This case was written by Amy Gillett and Kristin Babbie Kelterborn, both of the Entrepreneurship Development Center at the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan as part of the CIPE project “Economic Diversification and Access to Finance,” designed to support inclusive and sustainable development by expanding opportunities for Bahraini SMEs. CIPE provided technical, financial, and editorial support for the study, which is cross-posted with permission. The original can be found here. This is the first case study from this project; see also “WDI Case Study: The Nourishers: Navigating the Challenges of a Digital, Two-Sided Marketplace in Bahrain.
Introduction
Fajer Al Mansoori is a 38-year-old chef and food entrepreneur based in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. She dreams of doubling her revenues in the next two years and going on to become the “Martha Stewart of the Middle East.” As the case begins, Al Mansoori is at an inflection point. Based on the advice of a mentor in an entrepreneurship training program she had recently finished, she gave up her food product business to focus more on building her growing social media presence. Leveraging this online following, she is now pursuing five revenue-generating activities. However, they are pulling her in various directions and she is not sure how to narrow her focus. After all, she is still operating as a “solopreneur”—a one-person enterprise. Al Mansoori is fortunate to have a mentor who provides her with guidance on how to approach issues with her business and navigate its growth. She plans to share her situation with him to see what he would advise.
Published Date: August 10, 2023