Saudi initiative to incubate economic alternatives

Riyadh

LATEEFA al-Waalan just wanted to make Arabic coffee simple: no more labourious mixing of ingredients and careful attention to boiling.

Supported by a Saudi programme to foster, or "incubate", technology-based businesses with high growth potential, she developed a machine to produce Arabic coffee at the push of a button - the first of its kind. In the process, Ms Waalan and her Yatooq company became emblematic of efforts to diversify the oil-dependent kingdom's economy and employ more Saudis, particularly women.