Awatif Alheriz juggles her work like and her successful Leather Tannery Project. At a very young age, Awatif is a successful entrepreneur, with a passion in real estate sector. Her Leather Tannery Factory project bagged the first prize in the ‘Chance2017’ competition. Read on to find out more about her project, visions and her inspirations.
Tell us briefly about yourself: where you were born, your educational background, etc.
My name is Awatif Alheriz, I was born and brought up in Bahrain. I pursued a degree in BSC in Physical Education and now work for the Ministry of Education
Tell us about your project?
My project is a leather tannery factory with environmentally friendly specifications. My goal was to create prosperity of domestic industry in the Kingdom, Encourage women to enter the industrial field,
Conservation of the environment from the remains of slaughterhouses, Attracting foreign investments in the leather tannery, Increase Bahrain’s exports of processed leather and create jobs for the young generation and further enhance my life experiences.
What was one of the obstacles in the competition?Â
When you are tackling too many things at a time, I would say my major challenge was coordination and balancing my family and work life and still managing to create time to give 100% to the completion of the competition.
What have been the major challenges of your life so far?
To a lot of extents I believe, we need to diversify sources of experience and information in the field of entrepreneurship in Bahrain, such as hosting International Exhibitions or creating a platform for entrepreneurs so that they can grow on their ideas and know how to achieve their dreams. I think that’s one of the major challenges I have faced, as we still don’t have a platform for the exposure of new talent.
Tell us about your association with this project? Where did it all start and how?
The idea of the project came from the manufacturing of leather products and the need for such good in the international market. I then sat down and came up with an idea and a plan on how to execute this idea, and visualised a market situation and how a project like this will grow in the market and thus I reached the idea of tanning leather, which is also the first step in the manufacturing of leather.
Who has been your inspiration?
I believe that the universe inspires us if we really want to achieve our ambitions or dreams. I believe that universe’s energy renews us and gets back us on track if we really want our ambitions to grow. So I would say the, It’s not a particular person but the I am constantly inspired by the universe and its energies and as I truly believe that our actions control our outcomes.
What kind of help and support do you seek to help reach your goal?
We still need training courses and field visits to share experiences in our project areas. We need platforms for the exposure of our projects that will boost or projects in many ways. For me, I honestly require for that kind of support.
What are the other things that interest you?
To follow the development in the industrial and real estate sector in Bahrain and observe and learn to see how this area of the industry works and grows.
Have you participated/held exhibitions in Bahrain or in any other place? Give us a list of the last few.
I would just say the list goes on as I have participated in way too many exhibitions related to fields of entrepreneurship or real estate.
What is your message to the aspiring entrepreneurs of Bahrain?
To have a clear vision and work hard to achieve it. Planning is the foundation of any project, so plan wisely, as the business plan is essential for anyone who is trying to start a new project and its purpose is not only to obtain profit but also to guide the employer other young entrepreneurs and help them grow.
If there is a lesson you will take back from this competition what would it be?
The competition was truly a life changing experience as we had guest lectures talking to us on various fields guiding us and constantly motivating us to achieve our dreams but there is one specific topic by Dr Saleh al-Shibal spoke on and it was about Quality of an Information and How to achieve it excellence, and that is something stuck to me as It really helped me produce an extremely good final product.
Any other interesting projects in future that you are coming up with?
I am working on a project in the real estate field, so that would be out soon.