Fatima Abu-Khosa
29 years old, specializes in Biochemistry; married and living in Gaza City in a rented apartment for more
than two years; her husband works as a taxi driver; she started her small agriprenuer project at her
home in 2021, named “home bakery,” selling bakery items (cakes, maamoul, and pastries) to relatives
first and then consumers who ordered over the phone; she made use of her diploma in therapeutic
nutrition and became interested in following up on everything new in the food processing field; she aims
to help in cover basic needs costs and medical expenses as she needs fertility treatments. As with most
small agriprenuer projects, she stresses the high price of raw materials, accompanied by limited storage
conditions, and quickly expiring due to the high temperature; this results in fluctuation of productivity,
besides the packaging costs and need for more working hours, limits her product profit margin.
Similarly, customers, mainly women workers, couldn’t purchase due to harsh economic conditions. Also,
access to the market represents a primary challenge; she stresses that she can’t compete with the big
traders who control the products’ prices. She stressed advocating for a sale point that brings women-led MSE
products together.
Due to Fatima’s limited E-Marketing skills, her friends and relatives help her manage the enterprise’s social
media pages and use digital marketing, expanding the circle of customers.
Being a UWAF member has encouraged her to continue with her small enterprise despite challenges; GUPAP
support in securing related enterprise equipment, such as a mixer and gas pipes, has helped Fatima reduce
functioning expenses, produce more baking items, and include cookies favorable for women workers.
Besides, capacity-sharing addressed learning technical topics, such as manufacturing and product
storage techniques, which has helped her increase productivity and reduce costs. It allowed her to
interact with other women agriprenuers working in food processing, exchange experiences, and
pave ways for dealings and networking. Fatima hopes to participate in future capacity-sharing
sessions that address advanced raw materials’ good storage and preservation and attractive
product packaging.
