From Cleaner to Childcare Entrepreneur: Moroccan-Dutch Businesswoman Builds Eight Centres
The daughter of a Moroccan migrant worker, Samira Bouharrou grew up in a modest family in Rotterdam. After taking on a series of odd jobs, including cleaning, she now runs eight childcare centres. To mark the release of her book, she tells the story of how she built her success without family wealth or a professional network.
In Rotterdam’s Kralingen district, Samira Bouharrou grew up with eight brothers and sisters. Her father, who had arrived from Morocco as a migrant worker, held a string of jobs in factories, restaurants and the port to support his family and help relatives back home. Money was scarce at home, but ambition was not. From the age of ten, she looked for odd jobs to earn her first income.
Her education did not point her toward running a business. Placed in a less prestigious track, she chose to turn the situation into motivation. She moved from one job to another, including cleaning, before starting her first business in sales promotion, according to the presentation of her autobiography Succes zonder Erfenis (“Success Without an Inheritance”).
She then turned to early childhood care. In 2004, she opened her first centre, Het Paleisje, in Bergschenhoek, near Rotterdam. Twelve years later, when she opened a new centre in Barendrecht, the local Dutch press De Schakel was already profiling her journey as an entrepreneur.
Eight centres and twenty years of quiet success
The Het Paleisje network now has eight centres across Rotterdam, Barendrecht, Bergschenhoek, Capelle aan den IJssel and several neighbouring municipalities. It cares for children from early childhood through school age, with a package that includes meals and care products.
For a long time, however, Samira Bouharrou said nothing about being the owner. On LinkedIn, she says that for twenty years she answered that she worked in childcare without mentioning that she owned the business. She preferred to let the quality of the service and parents’ recommendations speak for her.
The entrepreneur has also created Teenage Bestie, a skincare brand for teenagers. With her book Succes zonder Erfenis, which she will officially present on 10 October in Rotterdam, she has now chosen to share what those around her had long encouraged her to talk about: the challenges, decisions and support that helped her build her businesses.
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The venue chosen for the presentation holds personal significance. De Hef bears the memory of her mother-in-law, who died last year and devoted thirty years to the establishment. Samira Bouharrou says that she also played an important role in her entrepreneurial journey. The book, which is scheduled to go on sale in bookstores on 12 October, is also a way to pay tribute to her.
