Americano, there was nothing for making Arabic coffee easy to make and consume. We developed an Arabic coffee blend that has all the ingredients needed to make a perfect cup, like a readymade cake mix. But that was only half the problem; I needed to find a way to brew a cup even if you are on the go, traveling, or in the office. I bought all the different technology and household brewing machines in the market to experiment. I took courses in roasting. It took two years to take the idea from paper and into mass production. We developed the first-ever automated Arabic coffee machine.
What challenges did you face?
There were several times I almost gave up. I used to work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and had no social life. Then the day that we launched, we received orders from around the world. Our company, Yatooq, went on to sell thousands of coffee machines.
We developed multiple lines of machines in different sizes and for different use cases. We also distributed Arabic coffee blends across Saudi Arabia through all the main retailers. I was able to finance the building and outfitting of a local roastery. The production line was 90 percent managed by local women. Eventually, I sold the distribution and coffee businesses and kept the ownership of the intellectual property for the machines.
How do you support entrepreneurs in your current role at Endeavor?
Because Endeavor had helped me grow, it was easy to take on this mission in 2018. I started scaling the Endeavor team and attracting more entrepreneurs into our network. By finding and backing entrepreneurs early on and helping them grow as leaders, we are able to support the most impactful SMEs in the market. A small subset of new companies typically has the most impact on the economy. Those are the startups we work with.
Our funding mainly comes from the private sector. Our mission resonates with Vision 2030 and with Saudi Arabia’s drive to diversify out of oil. In recent years, we started receiving government support to help us magnify our impact.
A lot more capital is now coming into the sector. We are seeing huge growth in the ecosystem for startups in Saudi Arabia
As published in Fortune magazine.
