Khalid Alkhudair – Saudi Arabia Entrepreneur

At the age of 28-years-old, Khalid Alkhudair left his job as an auditor at KPMG and decided to start up his own business. That’s when Glowork was founded, which is a company that tries to solve the female unemployment situation in Saudi Arabia.

Alkhudair estimates that Glowork has helped more than 26,000 women obtain jobs in the kingdom. Not only that but many women have also benefitted from the career fairs and advice provided by the firm.

Over the years, Glowork has gone from a small start-up with just three employees to a large company with an extensive database with over 60 employees. The goal is to create a database that can tap the lucrative market to find women jobs, in fields like e-commerce. The company has moved into the realm of apps and e-commerce and is even considering regional expansion.

In the five years since inception, Gloworks has been at the core of the job revolution happening in the world largest economy in Saudi Arabia. However, many have been slow to recognize the actual contribution that Gloworks has made over the years, but the number speak for themselves – with eight times as many women in the workforce than four years ago.

The masculine name Khalid is derived from the Arabic word khalada that means “to last forever”. The name Khalid actually means “eternal”. The name became popular after it was given to a Islamic military leader in the 7th century – Khalid ibn-al-Walid. The name is commonly used in Arabic regions and there are many notable people with the name.