Saffron Café is one of Bahrain's fledgling success stories, having grown from one to four cafes over the course of just one year. The first cafe, which serves traditional food (and costumed waiters) with a modern twist, is located in a 400 year-old date juicing facility, founder Narise Kamber tells Wamda’s Nina Curley, after speaking at the 2nd Annual Leading Women in Business Forum at The Capital Club Bahrain. 

Kamber emphasizes the importance of personal passion when opening your first business. “There were a lot of naysayers at first,” she says, “but in a business, and in life, sometimes one has to take a leap of faith.” It’s not always glamorous, she laughs, but “pain is sometimes necessary to growth.”

In terms of expansion, Kamber attributes Saffron’s fantastic success to having a theme and sticking to it (as well as eliciting support from relevant organizations; in the case of Saffron Café, this included Bahrain’s Ministry of Culture).

She also speaks to her experience as a female entrepreneur, balancing family and work responsibilities, and managing a team successfully, what she describes as a “very important issue.”

Ending on a positive note, reflective of her business' incredible success over the past year, Kamber says: “Never underestimate the power of a dream.”