New BCG study highlights key growth contributing sectors to span financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications.
Riyadh – Gulf Tech—
Ranked 63rd globally for ease of doing business, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is now the largest economy in the Arab world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of around USD 840 billion in 2020. As one of the key markets or demand “hot spots” for job outsourcing, the country is rising as a strategic hub where entities can easily outsource parts of their value chains and source-in talent from third parties, thus facilitating high growth overtime.
According to a new report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in collaboration with Forward MENA previously known as Beirut Digital District (BDD) Academy, the total spending by KSA-based organizations on outsourcing services from local and offshore providers was estimated at over USD 2.3 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 5.7 billion in 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 10%.
The report, titled “MENA Talent Map”, finds that Saudi Arabia is second largest supplier of talent in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Finance and accounting, human resources, specialized research and market intelligence are the major jobs and job clusters supplied by KSA.
In terms of the nation’s future economic outlook, three job clusters were highlighted to help drive long-term strategies, which in turn signal strong growth potential for job outsourcing. These are infrastructure management services, such as cloud engineers and cybersecurity analysts; software and applications development, that include software engineers but also application developers; and finally, data and artificial intelligence (AI), for data scientists and blockchain developers.
“Turning key strengths into enabling tools for a fully diversified future, Saudi Arabia has set ambitious yet achievable targets, which express long-term goals and expectations and reflect the country’s strengths and capabilities. Its Vision 2030 reflect 11 Vision Realization Programs and large-scale transformation projects such as Giga projects like NEOM, Qiddiya, and Diriyah Gate all point towards vast outsourcing opportunities in the years to come,” said Dr. Leila Hoteit, Managing Director and Senior Partner, BCG.
Furthermore, when it comes to spending on job outsourcing services and sourcing-in talent, certain key industries spring up. As outlined in the study, the most prominent by far are financial services, manufacturing and telecommunications.
BCG collaborated with Forward MENA previously known as Beirut Digital District (BDD) Academy to examine the growth of remote work ecosystems in six developing countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.
