By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: According to Kuwait Financial Center Company (Al-Markaz), the number of small and medium businesses in the country before the pandemic reached 25,000 to 30,000 firms. Meanwhile, demand has increased among local entrepreneurs to rent coworking spaces, which have evolved to not only provide rental spaces and offices, but also a support system to help develop the entrepreneurs through a business incubator.

According to the benefits that have reflected on the business after renting coworking spaces, coworking space owner Mohammad Al-Musallam told Kuwait Times that small or first-time entrepreneurs are always searching for a way to develop their business. "Starting from scratch with the entrepreneur is one of the main services that we provide, which includes suggesting business ideas and combining their professional experience with available business opportunities in the local market," he said.

"Co-working services also include training entrepreneurs on financial management and auditing, bookkeeping, how to analyze the market and its segments, and other services that support their business," Musallam added. He said coworking spaces provide investment opportunities for entrepreneurs through the coworking company itself or other entrepreneurs who rent with them.

Some coworking spaces provide offices that include secretarial services, commercial licenses, high-speed wi-fi, meeting rooms, kitchens equipped with all facilities among others. Musallam assured that the cost for leasing coworking spaces is less than a regular place due to the free services that include the rent and services provided, instead of paying for their own services. He said rentals range between KD 300 and KD 1,000 per month.

"During the pandemic, many entrepreneurs lost their businesses, which affected their cash flow and eventually affected the coworking spaces business," Musallam said. "Most of the entrepreneurs who tried to revive their business focused on renting spaces and stayed away from business incubator services due to a lack of money and awareness."

More productivity

Despite the featured services of coworking spaces, entrepreneurs are looking to develop their business productivity by reducing the challenges they face. One of these challenges is disruptions in their houses. Musaed Al-Khaldi, an entrepreneur, told Kuwait Times: "The ease of renting coworking spaces is encouraging, especially since you don't need to submit a commercial license, unlike regular offices. Meeting other entrepreneurs in open areas is an advantage that supports both businesses and encourages collaboration that increases benefits."

The first official coworking space was launched in 2005 by software engineer Brad Neuberg in San Francisco. Coworking spaces are an idea that took off from a desire of combining the feel of independence and freedom of working by the entrepreneur themselves with a community feel and structure of working with others.

Soon after Neuberg sparked the trend, other American cities took notice, and by 2012, there were over 2,000 spaces in the world, cementing its power as a global trend. Coworking spaces are one of the side sectors that emerged during the spread of freelancing that help entrepreneurs grow their businesses.