The Arabic Coffee Boss is a self-made entrepreneur
Nisaa FM: - The young entrepreneur, Lateefa Alwalaan, is the founder and CEO of Yatooq, a fresh innovative Arabic coffee startup. Having started her first business at the tender age of 16, she is a force to be reckoned with. In 2015 she won the Saudi Arabian 'EY Entrepreneur of the Year’ award.
Studies in the 'coffee capital of the United States’
While pursuing her MBA in Washington, home to the coffee capital of the United States, Lateefa Alwaalan was inspired by the local coffee enthusiasm. She reflected on her own coffee experiences back in Saudi Arabia, and her mother’s poor tasting Arabic coffee. Lateefa tried to make it herself, but soon recognized that it was a complex and time-consuming process.
Realizing that the art of coffee brewing was limited to only a portion of her generation and no easy process, Alwalaan used her time at business school to develop a technological solution and business plan to facilitate this problem.
She soon partnered with a local incubator and spent the next two years developing Yatooq’s coffee machine. She finally launched it in 2013.
Yatooq provides a user-friendly solution to the traditional Arabic coffee brewing process, saving users time and effort. The portable electric brewer removes the traditional pains associated with brewing Arabic coffee, decreasing brew time by 75% and preventing the coffee from boiling over. The premeasured coffee blends combines the seven ingredients required to make Arabic coffee into one product.
Oiling the wheels for other women entrepreneurs
Alwaalan’s accomplishments help oil the wheels for other women and youth. Alwaalan admits to using both her own resources and bank loans to get the company underway. "We had long periods of research and development with soft sales in the beginning,” she says. “It has been such a humbling experience.”
With an aim to bring innovation to the Arabic coffee experience, Alwalaan’s brand not only specializes in the variety of coffee blends but made easy the brewing by launching the first automatic Arabic coffee maker. Unlike its main competitor, who outsources production and design, Yatooq leverages its strong Saudi-based engineering partner to innovate on Yatooqs patented technology and respond to market demand.
Speaking about her legacy, she says “I would like to say that I’ve changed how Arabic coffee is being consumed or I have inspired someone to realize their dreams so that they can do what they aspire to do or that you’re able to create something out of nothing by just spreading that story or experience that would inspire someone.”
Source: www.abouther.com